London Olympics 2012: Top 8 Storylines to Follow on Day 2

On Day 2 of full competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Sunday, July 29, the U.S. Men's basketball team will be playing their first game, the U.S. woman's gymnastics team will be competing in the team events, and Michael Phelps and the boys will attempt to win the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Will it be a day of redemption for Phelps?

Those are just a few of the many storylines we'll be following. Here are the highlights. 

Team USA: Version 2012

Sport: Men's Basketball

Event: USA vs. France

Time: 9:30 a.m. ET

Team USA swept through their five-game exhibition tuneup without a scratch, winning all five games. 

They are vulnerable to a strong attack in the post, however, as we saw against Brazil. It will be imperative for LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony to continue playing out of their minds if Team USA is going to win another gold medal. 

The hallmark of this team so far has been their stifling defense on the perimeter. As long as they're creating turnovers en masse, Team USA will continue winning. 

France shouldn't pose too much of a problem for Team USA. They don't have tremendous size down low, and their biggest threat will be point guard Tony Parker. I predict an easy win for the Americans in this one.

US Women's Gymnastics Team Kicks off Gold-Medal Run

Sport: Women's Gymnastics

Event: Team Qualifications

Time: 4:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET

The U.S. women's gymnastics team was overtaken in 2008 in the team competition by China. There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding that competition, if you remember, due to the fact that a few of the Chinese contestants looked to be far too young to be competing (h/t USA Today).

The Americans feature another strong group in 2012, led by Jordyn Wieber, Gabrielle Douglas and Aly Raisman. 

They should have no trouble advancing past these qualifying stages, and they have a good chance to retake the gold medal this summer in London.

Kim Rhode Looks to Set Olympics Record

Sport: Shooting

Event: Women's Skeet Final

Time: 9:00 a.m. ET

Kim Rhode is one of the world's top shooters. She's won a medal in each of the last four Summer Games, and if she wins another one in 2012, she'll set a new Olympics record, according to AmmoLand.com.

Rhode is a unique woman, along with being the world's No. 1 skeet shooter. 

According to ESPNW:

"

She makes her own fresh pasta. She can build a car from the ground up. She collects antique children's books...Rhode also has a garage full of antique cars—13 at the moment—including a 1917 Model T Speedster and a couple of Model As.

"

Rhode is obviously going to be one of the favorites to win this event, given the fact that she's the top shooter in the world. At the least, she should win one of the three medals and set the new Olympic record.

Will Anyone Beat China's Wu Minxia and He Zi?

Sport: Diving

Event: Women's Synchronized Springboard

Time: 10:00 a.m. ET

The Chinese diving team is one of the world's most dominant teams in any sport this summer. Two of their superstars, Wu Minxia and He Zi, will be looking to add to their extensive medal collection in this sport.

Minxia has won the gold medal in her two previous Olympics appearances. She's also won five World Championships and four World Cups. She used to dive with Guo Jingjing, but Zi is just as good.

Minxia and Zi will be challenged by Canada's Jennifer Abel and Emilie Heymans and Italy's Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dallape.

I'm betting that the Chinese will continue to stay dominant in the sport of diving in 2012, though, and I expect Minxia and Zi to win the gold.

Dana Vollmer, Butterfly Queen

Sport: Swimming

Event: Women's 100-meter Butterfly

Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

American swimmer Dana Vollmer is no stranger to Olympic swimming. She was an integral part of the women's gold-medal winning 4x200-meter freestyle team as a 16-year-old in the 2004 Summer Games.

She didn't qualify for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, but Vollmer made a strong comeback this year.

Vollmer's road hasn't been easy. She was diagnosed with supra ventricular tachycardia at the age of 15, which, according to FoxNews.com, is an "unsettling and life-threatening condition that can trigger an irregular pulse rate of as high as 240 beats per minute. It can also cause a heart to suddenly stop."

She's overcome more than just physical issues to become the butterfly queen, though. Her 2008 experience is one she describes as an "exercise in self-destruction," according to the FoxNews.com report. 

Vollmer has beaten the odds to get to this point, and she'll be the woman to beat in the water when the finals begin.

Loaded Field for Women's 400-Meter Freestyle

Sport: Swimming

Event: Women's 400-meter Freestyle

Time: 3:15 p.m. ET

There are four women who could come away with the gold medal in this event. 

France's Camille Muffat posted the fastest qualifying time—a blazingly fast run of four minutes, 1.13 seconds. 

Italy's Federica Pellegrini holds the world record in this event, and she's the most accomplished of the four. She's the only woman in history to post a sub-four minute time, and she qualified with a time of 4:01.97.

Great Brittain's Rebecca Adlington is the hometown favorite, and she qualified with a time of 4:02.35.

American Allison Schmitt is the last of the four women who could win this event. She's the dark horse, to be sure, but her qualifying time of 4:02.84 proves she's not far behind the other three top contenders.

Michael Phelps and the Boys Take On the World

Sport: Swimming

Event: Men's 4x100-meter Freestyle Relay

Time: 3:54 p.m. ET

Michael Phelps and the Americans shocked the world at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, breaking the world record and beating France—the heavy favorites to win.

They didn't fare quite as well in the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, finishing in third place, and posting a time that was over three-and-a-half seconds slower than their record-breaking time of 2008. 

This time around, Australia has the team to beat, with James Magnussen leading the way. France is still a formidable challenge, and the Americans will need to be at the top of their game to beat either team.

Phelps will be coming off a fourth-place finish in the 400 intermediate medley, so his fitness will be closely watched

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

Sport: World Football

Event: Multiple Matches

Time: Multiple Times

While the Olympics didn't officially start until July 28th, the men's soccer tournament has been going on since the 26th. 

There are eight matches on the docket for the 29th, two for each group:

Senegal vs. Uraguay (Group A) - Start Time: 10:00 a.m. ET

Uruguay leads Group A after winning 2-1 against UA Emirates. Senegal and Great Britain tied their first contest, so this match is crucial for Senegal.

Great Britain vs. UA Emirates (Group A) - Start Time: 2:45 p.m. ET

UA Emirates needs to win in order to stay in this tournament after losing their first match to Uruguay. Great Britain also needs to win, as they tied their first match with Senegal.

Mexico vs. Gabon (Group B) - Start Time: 9:30 a.m. ET

Mexico are the favorites to win this group, but after two ties the group is still wide open. 

Korea vs. Switzerland (Group B) - Start Time: 12:15 p.m. ET

Korea proved to be a tough test for Mexico, and the two teams held one another to nil in their first match. This match should also be a close one, and I won't be surprised to see Korea win.

Egypt vs. New Zealand (Group C) - Start Time: 7:00 a.m. ET

Both of these teams lost their first match, and as such, both are desperate to win. The loser will be out of the running to advance.

Brazil vs. Belarus (Group C) - Start Time: 10:00 a.m. ET

Both teams won their first match of group play. Brazil looked to be unstoppable in the first half of their match against Egypt, but they didn't keep up their attack and just held on to win. They should be able to handle Belarus, but it'll take a full 90-minute effort to do so.

Japan vs. Morocco (Group D) - Start Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Japan pulled off the biggest upset so far by beating Spain in their first match. Another win here would solidify their spot to move on to the next stage.

Spain vs. Honduras (Group D) - Start Time: 2:45 p.m. ET

As crazy as it sounds, Spain have found themselves in a must-win situation here. Another loss, and they won't advance. At the least, they need to tie Honduras, but a win is really what they need.

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