n, Earnhardt spent the weekend with his race team at the tra

I watched the Rio Olympics with my two teenage daughters. It was the U.S. women athletes who would come to dominate the Games, winning 27 golds and 61 total medals -- six more than the mens overall tally. This was edifying, especially for my girls, who found themselves unexpectedly stirred and rooting for women whose excellence and achievement were not up for debate-women whose dedication, fortitude and will broke through the media clutter, leveled false gods and showed us all what greatness can and should look like.And then there was Simone Biles.Biles, 19, came into the Olympics not simply a favorite but a legend, her exceptionalism as rousing as a drum line, an athlete soaring so far above her peers she may as well have been eyeing them from space. The Nadia Comaneci narrative-that of the adorable imp who stunned the world with unprecedented perfection-wasnt for her.It was assumed that Biles would be perfect, her superiority a given. Her mind-bending world championship triumphs had already offered a preview of coming dominance: Biles the proverbial gun at the knife fight. And this, arguably, is a much harder burden to bear.There is the risk of potential humiliation, of letting people down, of not being the gilded, galloping unicorn youve been advertised to be. A favorite is not allowed to falter. A lock can never be a surprise. Worse, confidence can read as smugness, inviting schadenfreude. America is nothing if not invested in the narrative of the underdog.Biles has never been the underdog in the gym. She has had agonizing struggles over the years, notably entering foster care after her birth mother lost the ability to care for her and her sister because of drug addiction. Biles, whose grandparents became her parents when she was 6, took pains to busy herself with things she could control, like learning how to do back handsprings in her yard. When the role life handed her was too limiting, Biles rewrote the script and gave herself better lines.So it was with her gymnastic career, in which she quickly conquered every skill and maneuver on offer. And still she kept working, doing the hard math.She learned how a slight feint to the right midair would rotate her body like a pinwheel in the wind. She calculated how many steps it took to launch her body twice her height above the mat. She embraced dismounts no one else dared try. Then she added flair. Joyful punctuation-a shimmy, a leap, a swivel of the hip-showmanship married to excellence that delighted all fortunate enough to see her compete.There are others who have inhabited their significance thus, the rare few who possessed enough confidence to play, even as they fought to be the best in the world. Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Jim Thorpe. Muhammad Ali. Artists, like Biles, who left us gasping and misty-eyed at their performances even though we already knew the ending. Magicians who mastered every trick, then invented new ones.Such was the case with Biles in Rio, where she cemented her status in the athletic firmament with every stuck landing, a physical planting of the flag on a planet all her own. My girls watched her, applauding victory after victory, never tiring of her virtuosity, Biles pre-eminence a comfort of sorts, like that of a superhero coming to save the day. She bobbled once on the beam, a steadying hand that let us know she was, in fact, human, but that second no more defined her Olympic showing than a stray thread on a couture suit.Here was a woman who knew, to the millimeter, how far she had to run. Here was a woman who bent physics to her will. Here was a woman who found balance in the air. Here was a woman unafraid of a blind landing. Here was a woman who wouldnt choke, wouldnt let us down, a woman we could trust to take care of business.Here was a woman who also happened, just by her very existence, to be forcing every coming generation to do better. Because she did better. (A lot better.) And with that mandate came the comfort of knowing better could still be done, that our future could be as bright and certain as we dared allow. Fake NFL Jerseys Cheap . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Fake NFL Jerseys For Sale . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. https://www.fakenfljerseys.com/ . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Fake NFL Jerseys Discount . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has two Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but he admits he is pulling for one of the two.Earnhardt, speaking on his weekly The Dale Jr. Download podcast, admitted he wants Jimmie Johnson to win the 2016 championship.A championship would tie Johnson with Earnhardts father and Richard Petty for the record of seven Cup titles.He wants that [seventh] so badly, Earnhardt said. Weve had a few conversations about that, and I know how much that would mean to him. ... To be quite honest, yes, I am pulling for Jimmie to get this championship and I believe he does deserve it.After everything he has put into the sport, I think it would be good for him to go ahead and win that championship.Johnson won the race Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, earning a bid in the semifinal round of eight drivers. In the first two years of the elimination-style Chase, Johnson did not get out of the first two rounds.Earnhardt has often said that Johnson should be in the conversations of the sports greatest drivers. He reiterated that in the podcast released Monday, a day after Johnsons 78th career victory.Hes one of the greatest race car drivers this sports seen, Earnhardt said. Obviously to win five championships in a row is unbelievable, and the argument is undeniable that he is one of the greatest.He ranks right up theree with the old man and anyone else you want to put in that conversation.ddddddddddddEarnhardt has missed the last 12 races and will sit out the final six of 2016 as he recovers from a concussion. Planning to return next season, Earnhardt spent the weekend with his race team at the track and plans to be at most of the remaining races working and hanging out with his team.His replacement, Alex Bowman, started second but crashed early after having a tire come apart. Hendricks other Chase driver, Chase Elliott, was running well when he was collected in an accident.Kasey Kahne, who didnt make the Chase, finished third and recorded his fifth top-10 in the last six races in a sign of Hendrick strength.I was surprised at how frustrating and difficult this summer was, but I knew we would get it going, Earnhardt said about the organization. Im happy about that and makes me excited to be in the car when I do get back in there.Im having fun going to the races. ... Its great to go down to the grid and wish the team good luck and it was even, as unfortunate as the accident was, it was fun to help them sort things out and load the car up after it was over with. I just like being a part of it and feeling like a part of the family. ' ' '