Friday in Rio at the 2016 Olympic Games promises more can't-miss action with some of the world's biggest names ready to compete for medals.There's plenty at stake as the United States attempts to distance itself from the rest of the pack on the medal chart. Whether it's in the pool or on various playing surfaces, empty podiums await those who can rise above in some of the summer's most noteworthy sports.Here's a look at an updating medal count:There are some events not rewarding medals on the day, but taking another necessary step in that direction as team sports move through preliminary rounds. Here's a look at Friday's notables, with predictions after the jump.Full event listings and all events available by stream at NBCOlympics.com.Predictions for Friday's Top EventsMen's Tennis: Doubles Medal MatchesThe United States will have to settle for bronze at best in the men's tennis doubles competition.The duo of Jack Sock and Steve Johnson couldn't move past Romania's Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea Thursday, setting up an interesting bronze-medal duel against Canada.Perhaps most interesting of all, the Canadian duo is led by Vasek Pospisil, one of Sock's former doubles partners at various tournaments.For Romania's duo, the path to a gold couldn't be more difficultSpain's Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal stand in the way. Interestingly enough, this final is all the more important for Nadal because he chose to remove himself from the mixed doubles event."It's not been an easy season for me," Nadal said, according to Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press. "Two weeks ago, I really didn't know if I will have the chance to be here and compete in this Olympic Games, because the practice (time) was almost zero for two months."Nadal remains alive in singles competition as well, but he's still been far and away the best player on the court and Lopez has been the perfect compatriot. Those two have gold in their sights and won't let up, while Sock and Johnson can jump out ahead early and secure a medal of their own.Gold:SpainSilver: RomaniaBronze:United StatesMen's Basketball: United States vs. SerbiaKyrie Irving, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of Team USA return to the court Friday after an odd encounter with Australia.Granted, Team USA has a 3-0 mark in Group A, the wins coming by an average of 37 points. But that's deceptive when one takes into account the close call against Australia on Wednesday, a 98-88 victory.In fact, ESPN.com's Marc Stein pulled back the curtain concerning how confident Australia entered the contest:How confident is Australia that it has a real shot at a medal here' According to the pregame rumbles in circulation in the media tribune, Australia showed up with some loose plans to hold back some against Team USA ... in the hope that it'll have a second shot to play the United States with a medal on the line next week.Luckily for the United States, Irving turned on his newfound clutch gene, the one he first showed off in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals when he led the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Golden State Warriors.Irving hit the magical shot and sunk Australia, setting up an encounter with Serbia. It looks like an easier game this time around, with Serbia coming off a crushing one-point loss to France. Before that, the Serbs had suffered a blowout at the hands of Australia.Still, Australia just showed the globe what confidently entering a game against Team USA could do. Irving and the others don't have a cakewalk of a game by any means.Prediction: United States 98, Serbia 82 Men's Swimning: 100-Meter Butterfly FinalOnly Michael Phelps could swim too fast while looking to go for a four-peat.Phelps hit the pool Thursday in 100-meter butterfly heats and said he "screwed up," according to Rachel Lutz of NBC Olympics.Long story short, if Phelps had swum a little faster in the early Thursday preliminary, he would have landed in the second heat instead of the first. Instead he landed in the first, which was close after his appearance in the 200-meter individual medley final.An event, of course, he won. Phelps "screwed up" because he hardly had 30 minutes to rest after taking the gold, but it didn't seem to faze him much, as ABC News pointed out:Slight hiccup aside, it's hard to imagine anyone besting Phelps. This is one of his events, and he's already established himself yet again as the person to beat in it after taking gold in the same event at the Pan American Championships in 2015. Just like his fourth gold in the 200-meter medley event, Phelps will take a fifth and No. 23 overall with a win Friday night.Look for teammate and rising star Tom Shields to also land on the podium after strong preliminaries.Gold:Michael Phelps, USASilver: Tom Shields, USABronze: Joseph Schooling, Singapore Stats and information courtesy of Rio2016.com.
Click here to read full news..
