Former UConn star Sue Bird admitted that her expanded role made her second Olympics a little different from the first but different does not necessarily mean better.

"I hate to talk up China because then it makes it sound like Greece was bad because Greece was amazing as well," Bird said on a WNBA teleconference on Tuesday. "China, everything from the people, the venues, the way things were run there it really was first class. For us as a team, the minute we got together we were tight, we were close. Everything from joking around on the bus ride, we had to eat pretty much every meal together. We just got along so well. It was a fun trip."

Four years ago Bird was often the No. 3 option at point guard behind Dawn Staley and Shannon "Pee Wee" Johnson. This time she was the starting point guard.

"It doesn't matter how many Olympics you play or how much you win by or lose by, what matters is that you have a gold medal around your neck at the end. I felt the same exact way this way when the national anthem was being played as I did in Greece."

In a little bit of UConn scheduling news, the Huskies will play two exhibition games - one against a New England Division II team and another against a touring team full of pro players. Southern Connecticut, which played UConn in the preseason in 2007, will not be the Division II opponent. That honor will likely go to Stonehill.