OMAHA, Neb. -- When Anthony Ervin was Caeleb Dressels age, he was on the cusp of winning an Olympic gold medal.Sixteen years later, theyll pursue one together. It wont be easy.The U.S. lineup for the mens 4x100-meter freestyle relay that will try to reclaim greatness this summer in Rio is a microcosm of the way the team is shaping up as a whole: experience and fresh muscle shoulder to shoulder.It also features perhaps the most amiable sprinter in recent history in Nathan Adrian. The reigning Olympic gold medalist in the individual 100 freestyle hit the touchpad first in 47.72 seconds in Thursdays final. He called himself an old guy in post-race comments, but at 27, he is exactly midway between his prospective relay-mates in age.Adrian will be joined by speedsters separated by less than a second in the pool and almost a full generation on their birth certificates: the 19-year-old Dressel, a rising junior at the University of Florida who rewrote the NCAA record books last spring; 20-year-old Ryan Held of Springfield, Nebraska, who swims for North Carolina State and logged a personal best time of 48.26 seconds; and the 35-year-old Ervin, the irreverent, cerebral U.S. national team captain.Ervin, who shared the 50-meter freestyle gold medal with Gary Hall Jr. at the Sydney 2000 Games in an improbable tie, balanced elation with clear-eyed expectations Thursday.Once dominant in the 4x100 event, the U.S. team has won only one Olympic gold in its past four attempts (2008) and stunningly did not qualify for the finals at the 2015 world championships in Russia.Im not gonna celebrate too much right now, because the rest of the world is badass and we want to be bad too, said Ervin, who made a comeback in 2011 after almost 10 years away from competitive swimming. His recently-released memoir, Chasing Water, chronicles a self-destructive period in his life on dry land that included a suicide attempt.Part of this process being around these younger people makes me feel young, he told reporters. And I may be older than them, but Im younger than most of you.Dressel, his blonde hair sticking out in random spikes after the race, wrapped Ervin in an embrace that melded some of the teams most prominent tattoos.Not super-stoked about the time, but Im happy, said Dressel, who touched .51 behind Adrian for second place and will swim the individual 100 event in Rio. Its something nobody can ever take away. Im an Olympian now, and will forever be the rest of my life.Adrian, who trained alongside Ervin for four years in college at California, agreed that the world is faster, but he has confidence in the eclectic U.S. group. I think people are going to underestimate what the Americans are capable of, he said. I dont think thats [Thursdays times] the best we have to offer. I think the next month well be sharpening our tools, and I think that we have the arsenal to be competitive there.Nike Zoom Discount . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Nike Zoom For Sale . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. http://www.cheapnikezoom.net/ .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Nike Zoom Online Shop . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Cheap Nike Zoom Shoes . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead.Top-ranked Alabama is in the driver seat to make a return trip to the College Football Playoff, and possibly repeat as national champions.First, the Tide must take care of the rival LSU Tigers at Death Valley on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, CBS).Theyve got a very good team, playing very, very well right now, Alabama coach Nick Saban said. New energy and enthusiasm. There have been a lot of really good games between these two teams through the years. Its kind of developed into a rivalry game of sorts. Weve both been ranked over the last eight or nine years, most of the time in the Top 10.This is a real challenge game for us. Well find out who we are, what were made of and how we can compete in a very difficult circumstance.It is not quite the annual Game of the Century that it was in recent years, but it is still LSU and Alabama, and there still is quite a big at stake.The Tigers (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) fired head coach Les Miles after a 2-2 start, but they are 3-0 under Ed Orgeron, and they are No. 13 in the first CFP rankings. They can tighten the race in the SEC West if they can upset the top-ranked Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0).Saban said he considers LSU unbeaten, because the Tigers have not lost on Oregerons watch. He repeated the idea to his team during the two-week buildup to this showdown.A win would greatly bolster Orgerons case to be named the permanent successor to Miles, but with games against Arkansas, Florida and Texas A&M in a 13-day stretch looming, there is still a lot of regular-season work left after Alabama for LSU and Orgeron to get to where they want to be.Both teams are coming off an open date and should be well rested.That should be especially good news for Tigers All-America running back Leonard Fournette, who is the healthiest he has been all season. He had two weeks to heal after a record-setting performance against Ole Miss in the Tigers most recent game.I havent really seen a guy dominate a game like he did that game for a long time, Saban said. We have a tremendous amount of resppect for him, and he looks as good as ever and maybe even better.ddddddddddddThe Crimson Tide stymied Fournette in their 30-16 win last season, holding him to 31 yards on 19 rushes.Were going to do some things with Leonard that hes able to do, Orgeron said. I think that whatever happened last year is the past. We have a great game plan for Leonard.But its going to be very tough moving the football on this defense. Theyre one of the best defenses Ive ever seen.Orgeron said the key to the game will be whether the Tigers can get Fournette the football in some plays that we think he runs very well and protect quarterback Danny Etling.Fournette is coming off the most prolific rushing game in LSU history -- a 284-yard performance in a 38-21 win against Ole Miss. However, it is Fournettes least-productive performance in his three seasons that also is significant entering this game. Alabama smothered Fournette last season and used single coverage outside, blatantly showing the hand of a defensive game plan that invited LSU to throw the ball.Fournette and the offensive line will be committed to improving significantly on that performance, and he will have to be a bigger factor than he was last season if the Tigers are going to pull off the upset.We think we can get some receivers down the field, but we got to be able to protect (Etling) long enough to be able to protect the quarterback to get those plays down the field, Orgeron said. Its going to be protection first. We have to protect our quarterback in order to get the ball down the field. Were going to have to do some things with Leonard that enables him to be in space and run the football.Alabama leads the series 50-25-5 and has won each of the past five meetings. In the past five games at Tiger Stadium, each team scored a total of 103 points, and two of those games went into overtime. The Crimson Tide won three of those five games. ' ' '