Dein erstes Forum » I dont think thats an issue to our guys at all,

OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Phelps wasnt about to lose his last race in the United States.With his gangly arms cutting through the water, Phelps dazzled the home fans one last time.Phelps made it three-for-three at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, rallying on the return lap to win the 100-meter butterfly Saturday night.In what was billed as the farewell race in his home country, Phelps competed in lane seven after a sluggish swim in the semifinals. As usual, it took him a lap to really get going, making the turn in fourth place.But Phelps powered to the front, as hes done so many times.Even with a long glide to the wall, he finished in 51.00 seconds.When Phelps saw the 1 beside his name, he pounded the water and pointed toward his family -- including 7-week-old son Boomer -- up in the stands. Hell now get a chance to win his fourth straight gold in the 100 fly at Rio.When his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, asked for a game plan before the race, Phelps kept it simple.I dont want to lose my last race on American soil, he said.Katie Ledecky and Maya DiRado also won their third individual events on the next-to-last night of the trials, while Nathan Adrian made up for the disappointment of four years ago by winning the 50 freestyle.For Ledecky, its been the dominating performance everyone expected, this one a nearly 10-second victory in the 800 freestyle.For DiRado, its been a huge surprise, the first-time Olympian setting herself up to make quite a splash before she retires at age 23.A late bloomer who already lined up a job as a business analyst in Atlanta, she followed her victories in the 200 and 400 individual medley by knocking off defending Olympic champion Missy Franklin in the 200 backstroke.Franklin finished second to at least ensure shell get a chance to go for another gold in Rio.Phelps, of course, is also planning to retire -- for the second time -- as soon as his fifth Olympics are over. At age 31, he cruised through Omaha with victories in both butterfly races as well as the 200 individual medley.Assuming he is on all three mens relays in Rio, a virtual lock, hell get a chance to add six more medals to his already massive collection of 18 golds and 22 medals overall.The second Olympic spot in the 100 fly went to Tom Shields, who touched in 51.20 to barely beat out Seth Stubblefield (51.24).We did everything that we wanted to do, Phelps said.Well, not quite. Hell need to go even faster in Rio.A 51.0 is OK, he said, but its going to take more than that to win a gold medal.One night after competing in the 100 free, the 19-year-old Ledecky didnt have quite enough in the tank to challenge her own world record. She finished in 8 minutes, 10.32 seconds, far off the mark of 8:06.68 she set in January at a meet in Austin, Texas.The swimmer who surprisingly captured gold in the 800 free four years ago will go into Rio as one of the biggest favorites in any sport. Leah Smith took the second Olympics spot in 8:20.18 -- nearly half a lap behind Ledecky.Ledecky also posted Omaha wins in the 200 and 400 free, which means shell have three individual events and a relay at the Olympics. The only thing that didnt go her way: a seventh-place finish in the 100 free, an event she only recently started focusing on in hopes of landing a second relay race.Ledecky will be busy enough as it is.Shes going to tear it up, Phelps predicted. She always does.DiRado was nearly a body length ahead of Franklin in the 200 back with a winning time of 2:06.90.This is a dream, DiRado said.Franklin, a big disappointment at the trials but still set to swim three events in Rio, finished in 2:07.89 to hold off Lisa Bratton for the second berth.I got a spot and thats all that I needed to do, Franklin said. Theres so much room for improvement.Franklin claimed her second individual event in Rio, having also taken the runner-up spot in the 200 freestyle. Shell also swim the 4x200 free relay, a far cry from her grueling seven-event program at London four years ago.One of the things Ive been trying to do this whole year is not compare myself to where I was in 2012, she said. Im here to be the best of who I am right now.Adrian surprisingly failed to qualify in the 50 free at the 2012 trials, though he did go on to capture Olympic gold in the 100 free at London.This time, Adrian swept the sprint events. In a furious dash from one end of the pool to the other, he touched ahead of Anthony Ervin in 21.51 seconds. Ervin claimed the second spot for Rio -- one-hundredth of a second behind the winner.Its an honor to come out of that field on top, Adrian said. Looking ahead to his Rio double, he added, Its not going to be easy.Two-time Olympian Cullen Jones wont be heading to Rio. The silver medalist from London finished third at 21.75, missing a spot on the U.S. team.At age 32, it mightve been Jones last realistic shot at the Olympics. He was the final man to climb out of the pool, soaking up the moment for as long as possible.Then again, age hasnt been a hindrance to Ervin.The 35-year-old is the oldest swimmer at the trials, but hes heading to the Olympics for the third time.Im enjoying it more than 2000, Ervin said, remembering his first Olympics as a 19-year-old. That seems so long ago.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Fake Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Custom Baseball Jerseys China . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Custom Authentic Baseball Jerseys . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Custom Texas Rangers Nike Jerseys . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. UCLA is banking on young talent to turn its fortunes around while Pacific is counting on an experienced player with name value as head coach to resurrect its program.The 16th-ranked Bruins, who are coming off a 15-17 season a year ago, host Pacific in the season-opening game for both teams on Friday. The Tigers, who finished 8-20 in 2015-16, have 13-year NBA veteran Damon Stoudamire at the helm, his first experience as a head coach.UCLA coach Steve Alford, in his fourth season with the Bruins, recruited one of the best freshman classes in the nation that includes 6-foot-6 point guard Lonzo Ball, 6-10 power forward T.J. Leaf (who can extend to the perimeter) and 6-10 center Ike Anigbogu. Alford has indicated that Anigbogu was expected to miss at least three games at the start of the season with a torn meniscus in his right knee.The influx of young talent matched with veterans such as senior guards Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton and junior forward Thomas Welsh has Alford confident that the Bruins will become relevant after missing the NCAA tournament last year. UCLAs losing record a year ago prompted Steve Alford to write an apologetic letter to fans in which he stated he returned to the school his one-year contract extension signed after the 2013-14 season.I dont think our team is concerned about what money I make or what money I give back, Steve Alford said, referencing his letter. I dont think thats an issue to our guys at all, so that part hasnt been talked about. Its about where that bar is.Coach (John) Wooden, whether its me, guys before me or guys after me in the future, same with players that played for Coach Wooden and guys that are playing in Westwood now, that bar was raised a long time ago by a guy that won a bucket load off games and championships, and established something that quite honestly hasnt been established anywhere else in the country.dddddddddddd.Depth is not a concern for UCLA evidenced by guard Aaron Holiday, who started all 32 games last year as a freshman. He is projected to be the sixth man this season.UCLA experimented with different lineups during a recent exhibition game against The Masters University, including a four-guard up-tempo version with Ball, Bryce Alford, Hamilton and Holiday.We have four very talented guards who know how to take care of the ball and know how to put the ball in the basket, Steve Alford said.Stoudamire, who has coaching experience as an assistant at Arizona (where he starred in college) and Memphis, is taking over a Pacific program that was in turmoil last season. Former coach Ron Verlin and an assistant were suspended for three months before being terminated in March in the midst of an NCAA investigation into allegations of academic misconduct.The Tigers have a balanced lineup as they return 11 of their top 13 scorers from last season, including junior wing Ray Bowles (11.1 points per game) and senior guard T.J. Wallace (10.8). In an exhibition win over Bristol on Nov. 4, senior guard David Taylor had 19 points (including five 3-pointers) and junior forward Jacob Lampkin had 15.Stoudamire, who was part of the UCLA-Arizona rivalry from 1991-95, has noted that the wealth of Pacifics returning players are buying into his coaching.If you have guys at the top of your team, your best players that are willing to be coachable, then that makes it easy for you as the head coach, he said. ' ' '