is an easy go-to for directors. But the day before the fight weigh-in? Its mostly ignored. Or its dismissed as a convenient scripted

RIO DE JANEIRO -- They wrapped the strongest of arms around him, pulling him in close for a group embrace. And Danell Leyva appreciated it, he did. But there was nothing his teammates could say, no hug hard enough, to allow him to absolve himself.Not at that moment, anyway. Not seconds after his hands slipped off the high bar on the Americans final routine of the team gymnastics finals Monday night, ensuring they would miss the podium in a second straight fifth-place Olympic finish. Japan ended up edging out Russia for the gold, and two-time defending Olympic champion China took bronze.This is a tough man, having returned to competition two months ago after having a sizable chunk bitten out of his calf when trying to break up a dog fight. He is a powerful man, excelling in a sport that few would argue is one of the most physically grueling in the world.And he is resilient, the all-around bronze medalist four years ago accepting his place as an alternate with grace and a positive attitude until two weeks before the Games, when he was placed on the U.S. team after a teammate was injured.But as Leyva crouched on the mat, his teammates urging him on, there was only disbelief, shock, obviously disappointment, he said. I didnt know what happened.What happened in the big picture was not all on Leyva. Rather, the U.S. men, as buoyant a group as their female counterparts are talented, came out on floor in their first rotation and succumbed to what they described as jitters.I really dont know what happened, honestly, it happened so quick, said Alex Naddour, the first performer who faltered on a front double and full combination, then fell on his full layout dismount. My legs felt a little bit tired, I guess, and so I rushed the twist and meant to do a full-out and did a full-in and kind of got lost.I tried my best ... and tried to land it, but it just kind of happens in this sport.As also happens in this sport, Mikulak followed and seemingly got sucked into the vortex of nerves, stepping out of bounds on his first two tumbling passes.I was a little jittery, a little cautious, he said. Sometimes you go out of bounds, sometimes you dont, thats just how it is.And just as he is, Mikulak never lost his voice, either figuratively or literally.I just started screaming and shouting at everyone at that point, he said. Thats how we train, as men. Believe in yourself. Go attack it. I think we started with too little belief.Indeed, the Americans picked it up from then on, with solid sets on pommel horse and rings, better still on vault and parallel bars, inching into sixth-place after the fourth rotation and into fifth-place after the fifth, within striking distance of the podium.Selling each routine upon completion with shouts of Lets go, accompanied by self-inflicted chest thumps, they set up a dramatic conclusion.And when Mikulak ripped off a 15.7 on high bar and Chris Brooks a 15.1, it?seemed only logical that Leyva, who qualified for the high bar finals along with parallel bars, would follow suit.Before the competition began, Brooks had given his teammates a pep talk.I told all of them before we started that I can look each and every one of them in the eyes and say I know we did everything we physically could to prepare for this moment, he said. So I just reminded them to trust themselves and be aggressive and if theres mistakes while youre being aggressive, thats just part of the sport, thats the nature of it. But if theres mistakes when youre being timid, thats when you can get a little frustrated with yourself.But we were aggressive in my opinion. We got the ball rolling about halfway through and tried to finish it out and had a mistake at the end but Leyva was being very aggressive. He was going for the bar, he was going for the connection and thats what I told him to do. Thats what we want from him.Leyvas stepfather, also his private coach, told him he tried to make the connection too early.My grip wasnt really on the bar and I really tried to hang on, I really did, but I just slipped off, Leyva said. I dont know how it happened, I cant tell you what I did.The fact that even if he had hit, the U.S. may still not have made it to the podium, did not cheer him up afterward.No, Im still going to feel like it was my fault, he said. I was the last routine and I should have hit no matter what.After getting up and completing his routine, Leyva walked over to his teammates and apologized.You cant say sorry, Brooks told him. Theres nothing to be sorry about.Leyva was being aggressive, Brooks said. He did exactly what we asked and the bar slipped out of his hands. It happens to everybody. Its gymnastics. Its extremely difficult. But Im proud of him to get up in that moment and finish the way he did.That the sport is fragile and fickle is nothing new to any of them, least of all Leyva, and it didnt help to be reminded.I wish I could use it as a consolation, but thats what makes the sport so intense, thats what makes it the hardest sport in the world, he said. Any small little thing can make a huge difference, you know.In the group hug, they said they loved each other.Its one thing if you go out and someone on the team didnt do this or that and then they make a mistake and mess up, Naddour said. Its a whole other thing when you know everyones been sacrificing, working on their diet, training day in and day out. It doesnt feel as badly.They will move on to all-around finals with Mikulak and Brooks, and to apparatus finals with all five participating in at least one event.I still think were on the road to success, said Jake Dalton. Today, yeah, it wasnt our best day but we showed we were second best in the world in prelims. I know we can contend for the podium but we just didnt have our best day today.For Leyva, who patiently answered every question about the slip, regrouping is his only option.I left it out there, he said, pointing to the arena floor. Thats it. Theres nothing I can do about that routine anymore, you know. The only thing I can do is the routine I have.The only thing I can say is I tried grabbing the bar and it slipped off. Neal Broten Stars Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Ben Bishop Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/ben-bishop-hockey-jersey/ . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. Bobby Smith Stars Jersey . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Dino Ciccarelli Stars Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. For more than a decade and a half, my typical work week is hard to explain. Especially the part of keeping an eye on chiseled men taking center stage and stripping down to bikini briefs. A Chippendales consultant, Im not. Boxing weigh-ins are unlike anything else in sports. Calling fights week after week on national TV fosters an appreciation for them, the texture and passion of the sport is why its one of Hollywoods all-time favorite storytelling crutches to lean on. At least parts of it are.The overused late-round drama crescendo is an easy go-to for directors. But the day before the fight weigh-in? Its mostly ignored. Or its dismissed as a convenient scripted smack-talk moment.Then comes the 2016 biopic Bleed For This, the story about former five-time champion Vinny Paz. In what is as authentic a scene I have ever enjoyed in a fight film, native New Yorker Ben Younger perfectly captures the weigh-in for Pazs fight against Roger Mayweather 26 years earlier. He gets it. His film gets it.Forget the hackneyed approach to rating a boxing flick. You know the sports fan review where bona fides are based on how valid the in-the-ring action looks. Although it is quite good, it doesnt need to apply here.What Younger and his team were able to do in the opening 10 minutes of Bleed For This impressed me. It drew me in. It revealed enough of the world champion Paz to demand I needed to know it all. And for lead actor Miles Teller, it probably revealed more than he ever thought hed have to as well.Teller, who has a lot of natural born fighter traits to him, was on the scale in nothing but a small swath of animal print. As the real-life Vinny told him during production, Stuff a banana in your undies. From that outrageously entertaining opening round this film goes on to stuff a lot into its power punch.Ive known the real-life characters fairly wwell for many years now.dddddddddddd They are mined from the cross-section of society boxing exposes us to and welcomes in.Vinny Paz grew up in Providence, Rhode Island -- a hard working prideful town that is a character unto itself in the film. The Pazienza family was woven into Vinnys life tighter than the canvas tautly pulled over the local ring mat he called home.His manager, Lou Duva, was captured well by veteran actor Ted Levine. And as for the role of trainer Kevin Rooney, it was a superb job climbing a challenging mountain of portrayal by Aaron Eckhart.I first met the real-life Rooney when I was 15 years old. I was a fan ringside at a local club show and he was in the corner of soon-to-be heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Years later, I was now the boxing expert, still talking the sweet science with Rooney as he was in the later stages of an often interrupted career. Alcohol abuse and this game can take a toll. You play baseball and basketball. You dont play boxing. Eckhart gave us an excellent glimpse of the real Rooney.Bleed For This does what many fight films fail to do. It defines the champion from the inside out. It takes us into his psyche.It doesnt play on underdog themes overcoming impossible odds. It doesnt care if the champ is winning to right some wrong or avenge some injustice. It doesnt try to wow you with a dramatic get-up-off-the-canvas climbs.Yes, its a comeback story. However, its really a story of understanding what it means to be a fighter. To be wired differently from the rest.Heavyweight king of yesteryear Jack Dempsey was wont to say, A champion is someone who gets up even when they cant.That is what Bleed For This captures. And its exactly why it will capture your attention. ' ' '