London Opening Ceremony 2012: Notable Names to Watch Friday

Finally, after four years, the Summer Olympics are about to start.  With only days until the opening ceremonies, there are several names to be watching for.

Some of these names are pretty obvious, and some kind of fade into the background—either because they are "sleepers" or just because their sport isn't as popular as some other ones.

For me, the Olympics are the most exciting times in the world of sports.  I love the Super Bowl, the World Series, and being a proud student at the University of Kentucky, March Madness.

Still, nothing measures up to the Olympics.  Here are some names to see Friday and keep them in your mind as the two-week adventure progresses.

LeBron James, Basketball

Love him or hate him, you can't deny what LeBron James has meant to basketball.  After two years in Miami, the NBA's apex villain finally got his championship.

The King already has a gold medal from the Beijing games in 2008, but some are considering the USA basketball team to be another coming of the Dream Team.

James is certainly not the only big name on the team, but coming off a tremendous season that culminated in a championship, you can believe he is the definite highlight.

Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps, Swimming

I'm going to skim over Michael Phelps here.  The man is a 14-time Olympic gold medalist and has the record for eight golds in a single Olympic Games.  If you don't know who he is by now—well, honestly, I really don't know how to finish the comment, but you get where I'm going.

I've paired these two together into one slide because of the competition we're going to see between them.  No longer is Phelps as dominant as he was in 2008, as his fellow American, Ryan Lochte, is set to steal some of his thunder.

Phelps will be competing against Lochte in only two events.  That would be the 200-meter medley—which Lochte once held the world record for—and the 400-meter medley, which Phelps currently has the world record for.

In total, Phelps is in seven events, while Lochte is in four.  Certainly, all eyes will be on these two.

Missy Franklin, Swimming

Sticking with the same sport, it's people like Missy Franklin that make me feel extremely old at the age of 21—she's only 17, and she's competing in the Olympics!

Now that that's out of the way, Franklin is going to be interesting to watch.  It seems that she's a lock to win the backstroke, which covers two of her seven events.  It's worth noting that she holds the American record in the 100-meter backstroke.

She was one of the more highly-touted Olympic prospects entering the trials and she didn't disappoint one bit.  Take some proof from gymnastics—everyone loves to see the younger ones win.  I can't wait to see if Franklin can answer the call with the entire world watching.

Serena Williams, Tennis

At 30 years old, it's hard to believe that Serena Williams can still be an incredibly dominant player.  Not only will she be competing in singles competition, but she'll also be in doubles and mixed doubles.  Oh, by the way, she's won two golds (2000, 2008) in doubles competition.

Right now, you have to believe that Williams is one of the favorites coming off her fifth Wimbledon victory.  Her serve is still incredibly strong, and despite some recent back troubles, it appears that Williams is at the top of her game.

Tennis may not be the Olympics' most popular sport, but Williams is one of the most popular Americans.  She's being counted on to bring home some gold.

Abby Wambach, Soccer

It has been eight long years since Abby Wambach has seen the field in Olympic competition.  She led the team to gold in 2004 in Athens, leading the team with four goals.  She scored the gold-clinching goal in overtime against Brazil.

In 2008, she was raring to go, all eyes on her for Beijing—and she broke her leg in the final warm-up game. 

Now, Wambach is returning to the field with the young Alex Morgan to form an absolutely devastating front line attack.  The U.S. soccer team is one of the favorites for London, and I hope to God they can bring home a third consecutive gold, probably the final one for Wambach.

Ashton Eaton, Decathlon

I'm an absolute sports lover, and I commend every athlete on being so good at what they do.  When it comes to the newcomer, Ashton Eaton, I have to tip my hat just a little bit more.

Think about what a decathlete has to succeed in, and you'll understand that.

Eaton, fresh out of the University of Oregon, won silver in the 2011 World Championships and gold in the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.  He holds world records in decathlon competition, as well as the heptathlon.  He also gathered up several NCAA championships while in school.

It's not one of the more watched events in the games, but watch for Eaton to make a serious impact and put the sport on the map.

Jordyn Wieber, Gymnastics

After the successful runs of Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson in 2008, I was excited to see a repeat performance.  Throw in the fact that I expected Alicia Sacramone to recover from a poor showing and I was pumped to see all three.

Sadly, I'll be seeing none of them.  But, there's hope in the form of 17-year old Jordyn Wieber, who is the newest face to United States gymnastics.

Before I state some of the following facts about Wieber, let me reiterate—she's only 17!  Since beginning competition as a U.S. team member in 2009, Wieber has won 13 golds.  That's right—13 golds.

Those have come in various events: world championships, Pacific Rim championships, American Cup and Visa Championships.  In the All Around, she has collected an incredible seven golds—who do you think the favorite is in London?

While I miss the girls from 2008, Wieber is the next big thing for U.S. Olympics, and she should put on quite the show in London.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, Beach Volleyball

While they are not the top-ranked beach volleyball team anymore, they are certainly the most well-known.  They won gold in both 2004 and 2008, and finished the games in Beijing having won 112 straight matches.

For a while, though, the team halted competition.  Kerri Walsh had a couple of children, one in 2009 and one in 2010, while Misty May-Treanor tore her achilles tendon shortly after the Beijing games, and it took her 18 months to fully recover. 

Despite all the time away, the two will be back together for London.  Why did I save them for last?

While basketball, soccer, and Phelps have all been dominant in recent years with no signs of slowing down, May-Treanor and Walsh's streak is probably in more jeopardy than anyone's.  Injuries for May-Treanor and Walsh's family plans certainly will have implications for the 2012 games.

For perhaps the last time, they'll appear together in the Olympics, and the hope is that they have one more gold rush left in them.