2016 Olympics: Rio Summer TV Schedule, Live Stream and Thursday Predictions
With some of the biggest names of the 2016 Summer Olympics in action Thursday, there are events you simply don't want to miss.
Simone Biles and Michael Phelps will try to add to the United States' gold-medal count, while medals will be handed out in archery, canoe, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo, rowing, rugby, shooting, swimming and table tennis.
Meanwhile, the majority of team sports start to wrap up the preliminary rounds and move into the knockout stages.
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It is a busy day of action, so here is what you need to know to follow as much as possible.
| 6:30 a.m. | Men's Golf 1st Round | Golf Channel |
| 8 a.m. | Archery, Beach Volleyball | NBC Sports |
| 9 a.m. | Women's Water Polo (ITA vs. AUS) | USA |
| 9:30 a.m. | Fencing, Judo, Archery | NBC Sports |
| 10 a.m. | Rowing, Women's Water Polo (USA vs. China) | NBC |
| 10:30 a.m. | Table Tennis, Badminton | USA |
| 11 a.m. | Tennis | Bravo |
| 12 p.m. | Swimming | NBC |
| 1 p.m. | Men's Basketball (BRA vs. CRO) | USA |
| 1:30 p.m. | Rugby | NBC Sports |
| 2 p.m. | Men's Volleyball (POL vs. ARG) | MSNBC |
| 2:30 p.m. | Beach Volleyball, Canoe | NBC |
| 2:30 p.m. | Archery, Judo, Beach Volleyball | NBC Sports |
| 3 p.m. | Badminton, Handball | USA |
| 3:30 p.m. | Equestrian, Sailing | MSNBC |
| 5 p.m. | Cycling, Beach Volleyball, Fencing, Badminton | CNBC |
| 5:30 p.m. | Rugby | NBC Sports |
| 6:30 p.m. | Field Hockey (USA vs. IND) | NBC Sports |
| 8 p.m. | Gymnastics, Swimming | NBC |
| 8 p.m. | Table Tennis, Men's Volleyball (USA vs. BRA), Shooting | NBC Sports |
All events are available to be streamed online at NBCOlympics.com.
Predicting Top Events
Men's Golf Tournament
It's only Day 1 of the golf tournament, but with the sport being in the Olympics for the first time since 1904, it is worth the watch.
As the common expression when it comes to golf, you can't win in the first round, but you can definitely lose. The players need to have this mentality in mind as they enter the unfamiliarity of this tournament in Brazil.
One player who is going to be more cautious than you might expect is Bubba Watson, who admitted he would take the safe shot if it meant securing a bronze rather than going for gold on the last hole.
He explained as much when asked about the hypothetical moment, per NBC Olympics (via Alec Brzezinski of Sporting News):
"I'm going to lay up and go for bronze.
I am actually serious. No, it would be better to have bronze than nothing. It’s all situational. Just depends on where you are and what kind of lie you have what it is at that time. But obviously you're going to be looking.
If you're in third place, you're going to be trying to make sure you don't mess up and go to fourth real fast.
"
Based on this mentality, we'll predict Watson to finish exactly in third place. Second will go to Justin Rose, who remains one of the top ball-strikers on tour regardless of where the tournament is being played.
As for first place, look out for a big performance from Sergio Garcia. The Spanish golfer is known for his struggles in majors, but this doesn't exactly count. With that being said, he has two top-five finishes in majors this year and a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Despite a poor showing at the PGA Championship, he has a chance to get his biggest career win at the Olympics.
Gold: Sergio Garcia, Spain
Silver: Justin Rose, Great Britain
Bronze: Bubba Watson, United States
Women's Gymnastics All-Around
The women's individual all-around competition is often one of the biggest events of the Olympics. Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton became household names after winning gold. The United States has showcased its ability with three straight wins between Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Gabby Douglas.
The problem is, while this year's event is once again highly anticipated, it isn't much of a competition.
Simone Biles was already considered by some to be the greatest female gymnast ever before even winning an individual gold medal at the Olympics. That's thanks to her three world championships over the last three years and her dominance in each event.
The 19-year-old superstar came up big for the United States as the squad easily won the team competition earlier in the week. Her effort on floor was one of the best you will see:
In reality, the biggest competition will come from her own teammate, Aly Raisman, who has been near flawless so far in Rio. The only problem is her starting difficulty won't quite be enough to match Biles.
Douglas would also have a chance to medal, but only two athletes on each team are allowed to compete in the finals. This leaves an opening for Russia's Aliya Mustafina to potentially end up on the podium.
Gold: Simone Biles, United States
Silver: Aly Raisman, United States
Bronze: Aliya Mustafina, Russia
Men's 200-Meter Individual Medley
We have seen some great swimming rivalries already in Rio. Lilly King defeated Yulia Efimova, Katie Ledecky edged out Sarah Sjostrom and Michael Phelps proved to not be distracted by Chad le Clos.
However, there is no rivalry quite like Phelps and Ryan Lochte, the two of the best Olympians in history competing in the same era. This is especially true in the 200-meter individual medley, which has been dominated by this duo for more than a decade, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports:
With the Americans finishing with the top two times in the semifinals, they will once again be right next to each other in lanes four and five Thursday night.
Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports explained the excitement of one last battle:
The way these two veterans push each other, it would be a surprise to see anyone else win. Still, the slight edge goes to Phelps, who knows what it takes to finish out races at the Olympics. He has 21 career gold medals and has a chance to add to this once again with a win in his best event.
Gold: Michael Phelps, United States
Silver: Ryan Lochte, United States
Bronze: Kosuke Hagino, Japan
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.
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