from last year and what happened, Luck said. B | Forum
Mitglied jcy123
Jan 28 '20
RIO DE JANEIRO -- It was exactly 80 years ago Sunday that the United States mens eight rowing team -- now famously known as the Boys in the Boat -- won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Michael Wacha . One day shy of that anniversary, the U.S. women -- the Girls in the Boat? -- added to that legacy by rowing to their third consecutive gold medal at the Olympics and their fourth overall.The Boys in the Boat are special because I am a University of Washington alum. There is such great history there and its cool to be a part of that history now, Kerry Simmonds said of the 1936 crew that was composed entirely of UW rowers. What have we added to that legacy? As women, were strong women, but I dont think gender is a big thing. You win Olympic gold no matter what gender you are. Boys in the Boat, Girls in the Boat, were all just in the boat.The victory gave the U.S. 33 gold medals in rowing, matching the former East Germany for most ever by a country in the sport. East Germany is no more, but the Americans are currently the most dominant country in womens rowing. They have not lost an Olympic or world rowing championship in 10 years. Sports Illustrated recently headlined the eights as The Unbeatables.Despite all those victories, coxswain (and another UW alum) Katelin Snyder said she is partly inspired by the 2004 Olympic team that took silver behind Romania. It was the first medal for the U.S. women since winning gold in 1984.So they did something that had essentially hadnt been done in 20 years, Snyder said. I think that today we tried to draw power from that and attack the race as if [winning gold] had never been done before, even though it had. I think when youre in that mindset, youre able to do something special.Rowing at a magnificent venue surrounded by mountains, with the famous Christ the Redeemer statue visible -- Seeing Christ the Redeemer up there is the coolest part for me, Simmonds said -- the U.S. women started off in third place but simply kept rowing hard and increasing their speed. Shortly after the halfway point, they pushed into first place and held it the rest of the way, winning with a time of 6:01.49, nearly 2 ? seconds ahead of silver medalist Great Britain.One of the reasons why the Americans have such success in the eight is because they have such a huge setup of women competing at the collegiate level, British coxswain Zoe de Toledo said. I think that sets a huge base for them, but I think were starting to catch up and the rest of the world is starting to catch up as well.Remember, before the Americans were dominant, the Romanians were dominant. These things come up and down.Thats the way sport is. But with the strength of womens crew in the United States and the considerable competition driving each rower to get better, it could be a while before there is a downturn for the American women.Eleanor Logan doesnt see it. She won gold on the 2008 and 2012 teams as well but said Saturdays victory felt like a totally different experience to her and 2012 gold medalist Meghan Musnicki.We feel so fortunate to be part of this team, Logan said. The hunger to be the best they can be every day has pushed us to a new level. Were not really comparing, we just had to look every day to be better ourselves.Meanwhile, the mens eight finished fourth behind Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. Perhaps like the 1936 team, they needed another couple additional Huskies in the boat (this years team had four). Or a woman.We really are encouraged by the women who came before us and felt the culture of excellence, Simmonds said. We just want to make them proud and ourselves proud and our coaches. And were all working hard to build on the legacy that is the U.S. women. Bob Gibson . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Stan Musial . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). http:///...sey-large-1391q.html .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. The Indianapolis Colts came to training camp with plenty of questions.They headed home from Anderson University still searching for many of those answers.Coach Chuck Pagano has not named the starting offensive linemen, new defensive coordinator Ted Monachino is dealing with injuries along the defensive line and Andrew Luck continues to work on his form, footwork and faster decision-making.Productive, yes. Perfect, no.Ive made my fair share of mistakes, thats for sure, like anybody in training camp, Luck said Thursday. Id like to think that I havent repeated many of the same mistakes.It is unclear how much the Colts got accomplished during the 2 1/2-week camp. Some of the obstacles were beyond their control, such as the cancellation of last weekends Hall of Fame Game because of an unsafe field. Luck hasnt played in a game since Nov. 8, though he should finally return Saturday at Buffalo.Injuries didnt help, either.Rookie center Ryan Kelly, Indys first-round draft pick, missed more than a week with an injured left shoulder. Starting right tackle Joe Reitz and Hugh Thornton, who is competing for the right guard job, also missed time.The safety spot was so thin during the first week that the coaches temporarily had Darius Butler, Indys nickel-package cornerback, lining up there.This weeks big concern is the defensive line, which will not have any of its three projected starters available this weekend.Henry Anderson remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a torn ACL, Kendall Langford is out after having arthroscopic knee surgery and Pagano said Art Jones wont play, either. Jones will miss the first four regular season games after violating the league policy on performance-enhancing substtances but can play in the preseason. Roger Maris. .In spite of all those obstacles, Pagano believes the Colts have improved.I am pleased with where we are at as a football team, he said. We got a lot of work done. We are excited to go play a game and see exactly where we are at.One noticeable difference during camp was veteran participation.Pagano figured with no more than three consecutive days of practice, the older players shouldnt need any extra time off, and he and his revamped staff also wanted to send a message that Indy must be more physical this year.You have to put the pads on and you have to develop that mindset on both sides of the football, specifically on the line of scrimmage, Pagano said. You have to do it but there is a fine line there because you want to keep your team healthy.The Colts know they cant rely on pure luck for that anymore.They used four of eight draft picks on offensive linemen, in hopes of protecting their star quarterback. They believe Kelly will solidify the middle. And with Thornton out, converted tackle Denzelle Good appears to be the front-runner at right guard.The good news is that the Colts also may have found a hidden gem in tackle Joe Haeg, a fifth-round pick who has impressed the coaches.But in Indy, the key to success will always be based on Luck and whether he can regain his Pro Bowl form after the worst season of his career.Maybe theres a little motivation from last year and what happened, Luck said. But youre going to be motivated each year to go out and prove yourself.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
