NEWS » rookie.Shes fearless; shes not afraid of risks or challeng

RIO DE JANEIRO -- There are a few Rio finales in the pool, while track and field gets underway. Here are Fridays highlights:Mens 100 fly final, 10:12 p.m. ET; Womens 800 free final, 10:20 p.m. ET: Michael Phelps will swim in his final individual race of the Rio Olympics, going for his fourth straight gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly and his fifth gold of the Rio Olympics after winning the 200 IM on Thursday night. On the womens side, Katie Ledecky is pretty much a lock to win the 800 freestyle in her final swim in Rio. She already set the Olympic record in prelims with her eighth-fastest time and has the 12 fastest times by anyone in the event. She could become the second swimmer to win the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle events in the same Olympics (Debbie Meyer did it in 1968) and the third American woman to win four golds at a single Games (Missy Franklin in 2012, Amy Van Dyken in 1996).Complete swimming coverageUSWNT vs. Sweden, noon ET: The U.S. women hope to rebound from a shaky draw against Colombia in their last group-play match in Fridays quarterfinal. The Americans have reached all five previous Olympic finals, winning four gold medals, including the past two. The U.S. is winless in three games against Sweden since former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage took the Sweden job in late 2012 (she took the post after leading the USWNT to gold in London). That includes a draw in the 2015 Womens World Cup group stage and a loss in the 2011 WWC group stage.Complete soccer coverageU.S. women vs. Canada, 2:30 p.m. ET; U.S. men vs. Serbia, 6 p.m. ET: Both American teams return to the court Friday. The U.S. men beat Serbia by 37 points in the 2014 World Cup championship game, while the U.S. women beat Canada by 40 points in a pre-Olympic exhibition game last month. Breanna Stewart will see a familiar face on the other side of the court, as she faces Canadian and former UConn teammate Kia Nurse.Complete basketball coveragePreliminary action, coverage begins 8:30 a.m. ET: The track and field competition begins Friday with three medal events (womens 10,000 meters, mens 20km race walk, womens shot put) and preliminary heats in the womens 100 and mens 400. In the 100, there are a handful of sprinters to watch: Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, teammate and defending two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast and Americans Tianna Bartoletta, Tori Bowie and English Gardner.Complete track and field coverageTournament continues, coverage begins 11 a.m. ET: Rafael Nadal faces Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil before he returns to the court for the gold-medal mens doubles match with teammate Marc Lopez as they face Romanias Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau. Britains Andy Murray faces American Steve Johnson in the mens quarters, while Madison Keys takes on Angelique Kerber in the womens semifinals. In mixed doubles, Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram of the U.S. face Italys Roberta Vinci and Fabio Fognini. After being knocked out in singles and doubles, this is Williams remaining event and one she entered because of the other eliminations.Complete tennis coverageInformation from The Associated Press was used in this story. 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Three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson came back from Australia for her jersey retirement ceremony. Sue Bird, who won two WNBA titles with Jackson, stole the show with her hilarious and touching tribute to her former teammate.And the young duo charged with being the next Bird and LJ -- guard Jewell Loyd and forward Breanna Stewart -- smiled while watching the proceedings. But in their minds, you know the wheels had to be spinning just a little: Might this be us someday? Will we have this kind of legacy?Then, of course, it was back to the everyday work of the WNBA season, and for Stewart, the Rio de Janeiro Olympics too. But the second rendition of the same storyline in Seattle -- two No. 1 picks taken in back-to-back years and becoming a dynamic duo -- is in the early stages of playing out very well for the Storm.Seattle returns to the playoffs after a two-year absence, and as the No. 7 seed will visit No. 6 Atlanta in Wednesdays first-round single-elimination game (ESPNEWS, 8 p.m. ET).The Storm (16-18) won seven of their 10 games after the Olympic break. Stewart (18.3 PPG) and Loyd (16.5 PPG) are Seattles top scorers, and Stewart also leads the team in rebounds (9.3) and blocked shots (1.9). She and Loyd both average 3.4 assists.I think theyre doing great, and its only their first year together, Bird said. They still have a long way to go and so much to learn about their games, and how their games can relate to each other. But for the most part, you can see a lot of it already.Both are extremely athletic, both very dynamic; their highlights are going to be those alley-oop plays to each other. That right there paints of picture of what theyre going to bring.We know Stewart is quite the ace in regards to one-and-done games such as the Storm will face Wednesday. She and the UConn Huskies won four consecutive NCAA titles from 2013 to 16. Three of those came at the expense of Loyds Notre Dame team, which UConn beat in the 2013 national semifinals and the 2014 and 15 finals.Then Loyd opted to forgo her senior season with the Irish and declared for the WNBA draft, going No. 1 in 2015. When the lottery balls fell for the Storm to have No. 1 for the 2016 draft as well, the ccomparisons to Bird and Jackson began immediately.dddddddddddd?Making the handoff actually tangible, is that Bird is still right there as the heart of the Storm, having one of her best seasons at the age of 35. She led the league in assists (5.8) and also had her career high in 3-pointers (72) and shooting percentage from behind the arc (44.4). Shes the Storms third-leading scorer at 12.8 PPG.It might sound too perfect a script. And to be fair, Loyd and Stewart should not always have to be thought in terms of how they relate to the duo that came before them, one of whom is still very much around.But the thing is, Loyd and Stewart dont seem to be worried about how theyre going to live up to such expectations. They get it: Theyre star players who are exciting to watch individually and as a tandem, and the league needs that. They are the present, and most definitely the future.Loyd was the WNBAs Rookie of the Year last season, and Stewart is a lock for that honor this year. In fact, Stewart was a legitimate candidate for MVP as a rookie.Shes fearless; shes not afraid of risks or challenges, Seattle coach Jenny Boucek said of Stewart. Shes a great teammate, and she wants to be coached. As good as she is, there are still areas where she can improve, and she knows that.The same was said last year about Loyd. The jump in her scoring showed how well she put into practice the things that she learned from her rookie year, when she averaged 10.7 points.Having Sue telling me to be aggressive, to keep going -- having her in my ear has made me feel more confident, Loyd said. The work I did overseas helped me, too. I think the game feels a little slower your second year; Im seeing things earlier, reacting sooner. I think my defense is better, and on offense I understand mismatches better and where I can get my shots.And whether this 2016 postseason is very short, or the Storm go on a run, Loyd and Stewart are aware theyve landed somewhere pretty special.Its been really exciting, Stewart said. We played against each other a lot. Now to be on the same team ... obviously shes a great young guard, and its nice being able to grow together. ' ' '