Kritik und Anregungen » rance was considered by many to be the sec

When Eric Murray and Hamish Bond jump into their boat in Rio, people wont be asking whether theyre going to win, but by how much.The New Zealand pair hasnt lost a race since 2007, so anything but a third consecutive Olympic gold medal would be a major upset.Some of their closest competitors have switched events to avoid having to compete against the blond Kiwis, something that has only strengthened their grip on the mens pair.Here are some of the other things to watch for in the rowing competition.NO SPLASHINGWater quality is a serious concern in the Rodrigo de Freitas lake, where an Associated Press investigation last year found high levels of viruses.Though the international rowing federation called the water quality very acceptable at last years Junior World Championships, its medical commission recommends rowers to avoid inadvertent immersion, including splashing.Taking no chances, the U.S. team will be training in special suits with anti-microbial features. Katelin Snyder, who coxes the U.S. womens eight, said shed gladly skip the tradition of throwing the coxswain in the water, saying winning would be enough of a celebration.THE FANTASTIC EIGHTThe U.S. womens eight is one of most successful teams in international sports, having won every World Championship and Olympic gold medal since 2006.The dynasty has endured even though the crews have changed. Only two rowers, Meghan Musnicki and Eleanor Logan, remain from the eight that won gold in the London Olympics.The biggest menace to the U.S. winning streak is likely to come from New Zealand or Great Britain, which nearly caught up with the Americans in a World Cup race in May in Switzerland.CATCHING CRABSWhen rowers talk about catching a crab theyre not thinking about trapping crustaceans from the boat.The expression is used to describe what happens when the oar blade gets caught in the water at the wrong moment. This causes the oar to flip, which slows down the boat and sometimes it can knock the rower into the water.Its rare among top-level rowers but it happens. Australias mens four caught a crab just ahead of the finish line in a World Cup event in May, which allowed Britain to surge past them and win.RULE BRITTANIA?Britain topped the medal table for rowing in London 2012 with four gold, two silver and three bronze medals. It was Britains biggest medal haul ever in the sport.Thats going to be tough to match for Team GB in Rio. Helen Glover and Heather Stanning will be hard to beat in the womens pair but 40-year-old Katherine Grainger, competing in her fifth Olympics, may find it tough to defend her gold in the womens double sculls. This time Grainger is partnering with Vicky Thornley.Britain has won 63 Olympic medals in rowing, second only to the United States.CROATIAN BROTHERSMartin and Valent Sinkovic are two-time world champions in the mens double sculls and big favorites to win Croatias first Olympic gold in rowing.They used to race in the quadruple sculls and won the silver medal in that event in London four years ago. After teaming up in the doubles in 2014 they havent lost a single race.Valent, 27, is a year older that Martin. Both say they were introduced to rowing by a third brother, Matija Sinkovic. Myles Straw Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Cesar Geronimo Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/custom-jose-urquidy-jersey-large-1296y.html . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Brad Peacock Jersey . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Dustin Garneau Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Andrew Bogut wanted one more shot to represent Australia at the Olympics and wasnt going to let an injury take that away again.The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft tumbled to the floor with a hyperextended knee in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and no one really expected him to get up this summer.But here he is in Rio, making a nearly perfect debut.The injury looked bad, and not to mention played a significant role in the Golden State Warriors losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers after setting the NBA regular-season record at 73 wins.But the new Dallas Maverick looked fully recovered, scoring 18 points on 9 for 10 shooting in Australias 87-66 win over France on Saturday. He played his usual complete game, pulling four rebounds to go with five assists.Bogut said after the injury, his plans were still to play in the Olympics, there was just the matter of how the knee felt. There was extra motivation after missing the 2012 London Games with an ankle injury and dealing with back spasms during a regional Olympic qualifier in 2015. The 31-year old may not get another chance to play on this stage.He said he was upset about missing it, adding that would have been my (third) if I played in that one. Bogut said. I was like, I dont want it to end that way where Im just sitting at home with ice on my knee if I can give it a crack.I didnt want it taken away that easily. I said Ill give it a crack up until this day. If it wasnt right yesterday, Id put my hand up and Im on a flight back home.Bogut wasnt just a body trudging up and down the court on Saturday.He caught six alley-oops despite playing a France team with Utah Jazz 7-foot-1 center and defensive specialist Rudy Gobert. Bogut had previously played sparingly against China and Spain in exhibitions since the NBA Finals.I felt good, I kind of was surprised that I did, Bogut said. The alley-oops were not something we specifically targeted. ... When youve got smart guys like (Matthew Dellavedova) and Patty (Mills) handling the ball, you get a couple of easy baskets.Bogut may not have expected to play so well, but some members of the team were surprised hes even in Rio. Assistant coach Luc Longley thought he was done wheen Bogut went down in the NBA playoffs.ddddddddddddI do know hes a tough hombre, Longley said. We had him New Zealand last year with a really, really bad back and he managed to get himself up and play and play well and dominant. If somebody is going to get it done, hes the character who is going to find a way to play.This is about the early timeline Bogut was expected to return. Hes not wearing a brace, but has the knee taped and wrapped under layers of padding -- enough to allow him to run, but also keep the pain to a minimum. There was some concern the Mavs would ask him to sit out after being traded from the Warriors, but the team was open to it long as the knee was healthy.Its been mentally and physically tolling to try and make this, Bogut said. I didnt think I was going to make it early on. And then the further and further I got I said Ive got a chance, Ive got a chance. It went from 10 percent chance to 20 percent chance and there were some dark days, but I ended up rehabbing fine and got back.Teammate Joe Ingles added, He promised us he was going to do everything he could and you saw tonight he obviously did.It was a big win for an Australian team that has never medaled in the Olympics. This may be their best team in international play with five NBA players and France was considered by many to be the second-best team in the tournament. The Frenchmen also had five NBA players on the roster.Boguts Olympics got off to a rocky start after he complained about the lodging conditions on social media, but apparently things have gotten better.The comments were never to disparage Brazil or the people in Brazil, Bogut said. It was more with the IOC more than anybody. The Brazilians have done a fantastic job of sending people to our room daily to see if anything needs fixing. Theyre trying to get things right.I apologize to the people of Brazil. I never intended that to be a shot at them. It was more a shot at the IOC to get out of the penthouse suites and get things rolling a little bit better.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report ' ' '