London Olympics 2012: USA Vs. Argentina Basketball Live Again On NBC Sports

If you've yet to tire of pre-Redeem-Team rematches, take heart: Team USA's second basketball matchup with Argentina in the 2012 London Olympics will be airing live on NBC Sports at 2:30 PM CDT as Manu Ginobili and company meet with the Americans in the semifinal for the third consecutive Olympics. The winner will get the winner of the Russia vs. Spain game earlier in the day in the gold medal match.

For Argentina, it's a chance to prove 2004 wasn't just a product of American weakness; for America, it's a chance to extend their run of Olympic dominance as pressure mounts to create an age limit to rein in the NBA's professionals. For Russia—it's a chance to break the curse of Arvydas Sabonis, I guess. (For Spain, it's a chance to atone for winning a 66-59 game against France, in which the fans in attendance were undoubtedly all losers.)

For up-to-the-minute updates on all the 2012 London Olympics action, stay tuned to the national's Olympics hub, or subscribe to SB Nation Studios's constantly updated YouTube Olympics channel, as seen below:

Women's Javelin Throw Final: Barbora Spotakova Wins Gold

The Czech Republic's Barbora Spotakova won gold in the women's javelin throw final on Thursday with a top throw of 69.55 meters. Spotakova, who is the world record holder in this event, was followed by Christina Obergfoll in second and Linda Stahl in third. No U.S. athletes competed in the final.

Related: Summer Olympics 2012: USA Women's Team Wins Soccer Gold, Beats Japan 2-1

Missouri native Brittany Borman failed to qualify for the javelin final after finishing eighth in her qualification group on Tuesday. Only the top six advanced.

Borman's top throw of 59.27 meters was by far the best throw by any U.S. competitor in qualifications. Rachel Yurkovich and Kara Patterson -- the other U.S. athletes in the event -- did not crack the top 10 in their respective qualification groups.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Summer Olympics 2012: USA Women's Team Wins Soccer Gold, Beats Japan 2-1

The USA women's soccer team has done it again.

In a close 2-1 game, the Americans managed to fend off a steady attack from the Japanese team to repeat as champions. Even though Japan had possession for 58 percent of the game (39 minutes) and fired 13 shots, Japan's offense could muster only 5 shots on goal with G Hope Solo limiting them to just the 1 goal.

St. Louis native D Becky Sauerbrunn entered the game late for D Rachel Buehler. Sauerbrunn helped hold the Japanese offense off the scoreboard late, but it was MF Carli Llloyd who landed the crucial, game-winning goal on an improbable shot from outside the 18-yard box.

With the win, America takes it's third-straight gold medal in the women's soccer event.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics 2012: USA Vs. Japan Women's Soccer Final Live On NBC Sports

This seems like exactly the kind of 2012 London Olympics event NBC would prefer to show on tape-delay in their primetime network hours, but fear not: The 2012 women's soccer final, between Team USA and Japan, will air live on NBC Sports at 1:15 PM CDT. A rematch of the World Cup contest that saw Japan upset the Americans—and a chance, more broadly, for the Americans to narrow the gold medal gap with the Chinese—this promises to be an even more heated match than the Americans' wild win against Team Canada.

There's even a local angle; native St. Louisan Becky Sauerbrunn, who saw action in just one of those World Cup games last year, has been an important substitute on the Olympics squad. Of course, the individual focus will remain on Abby Wambach, who after missing the 2008 Olympics due to injury has been one of the most dangerous scorers in the London tournament.

For more updates, stay tuned to the SB Nation St. Louis Olympics stream (you are here) or the national's massive Olympics hub, which has everything you could want to know about soccer, medal counts, and creepy Olympic mascots (which is all of them.)

Team USA Women's Soccer Vs. Japan, Gold Medal Match: TV Schedule, Online Stream, Start Time And More

St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn and her U.S. women's soccer teammates will play for the gold medal on Thursday vs. Japan. Team USA is going for its third straight gold medal, but the matchup with Japan certainly represents a stiff challenge. Japan defeated the U.S. in penalty kicks during last summer's World Cup final. It's safe to say the Americans will be out for revenge.

Team USA is quite familiar with Japan. This will be the fourth meeting of 2012 between the two teams. The United States won one game, Japan won one game, the two teams finished in a 1-1 during the other.

Game date: Thursday, August 9, 2012

Game time: 1:30 p.m. CT

TV: NBC Sports Network

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Olympic Games 2012 Daily Preview: Team USA Takes On Australia In Men's Basketball

After skating through group play without a loss, Team USA will take on Australia in the quarterfinals of men's basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Wednesday. Team USA will be the heavy favorite against an Australian team with only one NBA player: San Antonio Spurs reserve point guard Patrick Mills. Team USA has already defeated Argentina, Lithuania, Nigeria, Tunisia and France during the tournament.

The gold medal match in women's beach volleyball will also be of heavy interest. Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings will take Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross at 1:00 p.m.

Medals will also be handed out in men's sailing in the 49er race and in many track and field events, including the men's 110 meter hurdles.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics 2012 Medal Count: China Widens Lead Over U.S.

China won nine medals on Tuesday to increase their overall Olympic medal count to 73. The United States had a solid day as well, but lost ground, as they came into the day one medal behind the Chinese and now trail by three. China has won 34 gold medals so far, and the United States has won 30. Those two nations remain completely unchallenged at the top of the medal count standings.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Wins Silver With New Personal Best

The current top 10:

1. China (73; 34 gold, 21 silver, 18 bronze)
2. United States (70; 30 gold, 19 silver, 21 bronze)
T3. Great Britain (48)
T3. Russia (48)
5. Japan (29)
6. France (28)
7. Germany (27)
8. Australia (25)
9. South Korea (23)
10. Italy (17)

SB Nation Studios' daily video recap of the medal count can be viewed below.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Women's Gymnastics Balance Beam Final: Aly Raisman Wins Bronze; Gabby Douglas Finishes 7th

Aly Raisman picked up the bronze for the United States in the women's gymnastics balance beam final on Tuesday, but the Chinese took both the gold and the silver. The U.S.'s Gabby Douglas also competed in this event but finished well out of medal contention.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Wins Silver With New Personal Best

The full balance beam results:

Rank	Athlete	Score
1	Deng Linlin	15.600
2	Sui Lu	15.500
3	Aly Raisman	15.066
4	Catalina Ponor	15.066
5	Ksenia Afanasyeva	14.583
6	Larisa Iordache	14.200
7	Gabby Douglas	13.633
8	Viktoria Komova	13.166

The medal was Raisman's second of the day, as she won gold in the floor excercise final. For more gymnastics results coverage, head over to SB Nation's gymnastics StoryStream.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Women's Gymnastics Floor Exercise Final: United States' Aly Raisman Wins Gold

United States gymnast Aly Raisman picked up an individual gold medal on Tuesday when she won the women's floor excercise final. Raisman triumphed with a score of 15.600, beating Romania's Catalina Ponor for top honors.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Wins Silver With New Personal Best

The U.S. Jordyn Wieber also competed in this event but did not come close to medaling. Here are the final results from Tuesday's floor exercise final:

Rank	Athlete	Score
1	Aly Raisman	15.600
2	Catalina Ponor	15.200
3	Aliya Mustafina	14.900
4	FERRARI Vanessa	14.900
5	Lauren Mitchell	14.833
6	Ksenia Afanasyeva	14.566
7	Jordyn Wieber	14.500
8	Sandra Izbasa	13.333

For more on this and other gymnastics events, head over to NBC's Olympics site.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Men's Discus Throw Final: Germany's Robert Harting Wins Gold

Germany's Robert Harting took the gold medal in the men's discus Olympic finals on Tuesday, beating Iran's Ehsan Hadadi by 0.09 meters. Estonia's Gerd Kanter took silver with a throw of 68.03 meters.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Wins Silver With New Personal Best

The top five:

1. Robert Harting (68.27 meters)
2. Ehsan Hadadi (68.18)
3. Gerd Kanter (68.03)
4. Virgilijus Alekna (67.38)
5. Piotr Malachowski (67.19)

There were no representatives of the United States in the finals. Lance Brooks, who made his first appearance in the Olympics in these summer games, finished 12th in qualification Group B on Monday with a top throw of 61.17 meters. Jason Young was the top U.S. performer in the qualification round, as he finished eighth in Group A. Only the top six finishers in each group advanced to the finals.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Wins Silver With New Personal Best

St. Louis native Dawn Harper grabbed the silver medal when she finished the women's 100m hurdle with a 12.37 mark Tuesday afternoon. The time, which proved to be her new personal best after setting a personal best just hours earlier in the 100m hurdle semifinals, was only 0.02 seconds too slow as Sally Pearson set a new Olympic record with a 12.35 mark.

Here is a look at the final standings for the 2012 women's 100m hurdle finals:

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Summer Olympics 2012: Dawn Harper Advances To 100m Hurdle Finals

On the merit of a career-best 12.46 mark -- and the second-best mark of the 2012 London Olympics -- St. Louis native Dawn Harper will advance to the semifinals in the women's 100m hurdle. In the words of Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson, Harper's performance was "sick":

Personal best 12.46 for USA's Dawn Harper in the 100-meter hurdle semis. That was a sick heat for her.

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) August 7, 2012

Harper won her heat Tuesday (Heat 1) and managed to post the best time of the day. On Monday, she finished with a 12.75 mark, good for second place in Heat 4. Now she will race with fellow Americans Lolo Jones and Dellie Wells in the finals at 3:00 p.m. CDT, Tuesday afternoon.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics 2012: USA Works Toward Beach Volleyball Medals On MSNBC Tuesday

The 2012 London Olympics beach volleyball semifinals are scheduled to begin Tuesday at 11 AM CDT on MSNBC. The women's semifinals matches each feature American teams—the infamous Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings combo are the No. 3 seed, and they'll face No. 1-seeded Brazil; on the other side of the bracket, No. 4-seeded Jan Kessy and April Ross will take on Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China.

The Americans could make a three-medal swing on China—who currently leads in the medal count—if both sides win and China loses, but they represent the Americans' last chance at medals in beach volleyball; the U.S. men were eliminated in the quarterfinals—by Latvia, of all countries.

MSNBC's beach volleyball coverage runs from 11 AM-1 PM, according to NBC's current schedule. The men's semifinal moves to NBC at 3 PM, but I don't think I'll be able to watch it knowing that the Americans lost to Latvia, much as I admire their ability to recover from the economic disaster in Europe through gut-wrenching internal devaluation. At least, I think that was them.

Olympic Medal Count 2012: China Still Leads USA In London

The United States continues to trail China in the 2012 Olympic medal count through Monday in London, 64 to 63—a late surge cut things close, with track and field medals getting the United States within one. The USA is also second in gold medals, with 29 to China's 31. Russia is third, with 42 (7/17/18) which puts them narrowly ahead of the more-golden hosts, Great Britain, who have 40 (18/11/11.) Japan has fallen into a distant fifth, with 28 (2/12/14.)

Right now the United States' medal count is largely dependent on swimming, where they have 30 (16/8/6), though track (2/3/4) is starting to catch up. China is working from a broader base, as is their Olympic wont, with eight badminton and seven weightlifting medals pushing them up past the United States. The United States should consider pushing its badminton budget up—they've never won a badminton medal.

For a full look at the medal count, visit SI.com's medal tracker, which goes all the way down to the bottom of the ranks. There you'll be able to follow Uzbekistan's hard-charging competition with Estonia.

Olympic Games 2012 Daily Preview: Brittany Borman Competes In Javelin, Dawn Harper Competes In 110m Hurdles

East St. Louis native Dawn Harper will compete in the semifinals of the women's 100 meter hurdles on Tuesday in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Harper will get out of the blocks in lane four during the first heat. The UCLA native is one of three Americans in the semifinals of the event, joining Lolo Jones and Kellie Wells. Each heat will feature eight competitors.

Missouri native Brittany Borman is also set to compete in the qualification round of the women's javelin throw. Borman will throw in Group A and is one of three Americans in the event. Each group boasts 21 competitors.

Gymastics will also hand out plenty of medals on Tuesday. The men's parallel bars and the women's floor exercise are among the events holding finals in gymnastics.

For the full schedule of the day's events, head over the NBC's Olympics page.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics Medal Count 2012: China Leads The Way With 64 Medals

China continues to lead all nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics with 64 (31 gold, 19 silver, 14 bronze) medals won. The United States is a close second with 63 (29 gold, 15 silver, 19 bronze). Russia, Great Britain and Japan round out the top five.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Qualifies For 100m Hurdle Semifinals

The current top 10:

1. China (64 total medals)
2. United States (63)
3. Russia (42)
4. Great Britain (40)
5. Japan (28)
6. France (26)
T7. South Korea (22)
T7. Germany (22)
T7. Australia (22)
10. Italy (17)

The U.S. medaled in three events on Monday: Jenn Suhr won gold in the women's pole vault event, Michael Tinsley took silver in the men's 400m hurdles event and Matt Emmons won bronze in the men's 50m rifle (3 pos.) event.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

USA Vs. Canada Soccer Final Score: Alex Morgan's Goal In OT Propels U.S. To 4-3 Win

The U.S. women's soccer team -- which includes St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn -- advanced to the gold medal game with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Canada on Monday. Alex Morgan headed home a ball late in overtime to give the U.S. that 4-3 edge, and Canada ran out of time shortly thereafter.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Qualifies For 100m Hurdle Semifinals

Christine Sinclair scored in the 22nd minute to give Canada a 1-0 lead that they would hold until Megan Rapinoe's goal in the 54th minute. After Sinclair re-claimed the lead with a goal in the 67th minute, Rapinoe scored again to once more tie the score. The teams would exchange goals one more time in regulation and end up in overtime.

Both squads had opportunities in overtime but couldn't break through until Alex Morgan's clutch header nearly three minutes into extra time of the second overtime period. Here's a look at that game-winner:

The United States will face Japan in the gold medal game.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London 2012 Olympics: Dawn Harper Qualifies For 100m Hurdle Semifinals

The latest news out of London is that East St. Louis native Dawn Harper is moving to the next stage of the women's 100m hurdle event.

Harper, 28, finished second in Heat 4 with a mark of 12.75, just 0.05 behind first place Nevin Yanit out of Turkey. The time prove more than enough to put Harper in the semifinals, as well as a tie for the No. 6 overall spot with Canada's Jessica Zelinka.

Elsewhere in Monday's games, American Matt Emmons took a bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle, posting a final score of 1271.3, behind first-place Niccolo Campriani of Italy (1278.5). And the men's US Basketball team is preparing to take the court at 4:15 p.m. CDT against the Argentinian team.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Michael Phelps's Retirement Is Really Real You Guys, Really (Video)

Women's Gymnastics Uneven Bars Final: Gabby Douglas Fails To Medal In Event

Monday's individual uneven bars final could've been the icing on what has been a historic 2012 Olympics for American gymnast Gabby Douglas. Instead, it was an event that mostly everyone won't mind forgetting, as Douglas finished eighth out of eight competitors in the event, with a score of 14.900. Gold was taken by Aliya Mustafina of Russia, silver was won by Kexin He of China and bronze went to Elizabeth Tweddle of Great Britain. Mustafina finished with a score of 16.133.

It has been a whirlwind Olympics for Douglas, and her success so far may have taken a toll on her.

Gabby said she's not sure how much sleep she's getting. Is hoping to bounce back for beam finals. She looked exhausted.

— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) August 6, 2012

Douglas will have a final chance to medal on Tuesday in the individual beam final.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics 2012: Gymnastics And Track And Field Dominate Monday's Schedule

The 2012 London Olympics are in full swing Monday, for those with flexible TV schedules, but if you're waiting until NBC's primetime coverage to begin (at 7 PM CDT) for your fix, get ready for all the gymnastics and track and field you can shake a stick at, if that's the kind of thing you like to do. The men's 400m final is on the slate on the track side, while gymnastics fans will get to see even more Gabby Douglas on the uneven bars, along with men's events in the rings and the vault.

Also worth checking out: The men's basketball matchup between Team USA and Argentina, featuring Manu Ginobili. For a complete preview, check out the national's exhaustive coverage, which should give you a more-than-adequate-idea of what to watch.

As for your morning medal count update: China has taken the lead, and we're blaming all the medals they give away in badminton (primarily because we're afraid to lay the blame at the feet of the weightlifters, who get even more medals. They're very large.)

London Olympic Medal Count: 2012 Swings Back To China Ahead Of Monday's Events

The 2012 London Olympics swung back to China Sunday, after a few days of US Olympic rule, and I, for one, am blaming badminton. Did you know no American has ever medaled in badminton? Did you know badminton was a sport in the Olympics? In any case, China won five gold medals in it, which is really probably two or three more than should even be offered in the Olympics for a sport that is best played on lawns with your little cousins and your Great Aunt Agnes.

(Please don't kill me, badminton fans. High-level badminton is fascinating and I am letting off a little nationalistic steam, is all. Though, mixed doubles, really?) Team China now has 61 medals, including 30 gold, to the United States's 60 (28/14/18.) Great Britain is next with 37, including 16 gold; the Russians are in fourth with 35 but just four gold, while the Japanese are in fifth with a bottom-heavy 2/12/13 27.

None of this would be happening if I had just paid more attention to that badminton lesson Great Aunt Agnes tried to give me. Alas—I ran back inside, and much later on they rejected my proposal to allow Sega Genesis mixed doubles as a demonstration sport.

Olympic Games 2012 Daily Preview: Gabby Douglas Goes For Another Medal, U.S. Men's Basketball Team Wraps Up Preliminary Stage

On Monday in London, medals will be handed out in a bunch of different sports, including wrestling, track and field, gymnastics, cycling and sailing. Elsewhere, the U.S. men's basketball team faces off against Argentina in its final tune-up prior to the knockout round, and the women's soccer team can advance to the finals with a win over Canada.

Related: 2012 London Olympics: USA Falls Behind China In Medal Count Lead

Dawn Harper, who is participating in the women's 100m hurdles, is one of the athletes representing the St. Louis area who'll be competing on Monday. Additionally, Lance Brooks is competing in the discus event and Becky Sauerbrunn could see playing time in the women's soccer game against Canada.

For a complete schedule, visit NBC's Olympics website.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

2012 London Olympics: USA Falls Behind China In Medal Count Lead

Even though the U.S. took home three gold medals and six total on Day 9 of the Olympics in London, China still managed to surpass the Americans in both the overall medal count as well as the gold medals.

China and the U.S. have been going back and forth in the medal count lead basically since the games began so this is not surprising. With the two countries so close at the end of every day at the Olympics, the medal count should remain interesting.

Take a look at the top 5 in the medal count right here:

1. China: 61 (30 gold, 17 silver, 14 bronze)
2. United States: 60 (28, 18, 18)
3. Great Britain: 37 (16, 11, 10)
4. Russia: 35 (4, 16, 15)
5. Japan: 27 (2, 12, 13)

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

2012 London Olympics, Women's Gymnastics Vault Final: McKayla Maroney Falls, Takes Silver

London Olympics Men's Tennis Final: A Gold Medal's The Last Thing Roger Federer Lacks

At 30, Roger Federer—set to participate in the 2012 London Olympics men's tennis final Sunday morning—has 17 Grand Slam victories, the widespread conception that he's the best tennis player who ever lived, and, as if that weren't enough, a truly outstanding David Foster Wallace essay devoted entirely to how great he is. One thing he doesn't have, not that it will make you feel any better about yourself in comparison, unless you're Michael Phelps: A singles gold medal.

Oh, yeah—he already has a doubles gold medal, from Beijing. Sorry, Bryan brothers. At 8 AM CDT, on NBC, Roger Federer is scheduled to get a chance at that elusive singles gold when he takes on crowd favorite Andy Murray in the men's finals. If he wins, Roger Federer officially has everything you wish you had, including cool hair; if he loses, he still wins, because everyone in Great Britain will think happy thoughts about the time Andy Murray saved Wimbledon from a Swiss invasion from this moment forward.

It is good to be Roger Federer. I don't think that's a limb I'm going out on. Turn your TV on and watch him do something else remarkable.

London Olympics 2012 Schedule Includes Tennis, Table Tennis Simultaneously, Which Is Awesome

London Olympic Medal Count: 2012 Continues To Trend USA's Way As Swimming Ends

Granted: The 2012 London Olympics are at least theoretically about amateur achievement and international cooperation first, and competitive nationalism second. Posited: The 2012 London Olympics are really about constantly following the USA vs. China metagame going on in the daily Olympic medal count updates. By that standard, USA! USA!—on the day Michael Phelps picked up his 18th and ostensibly final gold medal, the United States took advantage of the end of its always-strong swimming events to remain one medal ahead of Team China, carrying 54 medals, 26 gold, to China's 53/25. The hosts, under the combined Great Britain banner, have staked out a commanding third place position, with their 14 gold medals five more than fourth-place South Korea.

Rounding out the top five are Russia, with 28 total medals (3/15/10), and Japan, with 24 (2/10/12.) For continual medal count updates throughout the 2012 Summer Olympics, we recommend SI.com's medal tracker, even though it's convinced, like the IOC, that there's something called "Chinese Taipei."

It's a great web app for those moments when you're waiting to see whether the Republic of Moldova will be able to outmaneuver Mongolia on the podium.

London Olympics 2012: Team USA Leading Medal Count, Looking To Pull Away Sunday

After several strong showings from the Team USA swimming team and a number of other sports, the Americans have finally pulled ahead of Team China in the medal standings with 54 total medals and 26 gold medals.

Here is a look at the top five medal count, in a wholesome 8-bit glory:

And here is a look at the major events coming on Sunday:

Selected Medal events:

• GOLD: Gymnastics, Men's Floor, Women's Vault, Men's Pommel Horse (8:00 a.m.)
• GOLD: Badminton, Men's Singles & Doubles (7:00 a.m. Broadcast: NBC Sports, 2:00 p.m.)
• GOLD: Diving, Women's 3m Springboard (1:00 p.m.)
• GOLD: Fencing, Men's Team Foil (12:00 p.m.)
• BRONZE: Badminton, Men's Singles & Doubles (Broadcast: NBC Sports, 3:00 a.m.)
• BRONZE: Tennis, Men's Singles, Women's Doubles and Mixed (6:00 a.m. Broadcast: NBC 8:00 a.m.; NBC Sports 11:15 a.m.)

Selected Key Events:

• Basketball, China vs. United States (Broadcast: NBC, 10:30 a.m.)

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Women's Heptathlon: Great Britain's Jessica Ennis Wins Gold

The women's heptathlon event concluded Saturday with Great Britain's Jessica Ennis wrapping up her victory and the gold medal that went with it. Russia's Tatyana Chernova earned silver, while Lyudmyla Yosypenko of the Ukraine took bronze.

Related: 2012 Olympic Women's Tennis Final: Serena Williams Dominates Maria Sharapova For Gold Medal

The United States had several competitors in the heptathlon, including Missouri native Chantae McMillan, who finished 29th overall. Her best finish in a heptathlon event was fourth in the shot put. Sharon Day's 15th place finish was the best among the American competitors.

The top five:

1. Jessica Ennis (6955)
2. Tatyana Chernova (6628)
3. Lyudmyla Yosypenko (6618)
4. Austra Skujyte (6599)
5. Antoinette Nana Djimou Ida (6576)

Head over to NBC's Olympics site for the full results.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

2012 London Olympics: TV Schedule For Saturday

The action heats up at the London 2012 Olympics on Saturday, as the USA Men's basketball team takes the court and six track & field finals -- including the women's 100m final -- are slated to unfold over the course of the day. Plenty of other interesting things will be going down as well, including the men's and women's 4x100 medley relays in swimming.

NBC's primetime coverage will include the four swimming finals and the 100m final, and various events are also available through the online stream at NBCOlympics.com. Here are some highlights from the day's television schedule (all times Central):

3 a.m. - 7 p.m. (NBCSN)

• Track & Field: Women's Triathlon (3 a.m.)
  
• Men's Basketball: Russia vs. Spain (5:15 a.m.), USA vs. Lithuania (8:30 a.m.)
  
• Beach Volleyball: Elimination Round (7 a.m.)
• Cycling: Track Events (8 a.m.)
  
• Tennis: Men's Doubles Gold Medal Final (10:30 a.m.)
• Women's Field Hockey: USA vs. New Zealand (1 p.m.)
• Equestrian: Jumping Qualifying (2:30 p.m.)
• Women's Shooting: Trap Final (3:30 p.m.)
• Men's Volleyball: Brazil vs. Serbia (4 p.m.)

6 a.m. - 5 p.m. (MSNBC)

• Men's Soccer: Quarterfinals (6 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m.)
• Men's Water Polo: Qualifying (7:45 a.m.)
• Badminton: Women's Singles Gold Medal Match (10:15 a.m.), Women's Doubles Gold Medal Match (12:45 p.m.)
• Men's Weightlfting: 94 kg Gold Medal Final (3:15 p.m.)
• Track & Field: Men's 20K Walk (3:45 p.m.)

7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (CNBC)

• Men's Boxing: Round of 16 Bouts (light flyweight and light welterweight classes)
  

8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (NBC)

• Tennis: Women's Singles Gold Medal Match (8 a.m.)
• Women's Gymnastics: Trampoline Gold Medal Final (10 a.m.)
  
• Track & Field: Qualifying Men's 100M and 400M, Women's Pole Vault (10:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m.), Men's 10,000M Gold Medal Final (3:15 p.m.)
  
• Men's Volleyball: USA vs. Russia (10:45 a.m.)
• Cycling: Track Gold Medal Final (1 p.m.)
• Men's Water Polo: USA vs. Serbia (1:45 p.m.)
• Rowing: Gold Medal Finals (2:45 p.m.)
  
• Beach Volleyball: Elimination Round (4 p.m.)

2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (CNBC)

• Round of 16 Bouts (light flyweight, light welterweight, and light heavyweight classes)
  

7 p.m. - 11 p.m. (NBC)

• Swimming: Gold Medal Finals (Men's 4x100 medley relay, 1500m freestyle; Women's 4x100 medley relay, 50m freestyle)
  
• Track & Field: Gold Medal Finals (Women's 100m, heptathlon; Men's long jump)
  
• Beach Volleyball: Elimination Round
  
• Women's Diving: Springboard Semifinal

11:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. (NBC)

• Track & Field: Women's Discuss Gold Medal Final
  
• Cycling: Track Events

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker. Be sure to subscribe to the SB Nation Youtube Channel for video commentary.

2012 Olympic Women's Tennis Final: Serena Williams Dominates Maria Sharapova For Gold Medal

For a moment it looked like Serena Williams, who'd left a trail of dominant performances in her wake on her way to the 2012 Olympic Women's Tennis Final, was nervous ahead of her gold medal match with Maria Sharapova. A series of bathroom breaks made for a strange prelude to the match, and she drew boos for the 20-minute delay that began the action at Wimbledon.

Then she started playing tennis. In about an hour it was all over, with Williams up 6-0 6-1 and joining her sister Venus on the short list of gold medalists in women's tennis. She was nothing if not giddy after the match—oh my gosh, she said, and little else—and after a performance like that I'm not sure anyone will begrudge it of her.

She's not done, either—she's still got the women's doubles tournament ahead of her, where she and Venus will take on Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova, who have to be a little concerned after watching what just happened to their Russian teammate.

2012 Olympics Women's Tennis Gold Medal Match Dominated By... Bathroom Breaks

2012 London Olympics: Saturday's Events, Previews and TV Schedule

The 2012 London Olympics begin one of their busiest days Saturday morning, with Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova looking for tennis gold, beach volleyball continuing in the men and women's brackets, and the first events in track and field getting underway. There's swimming, too—Michael Phelps has a chance to win one more medal, with Missy Franklin also spending her last day in the pool. There's also team handball, if you find team handball as fascinating as I do. Here are the TV listings for Saturday's action, spread across a million NBC stations:

On NBC, live coverage begins with Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova competing for Olympic gold in women's singles at 8 AM. Track and field coverage begins at 10:15, interrupted by men's volleyball between Russia and Brazil at 10:45. The track cycling final is at 1:00, a USA men's water polo match is at 1:40, and you'll see the remaining rowing finals at 2:45. Beach volleyball closes out their live coverage at 4 PM.

Beach volleyball begins at 7 AM CDT on NBC Sports; after that you'll see cycling, as a palate cleanser, and then Team USA basketball takes on Lithuania at 8:30. Then you've got the brilliant Bryan brothers looking to bring gold to the US in men's doubles tennis, and at 1 PM Team USA will play New Zealand in field hockey. Equestrian and shooting follow, if you like that sort of thing before the 4 PM-6 PM matchup between Bulgaria and Argentina in men's volleyball. NBC Sports's coverage concludes at 6 PM, with a beach volleyball match between—you guessed it—Brazil and the Czech Republic.

MSNBC starts even earlier, with a men's soccer quarterfinal between Japan and Egypt. Men's water polo follows at 7:45, with Montenegro vs. Romania, then at 8:30 there's more soccer, between Mexico and Team Senegal. Then it's badminton, with Brazil/Honduras's soccer match sandwiched between—an all-China gold medal final in badminton comes on at 10:15, with the women's doubles final between China and Japan at 12:45. Quarterfinal soccer play ends at 1:30, when Great Britain meets the Republic of Korea (that's the one that's an actual republic.)

CNBC has boxing on from 2:30 to 5:30; no word as to whether Jim Cramer will be participating.

London Olympics Medal Count: USA Takes 2012 Lead In Golds And Overall

Saturday morning, for the first time all year, Team USA is in sole possession of number one in the 2012 London Olympics medal count derby—they've got one more medal (43) than China overall, and they've finally taken the gold medal lead as well, 21 to 20. Russia, Team USA's longtime nemesis, moved into third place with 23, with the hosts in Great Britain taking 22 and long-time third place-holders Japan getting the bump to fifth overall.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Germany (20), France (19), South Korea (16), Australia (14), and Italy (12); Western Europe's hegemony on the Top 10 is, if I may lecture the Eurozone, a reasonable hint that further political integration could be a boon for those nations' economies and nationalistic love of winning the Olympics. (I'm still trying to get my "United States of Chimerica" proposal for 2016 off the ground.)

We'll continue to update you on St. Louis athletes and whatever else we find interesting at SB Nation St. Louis; for up-to-the-minute medal count totals you'll want to check out Sports Illustrated's Olympics medal count tracker.

2012 London Olympics Medal Count: USA Remains Ahead Of China For Lead In Summer Games

The Americans managed to maintain the medal count lead at the London Olympics on Friday, while China trails by just one medal.

The U.S. claimed five medals in swimming events and six overall on Friday, in which the action was highlighted by Michael Phelps adding to his record medal total with his victory in the men's 100m fly finals, and Missy Franklin setting a new world record in her gold medal win in the women's 200m backstroke.

Take a look here at the top 10 of the medal count:

1. United States (43 total medals won)
2. China (42)
3. Russia (23)
4. Great Britain (22)
5. Japan (21)
6. Germany (20)
7. France (19)
8. South Korea (16)
9. Australia (14)
10. Italy (12)

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker. Be sure to subscribe to the SB Nation Youtube Channel for video commentary.

Men's Shot Put Final: Tomasz Majewski Wins Gold; Christian Cantwell Finishes 4th

Missouri native Christian Cantwell came up just short of a medal in the Olympic shot put finals on Friday. His best toss of the finals, which traveled 21.19 meters, was .04 meters shy of third place finisher (and fellow American) Reese Hoffa's best effort.

Poland's Tomasz Majewski took the gold with a throw of 21.89 meters and Germany's David Storl took gold. Canada's Dylan Armstrong rounded out the top five.

1. Tomasz Majewski (21.89 meters)
2. David Storl (21.86)
3. Reese Hoffa (21.23)
4. Christian Cantwell (21.19)
5. Dylan Armstrong (20.93)

Related: London 2012 Olympics: American Gabby Douglas Wins Women's Gymnastics Gold

None of these competitors came close to challenging the world record, held by American Randy Barnes, which stands at 23.12 meters.

Cantwell won silver in this event during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Team USA Women's Soccer Draws First Blood Vs. New Zealand

Abby Wambach picked up yet another goal in international play Friday, putting Team USA on the board 1-0 in a women's soccer match vs. New Zealand Friday. It's the second quarterfinal contest of the 2012 London Olympics tournament; France defeated Sweden 2-1 earlier. Japan takes on Brazil at 11:00 AM CDT, while the combined Great Britain team and their erstwhile subjects in Canada tangle at 1:30.

Team USA is undefeated so far; in group play they defeated France, Colombia, and North Korea by a combined score of 7-2 to move on to the quarterfinals in the first place. The US women have taken the gold medal three times in four Olympic attempts, losing only to Norway in the 2000 games in Sydney.

St. Louis-born defender Becky Sauerbrunn appeared briefly in America's win against North Korea, making her Olympics debut; we'll follow her progress as she and the US women look to continue their run of Olympic dominance. For more updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis and follow along at SB Nation's national Olympics hub.

2012 Olympics: Michael Phelps's Last Individual Race Is Friday, Theoretically

London Olympics Medal Count: USA Tops China On Strength Of Phelps, Swimmers

Swimming events finally reached critical mass at the 2012 Olympics on Thursday, and that was good news for Team USA in London—on Michael Phelps and company's weirdly long, sturdy backs, they pulled ahead of China for the first time, tying them in gold medals with 18 and moving ahead with 37 total medals to China's 34. Given China's narrow advantage in silver medals (11-9) this is about as much of a stalemate as the Olympics can be, which should make for some real excitement as track and field events come online Friday. (The USA also took another gymnastics gold, with Gabby Douglas winning the all-around individual competition.)

Here's SB Nation Studios' latest 8-bit look at the medal count. (For more Olympics news and analysis check out our YouTube homepage.)

Japan continues to hold down third place, with 19 total medals, most of them bronze; Germany sticks around in fourth, while Russia entered the top five by earning its 17th medal. On a related note, can we stop worrying, for one solitary moment, whether Ye Shiwen is using steroids? This is beginning to seem like one of those witch-burning tests, where by the time we realize someone is innocent it's no longer especially relevant.

Ye Shiwen Steroids Talk Is Plausible, But That's Beside The Point

Olympic Games 2012 Daily Preview: Track And Field Events Get Underway Friday

Track and field competition begins on Friday with a number of events, including the men's shot put, men's discus throw, women's 100m and women's heptathlon. Two athletes will be representing the St. Louis area: Chantae McMillan, who is competing in the heptathlon, and Christian Cantwell, who is competing in the shot put. The men's shot put is one of two track and field events in which medals will be awarded Friday.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: American Gabby Douglas Wins Women's Gymnastics Gold

Elsewhere on Friday's Olympics schedule, the U.S. women's basketball team returns to action in pool play; they're set to play the Czech Republic at 4:15 p.m. CT. The knockout stage of the women's soccer tournament has arrived and begin with the quarterfinals -- the U.S. will face New Zealand at 8:30 a.m. CT.

Medals in a number of events will be awarded, including several more swimming events -- the finals of the women's 200m back, men's 100m fly, women's 800m free and the men's 50m free are all set for Friday.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics Medal Count 2012: U.S. Medals 8 Times Thursday, Pushing Olympic Total To 37

The United States won eight medals -- six of which were gold -- in London on Thursday to claim top honors in the Olympics medal count with 37. The Chinese won four medals on the day but now find themselves three behind Team USA.

Related: London 2012 Olympics: American Gabby Douglas Wins Women's Gymnastics Gold

The six gold medals won by Team USA on Thursday gives the Americans 18, which equals China's total.

Japan, Germany and Russia round out the current top five in the medal count. Here's the top 10:

1. United States (37 total medals; 18 gold, nine silver, 10 bronze)
2. China (34)
3. Japan (19)
T4. Germany (17)
T4. Russia (17)
6. France (16)
7. Great Britain (15)
8. South Korea (14)
T9. Italy (11)
T9. Australia (11)

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

London Olympics Medal Count: USA Roars Past China With Gold Medals Thursday

The United States roared past China in the 2012 London Olympics medal count derby Thursday, evening the score in gold medals with 18 and getting to 37 total (18/9/10), with China close behind at 34 (18/11/5.) Spoilers follow in today's swimming-dominated action, beginning with Michael Phelps's return to individual action. Spoiler, again—Phelps did pick up another individual gold, winning the 200m medley for the third consecutive Olympics, while Ryan Lochte picked up the silver there and the bronze in the 200m backstroke, where the American Tyler Clary won gold. On the women's side Rebecca Soni picked up a gold medal and another world record in the 200m breaststroke.

America also won gold in gymnastics; it was a big day all around for chanting the country on your passport. Here's SB Nation Studios' latest 8-bit medal count recap, which will show you Ye Shiwen in a bikini if you type in the password "JUSTIN BAILEY."

Japan remains in third place at 19 (2/6/11), but Germany (4/8/5) and France (3/6/8) are close behind with 17. For daily updates, subscribe to SB nation Studios's YouTube channel, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis, and chant USA! at strangers until they start talking to you about that day's events.

London 2012 Olympics: American Gabby Douglas Wins Women's Gymnastics Gold

The Americans got another gold medal as gymnast Gabby Douglas narrowly defeated Russian Viktoria Komova in the women's individual all-around competition. The impact of the win was not lost on the 16-year-old Douglas, who becomes the first African-American to win an individual Olympic medal since 1996:

"I hope that I inspire people," Douglas said. "I want to inspire people. My mother said you can inspire a nation."

Here is a look at the top-five from the all-around women's event:

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

Olympic Games 2012 Daily Preview: Archery, Rowing, Swimming Will Hand Out Medals On Thursday

The United States currently trails China by one in the overall medal count thus far during the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Thursday offers another chance for the U.S. to add to its totals. A number of medals will be up for grabs, with much of the attention in this country likely focusing on the happenings in the pool.

Missy Franklin has earned two gold medals thus far in London and is quickly morphing into one of the breakout stars of these Olympics. The 17-year old will compete in the women's 100 meter freestyle. The men's 200meter backstroke, women's 200 meter breaststroke and men's 200 meter IM will also be up for grabs.

The women's individual archery competion will also crown a champion on Thursday. Rowing will also award medals in the men's double sculls, the men's lightweight four and the women's eight.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

2012 Olympics: Swimming Records Don't Last Long, Whether You're Michael Phelps Or Ye Shiwen

I'm not going to begrudge anybody his world record, should he be lucky and good enough to get one—I'm still trying to top the all-time records for the Cyclone pinball machine, though I have a lot of work left to do—but swimming records have always bewildered me. They're just broken so often; one Olympics' worldbeater seems, four years later, like a routine scrimmage's work. Which is why I'm glad the 2012 London Olympics occasioned this article from erstwhile sportswriter Nate Silver, about the difference between track and field's records—which have apparently progressed farther toward the theoretical human limits—and swimming, where there's still technological and geopolitical runway for superstars like Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and the 16-year-old Chinese phenom Ye Shiwen.

In case you were wondering, by my count five swimming world records have been broken so far during the London Olympics. The South African Cameron Van der Burgh broke the men's 100m breastroke record on July 29, while Daniel Gyurta of Hungary took the 200m breaststroke record Wednesday. On the women's side, the USA's Rebecca Soni took the 200m breaststroke record; Dana Vollmer took the 100m butterfly record; and Ye Shiwen took the 400m medley record, shaving a full second off a mark set in Beijing.

London Olympics Medal Count: 2012 Lead Remains In China's Hands Going Into Day 6

China took another narrow medal count lead on Day 5 of the 2012 London Olympics, taking their 30th medal to the USA's 29 on Wednesday. Thursday morning sees China with 17/9/4 medals, to America's 12/8/9 and Japan's 2/4/11. France and Germany round out the top five, with 5/3/5 and 3/8/2, respectively. USA swimming's impressive work—Nathan Adrian and the women's relay team each won gold—wasn't enough to move the states closer in overall medal count or total golds.

As always, SB Nation Studios is here with the chiptunes-laced video summary. Anamanaguchi would perform in this closing ceremony, I think.

As swimming continues the US might have a chance to pull ahead of China. In the meantime, I'll continue to wonder how and why Japan racks up so many bronze finishes. For continual updates on the medal count derby subscribe to SB Nation Studios's videos, follow along here at SB Nation St. Louis, or just stop and think, "At this very moment, how much do I feel like letting out a gutteral, beautiful USA! chant?" If the answer is "even more than usual" we probably just pulled ahead.

London Olympics 2012 Medal Count: U.S. Falls One Medal Behind China

The medal race between the United States and China has been hard fought so far through less than a week of the 2012 Olympics, but the Chinese took a one medal lead after Wednesday's Day 5.

Olympic Games 2012 Preview: Swimming Competitions Highlight Wednesday As U.S. Looks To Add To Its Medal Count

Much of the intrigue in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics has been in the pool. That trend certainly will not stop on Wednesday as the United States looks to add to its medal count. The day's slate includes four marquee swimming finals, highlighted by the men's 100 meter freestyle and the women's 4x200 meter freestyle.

Brazil's Cesar Cielo holds the world record in the 100 meter men's freestyle, and he qualified second to France's Yannick Agnel in the event. Washington native Nathan Adrian will the the USA's lone representative.

The 4x200 meter freestyle relay for the women offers another chance for America to fall to in love again with Missy Franklin. The California native already has a gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke.

The final of the men's 200 meter breaststroke and the women's 200 meter butterfly will also happen on Wednesday.

Other action on Wednesday includes the men's eight final in rowing, as well as the women's pair final. Team USA faces Turkey in women's basketball, as well.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

2012 Olympics: Michael Phelps Sets All-Time Medal Record; Will He Swim In 2016?

The 2012 Olympics have been a disappointment for Michael Phelps in one sense—he's yet to earn an individual gold medal—and a triumph in another, inasmuch as he's set the Olympics' all-time medal record while in London. Which is more than most people have done in London, I think. He's got more events to come this year, but we're getting round to a question that will dog him for the next four years: Will he compete in Rio in 2016? He says no. Mark Spitz, among other people, says yes.

I can understand wanting to avoid the rigors of Olympic training for another four years, but no matter what happens for the rest of his London experience I can't imagine him leaving it and thinking: Okay, I'm satisfied. Spitz knows from which he speaks—after retiring at 22 years old, he came back 19 years later to try out for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, which he just missed.

Wanting to retire is one thing. But knowingly giving up your last chance to compete at a world-class level, in the endeavor that is going to define the rest of your life no matter what—well, 31 just isn't old enough for me to see him turning away from it.

2012 London Olympics Medal Count: Team USA, China Continue To Lead The Way

The Americans and Chinese began the day tied in the Olympic medal count, and that's where they stand following all of Tuesday's medal events. The Chinese still lead all nations in the gold medal count (13), while the U.S. is second with nine.

Here's a look at the current top 10 in the medal count:

T1. China (23 total medals)
T1. United States (23; nine gold, eight silver, six bronze)
3. Japan (13)
4. France (11)
T5. South Korea (8)
T5. Italy (8)
T5. Russia (8)
T8. Germany (6)
T8. Australia (6)
10. Romania (5)

Related: Summer Olympics 2012: Event Schedule And TV Times For Tuesday

SB Nation Studios has released another Nintendo-style medal count update, which you can view at the bottom of this post.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.

2012 Olympics, USA Vs. North Korea Soccer Score: USA Leads 1-0 In Second Half

The most geopolitically fraught match of the 2012 London Olympics so far, USA vs. North Korea in women's soccer, is 1-0 in favor of neoliberalism in the second half; St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn has subbed in for Rachel Buehler, making her first appearance in the Olympics so far. Abby Wambach has the goal for the USA, which has the chance to come out of its group undefeated; North Korea needs a goal to be sure it will advance.

North Korea's women are most notable, so far, for being involved in an embarrassing gaffe that saw the South Korean flag incorrectly placed next to their names and photos during an Olympics introduction. In protest of the mistake they refused to take the pitch for more than thirty minutes at the time; the team carried small North Korean flags prior to Tuesday's match.

For more updates on the London Olympics, local athletes, and North Korean kremlinology, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. Or don't; England, at least, is a free country.

Summer Olympics 2012: Event Schedule And TV Times For Tuesday

Tuesday, July 31 is Day 4 of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and there are plenty of big events on the schedule. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the USA men's basketball team take on Tunisia at 4:15 p.m. CT, and during primetime NBC will air the gold medal finals in women's team gymnastics. Here is the full schedule of events for Tuesday. All times are Central. NBC coverage will air on tape delay at the same time in each time zone.

3 a.m. - 7 p.m. (NBCSN)

• Men's Basketball: China vs. Russia (4 a.m.), France vs. Argentina (3 p.m.) , USA vs. Tunisia (5:15 p.m.)
  
• Equestrian: Eventing Team Jumping Final (6 a.m.), Eventing Individual Jumping Finals (9:15 a.m.)
  
• Men's Water Polo: Hungary vs. Montenegro (8:15 a.m.)
  
• Women's Soccer: USA vs. North Korea (12:15 p.m.)
  
• Beach Volleyball: Qualifying (2 p.m.)
  
• Men's Shooting: Skeet Gold Medal Final (11:45 a.m.)

6 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Bravo)

• Tennis: Second Round Singles and Doubles Quarterfinals

8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (MSNBC)

• Women's Table Tennis: Quarterfinal (9 a.m.)
  
• Women's Soccer: Canada vs. Sweden (9:30 a.m.), France vs. Colombia (12:15 p.m.), Great Britain vs. Brazil (3:30 p.m.)
  
• Badminton: Qualifying (11:15 a.m.)
  
• Women's Field Hockey: USA vs. Argentina (2 p.m.)
  
• Women's Table Tennis: Semifinal (4:30 p.m.)
  
• Men's Archery: Individual Elimination Round (5 p.m.)
  
• Weightlifting: Men's 69 kg, Women's 63 kg Classes (5:30 p.m.)
  

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (NBC)

• Men's Canoeing: Whitewater, C-1 Gold Medal Final (12 p.m.)
  
• Swimming: Qualifying (9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.)
  
• Rowing: Quarterfinals, semifinals, and repechages (10:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m.)
  
• Men's Volleyball: USA vs. Germany (10:45 a.m.)
• Men's Water Polo: USA vs. Romania (1:40 p.m.)
  
• Beach Volleyball: Qualifying (3 p.m.)
  

4 - 7 p.m. (CNBC)

• Boxing: Elimination Bouts (light flyweight and light welterweight classes)
  

8 p.m. - Midnight (NBC)

• Women's Gymnastics: Team Gold Medal Final
  
• Swimming: Gold Medal Finals (Men's 200m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay; Women's 200m freestyle, 200m individual medley)
  
• Women's Diving: Platform Synchronized Gold Medal Final
  

11:30 - 12:35 a.m. (NBC)

• Swimming: Semifinals (Women's 200m butterfly, Men's 200m breaststroke)
  
• Beach Volleyball: USA vs. TBD

You can find a complete medal tracker over at SI.com.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

London Olympics Medal Count: USA Finally Ties China After Swimming Bonanza

The 2012 London Olympics belonged to China over the first two days, but the USA has caught up to their chief rivals in medal count following Monday's swimming victories, including a gold medal from Missy Franklin in the women's 100m backstroke. China's lead in gold medal continues to look strong; they have nine to the United States' five. Japan is in third place, with just one gold medal but four silvers and six bronzes through Monday's performances.

For an updated medal count chart, take a look at this chiptune-inflected video from SB Nation Studios, which will remain on top of the nationalism coverage for the rest of the Summer Olympics if I have anything to say about it.

The United States are, of course, a little handicapped in this race by their not-quite-so-authoritarian government's inability to pluck promising athletes out of school and make them the very best almost-five-feet-tall-and-no-more-than-x-pounds female weightlifters they can be for the rest of their lives. But Rocky didn't accept that as an excuse in Rocky IV, that awesome documentary about beating the Soviet Union, did he?

No—he bought a delightful robot and made sure to beat them anyway. I like to think that's a lesson all of us can learn something from.

Olympic Games 2012: USA Women's Soccer Takes On North Korea In Rare Rocky-Caliber Political Dogfight

The 2012 Olympic Games, occurring so far as they do from the mid-80s heyday of capitalist-vs-communist sports and evil Soviet characters in Rocky movies, have offered the discerning USA! chanter limited opportunities to really cheer on Americans against hostile forces; such is the downside of globalization. Tuesday's women's soccer match between America and North Korea is a vintage opportunity—get your best Dolph Lundgren voice ready and read the following quotes from the KCNA, the DPRK's official news agency:

Some evil-minded foreign media asserted that the DPRK would take only one silver medal, but our sportspersons refuted such assertion with good results. The hostile forces had better try hard to get a correct understanding of the DPRK.

I mean, you're going to have to really work the Lundgren voice to get pissed off by that; the KCNA's sins are related more to not reporting the literal starvation of its citizens than being especially inflammatory in its wire stories. The USA and the DPRK square off on St. Louis-area TV at 11:15 AM, on NBC Sports.

No pressure, USA women, but if you allow North Korea to win, Kim Jong Un is going to use you as prime-cut propaganda in his continued attempts to subjugate a people who die by the thousands in prison camps or alone, starving, in their homes, is all. So good luck Tuesday!

Olympic Games 2012 Daily Preview: Women's Gymnastics Team Final Set For Tuesday

In terms of the sports awarding medals on Tuesday in London, the women's gymnastics team final is probably the most high-profile event of the day. St. Louisan Sarah Finnegan is a reserve on the U.S. team.

Related: 2012 Olympics Swimming: Matt Grevers, Missy Franklin Win Gold For Team USA

There's plenty going on elsewhere, of course: the U.S. women's soccer team, which includes St. Louisan Becky Sauerbrunn, returns to the pitch for a game against North Korea; the U.S. men's basketball team takes on Tunisia in a preliminary round game; and defending beach volleyball gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers will be in action.

Medals will be handed out in swimming, diving, fencing, judo, equestrian, shooting and weightlifting as well. Visit NBC's Olympics schedule page to view the full schedule for Tuesday. Sports Illustrated has a handy medal tracker.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

2012 London Olympics Medal Count: China, USA Tops Among Total Medals

Depending on how you count it, China is either leading the 2012 London Olympics medal count, or they are tied with the lead. The USA and China are both at 17 medals through Day 6 of the 2012 Olympics, but China holds 9 golds to the USA's 5.

Here is a graphical and scientific breakdown of the top five medal counts:

The US Olympic team highlighted its Monday with Missy Franklin's gold medal in the women's 100m backstroke and the gold medal from Chicagoan Matt Grevers in the men's 100m backstroke.

Meanwhile, Springfield, Ill., native Kelci Bryant grabbed a silver medal in the synchronized 3m springboard event. She and teammate Abigail Johnston finished an impressive 24-plus points behind the winning duo of Zi He and Wu Minxia from first-place China.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

2012 Olympics Medal Count Influenced By China's Deep Roster

London Olympics Medal Count: USA Picks Up Two Golds, Still Trails China

You might be watching the 2012 Olympics for pure reasons—athletics, sport, amateurism, whatever—but I'm going to be honest: I'm in it for the medal counts. I want to watch the United States of America—USA! USA!—top the rest of the world. The most golds, silvers, bronzes, brasses if they've got them, whatever. Saturday Ryan Lochte put America on the board with a gold medal; Sunday we (USA! USA!) added two more, with Kim Rhode getting a gold in women's skeet shooting. It was her fifth consecutive Olympics with a medal, earning a gold all the way back in 1996. Dana Vollmer won gold, as well, winning the Women's 100m butterfly with a world record time.

For all that, America still trails China in overall medal count—12 to 11—and golds, six to three. Suffice it to say this indignity will not stand; I plan on petitioning the Olympics to include angry, nationalist sportsblogging as an experimental event in 2016.

For more updates on the London Olympics—from medal counts to what St. Louis-area athletes are doing—stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. While you're at it, check out SB Nation Studios's ongoing Olympics coverage:

Olympics Medal Count 2012: China Leads The Way With 12

With the first two full days of the 2012 Summer Olympics in the books, China has a narrow lead in the medal count with 12 total. The United States has, not surprisingly, performed well in the early going and sits in second place with 11 (three gold, five silver, three bronze). There's plenty more to come for those two nations, which combined for well over 200 medals in 2008.

Here is the current top 12:

1. China (12)
2. United States (11)
3. Italy (7)
T4. South Korea (5)
T4. Japan (5)
T6. France (4)
T6. Russia (4)
T8. North Korea (3)
T8. Australia (3)
T8. Brazil (3)
T8. Hungary (3)

Related: Olympics 2012: Team USA Wins Silver Medal In Women's Synchronized Diving 3m Springboard

Competition resumes Monday with medals up for grabs in gymnastics, swimming and fencing, among other events.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's medal tracker. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

Olympics 2012: Team USA Wins Silver Medal In Women's Synchronized Diving 3m Springboard

The United States won the silver medal in the Women's Synchronized Diving 3m Springboard event on Sunday in London, giving the team its first Olympic medal in diving since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Kelci Bryant, a native of Springfield, Ill., and Abigali Johnston scored a 321.90 to win the first ever medal in this event for the Americans.

The gold medal went to the Chinese duo of Wu Minxia and He Zi with a score of 346.20, giving China its ninth medal of the Games already. As SB Nation's Ryan Hudson notes, the Chinese could end up winning all eight gold medals in diving at this year's Olympics after winning seven of the eight gold medals in Beijing four years ago.

Team Canada got its first medal in London, too, with Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel landing the bronze with a score of 316.80. At the moment, the Americans are trailing China in the overall medal count, 9-7, while Italy is right behind with six medals. The Chinese have a firm lead in golds, though, as they have four more than any other nation so far.

Keep up with the medal count at Sports Illustrated.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. A complete list of the Olympic Medal Count can be found here. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

2012 Olympics Medal Count: Ryan Lochte Nabs United States' Only Gold, China Leads Early

London 2012 Olympics Preview: USA Basketball Takes On France, Swimming Scheduled For 4 Finals

The fifth day of the London 2012 Olympics continues along with a mid-morning matchup of USA Basketball against Team France in the opening games of the basketball bracket. Team USA plays in Group A, a favorite to win the gold in 2012.

Meanwhile, 11 other events -- including 4 popular swimming events -- will conclude on Sunday. Here is a look at the gold medal events for July 29:

For day-to-day broadcasting schedules, visit NBC's Olympics web site.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

London 2012 Olympic Medal Standings: China Leads After 4 Days

Team USA is looking to make up ground against Team China in both the total medal count and the gold medal count. China had two historic gold medals on Saturday as Sun Yang won the first Chinese men's swimming gold medal and 16-year-old Ye Shiwen set a new world record for the 400m individual medley.

The US has only one gold medal on the merit of a winning performance in the men's 400m from Ryan Lochte. Here is a look at the medal standings, courtesy of the Sports Network:

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

Olympic Games 2012: USA Off To Strong Start

Although Olympic competition began prior to the Opening Ceremony, it certainly feels like the 2012 London Olympics have now officially begun. On the first weekend of competition, the United States have had a strong start in both the team and individual competitions.

Ryan Lochte earned the first gold medal of the competition for the United States, winning the 400 IM. Michael Phelps finished in 4th place.

The United States surprisingly had great success in the men's team archery, picking up the silver medal after falling to Italy. This was the first medal in men's team archery for the USA since 2000. The U.S. women's basketball team didn't impress in their first game, putting together a sloppy performance in a 81-56 win over Croatia. It was actually only a four-point game early in the fourth quarter before the women found their rhythm. Tina Charles and Candace Parker both recorded double-doubles.

The women's soccer team continued its strong start, picking up a 3-0 win over Columbia. Megan Rapinoe scored the opening goal to help propel the team to a win and a likely berth in the Quarterfinals.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

Olympic Games 2012: The London Games Begin With A Busy Saturday

While the 2012 Summer Olympics technically got started prior to Friday night's opening ceremonies -- the men's and women's soccer tournaments, for instance, are already underway -- the London Games really get going on Saturday.

Related: 2012 Olympics: USA Basketball Can't Just Win Gold, Says Tom Ziller Of SB Nation

The U.S. women's soccer team, which includes St. Louisan Becky Sauerbrunn, has a match against Colombia that is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. CT. Other sports getting underway include the women's basketball, swimming, fencing, handball, beach volleyball, gymnastics and tennis. For the full slate of events scheduled to start Saturday, visit NBC's Olympics website.

For some tips on how to manage your viewing schedule on the first full day, check out NBC's viewer's guide.

For continued updates on the athletes representing St. Louis in the Summer Olympics, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

2012 Olympics: USA Basketball Can't Just Win Gold, Says Tom Ziller Of SB Nation

The USA Men's Basketball team is loaded with NBA superstars and primed to take home the gold in the 2012 London Olympics, but everyone in the international field is out to get them. Skilled teams like Argentina and Spain have more experience under international rules and have even managed to play as a unit for longer than the US squad, but nobody is looking for excuses on a team headlined by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Tyson Chandler.

Team USA has captured the gold medal in every Olympics since 1992 except for 2004 and they enter the tournament with the No. 1 world ranking according to FIBA, so Tom Ziller of SB Nation notes that people won't just be looking for another gold medal; anything less than complete domination will be considered a disappointment.

Here is a bit of what Ziller had to say:

Team USA cannot lose in basketball and be considered anything but an abject failure. That's a high standard to clear.

But to really be considered great in American lore, Team USA has to go further, has to obliterate everyone and everything. That could happen, too; Team USA was quite good in the friendly run despite looking as disjointed at times as you'd expect them to be. The second half against Spain, while a warm-up, was a bit shocking. Completely unstoppable guard play countered iffy interior help defense. Can this Team USA reach that standard and refuel the (generally annoying, pointless and irrelevant) debates about the Dream Team? We're about to find out!

For a complete preview of the Men's Basketball field, be sure to check out Ziller's team-by-team breakdown.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

Olympics Opening Ceremony 2012: TV Schedule, Watch Online, Live Updates And More

Events at the 2012 London Olympics kicked off earlier in the week, but the official start of the games is traditionally marked by the Olympiad's Opening Ceremony. This year the theme for the opening ceremony is "Isles of Wonder," and the celebration has been coordinated by a creative team headlined by Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle.

NBC is not broadcasting the Opening Ceremony live in the United States, and instead opted to put the event on tape delay as part of its primetime Olympic coverage that begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. And then NBC is tape-delaying that again for the West Coast, where it will begin its broadcast at 7:30 p.m. PT -- 6 1/2 hours after the Opening Ceremony began.

Although NBC will offer live streaming video various Olympic events throughout the games for customers with "a cable, satellite or telco TV subscription that includes MSNBC and CNBC," there will not be any live Internet streams for the Opening Ceremony. American fans will just have to wait until primetime for full coverage.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

London Olympics Opening Ceremony: 2012's Extravaganza Scheduled For Friday

The 2012 Olympics, in London, began Thursday, when the first soccer matches—including a surprise upset of No. 1 Spain by team Japan—were played across the UK. But it begins Friday, on the schedule, at least, when the 2012 Opening Ceremony comes in on your TV for the inevitable and likely unpleasant comparisons to Beijing's authoritarian extravaganza in 2008. There's a certain dignity to it, at least—you know you're skimping, but you also know you're skimping because you aren't at the center of a corrupt, oligarchic pseudo-party that runs the world's most populous nation. And the economy, you know.

In any case, the events begin at 6:30 PM CDT on NBC, when the network begins four solid hours of coverage of the Olympics, and stories about the Olympics, and parades related to the Olympics, and so on, and everybody says, "Well it's not quite the Bird's Nest, is it?" and the architect in London wonders to himself why he didn't give his own Olympic stadium such a cool name.

This is all speculation, of course, but I believe this is how things go. For a complete look at NBC's Olympics schedule check out NBC's website, and for updates on local athletes stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis.

London Olympics 2012 TV Schedule: Soccer's On All Afternoon On NBC's Cable Channels

The 2012 London Olympics, if nothing else, are going to force you to pay attention to NBC Sports. The Olympics TV schedule is dominated by the network's cable stations, including the newly rebranded sports channel formerly known as Versus, and Thursday's slate of soccer games is no exception. Here's where and when you'll be able to find Olympic soccer ahead of the Opening Ceremonies Friday night:

NBC Sports: Honduras and Morocco aired live at 6 AM CDT, drawing at 2-2. Mexico and South Korea began next, at 8:30 AM. After that you'l see the United Arab Emirates play Uraguay, scheduled for an 11 AM start, but the night's big event is the debut of the unified Great Britain team, competing against first-timers Senegal at 2 PM. After that, at 3:45, NBC Sports will air the already-played match between Belarus and New Zealand, which Belarusian dictator Alexander Kukashenko has been barred from attending.

MSNBC: You probably already have an opinion about NBC, but its soccer schedule is partisan in a different, less divisive way. Spain and Japan started playing at 8:45; they'll be followed by Gabon and Switzerland, two newcomers, at 10:45. Rounding out the afternoon's play is Egypt vs. Brazil, at 1:45.

For more viewer's guides, updates on NBC's byzantine Olympic TV schedule, and updates about the political situation in Belarus, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis.

2012 Olympics Schedule: Soccer Dominates Thursday's TV Choices Ahead Of Opening Ceremonies

The 2012 London Olympics are dominated by soccer on Thursday. Which is okay, considering they haven't started yet. Here's a look at Thursday's Olympics TV schedule.

2012 Olympics: TV Schedule, Streaming And More

NBC will be broadcasting around 3,500 hours of 2012 Olympics coverage as the games take place in London, and that means the network will be using all of its broadcasting tentacles to get coverage to its viewers. As far as TV goes, NBC will be utilizing NBC proper, as well as MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo and, for satellite or digital cable subscribers, three "specialty channels" that will be devoted to certain Olympic competitions.

NBC will also stream every competition live on its NBC Live Extra site, though there's a catch. Only cable, satellite or teleco TV subscribers will be able to access the network's live streaming. The network also will not be streaming either the opening or closing ceremonies of the games.

For preliminary (and exhaustive) TV listings, visit NBC's Olympic website.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub.

USA Gymnastics: St. Louisan Sarah Finnegan Is The Youngest Member Of The Women's Gymnastics Team

Sarah Finnegan is off to London as an alternate on the women's gymnastics team.

Team USA Diving: Kelci Bryant Goes For Breakthrough Performance In Synchronized Diving Event

This is Kelci Bryant's second Olympic Games.

USA Women's Soccer: Becky Sauerbrunn Will Help Americans Defend Gold Medal

Becky Sauerbrunn and US women's soccer team go for gold.

2012 London Olympics: Team USA Features Numerous St. Louis Area Athletes

The 2012 Olympics, in London, will offer plenty of chances for St. Louis area fans to root on their own in Team USA.