Im not even excited anymore -- I just want to get it out of the way | Forum

OMAHA, Neb. Brandon Roy Blazers Jersey . -- The rivalry between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte goes back more than a decade.Theyve raced more times than they can remember, always bringing out the best in each other.Now, theyre getting ready to do it one more time.In what will be their only real showdown of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, and likely one of their final races ever, Phelps and Lochte clash again Friday night in the final of the 200-meter individual medley.Side by side, mano a mano.I think its one of the greatest rivalries in sports, me and him, just for what weve both done in the sport of swimming, said Lochte, an 11-time Olympic medalist. Hes the toughest competitor out there.Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of them all, the winner of 18 golds and 22 medals overall.He would certainly rate Lochte among the toughest competitors hes ever faced.Never mind that Lochte is battling a groin injury and has yet to qualify for an individual Olympic event at these trials.Even if he is hurt, I dont think hes going to let anything be an excuse, Phelps said. Him and I together have had a pretty decent rivalry back and forth. Weve been able to really push each other and I would expect that (Friday).This one is especially significant for the 31-year-old Lochte, given its his only real shot at swimming a race of his own at the Olympics. He injured his groin on the first day of the meet and stunningly finished third in the 400 IM -- a race he won at the Olympics four years ago. Lochte followed up with a fourth-place showing in the 200 freestyle, which at least was good enough to put him on the team as a relay swimmer, and he dropped out of the 200 backstroke to concentrate fully on the 200 IM.He needs to finish in the top two to claim an individual event, but he really wants a win over Phelps before they head to the Olympics.Lochte was top qualifier in the semis at 1 minute, 56.71 seconds, while Phelps took the second spot in 1:57.61. That means theyll be right beside each other in the final, just as theyve been so many times during their dazzling careers.Lochte has been undergoing extensive treatment and even altered his breaststroke form to help deal with the groin problem.I took some painkillers to help me with the pain, just so my mind is off that pain, he said. The first part of the breaststroke felt good and then halfway through it started hurting more and more.Phelps has already qualified for Rio in the 200 fly, and hes eager to add two more individual races to his program. Hell be a big favorite in the 100 fly, a race that Lochte also entered but doesnt figure to be a major threat.This is their only fair fight in Omaha.Him and I have gone back and forth a number of times in this race, Phelps said. During the big meets, we have great races. Were right there with each other (Friday) in the middle of the pool, probably a couple of tenths apart. Were going to be out and probably step on the gas a little bit more than we have in the past and youll have an exciting race.The matchup comes one day after Phelps celebrated his 31st birthday.His mother rented out a room, allowing friends and family to gather for a low-key celebration.Then it was time for Phelps to turn his attention to a familiar foe.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Custom Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Brandon Roy Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Gary-Trent-Jr-Blazers-Jersey/ .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. RALEIGH, N.C. -- To finally make the playoffs again, the Carolina Hurricanes know they need a strong start to the season.That sense of urgency was in the air at their first practice.It all starts right now, center Andrej Nestrasil said Friday.The Hurricanes began preseason camp with a focus on ending the season much later than they usually do: Carolina hasnt made the playoffs since 2009, the longest active streak in the Eastern Conference.The results show that were heading in the right direction, and I feel like we have a good enough team to make the playoffs this year, Nestrasil said. The thing last year is, we didnt start on time ... so if we can start on time this year, itd be awesome.Not surprisingly, the emphasis on the first day of training camp was speed -- with pucks and skaters zipping around the ice in what forward Jordan Staal called crispy play as opposed to past first practices that he described as clunky.The Hurricanes hope that will continue to apply once they start playing games that count, beginning with the opener Oct. 13 at Winnipeg.In recent years, it hasnt -- and its a major reason why theyve missed seven straight postseasons. Carolina won just eight of its first 25 games in 2015-16, and the year before was just 10-23-4 in the first three months.And while last years group staged a late push for the postseason -- earning points in 12 of the 14 games after the trade deadline -- the hole created by those earrly-season struggles ultimately was too much to overcome. Terry Porter Blazers Jersey. Carolina finished in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with 86 points, 10 points behind the Philadelphia team that claimed the No. 8 seed in the East.Weve really been doomed by our starts, defenseman Ron Hainsey said. At least the last two years in a row, where we were in a position come Jan. 1 to make up a lot of ground ... where the ground you have to make up, its really kind of unrealistic to make it up.Its a small line, and really, the first two months of the season can set up the last four months, depending on how it goes, he added. So its important that everybodys ready to go.Perhaps nobody was more ready to go than Nestrasil, who missed the final two months of last season after breaking a vertebra in his back in February. He was the only player in a yellow, no-contact jersey during practice but said he hopes to shed that for a regular jersey soon.To be honest, Im not even excited anymore -- I just want to get it out of the way, Nestrasil said with a laugh. This has been such a long process, and Ive been waiting for such a long time that I just want to play games and I just want to get into it.---Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joedy-mccreary ' ' '