Penguins storm off with Detroit's opening night 6-3

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The Pittsburgh Penguins put a sour note to the Red Wings opening night on Thursday night. Anthony Beauvillier scored two on the night, while Joel Blomqvist debuted his first NHL victory beating Detroit 6-3 at Little Caesars Arena. What looked like great coverage in the beginning disappeared by the Red Wings, who had to switch goaltenders in their loss.

The Red Wings opened their seventh season, with Larkin leading a stacked team in his fourth season with the “C”. Detroit faced Pittsburgh, who were already into the action despite their shutout loss to the Rangers on Wednesday. The Penguins wanted to avoid getting gooseegged but faced a team with many veterans in its lines. The Red Wings acquisition of Tarasenko and extensions of Raymond and Seider, left their performance to determine their place back in the postseason 82 games from now. 

Detroit's first four minutes were very productive. They spent a lot of time getting shots on goal in the Penguins' zone. At 3:46, DeBrincat shot it top shelf behind Pittsburgh's goaltender. They marked their first shot on goal against the Red Wings, but great defense from Olli Maatta cut them off. They dug in to get more chances against Husso in between the pipes for Detroit, but the home team continued to dictate. 

The Red Wings earned a power play from Lars Eller and attacked Blomqvist, gaining a second opportunities on the loose puck. The Penguins killed off Detroit’s power play but trailed the Red Wings on shots and scoring chances. With less than five to play in the period, Beauvillier leveled the score. Whiffing a shot near the net on a pass from Crosby, the left winger’s second attempt bounced off Ben Chiarot and across the goal line, ending their short goalless streak. 

While things looked even on the scoreboard, the Red Wings' transition game continued to dominate the Penguins. Detroit earned a second man advantage with three to go, doubling their shots at the net when it came to an end. Twenty minutes was in the books between the two, and the Red Wings looked strong. 

The second period went the way of the Penguins, who increased their shots at Husso in the first two minutes. Beauvillier got his second of the night after a win from the faceoff by Crosby, who shot the puck to the net where the left winger consolidated the rebound. It was 3-1 58 seconds later with Malkin breaking through the slot and the Red Wings defense. He found Drew O’Connor, who took the shot and credited his team to widen the gap. It got worse for Husso, who suffered an awful goal just flying above his glove from Marcus Pettersson making it 4-1 for Pittsburgh.

Cam Talbot came off the bench to replace him in the crease, hoping to stop the onslaught and get Detroit back in check. Their first test down a man came at 7:50 fighting the shots that Pittsburgh took. The Detroit PK did well in working with Talbot and clearing out the puck. They earned a third chance and got close, but despite not happening on the power play, Vladimir Tarasenko made it 4-2. He rifled one from the back part of the faceoff, making his presence known on the team. 

It was almost 5-2 for the Penguins, but a hand pass seen by the officials negated that opportunity for them to go up three. After 40, the Penguins outshot Detroit 14-11, destined to take their lead and charge forward. A bad penalty from Detroit in the third cost them a small gap to cover and turned into a larger one. Karlsson scored his first with the team, with assists from Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. Four minutes went by, with Detroit looking helpless and out of ideas on how to strike back three goals down. Letang, put the Red Wings on the power play until another Noel Acciari made it a 5 on 3. Detroit fought hard to make good of their push to score on the advantage, doing so on a second goal from DeBrincat. His efforts were felt through the squad, who took every opportunity to inch forward on the Penguins. 

Kevin Hayes returned the Penguins to a three-goal lead, ringing the puck around in the Detroit net, with 7:39 left in regulation. Both teams had eight shots on goal in the period, but the margin was not going to change for the home team. 

 

El Bakkali repeats as Olympic champion in men's steeplechase

Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali wins his second straight gold medal in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase 

Soufianne El Bakkali made history in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Paris Olympics Tuesday night. The Moroccan became the first man since the 1936 Berlin games to repeat as gold medalist in the event at Stade de France. Team USA's Kenneth Rooks stayed within reach of El Bakkali to earn silver, and Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot got bronze. 

El Bakkali didn’t have the best time to qualify, but it was enough to get him into the final with 14 other competitors. In the last 1,000 meters, the Moroccan seemed uncomfortable as he sat in the middle of the pack. The final lap was drama-filled as El Bakkali interacted with the leaders. Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma fell hard after tripping the hurdle. He did not finish the race and was taken off on a stretcher. 

The three stayed with one another, clearing the remainder of the pack to medal at the end of the night. The time of 8:06.05 was put up by El Bakkali, followed by the American, who beat Kibiwot by six-hundredths of a second. 

Winfred Yavi wins gold in womens steeplechase

Winfred Yavi of Bahrain celebrates her Olympic Record-breaking performance in the women's 3000 meter steeplechase at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

The reigning world champion of the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase snatched the title away from the defending Olympic champion Tuesday night. Winfred Yavi of Bahrain bided her time in the seven-lap race at Stade de France, passing Permuth Chemutai of Uganda in the last 40 meters to win the gold medal. 

Yavi set an Olympic record at 8:52.76, beating the Ugandan by half a second. Faith Cherotich of Kenya was denied her chance at the title, with her country missing out in the race’s fifth edition. 

Rebeca Andrade wins gold in floor, US wins silver, bronze

Rebeca Andrade celebrated her gold medal win in the women's floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

The women’s gymnastics competition ended stunningly at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday night. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won her first gold medal on the floor exercise at Bercy Arena. Simone Biles won her 11th Olympic medal in silver, along with Jordan Chiles, whose score was changed to come through with a bronze. 

The final apparatus marked the last chance for Biles to tie Vera Cavslavska for second on the most medals won by gymnasts, with 11. Her fall during the balance beam final negated her chance to sit in second by herself, but having the best routine of any competitor kept her in the hunt to get the job done in Paris. 

Andrade earned 14.166 to set the bar for the last six gymnasts to perform. Halfway through the event, no one got anywhere close to the Brazilian. Before the second half got underway, Biles went up to warm up and had an issue with her left calf again, applying more tape to it before her turn. Ana Barbosu of Romania got 13.700 bringing her into the medal conversation.

D’Amato earned 13.600, followed by Biles, who stepped with both feet out of bounds twice. The American managed 14.133, moving into second, with two gymnasts left. After Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, it was Chiles last for the United States to seal her place in Paris Olympic history. 

In a stunning turn of events, the 23-year-old got 13.666, but an inquiry was made on her behalf to suddenly get into the bronze medal position. Chiles moved to 13.766 beating Romania’s Ana Barbosu by a tenth to join Biles on the podium

Alice D'Amato wins gold in women's balance beam, US fails to medal

Italy's Alice D'Amato celebrating her balance beam routine at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The women’s balance beam final was brutal for everyone but Italy’s Alice D’Amato at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Italian had the best routine of the day, earning the gold medal at Bercy Arena on Monday night. China’s Yaquin Zhou held her place for the silver, and Manila Esposito joined her teammate on the podium with bronze. It marked the first time since 2000 that the United States failed to medal in a gymnastics event. 

Biles attempted to be the first gymnast in Olympic history to win a medal in an apparatus final three times. Her two bronze medals from Rio and Tokyo were tough to attain in an unforgivable event final. China only had one gymnast in play, hoping to get her in place to be at the top. 

Zhou was first to go up, miscalculating a skill that cost her a five-tenth deduction. The judges score her at 14.100, putting her in a decent position, despite the mistake. Lee had a much bigger one during her routine, falling off the beam during a flip combination. She got back up to finish the last elements, before sticking the landing to end it. 13.100 was what Lee earned, leaving her way out of medal contention. 

The first four competitors didn’t have clean routines including Manila Esposito, who didn’t fall, but had a minor balance check. Her teammate was the first gymnast to nail every part of her routine, giving D’Amato a medal victory with 14.366. Biles was second to last and was another victim to the beam. She moved fast during a run, taking a fall from the apparatus. The judges gave her 13.100, leaving Andrade to decide her fate. 

The Brazilian had a balance check, but nothing serious to guarantee herself a place on the podium. Despite having a clean routine, the judges scored her 13.933, shocking most of the crowd and D’Amato, becoming Italy’s first of two individual medalling in the sport.

Kaylia Nemour tops uneven bars final for gold, Lee repeats for bronze.

Kaylia Nemour of Algeria celebrates her gold medal victory in the women's gymnastics uneven bars final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

History was made for the African continent in women’s gymnastics at the Summer Olympics. Algerian Kaylia Nemour won the gold medal in the uneven bars event final, defeating all the best at Bercy Arena Sunday night. China’s Qiyuan Qiu got between Nemour and Sunisa Lee for silver, leaving the American to repeat the even final twice.  

Derwael and Lee returned to give the apparatus a run and repeat as medalists in the final. Lee wanted to upgrade her bronze from Tokyo and provide the Belgian a run for the top medal of the night. Alice D’Amato of Italy set the best numbers, scoring 14.733, but after her was the reigning Olympic champion.

Derwael managed to get the lead by a hair over D’Amato, with five competitors left to perform. Becky Downie of Great Britain had a shot at making it into medal contention, but her signature move was cut short, losing grip on the bar. She was given 13.633, which left over a point gap for the remaining gymnasts. Qiu had the highest level of difficulty left of the gymnasts remaining and excelled in her routine on the bars. The first-time Chinese star earned 15.500, taking the lead by seven-tenths. 

With a new number to beat, Nemour had the potential to top Qiu. Her uneven bars routine flowed well, nailing all the combinations. 15.700 was what the judges gave the Algerian, setting her up for Olympic history. After Helen Kervic went seventh, Lee took to the bars, trying to either repeat as a bronze medalist or get into a better spot. 14.800 was what they gave her, repeating for the second Olympics in a row, sending Derwael empty of anything. 

Belgium's Evenpoel wins second gold in men's road race.

Belgium's Remco Evenpoel celebates winning the men's road race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Remco Evenepoel made history in men’s cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday. The 24-year-old from Belgium became the first man to win the time trial, winning the men’s road race, and finishing in front of the Eiffel Tower. French teammates Valentin Madouras and Christophe Laporte came in behind Evenepoel to take the silver and bronze medals respectively. 

90 riders took part in the 273-kilometer race (169 miles) race that went from Paris, to the outskirts of the French countryside and back into the city. There were three circuit climbs around the Sacre-Cœur before coming through The Louvre and finishing by the Trocadero. 

12 riders failed to finish the race, but many saw several dramatic events in the six-hour trek. Two crashes occurred, but neither cyclists were physically injured. Evenepoel was not immune to issues during his gold medal ride as he caught a flat tire inside The Louvre. Desperately yelling for a new bike, the Belgian freaked out over losing his one-minute lead on the chasers and Peloton. 

His team reacted quickly to get him a new bike and back on his way. He came to the finish line alone, scoring his second gold medal of the Olympics in 6:19.34, beating the French by 69 seconds.