RIO DE JANEIRO -- USA Sevens mens coach Mike Friday has sent a defiant message to their rivals ahead of Tuesdays start to the competition: We are not here to make up the numbers.Fiji head into the Olympics mens sevens competition as favourites for gold -- a medal of any kind would be their first ever in the Games -- but below them, there are a number of teams who will fancy their chances of coming away with the top honour if the ball bounces in their favour.Friday says there is an Any Given Sunday mentality about the tournament and with this NFL mantra ringing in his players ears, there is a quiet confidence about the mens team.We arent the favourites as Fiji have that tag, Friday tells ESPN. The likes of Australia, New Zealand and Team GB are all in the mix but then there are other teams like France, Argentina and Kenya who will fancy their chances and for us, were confident we can win gold but we respect our opposition and we realise were going up against some super rugby powers. Any team can win it on the day.The margins are so slim between success and failure -- one missed tackle or dare I say it, one poor interpretation of the breakdown can swing ties. Its the nature of the game but what a wonderful event.Team USAs pre-Olympics camp has been hugely beneficial. They played Sonny Bill Williams New Zealand twice in Florida, with the spoils shared, which followed a spell of fine-tuning their fitness and game plan.Though Friday is reluctant to join the trend of declaring his side the fittest theyve ever been, he says were certainly in very, very good condition but it is the gains in their tactics and skills which have improved their medal chances the greatest.Part of the focus has been on recovering physically after the gruelling World Rugby Sevens Series which saw them finish sixth. Friday identified certain areas they need to improve on so their focus has been around technical aspects around the breakdown and ball presentation and whether we look after our own ball or go after the opposition ball.Theyve also evolved their defensive system and have targeted an increased physicality in the contact area. And then there has been the work on the mental side of things where they brought in experienced Olympians and outside help to fine-tune their mind set.Weve undertaken some training with some field hockey Olympians at the academy in Florida so we are more self-aware now, Friday said. Weve also worked with some of the Navy Seal boys on whats important and whats not and how to filter out the distractions.It all starts on Tuesday for Fridays team with Argentina up in their first pool match and he is hoping for an all-court showing; whether its the pace of Carlin Isles, the guile of Madison Hughes or the physicality of Nate Ebner there is a hope that mixed together, they will form the perfect cocktail.Probably our point of difference is we have that balance of physicality, power and out and out pace, Friday said. Were not one or the other. Were not the physicality that New Zealand are, were not the offloading, athletic ability the Fijians are who play with their natural swagger, were not the defensive power South Africa are or have the guile of that Team GB have but instead we have a balance of physicality, power and pace. So our point of difference is the balance we have.A medal of any kind would be a good return for Team USA and would certainly aid the growth and exposure of rugby in the U.S.The 15s is undoubtedly on an upwards curve given the new professional league, the super powers travelling to play on their shores and the ever increasing migration of the Eagles top players joining Europes best sides. And then there are the sevens teams where although the women failed to reach the semifinals they will only improve and the men are fancying their chances of ending up on the podium come Thursday.Hopefully the Games will position rugby to be recognised as the prefect team sport to complement the established super team sports in the U.S so that the athletes who dont make it will have an alternative sporting route to fulfil their sporting ambitions, Friday said. If we can get awareness and buy-in that this sport is played across the country and at high school and college to complement any success then we will awake the sleeping giant! Yeezy 700 V2 Australia . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Yeezy Powerphase Calabasas Australia .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. http://www.yeezyshoesaustralia.com/ . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Yeezy Boost Cheap Real . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Yeezy Shoes Wholesale . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Australias deplorable batting displays in Sri Lanka have apparently cost Jackson Bird a place in the Test team, after the South Australia seamer and lower order batsman Joe Mennie vaulted several other contenders to take the last place in the squad to face South Africa in the first Test at the WACA Ground.In a call that the selection chairman Rod Marsh was moved to justify, Bird was omitted despite bowling well for Australia on his last appearance in the Tests in New Zealand in February, and being part of the squad that travelled to Sri Lanka. It was there that Steven Smiths side were repeatedly rolled by the home sides spinners, with the tail unable to pick up the slack as it often had in the past.Declines of 5 for 66 and 5 for 21 in Kandy, 5 for 26 and 5 for 64 in Galle and 5 for 26 and 5 for 37 in Colombo recalled the days when the West Indies pace attack used to rattle through the Australian tail, leaving Marsh to suggest that Mennies more serviceable record with the bat had squeezed him ahead of Bird.I talked to Jackson again this morning and I said to Jackson the thing that probably cost him a place was his batting, Marsh said in Perth. Weve got to get runs at the bottom of the order as well, particularly against a very good attack.Mennies inclusion followed his underwhelming start to international cricket in South Africa on the recent ODI tour. Bird had been widely expected to take the spot after being a squad member in Sri Lanka and also bowling well in New Zealand earlier in the year. The selection panel has always favoured the inclusion of a bowler to deliver long spells into the breeze in Perth, and Mennies sterling efforts for South Australia last summer were enough to convince the panel he may be able to perform the same role in a Test match.[Mennie] was the best bowler in domestic cricket last summer and he continued his good work during the A series and was rewarded with a trip to South Africa, Marsh said. Hes not the greatest one day bowler, but he showed in that last one day match a little bit of the talent he has. Hes a very good length bowler and thats something that in Test cricket is of paramount importance.He bowls well everywhere because he bowls a length. Hes a dead-set professional length bowler, thats what I love about him.dddddddddddd I think youll find hes surprisingly quick if you talk to the batsmen around the country, he hits the bat pretty hard and once again I get back to that word. Length. No-one likes bowlers that bowl a good length.As expected, Shaun Marshs return to fitness from a hamstring injury saw him retained in the batting order ahead of Joe Burns, while Peter Siddle returned to the team for the first time since he withdrew injured from the Test team during the tour of New Zealand in February. Moises Henriques was also dropped from the side that played in Colombo, as Usman Khawaja returned tot he team. Marsh was said to have edged his way past Burns by dint of hundreds in his past two Test matches, most recently the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, and also a strong record in both Perth and Hobart.I felt desperately sorry for Joe because I saw two of the very good innings Ive seen in Test cricket recently [from him] in New Zealand, Rod Marsh said. At Christchurch he played magnificently, got 160 in the first innings and 70 in the second dig against a pretty good attack down there. But he lost his spot in Sri Lanka and Shaun got a hundred. Shaun Marshs last two matches in Hobart and Colombo have both been hundreds.The selectors will now wait to see how the WACA pitch shapes up for the first Test before deliberating on whether or not to include the spin of Nathan Lyon, who struggled somewhat in Sri Lanka but has an exceptional record in Australian conditions. Siddle and Mitchell Starc were both considered fit after injury-interrupted lead-ins - Starc bowling only 20 overs in the Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba to prove his recovery from a deep cut to the leg suffered in training earlier this month.It was necessary that they played this round of Shield cricket, that was necessary, Marsh said. I spoke to Siddle this morning, hes bowling great, Mitchell Starc bowled 20 overs so theres nothing wrong with him, ready to go.Test squad David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith (capt), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Joe Mennie, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon ' ' '