The Olympics has always been a brutally tough fit into the busy summer tennis schedule.This year, a variety of extenuating circumstances -- led by the looming prospect of the Zika virus -- contrived to thin the ranks of the top seeds on both sides. Half of the mens top 10, including Swiss teammates Roger Federer (knee injury) and Stan Wawrinka (Zika fears) bailed on Rio. Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Dominic Thiem also excused themselves, ostensibly over health concerns.Too bad. They missed a terrific, most memorable party.Over nine days (one of them a rainout), there was plenty of anarchy. No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic was gone before the second round, and the No. 141-ranked player, Juan Martin del Potro, somehow managed to play his way into the gold-medal final.Whew. Here are five quick takeaways from the crazy carnival that ended Sunday:1. Andy Murray is suddenly The ManDont look now, but Murray appears to be the player to beat at the upcoming US Open. In 2012, he won gold at the London Olympics (beating Federer in the final), then followed it up with his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open, dispatching Djokovic in that final. Four years later, he changed it up, winning at Wimbledon and carrying that momentum into the Rio Olympics, carrying the flag for Great Britain.With coach Ivan Lendl back in the saddle again, Murray became the first Olympic player to defend a singles title, beating del Potro in a match that lasted just north of four hours. Djokovic has won 24 of 34 career meetings with Murray, but if the Scot can get someone to do his dirty work -- Sam Querrey took down Djokovic at Wimbledon and del Potro did it in Rio -- hes got a good chance to win.2. Juan Martin del Potro is backWe saw flashes at Wimbledon, but now its official. After struggling through four wrist surgeries, Delpo is starting to look more confident with his backhand, sometimes using both hands in the heat of the moment. The forehand? Once again, its the biggest and most feared in tennis. After beating Djokovic in the first round, del Potro handled Rafael Nadal in the best match of the tournament, a 3-hour, 8-minute semifinal.After del Potro concluded his marathon against Nadal, few gave him any chance versus Murray, who advanced to the final in a match that was 108 minutes shorter. Delpo was enormous, fighting every moment of the marathon before losing in four sets. Earlier, the 27-year-old had said that the gold medal would have meant more than the 2009 US Open title.3. Novak Djokovic needs down timeAfter completing his career Grand Slam at Roland Garros -- his leading priority of 2016 -- Djokovics usually fierce emotional energy has been sometimes difficult to summon. He got bounced by Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon and, after winning in Toronto, fell to del Potro in a marvelous two-tiebreaker match. Their touching hug at net reminded us that the Olympic spirit, despite all the no-shows, is real. Now Djokovic needs to embrace the seasons last Slam, one where hes been a finalist five of the past six years.4. Rafael Nadal is far from doneIts been a season of drama for the 30-year-old Spaniard. He retired from his Miami match against Damir Dzumhur, then rallied to win titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. A wrist injury forced him to pull out of Roland Garros, where he is a nine-time champion, in the middle of the tournament, and then he missed Wimbledon.Although that left wrist still isnt quite right, Rafa said he was compelled to try to play in the Olympics. In Rio, he won gold in doubles with Marc Lopez?and blew through to the singles semifinals. Rafa, looking exhausted, fell in the bronze match to Kei Nishikori?in three sets, but he heads into New York with some serious momentum.5. Jack Sock doubles upThe 23-year-old native Nebraskan was already a Grand Slam champion coming in, as he and Vasek Pospisil beat the Bryan Brothers in the 2014 Wimbledon final. Now, Sock is coming home to Kansas City with two Olympic medals. Sock paired with Steve Johnson to win a bronze in mens doubles (beating Pospisil and Daniel Nestor) on Saturday, then took the mixed-doubles gold with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. His stock in both singles -- where hes ranked No. 23 --- and doubles has never been higher. DaMarcus Beasley USA Jersey . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Matt Miazga USA Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/tim-howard-usa-jersey/ .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Jordan Morris Jersey . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Paul Arriola Jersey . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. DENVER -- The rampaging Chicago Cubs begin a nine-game, 10-day road trip with three against the Colorado Rockies beginning Friday.Chicago, which is coming off a four-game sweep of Milwaukee, has won 18 of its past 21 games. The Cubs (77-43, 32-24 on the road) are 34 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 27, 2008, when they were 97-63 on the next-to-last-day of the season.Kyle Hendricks, who is 11-7 with a 2.19 ERA -- the third-lowest ERA in the majors, has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his past 15 starts for Chicago, dating to May 22. In his last start Saturday against St. Louis, Hendricks allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings with no walks and 12 strikeouts but wasnt involved in the decision as the Cubs lost 8-4.Hendricks is 3-6 with a 3.43 in 10 road starts this season. The Rockies handed Hendricks his only loss in 13 games (12 starts) at Wrigley Field this season April 15 when he allowed four runs (two earned) and seven hits in six innings of Colorados 6-1 victory. In two starts at Coors Field -- both Chicago victories -- Hendricks is 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA.Left-hander Tyler Anderson, who makes his first career start against the Cubs, is 4-4 with a 3.42 ERA -- the lowest ERA for a Rockies starter through his first 12 starts in franchise history.In his last start Saturday in Philadelphia, Anderson was ejected by home plate umpire Eric Cooper for hitting Maikel Franco with a pitch to begin the fourth inning. That outing ended a streak of eight straight starts in which Anderson had pitched at least six innings.In eight starts at Coors Field, Anderson is 4-1 with a 3.04 ERA. Because the Rockies were off Thursday, Anderson will pitch with five days of rest.Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu, the first and second hitters in Colorados lineup, have been on offensive tears lately.Blackmon has a 12-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .481 in 54 at-bats with five doubles, one triple, nine homers, 15 RBI, a 1.111 slugging percentage and a 1.637 OPS. During his streak, Blackmon raised his average 23 points to .322..ddddddddddddeMahieu, who began his career in the Cubs organization and played 37 games for them in 2011, had hits in eight straight at-bats and reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances before both streaks ended on his second at-bat Wednesday. He has hit safely in 14 of 16 games this month, going .483 in 60 at-bats with two doubles, one triple, three homers, nine RBI, a .483 on-base percentage and a 1.281 OPS. During the month, LeMahieu has raised his average 23 points to .343, one point behind National League leader Daniel Murphy of Washington.Blackmon and LeMahieu have helped the Rockies weather the losses of Trevor Story, who last played July 30, and Mark Reynolds, who last played Aug. 11, to season-ending injuries. Also, Carlos Gonzalez has started only five of the past 14 games because of an ankle sprain Aug. 3 that he later re-aggravated.Both guys have really upped their game, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Blackmon and LeMahieu. Both are getting on base at a really high rate. Theyre a big reason why our offense has performed better even with some key pieces out. Even on the road where weve struggled historically, its performing and (that) has a lot to do with those two guys.In Chicagos 9-6 victory Thursday against Milwaukee, Kris Bryant went 5-for-5 with a double, two homers and five RBI. Hes hitting .296 with 30 homers, 78 RBI and a .956 OPS. With his second five-hit game of the season, Bryant tied Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado for the National League lead in home runs.Anthony Rizzo, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI on Thursday, is hitting .291 with 25 homers, 86 RBI and a .956 OPS. With six weeks remaining in the regular season, Rizzo and Bryant along with Murphy are the leading contenders for the NL Most Valuable Player Award.Weve obviously put ourselves in a good position to have that chatter, Rizzo said. But weve still got to go out and play every day and do what we do. ' ' '