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OMAHA, Neb. -- The United States is assembling an Olympic swimming team that Michael Phelps hardly recognizes.Nearly halfway through the eight-day trials, the team bound for Rio de Janeiro next month has as many as 17 first-timers. Left in their wake so far are such stalwarts as Missy Franklin, Natalie Coughlin, Matt Grevers, Tyler Clary and Jessica Hardy.Phelps, who turns 31 on Thursday, and teenager Katie Ledecky appear to be the only sure things at a meet described by Phelps as more pressure-packed than the Olympics. Its harder here, he said.No one is finding it tougher than Franklin.Four years ago, she was a bubbly teenager who became a star at the London Games, winning five medals, including four golds. Now, shes a professional athlete, albeit still oozing charisma, and sponsors are betting big bucks on her to succeed again. But Franklin wont be defending her gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke after finishing a stunning seventh in the final Tuesday night.Right now I need to make the team in whatever way that looks like, she said.It might only be on a relay.Franklins next chance comes Wednesday night in the 200 freestyle, where shes a longshot. Ledecky, already on the team in the 400 free, looks to lock up a second event. She goes into the final more than a second faster than everyone else, leaving Franklin and defending Olympic champion Allison Schmitt among those scrapping for second.Thats a tough one, Franklin said.The top six finishers in the 200 free can make the team and be potential relay swimmers. Franklin and Schmitt would rather finish first or second so they could swim the individual event in Rio. But simply making the team would be enough at this point. Schmitt also won five medals in London, but has yet to impress in Omaha. She was fifth in the 400 free.Shell be able to work through some of the things she needs to work through, Phelps said of his longtime friend Schmitt.Phelps is expected to make his fifth and last Olympic team Wednesday night in the 200 butterfly final. He qualified with a time that is 1.10 seconds faster than anyone else. His protege, Chase Kalisz, will try to grab the second spot. Kalisz made his first Olympic team in the 400 individual medley.I see a lot of new faces. I dont even know half of them, Phelps said. Its exciting to have new faces, where people are really pumped to come up in the sport. Thats a good thing to see as Im on my way out.Ryan Lochte, Phelps rival and friend, eked onto the team Tuesday night with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free. Lochte is competing hurt, having injured his groin in the 400 IM preliminaries last Sunday.You can never go in knowing that youre going to make the team, just because the U.S. is one of the hardest countries to make the Olympic team for because theyre so strong in every event, he said. Youve just got to hope and believe that you can.Franklin isnt the only American who wont be defending an Olympic title in Rio.Matt Grevers, the 100 back champion four years ago, finished third in the final, beaten a half-second by first-timers Ryan Murphy and David Plummer, a 30-year-old father.Im a little stunned, Grevers said. After I let it sink in, Ill be more distraught than I currently am.He has another shot Wednesday in the 100 free preliminaries, needing a top-six finish to be considered for a relay berth.Like Grevers, Coughlin is aiming to make the team with a top-six finish in the womens 100 free. The 33-year-old swimmer finished eighth and last in the 100 back, an event in which she once won back-to-back Olympic titles and was the first woman to swim under 1 minute.My backstroke is just not there right now, she said.Veterans Clary and Hardy are still in the hunt. Clary, the 200 backstroke champion in London, finished seventh in the 200 free final. Hardy was sixth in the 100 breaststroke.Its scary for us veterans, Hardy said, but its really wonderful to see (the newcomers). The strength is really deep in our country and were really proud of that.Another first-timer, Maya DiRado, goes for a second event in the 200 IM final Wednesday night. She made the team in the 400 IM, and at 23, plans to retire from swimming after Rio to start a business analysts job awaiting her this fall.Its sad to see those faces go in so many events, said first-timer Lilly King, but nice to see new faces come up.---This story has been corrected to show Phelps birthday is Thursday, not Friday. 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Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves have secured their veteran shooting guard. They finalized a deal to send away his predecessor at the position to further enhance this fast-changing roster under new basketball boss Flip Saunders. After agreeing to the framework of the deal the day before, the Wolves acquired Kevin Martin via a sign-and-trade manoeuvr with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night and dealt Luke Ridnour to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks also got a 2014 second-round draft pick from the Wolves. The Thunder got the draft rights to second-round draft pick Szymon Szewczyk from the Bucks. The Thunder also sent an undisclosed amount of cash to both the Wolves and the Bucks. The Wolves needed to trade Ridnour for flexibility to sign small forward Corey Brewer, their former first-round pick who played last season for the Denver Nuggets, and to re-sign small forward Chase Budinger. Those deals were expected to be done on Friday. Coach Rick Adelman was fond of Ridnour, who started all 82 games for the Wolves last season while playing out of position for a small, injury-ravaged team. He came to Minnesota after two seasons with Milwaukee. "Sometimes you have to give up things you dont really want to, but you have to look at where you want to go at the end," Saunders said. The Timberwolves were last in the league in 3-point shooting last season. The 6-foot-7 MMartin shot a career-high 42.dddddddddddd6 per cent from behind the arc with the Thunder. He has averaged 20-plus points per game in five of his nine seasons in the NBA. His production decreased with the Thunder, but Saunders chalked that up to the presence of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Saunders also brushed off any concern about Martins defence, praising his shooting touch as a defensive weapon of its own. "As Coach said, he feels in his system we can chalk in 18 points," Saunders said, referring to Martins career scoring average. The 6-2 Ridnour had the most efficient season of his career with the Bucks in 2009-10, setting personal bests in field goal and free throw shooting. "Luke didnt want to continue playing as a 2 guard," Saunders said. "He wanted to be in a situation where he thought he could get really extended playing time at the point guard." The Wolves watched small forward Andrei Kirilenko, who earlier opted out of his contract, agree to terms on a new deal with the Brooklyn Nets. But they added another veteran to the roster by agreeing to terms on a two-year, $3.2 million contract with power forward Ronny Turiaf, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein. "The direction Flips got the team going and the style that Rick plays is something he was really excited about," Bartelstein said in a phone interview. ' ' '