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RIO DE JANEIRO -- On a night in which Michael Phelps became the first Olympic swimmer to win an event for the fourth consecutive time, a night he squashed the competition by nearly two seconds and then 37 minutes later swam the semifinals of a different race, it was perhaps the fight he had atop the medal stand that was his greatest challenge.For all these years, Phelps has always maintained his stoic, machine-like poker face when gold is draped around his neck. Especially on a night when he still had another race. These had been the directives from U.S. coach Bob Bowman. When you hear The Star-Spangled Banner, start stoking that fire for the next race. Maintain your focus. Thursday night that proved impossible.As the American flag was raised to the rafters of the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Phelps eyes watered. He pursed his lips. He took one deep breath. Then another. And yet another, trying anything he could to swat away the waves of emotion that were coming over him. He failed.Every time I hear the national anthem there are so many memories going through my head now, he said. And pretty much every time I hear it Im in tears. I was trying to hold it back tonight and I couldnt.Barring an unforeseen comeback, Phelps career is down to two events. He has one more individual race -- Friday nights 100-meter butterfly -- and then the 4x100 medley relay to close out the meet Saturday. And with each step closer to the end, he pulls down shade after shade to reveal the human that has lived within this swimming robot all along.Thats the first time hes ever done that, Bowman said of Phelps emotion on the stand. But that was nice to see, actually. I liked that.If Tuesday nights win in the 200 butterfly was about redemption and regaining ownership of a race he had long felt belonged to him, Thursday nights gold in the 200 individual medley was confirmation that Phelps is not only the greatest of all time but the greatest in the water right now. At 31.It had been billed as him vs. fellow American Ryan Lochte, the two most decorated Olympic male swimmers in history, one last time. Swimmings version of Manning vs. Brady. But on this night, as it had been the previous three Olympics and four Olympic trials, Lochte couldnt top his rival and friend. Not even close. Lochte, 32, led halfway through the race, but on the breaststroke leg -- supposedly Phelps weakest stroke -- Phelps transformed a hundredths-of-a second deficit into a nearly half-second lead.He then put the pedal to the floor on the final 50 meters, the freestyle leg. The final margin of victory over Japans Kosuke Hagino? Nearly two seconds, an outcome Bowman said he never saw coming but became possible when Phelps broke his competition during the breaststroke.I thought they would go out fast and someone would hold on, Bowman said. I think he surprised them a little bit.Phelps time of 1:54.66 was the fastest in the world this year and only 0.66 seconds off Lochtes 5-year-old world record. It was yet another reminder -- as if it were needed -- of Phelps utter dominance. Bring your shadowboxing Chad le Clos. Bring Lochte, the guy who perhaps could have been Phelps had he been born in a different era. Bring Thiago Pereira, Brazils most popular swimmer. Have the race in the heartbeat of Brazil, with fans chanting THIAGO! THIAGO! THIAGO! It wont matter. Phelps will still crush them all.And when its over, the rest of the field will largely be left dazed and confused. On Tuesday it was le Clos, who finally spoke Thursday afternoon and called his loss to Phelps in the much-hyped 200 fly the worst performance of my career. Later Thursday, it was Lochte, confessing, It just wasnt good enough.This is the ending Phelps has done everything he could to script since coming back in 2014. Burned by the bitter taste in his mouth after a relatively disappointing performance in London, he promised to do Rio the right way. It wasnt even about the medals -- he walked away from 2012 with four golds and two silvers, after all. It was about recommitting himself to swimming and falling in love with the sport all over again. And it just so happens that the reward for that unwavering, never-miss-a-practice commitment has been a nearly perfect performance in Rio.I feel like a kid again, and thats the difference, Phelps said. I feel like I did when I was 18. That was the only way to get back and race at this level consistently.There are those who surely have flipped on their television this week and basked in the red, white and blue glory that is Phelps winning gold after gold. They, like Phelps himself, are without adjectives to describe what they are watching. All they know is when he dives in the water he is as certain to touch the wall before anyone else as the sun is to rise in the East.But lost in that perfect outcome is the work it took to get there. It wasnt always this way. When Phelps first returned to training in 2014, he lost sets to female teammates in training. He finished ninth in the 200 freestyle at a May 2014 Grand Prix meet in Charlotte, North Carolina. And just this past June in an Olympic trials tuneup meet in Austin, Texas, he finished fourth in the 200 free and second in the 100 butterfly.There are multiple times where I can recall I said, What the hell am I doing swimming again? Im so slow. This is terrible. Whats going on? Phelps said. I was frustrated. But I just had to trust Bob. He hasnt let me down once, so I didnt think hed let me down now.Added Bowman: It isnt because of the talent; its the work. The work is what did it -- particularly this time around.Work like extra sets on breaststroke, which Bowman specifically fine-tuned in the lead-up to Rio. Or work like not missing a single training session after finishing a 45-day stint at a behavioral rehabilitation center in November 2014.Combine that with the unparalleled talent and a competitive fire that Michael Jordan himself would respect, and youre left with the greatest Olympian of all time putting on one final show for the world to see.The biggest thing for me so far is Ive been able to finish how I wanted to, Phelps said. Ive been able to come back and accomplish things that I dreamt of. Being able to win my fourth 200 IM in a row? I dont know how to put that into words. Its been a very, very special week so far for closing out my career. Discount Shoes China . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Cheap Shoes From China Fast Shipping . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. http://www.cheapshoeschinaonline.com/cheap-new-balance-shoes-china-133a.html . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Wholesale China Shoes . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Cheap Vans Shoes China . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- ?? After a quick playoff exit last spring following a series of deep runs, the New York Rangers know theyre being overlooked this season.Thats OK with them. Their focus is on getting better than they were a year ago.We expect a lot of ourselves no matter what people are saying, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said Wednesday at the teams practice facility. We want to be up there at the end of the year making a name for ourselves. ... I think our group is out there to prove to a lot of people that we can compete and really just be a tough team to play against.The Rangers earned 101 points last season but capped it with a first-round playoff exit against eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in April. That disappointment, followed runs to the Eastern Conference finals in 2012, the Stanley Cup finals in 2014, and back to the conference finals in 2015.Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist believes its important the team learn from both its past successes and its mistakes.We cant rely on the past or just being ok because the league is too good, he said. We had some years we went far in the playoffs, were a consistent team, but the reason we were there really was we worked extremely hard, paid attention to all the details in the game. If you dont do that, its a quick drop to being not consistent, so you just have to do all the little things right.Derek Stepan emphasized the team has moved on from last seasons disappointing finish and their focus on winning a championship hasnt changed.Its always the same, he said. I think our group has really erased (the loss to the Penguins). Weve learned from our years past, but were in a new year, were moving on, were ready to get this new season started.The new season includes some new players including a mix of veterans such as Michael Grabner and youngsters Jimmy Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad.dddddddddddd Buchnevich, 21, joined the Rangers from the KHL, and Vesey, 23, signed after having 24 goals and 22 assists in 33 games for Harvard last season while winning the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAAs player of the year. Zibanejad, acquired from Ottawa in a deal that sent Derick Brassard to the Senators, is also 23 but already has more than four seasons of NHL experience.The young players all earned praise during training camp, especially rookies Buchnevich and Vesey.Theyre both extremely talented, Stepan said. As the NHL and hockey keeps growing their game these younger guys coming in are just more and more talented. These two guys are the elite talent and they got some things that theyll learn just like any other rookie, but these guys are special rookies for sure.The Rangers start the season with a tough test against the crosstown-rival Islanders at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Last season, the Islanders won all four matchups for their first sweep of a regular season series between the teams.Last year they had our number, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. This season is a new season and everybody is anxious to get this going here. ... I believe weve added some good young pieces that bring energy and good speed and Im really looking forward to seeing what were going to look like tomorrow.The Rangers start off with an injury as they will be without Kevin Klein for the opener due to a strained back. Vigneault said the defenseman is day-to-day.---Follow Vin Cherwoo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP ' ' '