RIO DE JANEIRO -- All by themselves on the massive track, the four U.S. women took their positions in Lane 2.Tianna Bartoletta kneeled into the blocks and waited for the starters pistol. It sounded, and away she went -- alone -- in a first-of-its-kind Olympic relay race against the clock.The Americans won that contest Thursday night to earn their spot in the final eight of the 4x100.As is the case with so many relays the U.S. has run over the years, this was anything but routine.We were laughing and joking out there, English Gardner said. Our coach said before we went out there, Its just like practice, just the whole world will be watching. Be patient, stay patient with each other, and just do your job.Returning to the track 7? hours after they left, the team of Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Gardner and Morolake Akinosun finished in a time of 41.77 seconds to bump China out of the last spot in the final.The rerun of their preliminary heat came about after Felix, running in the second position, got jostled by a Brazilian, stumbled and tried, unsuccessfully, to flip the baton ahead to Gardner.The stick fell, and after being disqualified, the Americans lodged a successful protest.But unlike some races, in which an additional runner could simply be added to the final, relays are limited to eight teams because there are only eight lanes that wrap completely around the track. So, the judges brought the Americans back to run in the same lane, in the same order, in what USA Track and Field said was the first rerun of its kind in Olympic history.At our technical meeting, [USATF team event manager] Tim Weaver really emphasized that if something happens, you have to pick up the baton and finish in order to protest, Felix said after the time trial Thursday night. After the race, I was texting him saying thank you. I was so grateful, and USATF really advocated for us.Their only goal was to beat Chinas eighth-place time of 42.70 seconds, and that was no problem for a team that had two members, Bartoletta and Felix, who were on the team that set the world record of 40.82 seconds at the London Games in 2012.The exchanges were smooth, and a few moments after Akinosun crossed the line in a time that not only beat Chinas but was the best that any team had run all day, the four runners huddled for a quick hug.Bartoletta peeled off to receive the gold medal she won in the long jump the night before. The others were off for rest and another quick turnaround.The final is Friday night, and the United States will run out of either Lane 1 or 8, the least desirable lanes, because the Americans, despite their top time, were not among the top three finishers in their heat.I dont know how much more I can take, said Felix, whose season has been filled with injuries, disappointments and, now, this. My bodys fine, my mind will be fine. Its different, just not the year I was expecting.Earlier, in more conventional news, the U.S. mens team coasted through the preliminaries, winning its heat in 37.65 seconds. Jamaicas relay team also made it through, finishing second in its heat without Usain Bolt, who was resting up for the 200-meter final later in the evening.It puts Jamaica, and Bolt, in position for a third straight title in the sprint relay.The only pressure is to make sure we get the stick around, said Asafa Powell, the former world-record holder who ran the third leg.Its been more of a problem with the United States than the Jamaicans over the years.The U.S. women botched the exchange in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics to give away potential medals in an event that was virtually made for the team with the deepest pool of sprinters. At last years world championships, a minor bobble in the less-technical 4x400 cost a precious split second that made the difference in a loss to Jamaica.The U.S. men have either been disqualified or failed to get the baton around the track eight times at Olympics or world championships since 1995.This years mens team was in the holding room when the women bobbled the stick -- a jarring reminder.First thing I did is told the young guys, We got this, veteran Tyson Gay said after running the mens third leg. Youve got to be positive. A lot of things happen out there.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Nike Presto Off White Fake Kaufen . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Air Force 1 Damen Deutschland . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/ . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Nike Sf Air Force 1 Deutschland . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Air Force 1 Schwarz Sale . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. CHICAGO -- Richard Panik raised his stick in the air with his left hand as he skated away from a defeated Roberto Luongo.At long last, his slump was over.Panik scored in regulation and then had the deciding goal in a shootout, helping the Chicago Blackhawks beat Florida 2-1 on Tuesday night in the Panthers first game since Tom Rowe took over as interim coach.Artemi Panarin also scored in the tiebreaker and Corey Crawford matched a season high with 38 saves in Chicagos first home game in 16 days. The Blackhawks went 3-3-1 on their annual circus trip.That was a long trip. We were excited to come back home, Crawford said.Panarin beat Luongo with a slick backhand in the second round. After Aleksander Barkov was stopped by Crawford at the other end, Panik converted his chance with a well-placed wrist shot past Luongo on the glove side.Im really grateful for Corey being behind us, Panarin said through a translator. If it werent for him, the last couple games would have turned out differently. Were lucky to have him.Florida (11-10-2) returned to the ice for the first time since coach Gerard Gallant was fired after a 3-2 loss at Carolina on Sunday night. Jaromir Jagr scored in the third period and Luongo made 32 saves, but the Panthers lost for the third time in four games.We got back to getting pucks to the net, getting 39 shots against a heck of a hockey club, said Rowe, who was serving as Floridas general manager at the time of the coaching change. So a lot of positives and a lot to build on after tonight.Chicago (15-6-3) played without captain Jonathan Toews, who missed his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Fellow center Artem Anisimov left in the third after teammate Duncan Keiths shot went off the inside of his lower right leg.Well see how he is. He seemed to be OK, coach Joel Quenneville said. Well know more tomorrow.The Blackhawks carried a 1-0 lead into the third, but the Panthers made the most of 69 seconds of leftover power-play time from Niklas Hjalmarssons second-period hooking penalty. Jonathan Marchessaults centering pass went off Keith, and Jagr poked it in for his fourth of the season and No. 753 for his career.Florida had a chance to grab the lead wwhen Crawford lost his stick after he was tripped by teammate Vinnie Hinostroza.dddddddddddd But the goalie slid over in time to stop a shot from Derek MacKenzie and then fell on the puck after it went off the post.Crawford also made a nice right pad save on Mark Pysyk with 8:09 to go, and stopped Jagr in front in the final minute.I thought Jagr was unreal, Rowe said. In this building with the speed they come at you with, and Jags was really unbelievable down low.Florida had 100 seconds of power-play time in overtime, but Chicago killed it off. Luongo turned away two nice moves by Patrick Kane, and Crawford stopped Aaron Ekblad in the final seconds of OT.It was a really nice night for each goaltender, right from the start.Luongo got over to stop Panarin, and Crawford made a great pad save on Barkov before the Blackhawks jumped in front in the first. Panik got loose for a breakaway and slipped a backhand by Luongo for his seventh goal with 2:10 left in the period.It was Paniks first goal since Oct. 22, stopping a 17-game drought. The winger had no points and a minus-2 rating in his previous 13 games.(Dennis) Rasmussen flipped it over and the D-man touched it, Panik said. So I had a breakaway and a nice score. A goal helps you with your confidence.The Panthers and Blackhawks each killed off a penalty during a scoreless second. Crawford also made a flashy glove save on a big drive by Keith Yandle, and Luongo stopped a long shot by Gustav Forsling.Game notes Jagr played in his 1,652nd game, passing Chris Chelios and moving into a tie with Mark Recchi for fourth on the NHLs career list. ... Toews did not participate in the morning skate, and Quenneville said he is questionable for Thursday nights game against New Jersey. ... Chicago D Brian Campbell played his first game against Florida since he left the Panthers for a one-year deal with the Blackhawks during free agency.UP NEXTPanthers: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.Blackhawks: Host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '