RIO DE JANEIRO -- Serena. Simone. Solo.It shouldnt come as a surprise that some of the best-recognized names on the U.S. Olympic team belong to women. The Americans brought 292 women to Rio de Janeiro, an Olympic record for a single country. Their first gold medal of the games -- won Saturday by a woman, of course: Ginny Thrasher in shooting. Reporters from The Associated Press predicted the United States would capture 128 medals -- 69 by women and 59 by men.Among those winners could be:-Serena Williams, who already has four gold medals and could win two more -- one in singles and another in doubles, along with her sister, Venus.-Simone Biles, who has a legitimate chance to pull in a record five gold medals from gymnastics.-Hope Solo, the goalkeeper for the soccer team, which is trying for its fourth straight Olympic gold medal.-Katie Ledecky, a medal contender in five swimming events.This is the second straight Summer Games in which women have outnumbered men on Team USA. But when the number reached 292 for this Olympics, the Americans had a record. It was three more than China entered into the Beijing Games eight years ago.Its a surge that has peaked this decade, now 44 years since the passage of Title IX, the law that opened doors for women in college sports around the country. Many competing in the Olympics are either in, or about to become part of, the third generation of women to compete at the college level since the law was passed.We got a great head start in the U.S. because of the support they had in their schools and their colleges growing up, said Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. You look at 10, 15 years after the passage of Title IX, how great an impact that started having. You combine it with the collegiate structure we have and that helps define the success.No womens sport has become more high profile than basketball since Title IX. The U.S. has won six of seven gold medals since 1984 -- about the time the true impact of the law started being felt. Another win this year would strike a poignant note in the wake of the recent passing of Pat Summitt, the longtime Tennessee coach who pioneered the surge in womens hoops over decades.I look at the younger generation of womens basketball players and there is such a tremendous boat load of talent from, say, 10 years ago, said Geno Auriemma of UConn, who is coaching the U.S. team.He said Title IX led to the full funding of college sports across the board, which has led to the U.S. catching up in a few sports, like volleyball, and dominating in others.Weve talked about water polo, and how much weve had players before us pioneer our sport, said Maggie Steffens of the defending-champion U.S. team. Womens water polo wasnt even in the Olympics until 2000. And we had women who, in 76 and the `80s and `90s, dreamed of being in the Olympics and never got that opportunity, but made sure it happened for us. We want to make sure we do the best we can to represent those women.Womens soccer has enjoyed far more success than the mens game in the United States. The men didnt qualify for the Olympics. The women are favored to win gold for the fifth time since they were brought onto the Olympic program in 1996. On Saturday, Solo became the first goalkeeper to appear in 200 games in international play.Medal-contending women fill the U.S. roster -- young and old and in sports ranging from archery to weightlifting.At 16, hurdler Sydney McLaughlin will be the youngest to compete for the U.S. Olympic track team since 1972.At 30, Natasha Hastings is making her second Olympic appearance and could factor into the 400-meter mix, as well as the relay team. Though plenty of amazing women have run for the U.S. over the years, when Hastings looks for inspiration, she has plenty of choices. Hers happens to be a tennis player.Serena Williams is my sports female hero, Hastings said. Ive watched her and her sister play tennis since they were 12 or 13 and just change the game. What theyve done for womens sports, to me, is just amazing.---AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this report. Victor Oladipo Jersey . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Vince Carter Jersey . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. https://www.cheapmagiconline.com/ . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Matt Harpring Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Michael Carter-Williams Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. PASADENA, Calif. -- Southern California and UCLA have been on divergent trajectories for nearly two months, so nobody in the chilly Rose Bowl crowd was terribly surprised when the Trojans charged right on through their faltering rivals Saturday night.That didnt make the blowout victory any less sweet for USC, which coolly maintained its LA dominance for another year with a businesslike bashing of the Bruins.Sam Darnold passed for 267 yards and hit DeQuan Hampton for two touchdowns, leading No. 15 USC past UCLA 36-14 in the Los Angeles rivals 86th crosstown showdown.Ronald Jones II rushed for 121 yards and two TDs for the surging Trojans (8-3, 7-2 Pac-12), who won their seventh straight game after a dismal start to the season. USC claimed the Victory Bell for the second consecutive year, overcoming Darnolds two early interceptions and eventually taking apart UCLAs solid defense for 527 total yards.Any time you beat a rival team like this, its always fun, USC linebacker Michael Hutchings said. Winning like this, its great for our team morale.The Trojans experienced another victory several hours earlier when they huddled around laptops in the team hotel to watch Utahs loss to Oregon, which kept USC in the Pac-12 South race.A few hours after USC finishes the regular season next Saturday against Notre Dame, the Trojans would claim the division title if the Utes beat No. 12 Colorado, which lost at USC last month.We needed one of those teams to lose to stay alive, and Oregon came through for us, USC coach Clay Helton said. We still need a little help, but now weve set our mark at 7-2.Jordan Lasley caught two first-half touchdown passes from Mike Fafaul for UCLA (4-7, 2-6). After five losses in their last six games, the Bruins are assured their first losing season in coach Jim Moras half-decade in charge.Ten years after UCLA stunned USC 13-9 and knocked Pete Carrolls team out of the national title race, Heltons Trojans calmly beat their rivals for the 14th time in 18 meetings.With both teams wearing their home jerseys in Arroyo Seco, USC extended its longest overall winning streak since Carrolls last conference championship season in 2008.Helton also improved to 2-0 in the crosstown showdown: He got the permanent job last year two days after the Trojans 40-21 victory over the Bruins and Mora, who had won his first three against USC.It was just a really tough and humbling night, Mora said after honoring his seniors before the game. Regardless of how this year has gone, those young men have done some tremendous things here. This was the first game (all season) that wweve kind of not been in.ddddddddddddThats disappointing.USC went through the UCLA defense for 326 yards in the first half, just 30 yards shy of the Bruins average yield for entire games this season. The Trojans eventually held the ball for 43:47 and ran 95 plays to UCLAs 51.Darnold provided his usual cocktail of brilliance and exciting flaws, throwing two interceptions in the first half amid a series of stunning athletic runs and throws. The redshirt freshman hasnt lost since his debut start at Utah in September, leading the Trojans back into contention with his freewheeling skills.But the Bruins held an early 14-7 lead. Lasley took a mid-range pass 56 yards for a score in the opening moments, and he beat Adoree Jackson in 1-on-1 coverage early in the second quarter, right after Fabian Moreau returned Darnolds first interception inside the USC 10.When we were down 14-7, it was the same atmosphere, Darnold said. Guys werent going to give up. Its really a shift in culture that you can sense now.TURNING POINTUSC faced a deficit after the first quarter for the first time since its winning streak began, but Jones fixed that with his second TD run, bursting around the end for a spectacular 60-yard score. Hampton then made his first career TD catch with an exceptional 31-yard grab by the seldom-used sophomore.THE TAKEAWAYUCLA: The Bruins have endured a miserable second half after quarterback Josh Rosens season-ending injuries, but the defense has fought in every game. The overmatched offense kept it close early, but a thorough offseason recalibration seems vital.USC: The Trojans just keep getting more dangerous, even if it might be too late to win the Pac-12 South. Along with Jones latest big game, Darnold and Hampton made key plays against a defense that had allowed only eight TD catches all season. And its no surprise that Darnold, the unflappable Orange County native, easily handled the road pressure in his first LA rivalry matchup.POLL IMPLICATIONSFew teams are rolling like the Trojans. USC is likely to remain the nations highest-ranked team with three losses, and it could move up a couple of spots after defeats for No. 10 West Virginia and No. 11 Utah.UP NEXTUCLA: A trip to Berkeley for a rather drab season finale against California.USC: The famed intersectional rivalry game with Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '