VENUS WILLIAMS (Coral Gables, Fla.) was eliminated from the women's singles tournament in a tight match against Germany's Angelique Kerber Wednesday afternoon, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) in play on Court 2 of Wimbledon.

RYAN LOCHTE (Daytona Beach, Fla.) earned the United States' first gold medal of the London 2012 Olympic Games with his victory in the men's 400m individual medley at the Aquatics Centre Saturday evening.

Lochte posted a time of 4:05.18, 3.68 seconds ahead of silver medalist Thiago Pereira of Brazil. The bronze medal was won by Kosuke Hagino of Japan, who matched the Asian record of 4:08.94. MICHAEL PHELPS (Baltimore, Md.) was fourth in 4:09.28.

Lochte extends a run where he has medaled in every Olympic event he has swum in. His gold-medal time was the second-fastest in Olympic history, behind only the 4:03.84 by Phelps at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, which remains the world record in the event. Lochte's five individual medals ranks him eighth among all Olympians and fifth among male Olympians.

By Leland Stein III

WIMBLEDON - The Olympic quote of the first week was Serena Williams after she won her opening-round match against former Serbian world number one Jelena Jankovic. Coming off her thrilling win at Wimbledon recently and her subsequent run of 11 straight victories, Serena toasted Jankovic 6-3 6-1. Following her win Serena looked up in her box and gave the USA First Lady Michelle Obama, who was sitting with Serena’s sister (Venus) a thumbs-up. She told the press: “They asked me did I mind if she sat in the family box,” said Williams. “I was like, ‘Of course not. Please, it would be my honor’. I love Michelle, so it was good. I gave her a thumbs-up just to acknowledge that I knew she was here. Obviously it was impossible not to see her but it was cool.” Serena has never won a gold medal in singles, but she and her sister Venus have two gold medals in doubles (2000 in Sydney and 2008 in Beijing).

SO LONG: Up and coming tennis star Donald Young, 23, lost in his opening-round match to Italy's Andreas Seppi, 6-4, 6-4 at Wimbledon. The Chicago born tennis player came into the Olympics with a career-high ATP ranking of World No. 38. He reached the fourth round of the 2011 US Open, which marked his first appearance in the fourth round of a major. There was high hope for him in London, but he could not overcome Seppi and his run here is over so soon. The lefty tennis player has been compared the tennis legend John McEnroe, but he has yet to get over the hump. This venue was a great stage for him.

FENCERS: Also gone is former Olympian Peter Westbrook Foundation fencer Nzingha Prescod, 19, from Brooklyn, N.Y. as she lost to Aida Mohamed of Hungary 15-10 in the opening-round. The Columbia student made a late charge but couldn’t get it done. The first-time Olympian said she was undone by nerves to a degree: “I feel like I could’ve been under better control in the beginning. I rushed too much with my feet.” It did not help that Prescod faced a 36-year-old veteran in her Olympic debut. “She’s not the ideal opponent,” Prescod said. “She’s been around a really, really long time and has so much experience.” Fellow fencer Daryl Homer, 22, finished in sixth-place after the individual round. He said: “Me being the youngest person on the team, I think I have a big future ahead of me, but it was a tough loss for me, both for our federation, for myself, for my team, for our coach. I think in a few days we’ll pick our heads up for the team event.” Homer started at age 10 within the walls of the New York Fencer’s Club under the guidance of six-time Olympian Peter Westbrook - just like Prescod - before learning the saber with the famed handler Yury Gelman. Homer, who ranked number one in the United States, said he worked hard to become first in the sport after an unimpressive childhood with the foils.

By Jon D. Gaede

BVN Staff

LOS ANGELES - Southern California, where surf culture was born, can now say they are the kings of the ice. After 45 years of waiting, the Stanley Cup belongs to Los Angeles. No more ‘endless summers‘ of wondering which players to trade away for real ones. No more explaining that LA just isn’t a hockey town. No more longing for the days of Wayne Gretsky, ‘The Great One” who raised all expectations and put the Kings deep into the finals in the 90’s. You don’t have to package or sell hockey to the 250,000 who lined the streets of downtown Loa Angeles to celebrate their cup!

They join their rivals, the Ducks of Orange County (won Cup in 2006) as the second team from Southern California to take NHL’s Stanley Cup in six years. The parade down Figueroa seemed to be as large as Laker parades of the past and certainly just as loud. Official Kings gear flew off the shelves and kiosks as fans couldn’t wait to adorn themselves with the colors of a winner, their Kings! No less than eight double decker busses carried players, family members and staff through the streets of Los Angeles and back to the Staples Center for a more intimate celebration with 18,000 of their closest fans.

Once inside Staples Center, AEG President Tim Leiweke put the celebration in perspective as he credited new coach Darryl Sutter for transforming an underachieving squad into the aggressive one that disposed of favored Vancouver in short order. Sutter’s squad reflected his understated mannerr, short on praise and delayed gratification. He has a special way to extract more and more out of his players. And that’s what they gave him. Behind the mask of keeper Jonathan Quick, the kings ran the table on Vancouver and St. Louis. They were well on the way to sweeping New Jersey until they fought back to 3-2. The Kings lost their first road playoff game at New Jersey, then returned home to win the Cup on home ice. The Kings Jonathan Quick bested opposing keeper Martin Broadeur with one incredible save after another was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Coach Sutter, AEG’s Tim Leiweke, Captain Dustin Brown and Quick, each expressed the desire to ‘do it again’. The Staples Center crowd roared each time. The mixture of tough veterans and dynamic youth may likely be in LA’s favor.

For the summer, the Cup will make it’s traditional journey. Each player will share personal time with it. Very unique to hockey, Lord Stanley’s Cup will be shared on airplanes, boats, trains and in the small towns of Canada and the U.S. By tradition, the Kings may engrave 45 names onto the Cup, where they will remain for 45 years. A very special tradition indeed.