NEWS » only a shot better off, while two-time winner

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil won the medal it wanted the most Saturday, claiming its first Olympic gold in soccer and providing a lift to a beleaguered nation in the process.Neymar scored the clinching goal for Brazil with a nifty penalty kick in a victory that touched off celebrations all across the soccer-obsessed nation. The win boosted the spirits of a country that has been dealing with a recession, political turmoil, health scares and rampant crime -- not to mention the lingering effects of a 7-1 rout against Germany in the 2014 World Cup.Beloved nation, the gold is ours, Brazilian goalie Weverton said.The soccer championship headlined a golden day in the Rio Olympics, featuring a full slate of track and field, the future of boxing on display in a medal bout and a Hall of Fame golfer pulling off an impressive comeback. The U.S. womens basketball team handily beat Spain 101-72 for a sixth straight title ; the American women have not lost an Olympic contest since 1992.Brazils run to gold in soccer was far from easy, struggling in the first round under the intense pressure of a nation that desperately wanted an Olympic gold. In the final, Neymar not only clinched the win in penalty kicks but scored the teams lone goal in regulation. Brazil won 1-1 (5-4 shootout).Neymar did it before an electric crowd that featured nine-time gold medalist Usain Bolt. When Neymar scored his first goal, he emulated Bolts To the World pose.The Germany-Brazil soccer featured nearly entirely different rosters from the 2014 World Cup that marked a low point for Brazilian sports. Olympic soccer features under-23 teams while the World Cup is for the top national squad. But the match still had huge significance for Brazil, which had never won gold.Unlike Neymars squad, the U.S. womens basketball team breezed through the tournament -- make that six straight tournaments. It was the final Olympic game for Tamika Catchings, who is retiring after the WNBA season. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have also hinted that this might be their Olympic finale, too.Two talented young boxers who could wind up being the future stars of the sport faced off in the bantamweight gold medal bout. Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba won in a split decision over American Shakur Stevenson in an entertaining match in front of a fired-up, pro-Cuban crowd.Seven medal events are being held in track and field. At the age of 37, Ruth Beitia of Spain won her first major championship with a gold in high jump. Caster Semenya of South Africa won the Olympic title in the 800 meters with no one close to challenging her. Mo Farah of Britain became the first runner in 40 years to win back-to-back long-distance doubles at the Olympics by taking gold in the mens 5,000 meters.And the Americans had another exceptional night at the track. The U.S. 4x400 relay teams, led by Allyson Felix for the women and LaShawn Merritt for the men, won to give the country 31 track and field medals. The U.S. medal haul also included Matthew Centrowitz winning the 1,500-meters -- the first American to take gold in the event in more than 100 years.Other highlights from Day 15 the Rio de Janeiro Games:WATER POLO WIN : Serbia and Croatia have a long history -- and that now includes a medal match in Olympic water polo. Serbia beat Croatia 11-7 to win the countrys first Olympic gold in mens water polo.GOLD IN GOLF : Inbee Park hasnt won all year on the LPGA. She has been recovering from ligament damage in her thumb and didnt play in the last two majors. But on Saturday, the seven-time major winner took command with a 5-under 66 and won a gold medal.TRIATHLON WINNER : Coming into the Rio Games, the U.S. had never won an Olympic triathlon gold medal. Gwen Jorgensen changed that, easily winning over the 2012 gold medalist. Jorgensen was an All-American track athlete and swimmer at the University of Wisconsin and had settled into her first job as an accountant in Milwaukee before deciding to take up triathlon. To win gold, Jorgensen ran 6.2 miles, swam a mile in the ocean and cycled 24 miles in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 16 seconds.BADMINTON DUEL : Chen Long of China and Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia are considered by many to be the best players of their era in badminton. They faced each other in the gold medal match, and Lee -- the worlds No. 1 player -- won again.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---Follow Associated Press Writer Josh Hoffner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoshHoffner Air Max 1 Outlet Australia . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Air Max 1 Australia Sale .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. http://www.cheapairmax1australia.com/ . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Cheap Wholesale Nike Air Max 1 . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Air Max 1 Australia Wholesale . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Rory McIlroy revealed how much work he has to do before bidding to regain his Open title after an erratic opening round in the 100th French Open in Paris.McIlroy was two under par after six holes at Le Golf National but eventually had to settle for a level-par 71 featuring four birdies, four bogeys and two trips to the water at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.That left the 27-year-old five shots off the lead held by Denmarks Lucas Bjerregaard, whose 66 gave him a one-shot lead over defending champion Bernd Wiesberger, Belgiums Thomas Pieters, Thailands Thongchai Jaidee and Spains Adrian Otaegui.McIlroy has been putting in the hours on the range with coach Michael Bannon ever since an opening 77 in the US Open led to a first missed cut in a major championship since the 2013 Open.And asked what areas he was working on, the four-time major winner joked: Have you got 10 minutes?My left-hand grip is too strong. Takeaway was going on the inside. Wasnt holding my right elbow properly at the top of my swing. Wasnt getting my right knee out of the way on the downswing... Ive been working on a few things.I was joking with my friends at the weekend; Ive got 17 swing thoughts down to about five, so Im doing okay. Try to get that to two next week.Ive got another hopefully three competitive rounds here. Ive got all next week and then obviously a few days leading up to the Thursday of The Open. So hopefully by then, it will be all bedded in.McIlroy, who was unable to defend his Open title in 2015 after suffering an ankle injury during a game of football with friends, added: I think the hardest thing is that I havent focused on my grip since I changed it when I was maybe 12 years old. Progressively the left hand got a bit stronger and stronger and that clubface is coming in closed at impact.ddddddddddddGripping the club feels quite strange at the minute but I just need to stay with it. Bigger picture, its the right thing to do. They are not major changes. They are tweaks trying to get it back to where I know I can be.Every tournament is important and you want to try and play well but sometimes it just has to be done.Despite his problems, McIlroy still fared better than Masters champion Danny Willett, who double-bogeyed the 18th after finding water with his approach to card a 75 and face the prospect of a second consecutive missed cut.Playing partner Lee Westwood, who finished second to Willett at Augusta, was only a shot better off, while two-time winner Graeme McDowell slumped to a nine-over-par 80.Bjerregaards 66 contained a hole-in-one on the second hole from 202 yards and five birdies, despite playing with a new set of clubs after his own had been lost in transit.It was a great way to start my round, the 24-year-old said. Its my first ever hole-in-one, so that was pretty sweet. It was a perfect number for a seven iron downwind. I hit a great shot straight at it but we couldnt really see it.It looked like it went in, but about five guys were at the back of the green and nobody clapped or reacted in any way and then Matteo (Manassero) said he thought he could see it right behind the pin. I grabbed my putter and we started walking and when we got a little closer we could see no ball on the green.My clubs got lost on the way down here so Nike made me a new set yesterday. Maybe I should just keep these now and let the airline company keep my old ones. ' ' '