2012 Olympics: 4 Biggest Team Sleepers Heading into Summer Games

The 2012 London Olympics are almost here to rescue us from the baseball-dominated doldrums of summer.

From July 27-August 12, we will be treated to the finest international competition in the world. The two week event helps form a perfect bridge between the boring summer months and the beginning of football season in the fall.

Although the individual competitions are riveting, the team competitions exhibit everything the Olympics stand for: teamwork, camaraderie and country. And nothing makes an international tournament better than a sleeper team––a little engine that could.

Here is one potential sleeper from the four biggest team competitions in London.

Men's Basketball – Brazil

Most (or all) of the praise for South American basketball goes to Argentina, whose international success is well documented. But in 2012, a feisty young Brazilian roster could jettison them past an again Argentinian one, and atop the South American basketball hierarchy.

Though they failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Brazil is loaded with young, NBA talent—especially in the frontcourt.

Between Nene, Anderson Varejao and Tiago Splitter, the Brazilians have three hard-working big men with NBA success under their belt. They aren't quite as strong on the perimeter, but Leandro Barbosa has the ability to score in bunches, and has proven capable of doing so against any level of competition.

At the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, they finished second, losing 80-75 against Argentina in the Championship—a game that was ultimately irrelevant since both teams had already qualified for the Olympics. They beat the Argentinians 73-71 earlier in the tournament.

Women's Basketball – Russia

Women's international basketball in 2012 is a lot like men's international basketball in 1992: beginning to grow around the world, but still overwhelmingly better in the United States.

So this pick isn't necessarily a team with a chance for the gold, but one who has the best chance of upsetting every top non-American squad.

The Russians are ranked seventh in the world, but boast an impressive history of upsets in the past four years. They beat Spain 84-65 in the quarterfinals last Olympics, before giving the United States their closest game of the tournament (67-52) in the semis.

Three years later in 2011, they won the Women's Eurobasket, a tournament highlighted by their 85-53 demolition of the world's second-ranked team, the Czech Republic.

The Russians are a tough hard-nosed bunch who can give, and have given, almost every team in the world problems. The American's are secretly hoping they won't have to face them this summer.

Men's Football – Senegal

Since the U-23 Olympic soccer tournament began in 1992, the African nation has had a run of well-documented, surprising success. Here's the top African finisher by year:

1992: Ghana (Bronze)

1996: Nigeria (Gold)

2000: Cameroon (Gold)

2004: Mali (Quarterfinals)

2008: Nigeria (Silver)

With the exception of 2004, Africa has been represented in the gold medal game every Olympics since 1996.

Egypt gets most of the love from the African continent heading into the London Games; their roster is loaded with young, high-level prospects. But the Senegalese, who finished fourth in African qualification and needed a 2-0 win over Oman to secure an Olympic berth, represent the truer sleeper.

Women's Football – Columbia

After last summer's thrilling Women's World Cup, the entire planet is well-versed with the women's soccer elite. United States, Brazil, Japan, France and Sweden are all expected to vie for the top medals this summer, with host nation Great Britain lurking as a potential spoiler.

But nobody talks about the Colombians, who could sneak into the medal picture out of nowhere.

Colombia finished second to Brazil in the 2010 South American Women's Football Championship, playing the Champions to a close 1-2 loss in the group round before suffering a 0-5 loss later in the tournament.

But in their six qualifying games against teams other than Brazil, Colombia outscored opponents 18-1 en route to a 5-0-1 record.

The road won't be easy, drawing both France and United States in their group, but Colombia's offensive firepower (and drive to avenge a poor showing in the World Cup) makes them a threat to advance nonetheless.