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Michael Phelps has discussed the demons that followed him from his historic 2008 Beijing Olympics to his second DUI arrest in September 2014, in profiles by Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. But rarely, if ever, has he opened up on camera the way he just did with Bob Costas on NBC Sports. In a 23-minute extended interview, Phelps wrestled again with those demons, covering at length his six-week stay at Arizona’s…

When a new elevated bike path in Rio collapsed in April, hit by a fluke wave, the deaths of two people weren’t just seen as a tragedy. The collapse became an irresistible metaphor for the state of Olympic readiness in Brazil. As Rio prepares for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, which open Friday night, the bike path is not the only disaster to serve that purpose. There were also the…

i Kelley O’Hara (top) joins her American teammates in celebrating a second-half goal by Alex Morgan in the U.S. women’s soccer team’s Group G first-round win over New Zealand in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Wednesday. Pedro Vilela/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Pedro Vilela/Getty Images Kelley O’Hara (top) joins her American teammates in celebrating a second-half goal by Alex Morgan in the U.S. women’s soccer team’s Group G first-round win over…

Canada’s Janine Beckie scored the fastest opening goal in Olympic soccer history Wednesday, burying the ball in the back of the net just 19 seconds into the game. She scored the goal in the opening moments of the team’s match against Australia, a bout that gave them their first win of the 2016 Rio Summer Games. Beckie — who is a starting forward for the Canadian women’s team — surpassed…

Katy Perry inspires athletes to ‘Rise’ up at the Rio Olympics. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY) Like competing on the balance beam or sprinting to the finish line, writing a song can be an Olympic-caliber feat. Every two years, artists are called upon to record a tune that will capture the mood of the summer and winter Olympic games. Before Friday’s opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro (NBC, 7:30 ET/PT), we look back at the…

Baseball and softball will be back in the Olympics in 2020. As someone who believes baseball to be the best sport in the world, this is pleasing. This fits my narrow worldview. More baseball, I say. Why waste Monday nights on football all winter when there’s perfectly exciting Venezuelan Winter League action just waiting for us? And how dare you have an international sportsball competition every four years without the…

Rio de Janeiro – Do you believe in fairytales? I wish I did. It’s not easy when you’re a sports news correspondent. Sport has become a murky business, murkier than anything you’ll find in the notorious Guanabara Bay. In response to doping, we need to inject ourselves with “the benefit of doubt” before watching and celebrating the glory of the Rio Olympics. In my pre-Olympics report for TV, I…

Image: Sam Woolley The Olympics is a once every four-year event testing the limits of humanity’s athletic ability—more so this year as competitors compete in raw sewage. It’s safer for viewers at home, but for those without cable, it’s also a marathon of ingenuity and clever thinking to even watch it. Watching the Olympics without cable is easier than ever, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some hurdles that need…

i Kelley O’Hara (top) joins her American teammates in celebrating a second-half goal by Alex Morgan in the U.S. women’s soccer team’s Group G first-round win over New Zealand in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Wednesday. Pedro Vilela/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Pedro Vilela/Getty Images Kelley O’Hara (top) joins her American teammates in celebrating a second-half goal by Alex Morgan in the U.S. women’s soccer team’s Group G first-round win over…

Photo via AP If you were looking to create an object that was the perfect physical manifestation of the Summer Olympics’ contradictory relationship with the partially invented history they sprang from, you could do a lot worse than the Olympic Torch. Every four years, the Olympic Torch begins its journey to the host city from Olympia, Greece. The torch’s flame symbolizes Prometheus stealing fire from Zeus, and it’s lit with…

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan scored a goal in each half as the U.S. women’s soccer team defeated New Zealand 2-0 in its debut at the Rio Games on Wednesday, getting off to a solid start in its attempt to win a fourth straight Olympic gold medal. Lloyd put the Americans ahead with a header in the ninth minute and Morgan added to the lead…

Hope Solo heard from Brazilian fans Wednesday during the United States’ Olympic opener against New Zealand. (Eugenio Savio) The U.S. women’s soccer team has begun play at the Rio Olympics, and let’s just say that Hope Solo is not a favorite among Brazilian fans. Because of her comments about the Zika virus, the veteran goalkeeper was booed every time she touched the ball Wednesday against New Zealand: Hope Solo continues to hilariously…

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The Olympic motto is faster, higher, stronger. This year’s Games will also be clearer, bigger and closer. For the first time, viewers at home can watch Missy Franklin splashing toward the pool wall in stunning 4K detail. With no more than a smartphone, we can go live to every single event in every single sport—4,500 hours of Olympic drama. And we’ll be able to teleport in virtual reality onto the…

Alex Morgan and Co. open up Olympic play on Wednesday. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Guess what: The Olympics actually begin on Wednesday with six women’s soccer games. Here’s a quick schedule and some notes on each game. All times EDT. [How to watch the Rio Olympics on TV] Noon: Sweden vs. South Africa (NBCSN) Sweden, a 2012 Olympic quarterfinalist, is coached by Pia Sundhage, who led the U.S. women to gold…

My favorite team, the Chicago Fire, isn’t the best soccer club in the world. They’re in last place in their league, although they have a chance to get into the finals of the U.S. Open Cup. Last year I was so depressed, I advocated hiring the Grim Reaper as a mascot. This year, despite the pain, I’m weirdly optimistic about the future. But I’m not writing today about soccer on…

Here is what’s happening at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday. All times Pacific. Women’s Soccer 9 a.m.–Sweden 1, South Africa 0 (Group E) 11 a.m.–Canada 2, Australia 0 (Group F) Noon–Brazil vs. China (Group E) 2 p.m.–Zimbabwe vs. Germany (Group F) 3 p.m.–United States vs. New Zealand (Group G) 6 p.m.–France vs. Colombia (Group G)  

Michael Phelps is only the second swimmer to carry the USA flag, after Gary Hall in 1976 Swimmer Michael Phelps says he does not believe he has ever participated in a “clean sport” after being chosen to carry the USA flag at the Rio Games. Phelps, 31, is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals and the first American male swimmer to qualify for a fifth Games….

Chapter 1 – Yasiel Puig the curiosity Before any of us regular schlubs knew who Yasiel Puig was, scouts knew. But not a lot. He’d played in just 179 games for the Elefantes de Cienfuegos, starting from when he was 17. He acquitted himself well, missed a season due to injury, had a breakout 19-year-old season, was suspended for hazy disciplinary reasons and then defected. It took a year…

IOC President Thomas Bach.(Photo: Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports) RIO DE JANEIRO — The International Olympic Committee approved five new sports for the Tokyo Games in 2020, bringing back baseball and softball for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games. The IOC also approved karate, skateboarding, rock climbing and surfing as new sports as part of its IOC Session in advance of the Rio Olympics. Baseball for men and softball…