phelps

surprising result, but not that much...playing at home, it was clear that they eventually show up with a very good team... and on the Gold Medal game they're going to face the USA (later tonight, at 1 a.m. CET)... disappointing outcome for Japan (they're playing right now the Bronze Medal game against Chinese Taipei -also live on Youtube, for those interested) and very disappointing outcome for Cuba, the reigning (for a few hours) champions, who did play well in the preliminary stage, but then had an epic fail in the Medal Round and didn't make even the top 4)... here's the link to the Gold Medal game (live on Youtube)

in Tonga it was 8.1/8.2 (depending on the source)...

well, China won 4 Gold medals and Japan "only" 3...I guess your sentence is a bit "hazardous"...

in the women's division, Agatha/Duda won the Tour Finals with a clear 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) success over Hermannova/Slukova in the Gold Medal match. Bronze Medal went to Clancy/Artacho Del Solar (2-1 over Maria Antonelli/Carol).

I guess they have to avoid the "Sun" pronounciation as the single word, so they link both first and family name to give it a different sound...

women's 200m Back well slower than Europeans and Pan-Pacs... but still, another Chinese Gold (I fear they're gonna sweep the entire program, considering that the Japanese team is not at their best as they focused on last week's Pan-Pacs)...

wow! I'm falling asleep with all these stops and these everlasting ceremonies... c'mon, men! give this event a bit of pace...

good, but not so impressive 1.45.53 by Sun Yang over the men's 200m Free... meanwhile the Japanese guys are already well below the Pan-Pacs performances...

1st event at the AGs and they're already up to 1 "virtual" Bronze (after women's 1500m Free)...

Li with insane last 100, but still not enough... by the way, both Chinese girls are behind Quadarella's mark at the Europeans (not to be mentioned Ledecky's efforts, of course)...

and think that the equivalent in Karate (Kata) has been gifted the Olympic status...

Baby Sergei is born... https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-shares-news-of-birth-of-son/c-299795388?tid=281396148 Congrats to Mom & Dad...

Slovenian fest in Munich, at the last world cup stage in Bouldering... and this is the 2018/2019 Bouldering Final World Cup Ranking Women 1st, Miho Nonaka (JPN), 500 Pts 2nd, Akiyo Noguchi (JPN), 495 Pts 3rd, Fanny Gibert (FRA), 320 Pts Full Ranking here: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=ranking&cat=ICC_FB&cup=18_WC Men 1st, Jernej Kruder (SLO), 442 Pts 2nd, Tomoa Narasaki (JPN), 400 Pts 3rd, Rei Sugimoto (JPN), 334 Pts Full Ranking here: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=ranking&cat=ICC_MB&cup=18_WC

IFSC World Cup, Stage #11 (Munich, GER) Women's Boulder (Final) 1st, Janja Garnbret (SLO) 2nd, Miho Nonaka (JPN) 3rd, Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) Men's Boulder (Final) 1st, Gregor Vezonik (SLO) 2nd, Jernej Kruder (SLO) 3rd, Jakob Schubert (AUT)

as expected, Japanese total domination in Moscow, with 6 Gold medals all coming in Boulder and Lead (with USA coming out as the second powerhouse ahead of Slovenia in the Lead events and Italy, France and Great Britain sharing the remaining honors in the Boulder events)... Russia end up in second place thanks only to the Speed events, which were dominated by the hosts ahead of South Korea, Italy and Poland... USA, Italy and South Korea also got 2 Gold medals each as the Russians, meanwhile the most disappointing result came from the Austrians, who couldn't win a single Gold (but at least they got 3 medals overall)...

Final Medal Table JPN, 6 / 1 / 7 RUS, 2 / 2 / 3 USA, 2 / 2 / 2 ITA, 2 / 2 / 0 KOR, 2 / 0 / 0 SLO, 1 / 3 / 1 FRA, 1 / 2 / 2 POL, 1 / 0 / 1 GBR, 1 / 0 / 0 AUT, 0 / 2 / 1 CZE, 0 / 1 / 0 GER, 0 / 1 / 0 ESP, 0 / 1 / 0 UKR, 0 / 1 / 0 CHN, 0 / 0 / 1

Filippo Ganna likely to join Team Sky. shame! shame! shame!

we lost to them (9-5, after a mess of a game) at last year's european champs in the decisive match...we didn't even manage to make the top 4 in that tournament...

in Baseball, it's absolutely normal...

a couple of useful links to follow all the signings and trade news that happened this Summer (and that are still happening)... NHL Trade Tracker https://www.nhl.com/news/2018-19-nhl-trades/c-289968698?tid=278542340 NHL Free Agent Tracker https://www.nhl.com/news/free-agency-signings-2018/c-299340484?tid=281072352 coming to today, some more fresh news from the NHL... first, Ryan Ellis signs 8-year contract extension with Nashville (50 million US $)... https://www.nhl.com/news/ryan-ellis-signs-eight-year-contract-extension-with-nashville-predators/c-299755606 and finally, bad news for our friend @hckosice Andrej Sekera out indefinitely with Achilles tendon injury... https://www.nhl.com/news/andrej-sekera-out-for-edmonton-oilers-with-torn-achilles/c-299760910

some matches, to be precise (about 50% in the preliminary round)... all the inofs about the tournament can be found here: https://u15bwc.wbsc.org/ the most noticeable results so far are Japan's loss against Cuba and the USA loss to Chinese Taipei (with hosts Panama still unbeaten in group A)... to my taste, too many blowouts and too many teams that shouldn't be among the participants (RSA, AUS, CHN, GER)...

10 must-see games in 2018-19 Capitals raising Cup banner, two outdoor games, Global Series in Sweden, Finland among highlights Here's a look at 10 must-see games in 2018-19: Oct. 3: Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals Capitals home opener After winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 43-season history, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin, center Nicklas Backstrom, goaltender Braden Holtby and the rest of the Capitals will raise the Stanley Cup banner against the Bruins at Capital One Arena. Washington defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights on their run to the title. It will also be the debut for a new Capitals coach after Barry Trotz resigned Monday. Oct. 4: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres Possible Rasmus Dahlin NHL debut This likely will be the NHL debut for defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, projected to be the No. 1 pick by the Sabres, at KeyBank Center. Dahlin had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 41 games with Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League and was named best defenseman at the 2018 World Junior Championship, where he had six assists in seven games to help Sweden win a silver medal. He also played for Sweden at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and could be on Buffalo's top defense pair before long. Oct. 6: Edmonton Oilers vs. New Jersey Devils 2018 NHL Global Series, Gothenburg, Sweden The Oilers and Devils will open the NHL season at the Scandinavium in a matchup between Edmonton center Connor McDavid, who won the scoring title this season, and New Jersey forward Taylor Hall, who won the Hart Trophy. Devils forwards Marcus Johansson and Jesper Bratt and Oilers defenseman Adam Larssson each were born in Sweden, making the matchup extra special for them. It will be the seventh time and second straight season the NHL has played regular-season games in Europe. Oct. 10: Vegas Golden Knights at Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Final rematch The Capitals defeated the expansion Golden Knights in five games in the Stanley Cup Final, winning the final four games of the series after losing Game 1. Vegas will get its first shot at redemption less than a week into the season when they visit Washington at Capital One Arena. The teams meet for the second and final time of the regular season at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 4. Oct. 11: Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators Western Conference Second Round rematch The Central Division rivals finished as the top two teams in the NHL during the regular season, with the Predators (117 points) winning the Presidents' Trophy and the Jets (114) right behind them. They had a second-round clash in the playoffs, alternating wins and losses in a seven-game series won by Winnipeg, when center Mark Scheifele set an NHL record with seven goals on the road. This will be Nashville's first chance to avenge that playoff loss, at Bridgestone Arena. Nov. 1-2: Florida Panthers vs. Winnipeg Jets 2018 NHL Global Series, Helsinki The Jets, who advanced to the Western Conference Final, and Panthers, who missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by one point, will play in the NHL's second matchup in Europe next season, at Hartwall Arena. Center Aleksander Barkov, 22, who led the Panthers in scoring last season with 78 points (27 goals, 51 assists), and Winnipeg forward Patrik Laine, 20, who finished second in the NHL with 44 goals, each was born in Tampere, Finland, and will be looking to put on a show. Jan. 1, 2019: Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, Notre Dame Stadium The two Original Six teams will meet for the first time in an outdoor game. The Bruins are 1-1-0 in the Winter Classic, most recently losing against the Montreal Canadiens in 2016; the Blackhawks are 0-3-0 in the Winter Classic and 1-4-0 in outdoor games, including the Coors Light Stadium Series. It should be an electric atmosphere in South Bend, Indiana, in front of a crowd of around 80,000. Jan. 18, 2019: New York Islanders at Washington Capitals Trotz returns to Washington Trotz, who stepped down as coach of the Capitals on June 18 after leading them to the Stanley Cup and was hired by the Islanders three days later, will have a bit of a wait before returning to coach in Washington. The Metropolitan Division rivals play for the first time on Nov. 26 at Barclays Center, but not at Capital One Arena in Washington until the Islanders' 47th game of the season. Trotz likely will get a nice ovation after helping the Capitals to their first championship. Feb. 23, 2019: Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers Coors Light Stadium Series, Lincoln Financial Field The longtime division and intrastate rivals are no strangers to each other and will play for the second time in three seasons in a Stadium Series game. The Penguins defeated the Flyers 4-2 at Heinz Field, home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2017. This time, the Flyers will host the game at the home of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Feb. 27, 2019: Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs Connor McDavid vs. Auston Matthews McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, and Matthews, a center and the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, will go head to head for the first of two times next season. Matthews, the 2017 Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's top rookie, is 3-0-0 against the Oilers in his NHL career and has two goals and three points. McDavid, who won the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player as voted by the NHLPA on Wednesday, has eight points (four goals, four assists) in five NHL games against Toronto.

Capitals to raise Stanley Cup banner on NBCSN's 'Wednesday Night Hockey' NBC Sports set to televise 109 games, most since acquiring NHL rights in 2005 The Washington Capitals will raise their Stanley Cup championship banner on the debut of "Wednesday Night Hockey" on NBCSN prior to their home opener against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on Oct. 3 (7:30 p.m. ET). It will be the first game of a season-opening doubleheader on the network, with the Anaheim Ducks playing at the San Jose Sharks at 10:30 p.m. ET. "Wednesday Night Hockey" will have 17 doubleheaders and feature the network's most diverse schedule since it began televising NHL games prior to the 2005-06 season. "Wednesday Night Hockey" is part of NBC Sports' 109 televised games between NBC and NBCSN, the most since the network acquired NHL broadcast rights prior to the 2005-06 season. "With the impressive growth of fan interest in non-traditional NHL markets combined with the emergence of a number of rising stars, we felt the time was right to broaden our Wednesday night schedule and evolve the brand," said Sam Flood, executive producer and president of production for NBC Sports and NBCSN. "Fans will still see plenty of games between traditional powers, but our new approach to Wednesday nights, including a record number of doubleheaders, allows us to show more rising stars and more Western Conference and Canadian teams than ever before." Other "Wednesday Night Hockey" games include a 2018 Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 10; Auston Matthews, John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs facing Patrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 24; Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins playing Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 13; and a rematch of the 2018 Eastern Conference Final between the Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning on March 20. Other highlights of the NBCSN schedule will be the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, on Jan. 1, 2019, and the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Feb. 23, 2019. NBC will televise 13 games, starting with the 2018 Discover Thanksgiving Showdown between the Flyers and New York Rangers at Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 23. The 2019 NHL All-Star Game, to be played at SAP Center in San Jose on Jan. 26, will be televised in prime time on NBC. It will be the first time the All-Star Game will be live on a broadcast network since 1997. The Full NBC Sports schedule for the US market can be found here: https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-to-raise-stanley-cup-banner-on-nbcsns-wednesday-night-hockey/c-299742062

NHL China Games highlight preseason schedule League also to play in Germany, Switzerland, plus Kraft Hockeyville in Ontario and New York Overseas contests in China, Germany and Switzerland highlight the 2018 National Hockey League composite preseason schedule. The 19-day, 110-game slate begins Saturday, Sept. 15. The NHL returns to China for a pair of preseason games between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames as part of the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games™. The teams will play at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center in Shenzhen on Sept. 15 (2:30 p.m. local/2:30 a.m. ET, NHL Network) and at Cadillac Arena in Beijing on Sept. 19 (7:30 p.m. local/7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN). The NHL dropped the puck in China for the first time during the 2017 preseason, when the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks met twice last September. Games were played in front of enthusiastic crowds in Shanghai and Beijing, with the Kings winning both matchups. The people of Lucan, Ont., winners of the Kraft Hockeyville 2018 as the country's most passionate hockey community, will celebrate the grand prize when the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs visit their community and meet on the ice at Lucan Community Memorial Centre on Sept. 18 (7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet). The following week, the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets head to Clinton, N.Y., winner of Kraft Hockeyville™ USA 2018. The Sabres and Blue Jackets will square off at Clinton Arena on Sept. 25 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN). The New York Islanders, who will contest 20 home games during the regular season at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, will start their preseason there, playing host to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 16. Elsewhere, neutral-site preseason games will be played in Allentown, Pa. (NY Islanders vs. Philadelphia, Sept. 21); Bridgeport, Conn. (NY Islanders vs. NY Rangers, Sept. 22); Des Moines, Iowa (Minnesota vs. St. Louis, Sep. 19); Kelowna, B.C. (Arizona vs. Vancouver, Sept. 29); Orlando, Fla. (Florida vs. Tampa Bay, Sept. 27); Oshawa, Ont. (Buffalo vs. NY Islanders, Sept. 28); Quebec City, Que. (Montreal vs. Washington, Sept. 20); Salt Lake City, Utah (Los Angeles vs. Vancouver, Sept. 24) and Tulsa, Okla. (Dallas vs. Florida, Sept. 22. The 2018-19 NHL regular season opens Wednesday, Oct. 3. 2018 NHL PRESEASON SCHEDULE SATURDAY, SEPT. 15 Boston vs. Calgary, at Shenzhen, China (Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center), 2:30 a.m. (2:30 p.m. local) SUNDAY, SEPT. 16 Washington at Boston, 1 p.m. NY Islanders vs. Philadelphia, at Uniondale, N.Y. (NYCB Live/Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum), 1 p.m. Arizona at Vegas, 8 p.m. MONDAY, SEPT. 17 Nashville at Florida (split-squad doubleheader), 3:30 and 7 p.m. Buffalo at Columbus, 7 p.m. NY Islanders at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. NY Rangers at New Jersey (split squad), 7 p.m. New Jersey (split squad) at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Edmonton at Calgary, 9 p.m. TUESDAY, SEPT. 18 Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Boston at Washington, 7 p.m. Chicago at Columbus, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at NY Islanders, 7 p.m. Ottawa vs. Toronto, at Lucan, Ont. (Lucan Community Memorial Centre), 7:30 p.m. Carolina at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. St. Louis at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Vegas at Colorado, 9 p.m. Los Angeles (split squad) at Arizona (split squad), 10 p.m. Arizona (split squad) at Los Angeles (split squad), 10:30 p.m. Edmonton at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m. Anaheim at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 19 Boston vs. Calgary (split squad), at Beijing, China (Cadillac Arena), 7:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. local) Philadelphia at NY Rangers, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 7 p.m. Toronto at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. Florida at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota vs. St. Louis, at Des Moines, Iowa (Wells Fargo Arena), 8 p.m. Calgary (split squad) at Vancouver, 10 p.m. THURSDAY, SEPT. 20 Montreal vs. Washington, at Quebec City, Que. (Centre Videotron), 7 p.m. New Jersey at NY Islanders, 7 p.m. Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Winnipeg at Edmonton, 9 p.m. San Jose at Anaheim, 10 p.m. Los Angeles (split squad) at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Vegas at Los Angeles (split squad), 10:30 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPT. 21 NY Islanders vs. Philadelphia, at Allentown, Pa. (PPL Center), 7 p.m. Buffalo at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. Chicago at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Nashville, 8 p.m. Columbus at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Calgary at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. SATURDAY, SEPT. 22 Columbus at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m. Colorado at Minnesota, 6 p.m. Boston at Detroit, 7 p.m. Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m. Toronto at Buffalo, 7 p.m. NY Islanders vs. NY Rangers, at Bridgeport, Conn. (Webster Bank Arena), 7 p.m. Nashville at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. Dallas vs. Florida, at Tulsa, Okla. (BOK Center), 8 p.m. Vancouver at Calgary, 9 p.m. Anaheim at Arizona, 9 p.m. Vegas at San Jose, 10 p.m. SUNDAY, SEPT. 23 St. Louis at Columbus, 3 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m. Edmonton at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. MONDAY, SEPT. 24 New Jersey at NY Rangers, 7 p.m. Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Montreal at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles vs. Vancouver, at Salt Lake City, Utah (Vivint Smart Home Arena), 9 p.m. Winnipeg at Calgary, 9 p.m. Colorado at Vegas, 10 p.m. Arizona at Anaheim, 10 p.m. TUESDAY, SEPT. 25 Buffalo vs. Columbus, at Clinton, N.Y. (Clinton Arena), 7 p.m. Florida at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. Washington at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Carolina at Nashville, 8 p.m. Detroit at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. San Jose at Calgary, 9 p.m. Vancouver at Edmonton, 9 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 26 Detroit at Boston, 7 p.m. NY Islanders at NY Rangers, 7 p.m. Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Toronto at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. Winnipeg at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Dallas at Colorado, 9 p.m. Los Angeles at Anaheim, 10 p.m. THURSDAY, SEPT. 27 NY Rangers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Florida vs. Tampa Bay, at Orlando, Fla. (Amway Center), 7 p.m. New Jersey at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Ottawa at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Arizona at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Calgary at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPT. 28 Carolina at Washington, 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7 p.m. Buffalo vs. NY Islanders, at Oshawa, Ont. (Tribute Communities Centre), 7 p.m. Detroit at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. Dallas at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Minnesota at Colorado, 9 p.m. Los Angeles at Vegas, 10 p.m. SATURDAY, SEPT. 29 Calgary at Edmonton, 3 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 5 p.m. Toronto at Detroit, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at Florida, 7 p.m. Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Columbus at Chicago, 8 p.m. Arizona vs. Vancouver, at Kelowna, B.C. (Prospera Place), 10 p.m. Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. SUNDAY, SEPT. 30 Nashville at Carolina, 1:30 p.m. St. Louis at Washington, 3 p.m. Colorado at Dallas, 6 p.m. San Jose at Vegas, 8 p.m. MONDAY, OCT. 1 New Jersey vs. SC Bern, at Bern, Switzerland (PostFinance Arena), 1:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. local) WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3 Edmonton vs. Kölner Haie, at Cologne, Germany (Lanxess Arena), 10 a.m. (4 p.m. local)

1 month (and 1 day) from today the pre-season of the 2018/2019 NHL is going to start... so, I guess it's time to open the new season's thread...