Dein erstes Forum » on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home

NEW YORK -- An estimated 26.5 million people watched NBCs coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony, a sharp 35 percent drop from the record-setting viewership of the curtain-lifter in London four years ago.The opening ceremony of the London Games was seen by 40.7 million people in the U.S. NBC suggested Saturday that the gap will be narrowed when details about time-shifted viewing and people who streamed Friday nights telecast on mobile devices become available in coming days.To compare linear TV viewership today versus four years ago isnt logical, NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes said.The four-year difference was much kinder to NBC the last time around; the Beijing opening in 2008 reached 34.9 million people, according to the Nielsen company.One of NBCs pre-games fears came true: viewership dropped off after the entrance of the United States team in the Parade of Nations. But because the Portuguese alphabet was used, the U.S. team (Estados Unidos) appeared much earlier in the broadcast than is typical.NBC also front-loaded many of its commercial breaks early in the broadcast so there were fewer during the Parade of Nations. Judging by the harsh social media reaction, that may have backfired. It was a culture shock to binge-watchers and time-shifters who have become accustomed to television without commercials.The ceremony also ran long, and wasnt helped by NBCs decision to air it on tape-delay so it started in prime time. The lighting of the Olympic cauldron wasnt shown until after midnight. A joke by Matt Lauer during the teams entrance had a ring of truth: Are we at Timor-Leste (East Timor) already? he said. Time is flying by.The London Games proved a smash success for NBC. Viewers may simply be less interested in the Olympics from Rio -- and that wont become clear for a few more days.BIKE RIDE: The bicycle race won by Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet was a blast to watch, unfolding over several hours on NBC on Saturday, the kind of experience you cant get in prime time. It was a lesson for announcers Paul Sherwen and Christian Vande Velde to keep in mind that many viewers are new to their sport. The sheer chaos of the mountainous portions of the race, the course clogged with motorbikes, autos and spectators who ran alongside and even touched competitors, seemed shocking. It didnt seem to strike the announcers as unusual, since they didnt mention it.WATER QUALITY: Given all the pre-games publicity about water pollution, it was wise of rowing announcers Leigh Diffey and Mary Whipple to discuss the conditions during a Saturday morning rowing heat, with details about the steps Olympians are doing to protect themselves. Its almost on the back-burner, Whipple said. Its a non-issue so far. Still, its something announcers for all of the water sports should keep bringing up.PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: The presidential election race intersected with the Olympics for the first time a little past 8 a.m. Saturday, with the first commercial for Democrat Hillary Clinton.REFUGEE: The entrance of the 10-member team of refugees was a highlight of Fridays opening ceremony, so it was important for NBCs Jimmy Roberts to return to the story of these athletes during Saturdays telecast. What a strange and wonderful concept -- running toward something instead of running away, Roberts said. Roberts noted that none of the athletes are medal contenders, but its worth keeping up with their stories as the Olympics go on. Clearance Nike Lunar . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Cheap Nike Lunar . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.nikelunarcheap.com/ . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Cheap Nike Lunar Shoes Online .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Cheap Nike Lunar Shoes From China . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Brazilian police say American swimmers were not robbed at gunpoint at a gas station as they claimed, but a law enforcement official did say a security guard used a gun to control the situation involving Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen,?Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz.Brazilian police had previously said no gun was involved. The change in the version of events came after police interviewed one of the security guards on Thursday. It further deepened the mystery of what happened inside the station and set off an international dispute.No robbery was committed against these athletes. They were not victims of the crimes they claimed, Civil Police chief Fernando Veloso said during an afternoon news conference Thursday.Veloso said the swimmers vandalized the bathroom on the side of the gas station, damaging mirrors and other property. No charges have been filed, Veloso said, but the swimmers could be charged with false communication of a crime and vandalism if the investigation concludes that they did something wrong. If they cooperate, Veloso said he sees no reason for them to stay in Brazil.He said surveillance video shows that employees of the gas station tried to control the situation but that the swimmers went to their taxi and tried to get away.?When employees realized what was going on, security guards asked the taxi driver not to leave and to wait for police.Veloso did not say a gun was pointed at the swimmers to prevent them from leaving, but an official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that a gun was used in that way. The surveillance video does show a man approaching the taxi with an object in his hand, but its not clear whether it is a gun.Veloso said the gun involved was a legal weapon used by the security guard.Veloso said the athletes refused to wait for police to arrive. During that time, a third person offered to interpret and explained to the athletes that they had to pay for what they had done to the bathroom. According to Veloso, they offered to pay in the form of a $20 bill and 100 reals (about $51).Veloso said in the news conference that one of the athletes had confirmed this version, saying there was no robbery.He added that the video confirms the swimmers were not victims of physical or verbal abuse.Lochte first recounted a robbery to his mother, Ileana Lochte, who spoke with reporters, the police official told the AP. That led to news coverage of the incident and prompted police attention.Conger and Bentz arrived at DEAT, the tourist police department, around 12:30 p.ddddddddddddm. ET Thursday for questioning.?Feigan has not been interviewed by the police yet, Veloso said.Conger, Bentz and Feigen remain in Brazil, as authorities have ordered the seizure of their passports. A Brazilian judge also ordered Lochtes passport be seized, but he said he has already returned to the U.S.Brazilian authorities said in a statement Thursday that Conger and Bentz were taken off the airplane.?A police source told ESPN Brasil that the swimmers were interviewed for just more than three hours at the airport, with a Brazilian lawyer and representatives from the USOC and the U.S. consulate present.Stephen Conger, the father of Jack Conger, told ESPN on Thursday that his son slept in a hotel Wednesday night and was guarded by U.S. government personnel. Jack was never under arrest, according to his father. Its more a political ordeal than a criminal one, he said.Stephen Conger said the plan is for Jack to be on a plane home Thursday night. He said hes shared text messages with his son but said: Were as in the dark as anyone about what happened. I dont know if there was a robbery or not.NBC spoke with Lochte on Wednesday night and reported that he said he had left Rio and already returned home, as originally scheduled.Lochte backtracked on his initial comments to the network made Sunday, saying the barrel of the gun he had said was placed to his forehead was instead pointed in his direction. He also said the taxi wasnt pulled over but that the swimmers were robbed after making a stop at a gas station.He said when he was interviewed by police about the incident that no one had suggested he needed to stay in Brazil, nor had any officials expressed doubts over his account of the robbery, NBC reported.International Olympic Committee spokesman Mario Andrada said during a news conference Thursday that neither Lochte nor his teammates need to apologize for the incident.We have to understand that these kids came here to have fun. Lets give these kids a break, Andrada said. Sometimes you make decisions you later regret. They had fun. They made a mistake. Life goes on.Andradas comments were made before the reports that a robbery did not happen.Information from ESPNs?Shaun Assael?and?ESPN Brasils Gabriela Moreira was used in this report. ' ' '