What to watch for - Day 5.

Despite some disappointments yesterday, the U.S. and China are now even in the overall medal count with 17 each.

Yesterday, the American men’s gymnastics team had a disastrous night in team finals, falling from first in qualifying to finishing fifth overall. Today is the team final for the women. Team USA looks for its first gold since the “Mag Seven” in 1996. We all remember when Kerri Strug landed that vault to win gold, but some of these girls weren’t even born yet or were to young to remember it. Did I just make you feel old?

The success of the American women in qualifying has been a bit overshadowed by the fact that Jordyn Weiber didn’t qualify for the individual all-around (despite having the fourth-best all-around score). The women posted the top qualifying score of 181.863 that was 1.4 points better than the Russians who sit in second. It should be a two-horse race between the Americans and the Russians. The Chinese and Romanians will also be contending for a medal in tonight’s final.

Just like the men’s competition the scores are wiped clean and everyone starts over. Also, tonight will be the three up/three down format which means that every score counts. That helps the consistent teams and seriously hurts the teams that suffer falls (this was evident last night in the men’s final). If the “Fab Five” can do what they did in qualifying, especially again on vault, there is a very strong chance the color of their medal will be gold. I will be shocked if they don’t end the night on the podium.

The question has been whether or not Weiber can move past the devastation of not qualifying for the all-around and give the team the performances they need. I think the answer to this question will be yes. In fact, I think that she’ll give some of the best performances of her life. She’s a competitor and wants to prove that she belongs in that final

Here’s my best guess for the USA lineup tonight:

Vault – Douglas, Weiber, Maroney

Bars – Ross, Weiber, Douglas

Beam – Douglas, Weiber, Raisman

Floor – Douglas, Weiber, Raisman

In the pool, Michael Phelps has two races tonight. If he medals in both he will become on of the most decorated Olympians of all-time. Phelps will swim in the 200m butterfly and the 4x200m freestyle. He won his semifinal in the 200 fly to qualify fourth and will be in lane six. American Tyler Clary, who has criticized Phelps for not working hard and just relying on his talent, will also swim in the 200 fly and is in lane two. If Phelps wins, he'll be the first person to win three golds in the same event.

The men’s 4x200 freestyle relay is also today and the Americans are expected to be one of the top contenders. It’s not yet known who will swim for the Americans but expect both Phelps and Ryan Lochte to be on the list. Lochte has struggled since winning the 400 IM, falling off in the last leg of the 4x100 to give USA second and failing to medal in the 200 free last night. If he wants this to be his Olympics he has to come on strong tonight.

I love Missy Franklin. I think a lot of other people lover her now too after last night. She goes for individual medal number two tonight in the 200m freestyle. She had that tight schedule last night and conserved some energy in the semifinal yesterday, which paid off in the 100 backstroke, and qualified in eighth. She won’t have the best lane but if she is rested and swims strong she will have a great shot at the podium. Another American teenager, Allison Schmitt, will also be in the final. Schmitt, who trains with Phelps in Baltimore, won the silver in the 400 free and had a great semifinal and is in lane five for the final. Also in the race is defending Olympic and world champion Federica Pellegrini.

The women’s 200 individual medly will also be contested with two Americans in the final. Caitlin Leverenz will swim in lane three and Ariana Kukors in lane six. The biggest name in this race is Ye Shiwen of China. She won the 400 IM on Sunday and has raised eyebrows with some of her splits, which are pretty much unheard of times for the women. She is the favorite in the race, as long as she the officials don’t discover something in one of her drug tests.

USA men’s basketball will take on Tunisia at 5:15 p.m. (est) and looks to go 2-0 so far in the games. USA won 98-71 against France on Sunday, while Tunisia fell to Nigeria 60-56. The red, white and blue should win pretty easily and keep the dream of a team repeat alive.

Women’s soccer is also in action today with a match against North Korea. The U.S. is 2-0 while PRK is 1-1 after losing 5-0 to France. The Americans have a three-point lead in the goal differential going into the match and a win will give them a victory over all three teams in its group.

The women’s 10m synchronized diving competition is also tonight, but the Americans don’t have a team competing so feel free to tune out when this event comes on.