Image via Complex Original
The U.S Men's Basketball Team begins its gold medal defense with a match up against the toughest non-American point guard in the tourney, Tony Parker, Michael Phelps continues his quest to be the most decorated Olympian of all time, and Spain tries to follow up its Euro Cup win with an Olympic gold medal. Here are the 5 Best Olympic Events to Watch Today.
Today, Day 2, action kicks off with men's basketball, men's soccer, and more.
Women's Gymnastics: Balance Beam
Team(s)/Athlete of Interests(s): Sui Lu and Catalina Ponor
Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern (live)
Station: NBC
Returning gymnast Sui Lu is coming to London to defend her balance beam gold medal that she won in Beijing. She is favored to win gold again in this year's games, but a win might not be in the cards as it was in China with the return of Romanian Catalina Ponor. Ponor, who did not compete in the 2008 Olympics, has come out of retirement to win another gold medal in the event as she did in the 2004 Olympics, and reclaim her spot as the No. 1 ranked gymnast in the event. Age won't be a factor here because Ponor is coming off victories at the 2012 European Women's Artistic Gymnast Championships in May, and Artistic Gymnast World Cup in June. Some thought that if Ponor competed in '08, Lu wouldn't have won, so with Ponor competing in London, Lu will get the chance to silence her critics and take home the gold. Either way, this is going to be a heavily contested event with a lot of pride on the line, so missing these two Olympic champs duke it out is not advised.
Women's Beach Volleyball: Brazil vs Netherlands
Team(s)/Athlete of Interests(s): Talita Rocha and Maria Antonelli
Time: 3:00 p.m. Eastern (live)
Station: NBC Sports Network
Brazil's fifth-ranked tandem of Talita Rocha and Maria Antonelli take on seventh ranked Netherlandians Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel in this preliminary match. Rocha and Antonelli are looking to continue their winning ways after winning bronze in the 2009 World Championships, and gold in the 2009 Swatch FIVB World Tour. These Brazilian bombshells are a feisty duo who play the net well and defend even better. They'll be a tough team to beat for Meppelink and Van Gestel.
Men's Basketball: Argentina vs Lithuania
Team(s)/Athlete of Interests(s): Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola
Time: 5:45 p.m. Eastern (live)
Station: NBC Sports Network
Argentina is the favorite here, and as they should be with Ginobili and Scola leading the charge. But can Lithuania come up with an upset behind NBA players 7"0 center Jonas Valančiūnas, and three point shooting big man Linas Kleiza? If Kleiza is knocking down jumpers, we might have an upset on our hands.
Men's Soccer: Spain vs Honduras
Team(s)/Athlete(s) of Interest: Spain
Time: 9:15 p.m. (live)
Station: NBC Olympic Soccer (live)
Coming off their dominant EURO 2012 performance, Spain starts a quest for what could be consecutive championship victories. As the top ranked team in the world, Spain is the heavy favorite for winning gold in London, but will they win it all, or fall off before the finals? Either way, its a must see match to see if Spain is still rolling after that EURO win, or if they are a bit rusty, and might show some weaknesses that might hurt them in the later rounds, if they get that far.
Men's Basketball: USA vs France
Teams(s)/Athlete(s) of Interest: USA and France
Time: 9:30 a.m. Eastern (live)
Station: NBC
This game will be about the battle of the elite point guards with Chris Paul and Deron Williams going up against Tony Parker and Nando de Colo, sorry Russell Westbrook. Paul and Williams are accustomed to going up against Parker over the years in the NBA, and have put on shows with their many duels. As exciting as it will be, we already know what to expect from these three, but the wild card here is Nando de Colo. De Colo who just inked a two year deal with the Spurs, is a French League MVP, Euro Cup All-star, and Euro Cup champion, plainly put, he's no scrub. He may not be on Paul or Williams' level, but he might be good enough to help tip the advantage in favor of France. Definitely a must watch game.
