Michael Phelps wins 21st Olympic Gold medal

Michael Phelps scored a spectacular double Tuesday night, further underscoring that he is primed to bow out of swimming in a blaze of golden glory.

About 70 minutes after winning gold in the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps swam a leg of the United States’ gold-medal-winning 800 freestyle relay. Phelps was not a lock to swim the event after not posting an elite-level 200 free time all year, but his spectacular performance in the 400 free relay Sunday night made him an obvious option for the 800.

Phelps swam the anchor leg with a split 1:45.26. He teamed with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas and fellow swimming legend Ryan Lochte to easily win the event in 7:00.66. Great Britain won silver in 7:03.13 while Japan took bronze in 7:03.50.

When the 31-year-old Phelps announced his most recent comeback, the expectation was for a limited number of events as a concession to his advanced age by swimming standards. But he’s now on track for six medals, and all six could be gold.

That would give Phelps four Olympic performances with six or more medals, a staggering accomplishment. He is the all-time leader in Olympic medals (25) and golds (21).
Phelps has won gold in his first three events in Rio – the 400 freestyle; the 200 butterfly; and the 800 freestyle – and still has three events remaining in his swan song Olympics: the 200 individual medley Wednesday and Thursday; the 100 butterfly Thursday and Friday; and a leg on the U.S. medley relay Saturday. By the time he is done, Phelps could put a mind-boggling 28 lifetime medals and 24 golds in the trophy case.

Credit: Reuters

Rio 2016: Neymar and Co. hits Blanks again against Iraq in Stalemate

Disappointed yet again, the Brazilian fans jeered their own team and saved their applause for Iraq.
Brazil, which has never won the Olympic gold medal in men’s football, failed to win for the second consecutive game, held to a 0-0 draw by Iraq on Sunday.

The result leaves Brazil tied for second place in Group A. The team needs a victory over Denmark on Wednesday in Salvador to advance and avoid another huge embarrassment at home two years after the 7-1 loss to Germany in the World Cup semi-finals.

Neymar, the tournament’s biggest star, played below expectations for the second straight game, and promising young strikers Gabigol and Gabriel Jesus also struggled.

Voicing their frustration, the fans chanted "Marta, Marta" in reference to the five-time world player of the year who has been thriving with the women’s national team.

And as the Iraqis rejoiced on the field after the draw, the fans applauded the team and broke out into chants of "Iraq, Iraq."
Brazil midfielder Renato Augusto had his team’s best chance for Brazil, but his volley from close range sailed over the crossbar with the goalkeeper already beaten.

Brazil is trying to win its first gold medal in football and it arrived for Sunday’s match under pressure after a disappointing 0-0 draw in the opener against South Africa.

The crowd of more than 60,000 started supporting Brazil but it grew anxious as the team struggled against Iraq, jeering the players at halftime and more and more toward the end of the match.

Gabriel Jesus, who last week secured a multimillion-dollar transfer to Manchester City, missed a few decent chances early and was loudly booed when he was substituted in the second half.
Brazil also had a goal by Gabigol disallowed in the 28th because of offside, and Augusto hit the crossbar with a shot just before halftime.

Flash Back Friday!! Dream Team Triumph over Brazil in Atlanta '96

As Nigerians wish their U-23 football team "Dream Team" luck at the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil, we flashback to that historic outing 20 years ago when Nigeria triumphed over Brazil in a semifinal encounter in Atlanta Olympics.

Oghenakaro Etebo scored four goals last night for the West African country as they kicked off their Rio campaign, but will he emulate the heroics of Kanu Nwankwo and lead the Nigerian team to glory in Brazil?

Watch the highlights of the Brazil vs Nigeria game in Atlanta below: