Annett, hit the No. 18 car flush to end the defending series champs rac

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Kami Craig felt sorry for Maddie Musselman. She was sure Musselman would be bored while rooming with her on a trip to China with the U.S. womens water polo team.Then she noticed something about the precocious teenager.Just her attention to detail, the 29-year-old Craig said. Shes incredibly organized. I watched her how she unpacked her bag and set things out. ... The way that she handles herself so professionally.Well beyond her years.Musselman, who turned 18 in June, went from long shot for the 2016 Olympics to key contributor for an athletic American squad favored to win a second straight gold medal. Oh, and she managed to graduate from high school along the way, taking online classes between grueling training sessions in Southern California.Before she starts at UCLA in the fall, she strides onto the Olympic stage beginning with Tuesdays opener against Spain.Just to be able to get the experience, to get the opportunity to play at this level has been definitely eye-opening, Musselman said Sunday after practice at the Flamengo Club. Ive learned countless things, countless lessons in the pool and out of the pool, and its just been amazing.Musselman is coming off an impressive scoring spree against Russia, collecting 12 goals as the U.S. swept the three-game series to run its win streak to 16 since a 5-4 loss to Australia on May 31. The 5-foot-11 attacker scored 13 times when the U.S. went 8-0 on its way to the title at an Olympic qualification tournament in the Netherlands in March.Im so excited for her to be here and have the opportunity to compete because shes a really special player, Craig said. Shes fast. Shes got great legs. Shes got an awesome shot and at such young age to have the confidence and step up in the moments that she does is pretty incredible.Musselman, the middle of three daughters for former major league pitcher Jeff Musselman and his wife, Karen, was a swimmer growing up in California and also played soccer. But once she played water polo, she was hooked. Her sister, Alex, also was into the sport and went on to play for UCLA, adding to the draw.Obviously you want to follow your older sister, a grinning Musselman said, so I was like Ill play water polo, and I fell in love with it.While Jeff Musselman credits Maddies teachers in school for her studious, meticulous approach, Maddie herself said her father plays a key role in her success in water polo.The 53-year-old Musselman was selected by Toronto in the sixth round of the 1985 draft out of Harvard. He made his major league debut with the Blue Jays in September 1986 and went 23-15 with a 4.31 ERA in five years in the majors.When we were going through all (these) different sports trying to find what we love, he was right there with us, saying `Oh, Ive been there, I know what youre experiencing, Maddie Musselman said, and he provided just lessons that we wanted to learn, and just gave us that confidence that you know you might not be good at every single sport, its just finding what you love and playing it.Jeff Musselman said he knows very little about water polo, but compares Maddies situation to joining Toronto when he was 23. Not only was it his first time in the majors, but he made it to the Blue Jays during a successful period for the franchise. He had his best season when Toronto went 96-66 in 1987, going 12-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 68 games.Being around that, I think was very helpful to be able to share my experience, said Musselman, who works for sports agent Scott Boras. You know its the same game, just more people watching.A lot more people in the Olympics, but the U.S. is confident Musselman will rise to the occasion.Her tenacity and her competitiveness is something that we all love to see in practice and compete against in practice, U.S. captain Maggie Steffens said, but we are darn happy to have it on our side when were in competition.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Clearance Custom Basketball Jerseys . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. http://www.customjerseysbasketball.com/ . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Custom Denver Nuggets Jerseys . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Custom Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Kevin Harvick wasnt worried about his poor qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway. In fact, starting 24th gave Harvick exactly what he wanted to win at Bristol Motor Speedway.It kind of motivates me, Harvick said Sunday. I think its exciting. I like to pass cars.Harvick made the biggest pass with 70 laps to go, sweeping by Denny Hamlin and holding on to take the rain-delayed race at the half-mile concrete track.The victory was Harvicks second of the season and second at Bristol -- his first in 11 years. It also moved him atop the Sprint Cup standings and gave his program a jolt with only three races left until NASCARs Chase starts.Harvick had 13 top-10 finishes in the 18 races since winning at Phoenix in March.Its been one of those deals where things have just not gone exactly right, said Harvick, who led 128 laps. But to have the win now and just try to get that momentum before we get into the Chase and get things rolling is really what we needed.Fittingly for a race halted because of Saturday night storms, Harvick had to sit out one last rain delay before easily pulling away on the restart and cruising to victory.Thank you, thank you, thank you, Harvick said over the radio as he crossed the line.Harvick enticed his car owner -- and retiring driver -- Tony Stewart to do burnouts with him to celebrate the three-time champions last race at Bristol. He wanted Stewart to share the victory lap, but Tony and I arent very good at sign language from one seat to another, he said.Ricky Stenhouse Jr.dddddddddddd?was second, followed by Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher.Kyle Busch, who led 256 laps, clearly had the strongest car, leading a race-high 256 laps. But he spun on Lap 358 when a part broke and Justin Allgaier, driving in relief of?Michael Annett, hit the No. 18 car flush to end the defending series champs race.Busch was angered by his equipment failure and said the race shop was going to hear about it Tuesday. He also blasted Allgaier and his spotter, saying they shouldve seen Buschs spin and moved clear instead of hitting him. I dont know. Frustrating day. Lets go home, Busch said.Allgaier apologized to Busch. That is the worst possible scenario when the leader spins out and you hit them, Allgaier said.That was the sentiment of many at Bristol. The end was a welcome relief for race teams, track officials and those who came back out after last nights soaking rains.It was the second time in three races that rain impacted a Sprint Cup race -- Poconos Sunday race ended on a Monday three weeks ago -- and only a fraction of the 160,000 in the stands Saturday night returned for the conclusion.The finish also meant Bristol could begin the massive conversion of its race track to a football field for No. 9 Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech, an event that track general manager Jerry Caldwell expects will draw in excess of 155,000 fans on Sept. 10. ' ' '