Monday’s best bets at the Rio Olympics

A look at the top events at the Rio Olympic Games on Monday:

Swimming

It’s not the best day of the meet but swimming commands attention every time it occupies the late night slot in these Games. Four years ago it would have been greatly anticipated as Missy Franklin makes her first individual swim of the meet in the preliminaries of the 200-meter freestyle. The races that should get the most attention include 100 breaststroke. Michael Phelps kicks off his likely last group of individual swim in the prelims and semifinals of the 200 butterfly. Both finals are slated for later in the week.

Basketball

How good is too good? That question seems to keep coming up when the United States plays basketball. Monday is an example where the games should be less than competitive. The women, fresh off a 65-point win over Senegal, play Spain. The U.S. men, who beat China by 57, plays Venezuela. There just don’t seem to be enough teams to make this a deep field. Nonetheless, television audiences will always be highest when the U.S. is playing, no matter how lopsided the result.

Fencing

History will be made when Ibtihaj Muhammad becomes the first American athlete to compete in the Olympic Games wearing a hijab. She’s not expected to do much in the sabre competition other than become the answer to a trivia question. No doubt there will be negative sentiment about her, but she has handled the polarizing criticism with grace. After her first match you can expect television to move along from this story.

Gymnastics

Everyone starts at zero for the men’s team finals. Four years ago the U.S. men had the highest score in the preliminary and were leading going into the final but then had a disastrous day and finished fifth. They finished this preliminary in second place behind reigning gold medalist China. Rounding out the final qualifiers are Brazil, Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia and Ukraine. China is going for its third straight gold.

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