rves. They deserve someone to go in there and

RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Michael Phelps arrived in Rio as a 31-year-old swimmer who retired once and endured plenty of turmoil away from the pool, everyone wondered just how many gold medals was a realistic goal.How does six sound?In his first appearance of these Summer Games, Phelps showed he is still capable of the kind of jaw-dropping, did-he-really-just-do-that? performances that already made him the most decorated Olympic athlete of them all.Going second in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps produced the fastest split of his career and put the Americans out front for good against a powerhouse field that included defending champion France, Australia and Russia.It was a down-and-back swim that showed Phelps, as usual, is in peak form on the biggest stage and perfectly capable of winning every race he enters at his fifth Olympics.Michael usually works this way: When one thing is good, everything is pretty good, said his longtime coach, Bob Bowman. It doesnt usually work in parts. So I feel pretty good now.He has every reason.Phelps will be back at the pool Monday for the preliminaries of the 200-meter butterfly, a title he is especially eager to reclaim after an ill-timed finish let South Africas Chad le Clos snatch away the gold at the 2012 London Games.Phelps will also compete in the 100 fly and 200 individual medley, as well as two more relays.His confidence is soaring after he turned in a time of 47.12 seconds in the relay, which was faster than all but three other swimmers in the field -- all of them anchors on the medal-winning teams and specialists in the 100 free.In fact, it was faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics. Yep, even faster than the one he produced at the height of his career in 2008, when he broke Mark Spitzs longstanding record with eight gold medals in the Great Haul of China.I hope thats a good sign, Phelps said. I guess well see over the next couple of days. But Im very pleased with the start.France had high hopes for defending the title it won four years ago in London, only to be doomed by another Phelps masterpiece.As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Phelps was faster, said Fabien Gilot, who had the unfortunate task of swimming the second leg for the now-silver medalists.Gilots time was more than a second slower than Phelps, which was essentially the deciding factor in the race. The French were faster on the first and third legs, and anchor Jeremy Stravius was only 0.14 slower than the last American swimmer, Nathan Adrian.The Australians, with plenty of big names of their own, settled for the bronze. They didnt mind being on a lower rung of the podium, considering who was on top.Its always great to see a fairytale like that unfold in a race youre a part of, James Magnussen said.Phelps showing was reminiscent of the dominance he showed last summer in San Antonio, where he competed in a low-level meet because he was banned from the world championships as part of his punishment for a second drunken-driving arrest. Thoroughly motivated, Phelps put up times that were faster than the ones winning at worlds.The DUI proved to be a turning point in Phelps life, prompting him to under six weeks of inpatient therapy, give up drinking, reconnect with his estranged father, and find a new purpose in his life away from the pool.He wound up getting engaged and becoming a father for the first time. His infant son, Boomer, was in the stands Sunday night, nuzzled in the arms of mother Nicole Johnson, the roaring crowd kept at bay by noise-canceling headphones.Still, this was all a bit of a surprise after Phelps turned in some rather lackluster times at the U.S. Olympic trials just a month before the Rio Games.About a week ago, during a final training camp in Atlanta, Phelps did a 100 free time trial. At that point, according to Bowman, his spot on the 4x100 free relay was very much in doubt.He was very much into it, Bowman said. He wanted to do it. I felt like we had to give him that chance. He hadnt really done a good 100 free in the season. I felt like after we got out of San Antonio, I knew he was so much better. So he needed to do that.As usual, Phelps came through.It was the fourth-fastest flat-start time of the year, Bowman said. That kind of automatically put him in the game.Now, its clear that Phelps has peaked at just the right time, eager to close his career on top after initially retiring four years ago coming off the London Olympics.Hes in a good place now, Bowman said. Everything Ive asked him to do, hes been really good at, way better than before trials.Suddenly, six gold medals seem very much in reach.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Nike Air Max Plus Schuhe . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Nike Air Max Plus Schweiz Sale . 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HOUSTON -- After quarterback Brock Osweiler threw two first-half interceptions, the Houston Texans benched him for backup Tom Savage midway through the second quarter in the Texans 21-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.Osweilers interceptions came on back-to-back drives in the second quarter, and he finished 6-of-11 for 48 yards and two interceptions in five drives. He had a passer rating of 26.1. Savage played well in relief of Osweiler, finishing 23-of-36 for 260 yards without throwing a touchdown or an interception in less than three quarters of work.Texans coach Bill OBrien said he felt the decision he made to bench Osweiler was in the best interest of the team.I just felt like that was the best decision at that point in time for the team, OBrien said. We dont make decisions on how much a guy gets paid. We make decisions on whats the best way to win a game. That was the decision we made today and I thought today, it worked out OK.Osweiler said though he was happy the Texans came back to win, he was of course disappointed to be pulled from the game.As a competitor, any time you dont play well, you get pulled out of a game, of course theres disappointment, Osweiler said. Thats a natural human reaction. Also theres disappointment because you want to be your best for your teammates.So youre disappointed because you feel like you let them down, but then at the same time youre happy because this football team found a way to win. Tom had a huge day.OBrien would not disclose who will start for the Texans on Saturday against the Bengals, saying, Weve got a short week and well make decisions on anybody, any starter that we have. We make decisions on that every week.We run a very competitive program no matter what people on the outside see or think, whatever, OBrien said. We run a very competitive program here and we try to compete on the practice field and reward guys that earn it on the practice field.ddddddddddddThats what well continue to do here.Texans owner Bob McNair recognized after the game the significance of the decision made by OBrien.Im just glad I wasnt the one that had to make that decision, McNair said to the Houston Chronicle. I mean, that was a gutsy call. Give coach credit, he made a change and it was for the good of the team. We benefited from it. Now we have three good quarterbacks and we are proud of all of them.This season, Osweiler has completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,704 yards. He has thrown 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 14 games.Savage had not taken a snap in a regular-season NFL game in more than two years. He said he was prepared to come into the game, saying, I wouldnt be suited up if I wasnt mentally ready to go out there. Thats what this team deserves. They deserve someone to go in there and perform. And when they called my name, thats what I tried to do.Fans booed Osweiler off the field and there were loud cheers when Savage entered the game.Osweiler said regardless of the decision that is made about who will start on Sunday, he will prepare this week like he will be the starter.I think Coach OBrien, the staff, obviously Rick Smith and everybody else Im sure will have a conversation, Osweiler said. My job is just to be ready to play and to prepare like Im going to play and if I start I start and Im going to give this team everything I have performance-wise, and if Im the backup Im going to be there to support Tom.Im going to coach him and do everything he asks of me, and ultimately I just want to be a great teammate and I want to do whatever it takes for this football team to win games. ' ' '