Reiseplan » He has better things to worry about. "I dont

NEW YORK -- An estimated 26.5 million people watched NBCs coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony, a sharp 35 percent drop from the record-setting viewership of the curtain-lifter in London four years ago.The opening ceremony of the London Games was seen by 40.7 million people in the U.S. NBC suggested Saturday that the gap will be narrowed when details about time-shifted viewing and people who streamed Friday nights telecast on mobile devices become available in coming days.To compare linear TV viewership today versus four years ago isnt logical, NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes said.The four-year difference was much kinder to NBC the last time around; the Beijing opening in 2008 reached 34.9 million people, according to the Nielsen company.One of NBCs pre-games fears came true: viewership dropped off after the entrance of the United States team in the Parade of Nations. But because the Portuguese alphabet was used, the U.S. team (Estados Unidos) appeared much earlier in the broadcast than is typical.NBC also front-loaded many of its commercial breaks early in the broadcast so there were fewer during the Parade of Nations. Judging by the harsh social media reaction, that may have backfired. It was a culture shock to binge-watchers and time-shifters who have become accustomed to television without commercials.The ceremony also ran long, and wasnt helped by NBCs decision to air it on tape-delay so it started in prime time. The lighting of the Olympic cauldron wasnt shown until after midnight. A joke by Matt Lauer during the teams entrance had a ring of truth: Are we at Timor-Leste (East Timor) already? he said. Time is flying by.The London Games proved a smash success for NBC. Viewers may simply be less interested in the Olympics from Rio -- and that wont become clear for a few more days.BIKE RIDE: The bicycle race won by Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet was a blast to watch, unfolding over several hours on NBC on Saturday, the kind of experience you cant get in prime time. It was a lesson for announcers Paul Sherwen and Christian Vande Velde to keep in mind that many viewers are new to their sport. The sheer chaos of the mountainous portions of the race, the course clogged with motorbikes, autos and spectators who ran alongside and even touched competitors, seemed shocking. It didnt seem to strike the announcers as unusual, since they didnt mention it.WATER QUALITY: Given all the pre-games publicity about water pollution, it was wise of rowing announcers Leigh Diffey and Mary Whipple to discuss the conditions during a Saturday morning rowing heat, with details about the steps Olympians are doing to protect themselves. Its almost on the back-burner, Whipple said. Its a non-issue so far. Still, its something announcers for all of the water sports should keep bringing up.PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: The presidential election race intersected with the Olympics for the first time a little past 8 a.m. Saturday, with the first commercial for Democrat Hillary Clinton.REFUGEE: The entrance of the 10-member team of refugees was a highlight of Fridays opening ceremony, so it was important for NBCs Jimmy Roberts to return to the story of these athletes during Saturdays telecast. What a strange and wonderful concept -- running toward something instead of running away, Roberts said. Roberts noted that none of the athletes are medal contenders, but its worth keeping up with their stories as the Olympics go on. Dalvin Cook Vikings Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Adrian Peterson Youth Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. http://www.authenticvikingspro.com/John-randle-vikings-jersey/ . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Mike Hughes Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Garrett Bradbury Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold believes his undefeated A-League ladder leaders are playing nowhere near their true potential.Arnold is adamant only a superior fitness base has his team on the cusp of six-straight wins to kick-off their campaign, and predicts there are higher gears to come.Our fitness levels when I watch all the games across the A-League, I think were the fittest team in the country, Arnold said on Friday.We can run teams off their legs, weve done that the first five weeks.Once we get fitter, I think well evolve as a football team in possession because it takes time for players to gel together.That will take time, well evolve as the season goes. Overall I think were playing at about sixty per cent of where well end up. Its exciting to see where we will end up.Arnolds comments will reverberate around a league that has watched a healthy roster last week beat rivals Melbourne Victory 2-1.However the two-time A-League championship-winning coach has no concerns about what the rest of the competition think about his team.I dont think about the other teams. I just think about ourselves, he said.I asked (the players) the question after the game, is there anyone here performing at the best of their ability individually? And not one hand went up.ddddddddddddSo they know that theres a lot of improvement individually to go, which obviously then as a team, well get better.Arnold is again expected to stick with the same line-up that defeated Victory.However he could opt to start match-winner David Carney over captain Alex Brosque in the midfield.Another victory would bring Sydney FC a step closer to a club-record 10 wins in succession, set when they made the final of the inaugural 2005-06 season.But Arnold is certain their early-season form hasnt placed undue pressure on his outfit.I keep driving to the players, it means nothing. Theres still 22 rounds to go, he said.The main thing is that we train hard every day, we get better at every training sessions, and our performance gets better in matches.Overall I wasnt that happy with last weeks performance. I thought the victory, the character, the mentality was great, (but) our fitness got us over the line, not our football. ' ' '