er. Bryant meets with ex-team-mate Shaquille ONeal following Bry

Three weeks of highs, heart-stoppers and a few heartaches too. Rio had it all, and even more. The following, in no particular order, have been a few of those moments that will keep finding their way back in my bank of memories.The bronzeAfter more than a week of competitions, India still hadnt registered their presence on the medals tally. There had been several near misses and a sense of desperation was palpable. The drought was ended in the most unexpected fashion by this feisty wrestler from Rohtak, Sakshi Malik. In her bronze medal play-off, she trailed her opponent from Kyrgyzstan by 5 points, but with three minutes still to go in the bout, she fought back in spectacular fashion- Sakshi first overturned the deficit and then took the lead to become the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal. She said later that she was confident that if she lasted the duration of the bout, she would return with a medal.The ProdunovaGymnastics is one of the most followed sports at an Olympics and Dipa Karmakars presence among an elite field itself was a huge moment for Indian sport. Having made the cut for the eight woman final by the skin of her teeth, Dipa produced a compelling performance in front of a packed audience on the day. She was the sixth gymnast to perform her two vaults, and by performing her now patented Produova as the second vault, Dipa produced a scintillating passage. Her scores catapulted her to second spot raising hopes of a most unlikely medal, but she was surpassed by the last two gymnasts in the field. Despite missing out, she lifted the sagging spirits of Indian sports followers and became an instant rage back home, though when asked if she realized how much her feat had resonated in the country, she simply smiled and said, No.The BoltThe arrival of Usain Bolt into the stadium is an occasion in itself. It is as if the thousands of people inside have been eagerly anticipating only that audience. In Rio, the big question was if he will be displaced as the king of sprint. A lot of punditry was doing the rounds about how he was ripe for the taking. But when it came to the actual running of the races, the Jamaican showed just why he was infinitely superior to the field. In the 100m, he recovered from a shaky start to run down American Justin Gatlin with a spectacular burst. In the 200m, he decimated the field, crossing the finish line well ahead of the chasing pack. And then, he bossed the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay to complete a Three-peat at the Olympics. He made the crowd a part of every celebration, energizing them with the signature Bolt victory display and walking around the stadium to acknowledge their presence. He remains the most compelling athlete on the planet.The silver liningWatching P V Sindhu in action over the course of the week was to watch an athlete on rapid ascendancy. In a remarkably assured run, Sindhu won three consecutive matches against higher ranked opponents without losing a single game. Her movements around court was markedly better than before and her shot making had more penetration as well as deception. With coach and mentor Gopichand in her corner at all times, Sindhu flowered in the pressure and against the World No.1 Carolina Marin in the final, put in a commendable performance. Though she was beaten in a three-game encounter, Sindhu signaled her arrival as a player who is near certain to make a surge up the rankings. Once she had the silver medal around her neck, all Sindhu wanted was to have a little bit of junk food that Gopichand had prohibited over the last couple of months.The redemptionAt one of the iconic venues in the sporting world, it appeared an entire nation had focused its eyes on the outcome of this match. Football runs in the bloodstream of Brazilians and being there on the night they fronted up to Germany for the gold medal was as clear a demonstration of that as one could hope to see. From an hour before kick off, the arena throbbed with sound, music and anticipation in a way that some of the hurt of their embarrassing loss in the 2014 World Cup semifinal to the same opponents could be erased.Neymar was the central figure of the night and once the game began, it was as if you were transported to an alternative universe. The fans urged their team on with whistles, drum beats and co-ordinated chants. The Germans stayed in the contest despite conceding the lead and their efforts were rewarded with a second half equaliser. It was in the penalty shootout that the arena exploded with nervous tension. At 4-4, with Nils Petersen missing his penalty, Neymar stepped up and scripted the perfect fairytale finish as the talisman of the team. The subsequent celebrations shook the foundations of the Maracana Stadium with delirious fans hugging, jumping and weeping in sheer ecstasy. For the neutral, it was an unforgettable experience - a reminder of the power of sport to unite a people. Cheap Hydro Flask Free Shipping . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Cheap Hydro Flask For Sale . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. http://www.discounthydroflaskcheap.com/ . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Hydro Flask Sale . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Cheap Hydro Flask Sale . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006.Kobe Bryant delivered a fairytale ending to his glittering 20-year career by scoring a mammoth 60 points in his final NBA game to inspire the LA Lakers to a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center. Playing front of a galaxy of stars, including Jack Nicholson and David Beckham, Bryant saved some of his best for his 1,566th and last game.Man, I cant believe how fast 20 years went by, this is crazy, Bryant said after the victory in an address to the crowd. Bryant addresses the crowd after the game To be standing on centre court with you guys, my team-mates behind me, appreciating all this, the journey weve been on.I grew up a die-hard Laker fan - I mean a die-hard Laker fan - so to be drafted and traded here and spend 20 years here, you cant write something better than this.No words can describe how I feel about you guys, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. What can I say? Mamba out. David Beckham was courtside at Kobe Bryants last game A sell-out crowd of 19,060 fans were packed in to see Bryants finale and the 18-time NBA All-Star soon had the crowd on their feet, hitting a couple of early three-pointers as he posted 22 of the Lakers 42 first-half points.But more was to come in the second-half as the 38-year-old hauled his team from behind to win the game. Kobe Bryant says goodbye to professional basketball with the LA Lakers A video tribute to Bryant before the game featured many of basketballs legends featuring Shaquille ONeal, Lamar Odom, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and several other coaches.ddddddddddddIt was fun playing with you, it was fun playing against you, ONeal said. Best Laker ever. Bryant meets with ex-team-mate Shaquille ONeal following Bryants final game Lakers legend Magic Johnson acted as master of ceremonies and told the crowd: We are here to celebrate greatness for 20 years. Hes not only a great and unbelievable sports icon but hes already the greatest to wear the purple and gold. Kobe Bryant had plenty of messages on social media, including one from Barack Obama Iconic film star Nicholson also appeared and later described Bryants retirement as a melancholy moment.Its like anything - you dont know what you had until you dont have it, he told NBA TV. Fortunately we do know what we had and he has been great all the way. ' ' '