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Hello, and wlecome to a brand spankin’ new week here at The Comeback. My name is Kevin and I am here to serve up some of the top sports headlines from the weekend as well as a few things you may have missed. So get your week started on the right foot with this rundown, starting with a retirement from the baseball world and a heavy dose of the Olympics coverage you probably complained about being aired on tape delay on NBC.

Alex Rodriguez announces retirement

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We will surely have plenty of conversations about this one in the days to come, but Alex Rodriguez has announced he is retiring. His last game will be played this Friday night. The news comes just days after Mark Teixeira announced his retirement, which will come at the end of the season. Rodriguez will still on board as a member of the Yankees organization, because I guess he still is owed some money and that’s one way to keep the checks coming. But honestly this was likely to be happening this year anyway. There will be no farewell tour for A-Rod, which is pretty appropriate given A-Rod isn’t exactly well-received the way a guy like David Ortiz is.

And yes, the Yankees are totally rebuilding now, in case you actually thought otherwise.

Katie Ledecky celebrated a world record while her competitors were still swimming

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American Katie Ledecky set a new world record in the women’s 400-meter event Sunday night, earning the gold medal in the event. She finished her race, turned back to look at the time and began celebrating while the rest of the field was still finishing up their race.

Things may not have gotten off to a golden start in the pool for the Americans, but Sunday night showed this country can still dominate. No athlete dominated a swimming event quite like Katie Ledecky though. Ledecky won the first gold of the Olympics for the American swim team by smashing her own world record for the 400-meter freestyle, previously set two years ago.

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Michael Phelps wins 19th gold as Americans take 4×100 relay

Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps and his pepperoni pizza-looking skin (more on that in a bit) won a remarkable 19th gold medal Sunday night as a key member of the men’s 4×100 relay team. Phelps’ pivotal role proved to be a critical difference-maker in the race.

Later in the evening, it was time for Michael Phelps (who totally made Christine Brennan mad) to get in on the fun as part of the men’s 4×100 relay team. The Americans have a strong history in the event, and Phelps has been a part of that in the last few Olympics. Sunday night was no exception, as Phelps played a crucial role in leading the men’s team — also starring Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held and Nathan Adrian — to a gold medal, holding off France in the final stretch. Phelps took the second in leg of the relay race, and his turn after one length of the pool gave the Americans a much-needed boost and a lead. They would not lose the lead the rest of the way. Just look how much longer Phelps stayed under water after his turn…

Phelps has a shot to add some more hardware to his already impressive collection, but his medal count is now up to 23 all-time, including 19 gold medals. That’s, like, a lot of gold medals.

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.