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U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in London.
Los Angeles Lakers teammates Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol will face off when the United States takes on Spain for the gold medal on Sunday.

While both aspire to take home a gold for their respective countries, on Friday both were also thinking about Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic center who was traded to the Lakers.

Gasol said the move will give the Lakers a huge boost.

"It puts us in a position of trying to win the championship and going after it," he said. "There's going to be expectations of being a very strong and powerful team, and we like that."

Bryant was even more exuberant, proclaiming that the Lakers are "locked and loaded to bring back the title."

He spoke with Howard on Friday morning, and interrupted his pursuit of a gold medal to talk about the years to come in Los Angeles.

"I'll probably play two or three more years. Then the team is his," Bryant said. "I'm excited for the franchise because now they have a player that can carry the franchise well after I'm gone. This should be his and he should want to accept that challenge."

— Jon Krawczynski—Twitter http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski and Tim Reynolds—Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

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EDITOR'S NOTE—"Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.