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Out of position

Athlete of the Hour Beauts & Busts Featured Expert Four Years Ago Gold Rush Heard Around Town Margin of Victory On the Spot Storylines By Mitch Gelman and Adam Levine, CNNSI.com The grounder kicked off Dot Richardson's glove, and when she picked it up, the U.S. second baseman rushed her throw: E-4. The error was the first of two for Richardson in the top of the 11th inning against Japan, mistakes that led to the U.S. team's first loss in 113 games. If the team does have an Achilles' heel, it may be that Dr. Dot is playing out of position. For more than a decade, the 38-year-old team leader was the club's stalwart shortstop. But she moved over to make way for power-hitting Crystl Bustos . The other day, Richardson told CNNSI.com that the toughest part of the adjustment is fielding balls hit to her right. "You are moving in the opposite direction from the ball," she said. "You come up throwing from an awkward position." Losing pitcher Michele Smith said the team remains confident in Richardson: "She'll be there in the clutch when we need her."

With sprinter Inger Miller out of the 100-meter dash and questionable for the 200, Marion Jones may be two legs up on her goal of five golds. Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden, who first reported this story, will continue to follow it on CNNSI.com.

U.S. swim coaches told Gary Hall Jr. to take it easy in the 100-meter freestyle heats in order to save himself for his best race, the 50-meter sprint. Without the expectation of victory, Hall told friends he believes he will race well in the 100 Wednesday night.

The Romanian women's gymnastics team, which won the gold medal in the team competition for the first time since 1984.

The United States women's gymnastics program, which failed to send a first-rate team to Sydney. Some, including 1996 star Kerri Strug, wonder if gymnastics in the U.S. has become a cult of personality surrounding Bela Karolyi . When they unveiled the new golden shoes to be worn by Michael Johnson, Nike treated the sneaks as if they were the Crown Jewels, quickly putting them back in a bag and hustling them away after a quick photo op. When the other two swimmers in his 100-meter freestyle heat false-started, Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea swam alone. Thrashing through the water, his head bobbing, Moussambani gamely finished the race more than a minute behind the qualifiers, but to the cheers of the crowd. Australia's prince of the pool, Ian Thorpe, swam a remarkable first leg in the 4 x 200 relay, earning his third gold medal of the Games and leading the Aussies to a second relay world record. U.S. men's tennis players Vincent Spadea and Todd Martin, who were both knocked out of Olympic competition. Spadea, who lost to Patrick Rafter, banged his racket on the court when he fell behind in the second set.

There's no doubt in Sydney for the Dream Team. They're going home with the gold. But before you demean their prowess over helpless international competition, you need to remember that the Olympics isn't about punishing success, says Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor . On the last apparatus of the last day of the women's team competition, American gymnast Kerri Strug provided one of the most memorable athletic moments at the Atlanta Games with a teeth-grinding 9.712 vault that helped the U.S. win its first Olympic gold medal in the team event. -- Sports Illustrated's Johnette Howard

Today's Finals Archery  Men's Individual  Canoe/Kayak  Men's Canoe Pair Slalom     Men's Kayak Slalom  Cycling [Track]  Women's Sprint     Men's Sprint & Points Race  Fencing  Men's Individual Foil  Gymnastics  Men's Individual All-around  Judo  Women's 70 Kilograms     Men's 90 Kilograms  Shooting  Women's 50-Meter Three Position     Men's Double Trap  Swimming  Women's 4x200-Meter freestyle relay & 200-Meter Butterfly     Men's 100-Meter Freestyle & 200-Meter Breastroke  Weightlifting  Men's 69 Kilograms     Women's 75 Kilograms

Secret Service and private security agents are busy trailing Chelsea Clinton from one sporting and social event to another. It's fitting, one local paper reported, that her codename is Energy.

U.S. softball team pitcher Michele Smith put it best: "When you leave 22 runners on base, you're not going to win."

Dutch swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband, who set a world record in the prelims for the 100-meter freestyle, tries to deliver an encore to his golden performance in the 200-freestyle.

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