g White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior adviser Steve Ba

RIO DE JANEIRO -- All by themselves on the massive track, the four U.S. women took their positions in Lane 2.Tianna Bartoletta kneeled into the blocks and waited for the starters pistol. It sounded and away she went -- alone -- in a first-of-its-kind Olympic relay race against the clock.The Americans won that contest Thursday night to earn their spot in the final eight of the 4x100.As is the case with so many relays the U.S. has run over the years, this was anything but routine.Our coach told us before we went out there, `Its just like practice, just the whole world will be watching, said English Gardner.Returning to the track 7 1/2 hours after they left, the team of Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Gardner and Morolake Akinosun finished in a time of 41.77 seconds to bump China out of the last spot in the final.The rerun of their preliminary heat came about after Felix, running in the second position, got jostled by a Brazilian, stumbled and tried, unsuccessfully, to flip the baton ahead to Gardner.The stick fell, and after being disqualified, the Americans lodged a successful protest.But unlike some races, in which an additional runner could simply be added to the final, relays are limited to eight teams because there are only eight lanes that wrap completely around the track. So, the judges brought the Americans back to run in the same lane, in the same order, in what USA Track and Field said was the first rerun of its kind in Olympic history.Their only goal was to beat Chinas eighth-place time of 42.70 seconds, and that was no problem for a team that had two members -- Bartoletta and Felix -- who were on the team that set the world record (40.82 seconds) at the London Games in 2012.The exchanges were smooth, and a few moments after Akinosun crossed the line in a time that not only beat Chinas, but was the best that any team had run all day, the four runners huddled for a quick hug.Bartoletta peeled off to receive the gold medal she won in the long jump the night before. The others were off for rest and another quick turnaround.The final is Friday night, and the United States will run out of either Lane 1 or 8 -- the least-desirable lanes because the Americans, despite their top time, were not among the top three finishers in their heat.I dont know how much more I can take, said Felix, whose season has been filled with injuries, disappointments and, now, this. My bodys fine, my mind will be fine. Its different, just not the year I was expecting.Earlier, in more-conventional news, the U.S. mens team coasted through the preliminaries, winning its heat in 37.65 seconds. Jamaicas relay team also made it through, finishing second in its heat without Usain Bolt, who was resting up for the 200-meter final later in the evening.It puts Jamaica, and Bolt, in position for a third straight title in the sprint relay.The only pressure is to make sure we get the stick around, said Asafa Powell, the former world-record holder who ran the third leg.Its been more of a problem with the United States than the Jamaicans over the years.The U.S. women botched the exchange in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics to give away potential medals in an event that was virtually made for the team with the deepest pool of sprinters. At last years world championships, a minor bobble in the less-technical 4x400 cost a precious split second that made the difference in a loss to Jamaica.The U.S. men have either been disqualified or failed to get the baton around the track eight times at Olympics or world championships since 1995.This years mens team was in the holding room when the women bobbled the stick. A jarring reminder.First thing I did is told the young guys, `We got this, veteran Tyson Gay said after running the mens third leg. Youve got to be positive. A lot of things happen out there.Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Discount Soccer Jerseys .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseys.co/ . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Store . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Free Shipping . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short.BALTIMORE -- Donald Trump was greeted with cheers on his arrival at the annual Army-Navy game, basking in one of the nations most storied football rivalries as he prepares to enter the White House.The future commander in chief, protected by panes of bulletproof glass, waved to the crowd Saturday and pumped his fist as he arrived during the first quarter of the 117th game between the military academies at West Point and Annapolis. The game, on a sunny but chilly day, was being held on relatively neutral ground, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.Trump, in an interview with CBS Sports announcers Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson, said he was totally neutral on the outcome of the game and quipped that he might make Lundquist, who was retiring from the play-by-play booth, his ambassador to Sweden.I just love the armed forces, love the folks. The spirit is so incredible. I mean, I dont know if its necessarily the best football, but its very good. But boy do they have spirit, Trump said. Navy had won 14 straight contests in the rivalry, but Armys underdog Black Knights prevailed, 21-17, in a fourth quarter comeback that came weeks after Trumps stunning victory over Hillary Clinton.Trump spent the first half of the game in the box of David Urban, a West Point graduate and top adviser in battleground Pennsylvania, and the second half in the box of retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, a graduate of Annapolis. Durinng the Ronald Reagan administration, North was the National Security Council aide most directly involved in covertly selling arms to Iran and providing military assistance to the Contras, a group seeking to overthrow Nicaraguas left-leaning government.ddddddddddddTaking a break from his deliberations for his Cabinet, Trump was joined at the game by several top advisers, including incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior adviser Steve Bannon, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Gen. Mike Flynn, Trumps choice for National Security Adviser. Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson was also spotted inside the box.Trump did not formally switch sides at halftime in the traditional symbol of commander in chief neutrality -- which President Barack Obama did most recently during the 2011 game -- because Trump is not the sitting president. The incoming president is a 1964 graduate of the New York Military Academy, a private prep school near West Point.Trumps appearance at the football game capped off a week of rolling out Cabinet picks, holding thank you rallies in North Carolina, Iowa and Michigan, and trying to cement his incoming Senate majority with Saturdays runoff election in Louisiana.---Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KThomasDC. ' ' '