Ross "The Boss" Powers took charge of the men's Olympic halfpipe on Monday, and "co-workers" Danny Kass and JJ Thomas did the rest as the U.S. Snowboard Team made history with the first Olympic medals sweep of any snowboarding event.

A day after his 23rd birthday, Powers asserted his manhood by uncorking the most spectacular halfpipe run ever seen in Olympic competition to win the gold medal at what was undoubtedly the most spectacular halfpipe contest ever held. The bronze medalist from Nagano put up a winning score of 46.1 points after electrifying the capacity crowd of more than 16,500 raucous snowboarding fans with his signature mix of monstrous air and technical prowess. Right behind him were Kass and Thomas, posting respective scores of 42.5 and 42.1 to complete the first American medals sweep in any sport at an Olympic Winter Games since men's figure skating in 1956. Go figure.

"I couldn't ask for anything more. It's the best birthday present ever," Powers said. "These guys beside me are also huge. Today was just the perfect day, awesome pipe and everything worked out. My board was really good, the weather, the crowd - it was amazing."

Amazing indeed. Powers began his winning run by launching a super-sized method air like only he can, followed up by a big McTwist and back-to-back 720s, regular to Cab. Large straight airs linked an impressive backside 360 and a switch McTwist that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

"I just dropped in and tried to get as much speed as I could," Powers said. "Those are probably some of the biggest airs I've ever done in a halfpipe, if not the biggest."

Rider after rider attempted to match the feat, all falling short, including Kass, who pulled out all the stops with a Cab 1080 melon poke, rodeo 720 stale fish, inverted 720 indie grab and frontside 900 melon poke. The run was fluid and technically mind-boggling, but couldn't approach Powers' amplitude out of the pipe.

Thomas, meanwhile, outscored the gold medalist in amplitude points, but his straightforward run lacked the technical dazzle. Beyond a pair of big McTwists, a Cab 900 was the only substantial rotation move. It didn't matter though. Everyone on the podium recognized the day belonged to The Boss.

"I just had fun on that second run. I watched these guys do it and I just followed up," Thomas said. "It's not about me, it's about Ross. Ross is The Man. He deserves this. I'm so happy for him."

Like the Austrians dominate alpine skiing and the Norwegians own cross-country skiing, the American sweep in men's halfpipe a day after Kelly Clark took the gold in women's competition makes a statement about the nation's dominance of the sport. That the Olympics are in Utah certainly doesn't hurt America's cause, but the muscle flexed by the home team in the halfpipe is bound to make the world sit up and take notice - if not notes.

"Snowboarding was started in the USA and there are so many good snowboarders in the USA and I guess we've kind of been leading the way, whether it's been in the halfpipe or in the videos," Powers said. "I'm not dissing on any other countries. There are some amazing riders out there - some of the Canadians, Norwegians, Finnish guys. There are so many good snowboarders, but just to have the three of us do really well today when it really matters is huge for all of us."

The fourth American rider, California's Tommy Czeschin, actually was the first among them to qualify for the finals, cleaning his first run in the Olympic halfpipe to set the pace. After lackluster first-run performances, his teammates managed to regroup and charge through the second run of qualifying, posting the top three scores and earning their own shot at the medals round.

Czeschin nailed an impressive run in the finals as well, but some controversial judging dropped him back to 6th place with a 40.6.

— Scott Willoughby, MountainZone.com Correspondent