s year. He became the first NL starter to begin 12-0 since Hall of Fam

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Michael Phelps goes for history -- again -- and Katie Ledecky is set up to make some of her own in the Olympic pool.Phelps will be doing double duty Thursday night. Hell swim the 200-meter individual medley final in pursuit of a record fourth consecutive title in the event and return about 30 minutes later for the 100 butterfly semifinals.No swimmer has ever won four golds in the same individual event in consecutive Olympics. Only two athletes, discus thrower Al Oerter and long jumper Carl Lewis, ever have managed the feat.Phelps qualified fourth fastest in 51.60 seconds for the 100 fly. If he gets through to Fridays final, hell also be seeking his fourth gold in a row in that event.Winner of three golds already in Rio, Phelps duels longtime friend and rival Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM. Phelps made a tactical error, though, in the 100 fly heats. He was aiming to get into the second semifinal, which would have given him some extra recovery time after the 200 IM final.But I screwed up, he said. I try not to even think about it because then I get focused on that. But Id like to have those extra seven, eight minutes in between.By competing in the first semi, Phelps has less time to warm down after the 200 IM.Obviously, the first one (200 IM), I need to take care of business, he said. Whatever I can do in the second one (100 fly) just to make it through is what Ill do.Joseph Schooling of Singapore topped the 100 fly heats in 51.41. Hungarys Laszlo Cseh was second quickest in 51.52, while American Tom Shields was third at 51.58. Also advancing were Chad le Clos of South Africa, James Guy of Britain and Santo Condorelli of Canada.Ledecky easily qualified first in the 800 freestyle, with an Olympic-record time of 8 minutes, 12.86 seconds. The 19-year-old American was nearly seven seconds faster than anyone else.If she wins the final on Friday, Ledecky will become the first swimmer since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles.I try not to think too much about the history of anything, said Ledecky, who didnt get to bed until after 3 a.m. after anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 free relay on Wednesday. Its all just about doing my best every time.Boglarka Kapas of Hungary qualified second for the 800 free in 8:19.43. Others making the final were Jazz Carlin of Britain, American Leah Smith, Lotte Friis of Denmark and Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain, who won the 200 butterfly on Wednesday.Andriy Hovorov of Ukraine was the fastest qualifier in the mens 50 free at 21.72. Two years ago, Russia annexed his home of Crimea and he rejected changing nationality. Helped by funding from Ukraines meager sports budget, Hovorov is in position to win swimmings glamour event.This has all been in my training plan since January, and I qualified with the top result, Hovorov said. Im going to keep it up.A pair of Americans, Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin, had the second and third best times in the heats. Adrian, bronze medalist in the 100 free on Wednesday, touched in 21.61. Ervin, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 50, was clocked in 21.63.Also advancing to the semis were defending champion Florent Manaudou of France, Cameron McEvoy of Australia, Vladimir Morozov of Russia, Santo Condorelli of Canada and Bruno Fratus of Brazil.The Iron Lady is chasing her fourth gold medal.Katinka Hosszu of Hungary qualified fastest for the 200 backstroke in 2:06.09. She already has won the 100 back, along with the 200 and 400 individual medleys.Hilary Caldwell of Canada had the second quickest time of 2:07.40. Maya DiRado of the United States, who has won gold, silver and bronze at her first Olympics, was third fastest in 2:08.60.Defending champion Missy Franklin advanced to the semifinals with the 11th-fastest time of 2:09.36. She missed the 200 free final in her only other individual event in Rio.Right now, Im taking it one race at a time, said Franklin, who is struggling to understand her puzzling lack of form this year. My goal is going to be making it into the finals.Franklin earned a gold medal as part of the 4x200 freestyle relay in Rio after swimming in the preliminaries.Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, a two-time Olympic champion in the 200 back, qualified ninth.Wholesale Shoes Cheap . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Cheap Jordan Shoes Free Shipping . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.shoeswholesaleonlinestore.com/wholesale-air-max.html . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Nike Air Max Shoes Wholesale China . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Cheap Adidas Shoes From China . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game.NEW YORK -- Its been more than a century since a National League starting pitcher was as perfect as Stephen Strasburg so far.Strasburg stayed undefeated, winning a marquee matchup against an ailing Noah Syndergaard by tossing seven innings of two-hit ball Friday night that sent the Washington Nationals to a 3-1 victory over the banged-up New York Mets.Clint Robinson hit a two-run homer for the Nationals, going deep for the second consecutive night, and Daniel Murphy added an RBI double against his former team. Strasburg (12-0) struck out nine and became the first NL starter in 104 years to win his first 12 decisions in a season. He has won a franchise-record 15 straight since September.Just shows how good they swing on the days I pitch, I guess, Strasburg said with a laugh.Oliver Perez and Blake Treinen combined to escape an eighth-inning jam, and Washington extended its NL East lead to four games over the Mets after dropping the opener of the four-game set Thursday night.Series like this, they tend to be, who makes the least amount of mistakes -- and we didnt make very many mistakes tonight, Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon said.Syndergaard (9-4) and slugger Yoenis Cespedes left early with injuries, hours after New York announced that struggling pitcher Matt Harvey will have season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.Cespedes was pulled after three innings with a strained right quadriceps and said he hopes to return after the All-Star break. The slugger got hurt chasing Murphys double to deep center field in the third and was replaced by Juan Lagares in the fourth.With his velocity dipping, Syndergaard exited in the fifth with arm fatigue that was not elbow-related, the Mets said. The big right-hander has been pitching with a bone spur in his right elbow that he called pretty insignificant.His arm went dead. Hes got a tired arm and (his) stuff went away, manager Terry Collins said. But he said theres no pain.Cespedes and Syndergaard were selected for the All-Star Game on Tuesday in San Diego, but both are unlikely to participate, Collins said. They are expected to be examined Saturday.Its disappointing, but there will be a lot more, Syndergaard said. Its a long season, you put a lot of wear and tear on your body, just right now I think I need a little break.Strasburg also was picked for the NL squad but was replaced on the roster Friday by Washington teammate Max Scherzer. Strasburg came off the disabled list this week and wont pitch in the Midsummer Classic as a precaution. The right-hander iss from San Diego and plans to attend the game, the Nationals said.ddddddddddddThey came to me and they said that that was what they were thinking, Strasburg said. In my head, Im like, I want to make up for the two starts I missed, so hopefully be able to start the first game back and get the second half going right.After tossing 6 2/3 innings Sunday against Cincinnati in his return from an upper back strain, Strasburg was pulled with a no-hitter intact because he had already thrown 109 pitches.This time, he held New York hitless until Asdrubal Cabrera homered leading off the fifth. Brandon Nimmo followed with a single, but the Mets didnt do much else until the eighth.I think the DL stint, good thing was that it wasnt something that was impacting my throwing arm, Strasburg said. So it wasnt really like a big process to try and get back into things. I think my arm felt good. When my trap and back subsided a little bit, I was able to throw in between and maintain what Ive been working on.Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances. With his 367th save, he tied Jeff Reardon for ninth on the career list.It was the first matchup between Syndergaard and Strasburg, who is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA in three outings against the Mets this year. He became the first NL starter to begin 12-0 since Hall of Famer Rube Marquard opened 18-0 for the New York Giants in 1912.Speaks for itself, man, Papelbon said.Washington improved to 15-1 with Strasburg on the mound this year. He is the only qualified starter in the majors without a loss.I think this year he has become a more complete pitcher than Ive personally seen in the past, Mets second baseman Neil Walker said. So, hes as advertised.New York dropped to 7-2 on an 11-game homestand, its longest of the season.The start was delayed 37 minutes by rain.TAKE THAT!Murphy, booed again by the Citi Field crowd of 35,030, has hit safely in all 11 games against the Mets since they let him leave as a free agent in the offseason. Hes batting .409 with 15 RBI and five of his career-high 15 homers vs. New York.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left rib cage strain.Mets: Rookie RHP Seth Lugo relieved Syndergaard with New York trailing 3-0 and tossed two hitless innings.UP NEXTScherzer (9-6, 3.21 ERA) pitches Saturday night against RHP Logan Verrett (3-5, 4.01), who starts in place of Harvey. ' ' '