The heat is on across the US, and so is the competition in the Summer Olympics. On display in Rio are the world’s best athletes, including an elite few laying claim to being the GOAT – Greatest of All Time – in their sport.
We bring you this week’s newsletter with a touch of greatness.
Olympics
More than halfway through the Summer Games the big winners so far are:
United States: 74 medals
China: 46 medals
Great Britain: 41 medals
Michael Phelps, the most accomplished Olympic athlete ever, won five gold medals and a silver, raising his record-setting medal count to 23 gold and 28 total over four Summer Olympics. #GOAT
Simone Biles, the 4’9” 19-year-old phenom won a record three gold medals (Team All-Around, Individual All-Around and Vault) as well as a bronze in the Beam. Biles has the Floor Exercise remaining on Tuesday where she can cement her status as the most prolific gymnast in a single Olympics.
Mending fences? US fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad won a bronze medal and hopes to impact the Muslim-American community.
Welcome back…British golfer Justin Rose took the gold medal, marking the first time golf has been an Olympic sport since 1904. Standing next to him on the medal stand was a familiar face, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. The two are friends and former neighbors…in Orlando.
Fastest man on earth. In the Men’s 100m, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt beat American Justin Gatlin to capture gold. If Bolt wins his remaining 4x100m and 200m races, he will achieve the unthinkable: sweeping the sprint trio in last three Olympics, strengthening his position as the greatest track athlete of all time.
Proving to be a good student, South African Wayde van Niekerk, who trained with Usain Bolt, set a world record in the 400m, beating US legend Michael Johnson’s mark that stood since 1999. In the stands was his 74-year-old coach, who is also a grandmother.
Want more Olympics? Sunday we put a bow on this year’s Rio games with the closing ceremony. Here is the remaining schedule.
National Football League (NFL)
Embarrassing. The NFL preseason began last week with some egg on the league’s face. During last weekend’s Hall of Fame festivities, the game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts was cancelled due to unplayable field conditions.
Week 1 of the preseason officially began Thursday, and the Philadelphia Eagles suffered a bad break with their rookie quarterback Carson Wentz going down with a hairline rib fracture. Wentz can drown his sorrows in some Philly cheesesteaks as he is expected to site out the next few weeks recovering from his injury.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
In a strange episode of farewell but not goodbye, the New York Yankees on Friday released Alex Rodriguez, one of baseball’s all-time greats who has been mired in performance enhancing drug scandals. The ending is a bit awkward considering the Yankees will be paying A-Rod $27 million not to play the rest of 2016 and 2017. In order to “earn” his money, A-Rod will act as an advisor to the team. Don’t feel too badly for the three-time MVP as he has made roughly $410 million over his 22-year career. Read a little more about the saga here.
Turing the page…After saying adios (sort of) to A-Rod, the Yankees welcomed two 24-year-olds, Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge, to the major leagues prior to Saturday’s game. The duo delivered with back-to-back home runs in their first major league at-bats. #NewBeginnings
The Chicago Cubs, after stumbling in July, have come back strong winning 14 of their last 17 games to reclaim the best record in baseball.
On the Cubs’ heels are the Washington Nationals who welcome back 2015 MVP Bryce Harper after he missed the last five games with a neck injury.
Like a confident poker player, the Texas Rangers are All In. They have the best record in the American League and brought in a couple of all-star veterans, Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy to help overcome the loss of Prince Fielder, their best player. The Rangers could use a break as they have never won a World Series since entering the league in 1961 as the Washington Senators.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
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