Braff Zacklin

Watching Embiid trying to guard Wemby on the perimeter was hilarious. So much for all those "Wemby is gonna be a force" predictions. He already is.

So glad the real Steph Curry showed up these past two games. What a great gold-medal game!

Yeah, Alyssa had some big moments past two games. And here I was worried she'd be our weak link ...

Right? Just something about the vibe. French team played out of their minds and the crowd was raucous from the start.

Stahp. Kenny fucked up, for sure, but he's won two individual medals at two different Games and will most likely return for more. He's an excellent competitor and has represented his country with honor. There are more important things than gold medal counts. Besides, if you wanna look at what really matters (i.e., what the Olympics used to be about before it became a dog-and-pony show), check out this updated track-and-field medals table:

Man, that men's 800m final was awesome and heartbreaking at the same time. Thought Bryce would run 'em down, but the field was just so ridiculously good. Never thought I'd see four competitors break 1:42 in an Olympic final. I'm absolutely stoked that the American who is proud to represent her country--Masai Russell--won gold in the 100m hurdles. And Grant Fisher, holy shit! Bronze might not have quite the luster of gold or silver, but it's still an incredible accomplishment ... and to win TWO of them against those starting lists. Take a bow, Mr. Fisher! On that note, the entire Team USA track-and-field delegation should take a bow. They gave us some of the best performances and moments in history. It's been an incredible games from an athletics perspective.

It's what he does. He's got a big mouth, but he's got a big heart. I always root for Americans, of course, but Jakob definitely makes the middle distances more entertaining. Watch the 1500m final and you'll see why those who are purely the fastest on paper (Ingebrigtsen) are often afraid to front run. And, yes, all it takes is one person to surge forward. You just saw it happen in the 5K final, when two Ethiopians surged to the front to step up the pace. The rest of the field had to follow or get left. Long story short, few want to take the lead because you technically do use more energy splitting the air for those behind you. It takes a tremendous amount of confidence (maybe even arrogance) to front run in an Olympic final. Because by the time Coleman caught up to him, Bednarek would have been well outside of the handoff zone. Kenny took off way too soon and had to nearly come to a stop to take the handoff inside the zone. Huge mistake but life goes on. Kenny will win more medals for us. No, Deadmon was excellent. He definitely underperformed in the mixed relay, but he ran a great split (43.54) today. Everyone did their jobs. Bailey was the slowest of the four but Norwood (43.26) and Benjamin were fire (43.18). Was surprised Hall didn't run for Bailey but maybe he wasn't feeling his best. I'm sure there's a good reason. Anyway, you've got to give the other teams credit. This was a fantastic fucking final. Botswana balled out. Tebogo split a 43.03, btw. Thank god Rai is such a badass! This is true. He made up for it today, though (see above). Yes, it would. Only the opening leg of any relay could count as a record because all the others are achieved with a running start, which makes a huge difference.

Dude, Curly was an O.G. Nyuk, nyuk!

And here's the rest of the American-centric summary for Saturday, Aug. 10: EVENING SESSION Men's High Jump final. Shelby McEwen stands as the Red, White & Blue's only hope. McEwen won his qualifying heat, but he'll be jumping against several athletes with superior PBs, including all-timer Mutaz Barshim of Qatar. Barshim won gold at the Tokyo games and silver at Rio 2016 and London 2012. He's also come within less than an inch of equaling Javier Sotomayor, the only man to ever clear 8 feet. Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi and Kiwi Hamish Kerr are other top threats for gold. Women's Javelin final. No US women made it out of qualification. You still want a prediction? Well, seeing as how I know less about javelin than virtually anything else, I'll just go with the top qualifier, Poland's Maria Andrejcyzk. She won silver in Tokyo yet apparently has a heart of gold because she sold that medal to pay for a child's heart surgery. Now that's the Olympic spirit! Men's 800m final. Just one American--Bryce Hoppel--survived the semis, but he was the only one with a serious chance of a medal. This field is ridiculously fast and deep (just how your moth-- err, never mind). For some quick background, going under 1:44 in the 800m is a big deal. Breaking 1:43 is outstanding. And bettering 1:42 is extremely. Yet this final will feature three athletes who have done just that ... at the same meet! Djamel Sedjati (PB of 1:41.46) of has been practically unbeatable this year, relying on a devastating kick to leave everyone in the dust over the final 150m. Kenya's Emmaneul Wanyonyi (PB of 1:41.58) has been the most consistent, while heretofore unsung Frenchman Gabriel Tual (PB of 1:41.61) has shaved more than 2.5 seconds off his personal best since the year began. And then there's reigning world champ Marco Arop of Canada (1:42.85) and Moroccan-born "Spaniard" Mohamed Attaoui (1:42.04). Hoppel, who's all-time effort is 1:42.77, will need to run the race of his life just to medal. It's anybody's guess who wins this. The smart money is probably on Sedjati, but six of the eight participants have a legitimate chance at gold. Women's 100m Hurdles final. Team USA's talented young trio of Alaysha Johnson, Grace Stark and Masai Russell looked fantastic on Friday. Johnson and Stark won their semifinals and Russell finished second in hers to another American, "Puerto Rico's" Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. World-record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria failed to advance, so there's a strong chance the US could come away with two medals. And who knows? There hasn't been a podium sweep in athletics this Games, so why not Team USA and why not these three? I'm not calling it, I'm merely calling for it. But if it happens, I reserve the right to pretend I predicted it. Men's 5000m final. Another stacked field that features two Americans--Harvard alum Graham Blanks and 10K bronze medalist Grant Fisher. My pick to win is Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway. Inge has been quiet since being humbled in the 1500m (go Hocker, go!), and he's also the back-to-back world champ at this distance. Women's 1500m final. Two Americans--Nikki Hiltz and Elle Purrier St. Pierre--will run in the final. Both are in outstanding shape and just might find their way to the podium. It won't be easy as they'll be facing world-record holder Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, 5000m record-holder and Faith's chief tormentor Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, an in-form Jessica Hull of Australia, who just set an all-time mark in the rarely seen 2000m, and Scot Laura Muir, who won silver in this event in Tokyo. Men's 4x400m Relay final. The US should dominate this, although Botswana and 200m champ Letsile Tebogo might have something to say about that. Look for Quincy Wilson to give way to 400m winner Quincy Hall. Rai Benjamin, fresh off his 400mH victory, also figures to take a lap for Team USA. Who will the other two American runners be? Most likely Bryce Deadmon and Vernon Norwood from the qualifying heats and the Mixed 4x400m relay silver medal squad, but 400m finalists Chris Bailey and Michael Norman could also get the nod. Women's 4x400m Relay final. Another medal that is Team USA's to lose, especially given that 400mH champ Sydney McLaughlin will swap in. Open 400m finalist Alexis Holmes--who set a PB despite finishing seventh in the open 400m--could join the party, as well. Shamier Little and Quanera Hayes also figure to run based on their times in the relay prelim.

Final American-centric summary for what's on tap in track & field for Saturday, Aug. 10: MORNING SESSION Men's Marathon final. Representing the US will be Leonard Korir, Conner Mantz, and Clayton Young. All three share similar PBs (13 seconds between them). Born and raised in Kenya, Korir moved to the US to attend university and later became naturalized while a member of the Army. Mantz and Young are both from Utah, so let's hope they can channel their inner Rooks (steeplechase runner-up who attended BYU). They'll need more than Joseph Smith on their side because they're faced with some of the biggest names in distance-running history, including former marathon world-record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya; Benson Kipruto, also of Kenya, winner of the 2021 Boston, 2022 Chicago and 2024 Toyko marathons; reigning world champ Victor Kiplangat of Uganda; and Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele, who won three Olympic and five World Championship golds. And that's all she wrote for Saturday morning.

Let's give him a hand!

Too soon, Bruin. Too soon.

That team impressed the shit out of me. Serbia needed help from the whistles to get by them, else South Sudan would've been in the knockouts ... and look how far Serbia got.

As infuriating as that relay was, seeing Rai Benjamin finally win Olympic gold washes all the negativity away, even going so far as to leave a patina of positivity. This is three times in a row now that he's beaten Warholm (all inside of a year), and Rai has more or less used the same strategy each time. Warholm loves to get out, so Benjamin waits until about the 250m mark and surges as he's coming out of the final bend. The previous two times, Rai ran inside of Warholm and kept an eye on him. But this time, he chose to stay outside and wait until Warholm pulled up to him. Just brilliant fucking running. I still think he can crack 46 seconds and set a new world record, but he didn't need either achievement today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHygaz-Ilp4 (NBC has blocked embedding for this video. Replay of the men's 400mH final. No pre- or post-race. Strictly the actual running.) Ah, gotcha. I didn't know she was also running the marathon. They're both crazy!

US had two awful handoffs, as well. Not as bad as the one in the semis, but Jefferson-to-Thomas was poor (Gabby had to slow down; looks like she took off a moment too soon) and Thomas-to-Sha'Carri was also suboptimal (Sha'Carri took off late). Dude lives a charmed life. He's never the best ... but always there to pounce when someone else fucks up. Like Team USA today. He's been around a long time and deserves respect but I still don't like him because, again, he's more of an opportunist than a legend ... maybe he's a "legendary opportunist?" LoL Kenny should've stayed put on the third leg. He's a monster on the final bend. But this was entirely his fault. He took off WAY too early. New leg, new markers, probably wasn't familiar. Just fucking stupid. He's run the final bend for us since Tokyo. King Carl is right--shitcan those in charge and bring in someone who can think and chew gum at the same time. I'm sure Noah not being available caused a shuffle, but that's still an excuse. I would've kept the team "as is" from the prelims with Lindsey running the home stretch and only subbing in Bednarek for Kyree on the third leg. Keep Kerley on the backstretch. Sifan Hassan is technically Dutch. Born Ethiopian and moved to Holland at the age of 14-15 as a refuge; became a citizen in 2013. She's a fucking gamer, man. Throwback. Doesn't care about GOLD in ONE event if she can pick up two or three of any color in multiple events. Just loves to run and compete, as far as I can tell.

Morning events spoilers

Avatar definitely checks out.

More on the men's 110mH: Karsten Warholm didn't lose a 400mH race for nearly five years. Then he got hurt while others got better. And then Rai also suffered injury and dos Santos was there to take advantage by winning the 2022 World Championships. Warholm's running style is fearless. He gets out fast, like some sort of angry Viking intent on pillaging a monastery. Yet he somehow doesn't ease up. McMaster also likes to charge out, so it's not uncommon to see either well out front early. Benjamin and the 6-foot, 7-inch dos Santos run more measured races. Rai seemed destined to be the perpetual bridesmaid until last year, after a poor showing at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. This is the event where it changed for him: Even after finally beating his greatest rival and tormentor, Rai remained grounded. "It's just {the} Diamond League final .... At the end of the day, I need to perform when it matters." Anyway, sorry for all the posts--just geeking out in anticipation of this tomorrow.

Haha thank you but that is definitely overstated! One pitch I will make to those who generally don't watch track and field outside of the Olympics: consider following them throughout the season and in non-Olympic years in Diamond League competitions and at World Championships (usually every odd year). Their careers are short and the earning potential for most is limited. Worse, US athletes often compete in anonymity and have to go overseas to perform before a crowd despite the US dominating athletics at the pro and collegiate levels. Diamond League competitions are basically a mini track meet--there's typically 15-20 events held in various cities throughout the world every week or two from late spring through early fall. Entry is invitation only with athletes being paid an appearance fee. Not every event has the budget to bring in a full slate of the world's best, so the more eyes watching, the more that budget will grow. Speaking of American domination, here's an updated medals count for track and field events only.

Incidentally, four of the five guys bolded above met three weeks ago in Monaco for a Diamond League event. Here's how it went: Also, Ato Boldon's comment that the winner in Monaco means jackshit toward the Olympics is spot on. But I still favor Rai to get this monkey off his back.

And here's the rest of the American-centric summary for Friday, Aug. 9: EVENING SESSION Women's Shot Put final. Chase Jackson is out after suddenly forgetting how to put a shot (she faulted twice and then threw short of the qualifying mark). Fortunately, Raven Saunders and Jaida Ross did well enough to earn a spot in the final. Both's qualifying marks were more than a meter behind Canada's Sarah Mitton, so they have work to do. Women's 400m Relay final. This is how you kickoff a weekend! It's also Team USA's gold to lose. They would've challenged for the world record if not for a poor exchange from TT Terry and Gabby Thomas, who took off too early and nearly had to stop her run. Fortunately, Melissa Jefferson got out of the blocks well and Sha'Carri Richardson brought it home. Look for the exact same order for the final ... and count on Gabby timing her start better. Men's 400m Relay final. Also Team USA's gold to lose, but apparently no longer with the services of Noah Lyles, who tested positive for The 'Rona. We could very well see Texas Tech product Courtney Lindsey repeat his role of bringing home the baton, with reigning 60m World Indoor Champion Christian Coleman leading off and 100m bronze medalist Fred Kerley running the backstretch. That'd leave the only change being 200m silver medalist and 100m finalist Kenny Bednarek, who is an absolute monster on the curve. Jamaica suffered a case of USA-itis in the prelims and did not advance. Look for Great Britain and Canada to keep the US honest. Women's 400m final. The Dominican's Marileidy Paulino is my gold medal pick, followed by Poland's Natalia Kaczmarek for silver and Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser, Ireland's 🤘Rhasidat Adeleke🤘 and Team USA's Alexis Holmes battling it out for bronze. Men's Triple Jump final. Salif Mane was the only American to advance from qualification, tying for third with Burkina Faso's Hugues Fabrice Zango. Cuban-born Spaniard Jordan Diaz and Portugal's Pedro Pichardo looked sharpest in qualifying. Women's 10,000m final. Dutch distance sensation Sifan Hassan continues her remarkable assault on three events. She already nabbed bronze in the 5000m and plans to run in Saturday's marathon. All three Americans (Weini Kelati, Karissa Schweizer, and Parker Valby) will be competing, although they'll be hard pressed to make the podium. Men's 400m Hurdles final. At long last, one of the most anticipated finals of the Games is here. Team USA's Rai Benjamin has beaten reigning Olympic champ and world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway twice this year. Same for 2022 World Champ Alison dos Santos of Brazil, who finished third in his semifinal but just managed to advance on time. All three are capable of sub-47-second times, with Warholm being the only one to ever go below 46. Look for Benjamin to join that club in this event ... conditions permitting. Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands and Qatari Abderrahman Samba will pounce should any of those three falter. Fuck me, that's a full slate of finals. It could be another big day for Team USA!

Still another American-centric summary for what's on tap in track & field for Friday, Aug. 9: MORNING SESSION Women's Heptathlon, Day 2 (Long Jump and Javelin in the morning, 800m in the evening). Anna Hall currently sits in third, 99 points behind Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Hall will have her hands full holding on to bronze, but she'll have other chances. She had knee surgery back in January and is only 23. The other two Americans, Taliyah Brooks and Chari Hawkins, would need multiple miracles to reach the podium. Hawkins essentially eliminated herself by failing to height in the high jump. I'll give her credit for continuing to compete, but geeeeeez. Women's 4x400m Relay qualification. As with all relays, the key for the US here will be to simply pass the baton around the track. The Americans might not boast the world's fastest open 400m runner (at least, not until Sydney decides to give it a go full time), but they do have the deepest group of quarter-milers in the world. Since Sydney just won the 400mH, and with Alexis Holmes running the open 400m final later the same day, look for Quanera Hayes, Kendall Brown, Shamier Little and Aaliyah Butler to carry the baton in the prelims. Men's 4x400m Relay qualification. The big news here is The Other Quincy, as in 16-year-old phenom Quincy Wilson, who set the world junior mark in the open 400m back in June and has since lowered it three more times. Wilson was added to the relay pool as an alternate and, per reports, will take part in the preliminary. Bryce Deadmon and Vernon Norwood from the Mixed 4x400 Relay might also run, but don't be surprised if 400m gold medalist Quincy Hall or finalist Chris Bailey are called upon. Michael Norman is probably out based on his performance in the finals. Men's 800m semifinal. All three Americans reached the semis, though aggy Brandon Miller needed a second chance via the repechage (he made the most of it, though, leading coast to coast to win his heat). I think Brandon's Olympic journey ends here, but Hobbs Kessler and Bryce Hoppel are dangerous and could/should reach the finals in what might be the deepest 800m field in history. Women's 100m Hurdle semifinals. Speaking of deep fields, this event is wide open. All three Team USA members (plus at least two other Americans who run for other countries) made it out of the prelims. Masai Russell posted the fastest time of the trio. Even if they all advance, they will have their work cut out for them in the final against the likes of Nigeria's Tobi Amusan, who set the world record at the World Championships in 2022, and "Puerto Rico's" Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who set the Olympic record three years ago in Tokyo. Camacho-Quinn has lived her entire life in the United States and hails from South Carolina. Evening session summary to come later.

The bums lost!!!

One second after retiring from the sport, Weston is going to instantly gain 93 pounds.