TV’s best bets for the Olympics

Let the Games begin.

Oh, wait. They already started even though Saturday, according to the Olympics calendar, is officially Day One. The competition actually commenced Wednesday with women’s soccer, and more preceded Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

With 16 days in front of us, here is a daily list of best bets. Most can be seen on NBC’s prime-time telecast, while a few will be handed off to the network’s weekend afternoon windows or to other channels. So, check listings each day to match the sport with the station.

Each item begins with the tentative event time (Pacific) and ends with the start time for NBC’s telecast locally. Both are subject to change.

Saturday, Aug. 6

Like a distance race at the sound of the starter’s gun, it’s off slowly. But there is enough to wet your whistle.

6:30 p.m., swimming, men’s 400-meter freestyle: Connor Jaeger of the U.S., whose specialty is the 1,500, takes a stab at the shorter race against Australia’s Mack Horton and an imposing field. (8 p.m.)

7:24 p.m., swimming, women’s 400 free relay: The U.S. is so loaded that budding star Katie Ledecky is likely to engage only in the prelims. Yet Australia is the powerhouse based on this year’s times. (8 p.m.)

8 p.m. beach volleyball, women: Team USA’s Kerri Walsh Jennings launches her quest for a fourth straight gold but is breaking in a new sidekick, April Ross. (8 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 7

The action shifts into a higher gear.

1:30 p.m., gymnastics: Not much suspense with the U.S. women, who should individually and collectively advance to the all-around and team finals. Still, it’s the first look at Simone Biles, who will become quite familiar. (7 p.m.)

6:03 p.m., swimming, women’s 100 butterfly: Dana Vollmer, who became a mom since her win in London, tries to become the first U.S. gold medalist in the pool after giving birth. (7 p.m.)

7:01 p.m., swimming, women’s 400 freestyle: Ledecky, the world record-holder, aims for her first solo gold in Rio after possibly earning a relay medal. (7 p.m.)

7:54 p.m.: swimming, men’s 400 free relay: Will Michael Phelps participate? Team USA’s standout is individual 100 gold medalist Nathan Adrian, but he might not be enough for a win. (7 p.m.)

Monday, Aug. 8

It’s (almost) all about swimming, with four finals on tap.

Noon, gymnastics, men’s team final: Team USA, fifth in London, likely cannot crack the top three as China shoots for its third consecutive gold. (8 p.m.)

6:38 p.m., swimming, men’s 100 backstroke: The Americans Ryan Murphy and David Plummer try to tag-team Australia’s Mitch Larkin off the top step of the medals podium. (8 p.m.)

6:54 p.m., swimming, women’s 100 breaststroke: Another one-two punch for the U.S., with Lilly King and Katie Meili sniffing for gold and silver in either order. (8 p.m.)

Tuesday, Aug. 9

Now we’re getting down to business.

Noon, gymnastics, women’s team final: The U.S. counts on Biles, thrice the all-around world champion, to help deliver a gold. Anyone else would constitute a monumental upset. (8 p.m.)

6:19 p.m., swimming, women’s 200 freestyle: Ledecky and Missy Franklin, who swept up five medals in London but struggled at the U.S. trials, bring star power to this race. (8 p.m.)

6:28 p.m., swimming, men’s 200 butterfly: Flag-bearer Phelps is certain for this event, but he could get squeezed out of the gold by Laszlo Cseh (Hungary) or Chad le Clos (South Africa). (8 p.m.)

7:38 p.m., swimming, men’s 800 free relay: Four-time Olympic Ryan Lochte lends a seasoned hand to U.S. hopes in this race. (8 p.m.)

Wednesday, Aug. 10

Behold the globe’s best male gymnast.

Noon, gymnastics, men’s all-around: Japan’s Kohei Uchimura, who has not lost an Olympics or worlds title in seven years, is a near-lock for gold, barring injury or mishap. (8 p.m.)

7:30 p.m., swimming, men’s 100 freestyle: 2012 champ Adrian takes aim at a repeat, while Cameron McEvoy of Australia obstructs his path. (8 p.m.)

7:55 p.m., swimming, women’s 800 free relay: This time, Ledecky and Franklin collaborate for a probable gold. China’s world record has stood for seven years. (8 p.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 11

Another strong gym/swim combo day.

Noon, gymnastics, women’s all-around final: No pressure, Biles, other than the fact that Team USA has produced the three previous gold medalists. If not Biles, maybe Aly Raisman or Laurie Hernandez. (8 p.m.)

6:28 p.m., swimming, men’s 200 backstroke: The U.S. has not yielded gold to another nation since 1996, but look out for the Aussie Larkin. (8 p.m.)

7:01 p.m., swimming, 200 individual medley: It’s Phelphs versus Lochte — hopefully — in a classic matchup of Yankee veterans. Phelps has not lost in this discipline at the Games since 2000. (8 p.m.)

Friday, Aug. 12

Time to cut the ribbon on track and field, the core Olympics event.

7:10 a.m., track and field, women’s 10,000 meters: Emily Infeld and Molly Huddle seek improvement from third and four places at last year’s worlds. (7 a.m.)

6:03 p.m., swimming, women’s 200 backstroke: Franklin must better her trials effort to get on the podium. (8 p.m.)

6:12 p.m., swimming, men’s 100 butterfly: Phelps takes on Cseh and Le Clos again, this time as the slightest of picks. (8 p.m.)

6:20 p.m., swimming, women’s 800 free: Ledecky’s fastest time of the year is nearly 11 1/2 seconds better than the next best. A loss seems next-to-impossible. (8 p.m.)

Saturday, Aug. 13

Farewell to swimming as track and field revs up.

2 p.m., women’s tennis final: If Serena Williams is not involved, something is wrong. She gets up for the mega-events, and the Olympics is a notch below the Grand Slam. (8 a.m.)

5:25 p.m., track, men’s 10,000 meters: Mo Farah (Great Britain) and Galen Rupp (U.S.) train together, but they are rivals here. (8 p.m.)

6:49 p.m., swimming, women’s 400 medley relay: The U.S. has not emerged without a medal in more than a century but will be hard-pressed to attain gold. (8 p.m.)

7:04 p.m., swimming, men’s 400 medley relay: This could be Phelps’ sayonara to the Games, and it should be gilded in gold. The U.S. has never been defeated in the event. (8 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 14

There is nothing middling about the midway-point schedule.

3 a.m., golf, men’s final round: Never mind the absentees. This is historic, the first medals awarded on the links in 112 years. Set your alarm clock. (3:30 a.m.)

10:44 a.m., gymnastics, women vault, finals: Had enough of Biles? She could rule the individual apparatus disciplines, especially this one. (7 p.m.)

2 p.m., tennis, men’s finals: Roger Federer is not here, but Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are. (8 a.m.)

6 p.m., track, men’s 400 meters: Eight years after capturing gold, the U.S.’ LaShawn Merritt is primed for a successful sequel. (7 p.m.)

6:25 p.m., track, men’s 100 meters: The best 10 seconds — slightly less, actually — of the entire Games. Usain Bolt seeks to extend his reign as World’s Fastest Human. (7 p.m.)

Monday, Aug. 15

A slight pause in the action, but not much with Biles and a decorated runner performing.

11:42 a.m., gymnastics, women’s balance beam: Biles has claimed the last two world titles. She could become weighed down by medals in Rio. (8 p.m.)

6:25 p.m., track, men’s 800 meters: Always a thrilling race, particularly with world record-holder David Rudisha of Kenya this year. (8 p.m.)

6:45 p.m., track, women’s 400 meters: Allyson Felix shoots for a seventh Olympic gold, most by any U.S. women in track. She will be accompanied with every step by Caster Semenya of South Africa, a lightning rod for gender issues. (8 p.m.)

Tuesday, Aug. 16

Some of the smallest and largest Olympians on the same day.

10:45 a.m., gymnastics, women’s floor exercise: Stop us if you’ve heard this one. Yes, Biles again, though fellow countryman Raisman could slip in for gold. (8 p.m.)

11 a.m., weightlifting, men’s over 105 kg: Now that we know the planet’s fastest man, how about the strongest? It won’t be a Russian; the whole squad is banned. (11 a.m.)

6:30 p.m., track, women’s 1,500 meters: Favorite Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia aspires to keep it all in the family. Her sister scooped up five Games medals. (8 p.m.)

9:45 p.m., track, men’s 110 hurdles: Devin Allen takes a break from catching passes for Oregon to reach for an Olympic medal. (8 p.m.)

Wednesday, Aug. 17

Women athletes dominate the stage.

6:30 p.m., track, women’s 200 meters: Tori Bowie is the Team USA candidate. As a heptathlete, favorite Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands is the intriguing candidate. (8 p.m.)

6:45 p.m., track, women’s 100-meter hurdles: Though the top-ranked American fell shy of qualifying, this could still be a red-white-and-blue sweep, with Brianna Rollins leading the way. (8 p.m.)

8 p.m., beach volleyball, women’s finals: The clock in Rio will be approaching midnight, and it will be a madhouse if host Brazil, self-proclaimed inventor of the sport, goes against the Jennings-Ross tandem. (8 p.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 18

Meet the master of all track and field trades.

5:45 p.m., track, men’s decathlon: Now it’s time to crown the globe’s most versatile athlete, and it could be defending champ Ashton Eaton of the U.S.. This is the start time for the climactic 1,500 meters. (8 p.m.)

6:30 p.m., track, men’s 200 meters: Bolt likely concludes his Olympic career in solo events by dashing toward a possible eighth career gold. (8 p.m.)

11 p.m., beach volleyball, men’s finals: Brazil could advance either of two duos to the finals. Or both. A U.S. pair, Phil Dalhasser and Nick Lucena, is determined to prevent an all-samba title match. (8 p.m.)

Friday, Aug. 19

Big day looms for Team(s) USA.

11:30 a.m., water polo, women’s final: The U.S. is a hefty favorite, having dominated the sport in the Olympics lead-up. (11 a.m.)

1:30 p.m., soccer, women’s final: More gold awaits an American women’s squad. It would be the fifth in six tries. (1:30 p.m.)

6:15 p.m., track, women’s 400-meter relay: It also boils down to U.S. versus Jamaica for the females. Bowie is the main woman for the Yankee quartet. (8 p.m.)

6:35 p.m., track, men’s 400-meter relay: A deep U.S. contingent led by Justin Gatlin hopes to prevent Bolt from making his apparent Olympic farewell a golden one. (8 p.m.)

Saturday, Aug. 20

It’s the busiest day for handing out medals as track winds down with the longer relays. Plus these…

11:30 a.m., basketball, women’s final: With its flawless roster, the U.S. can notch a sixth consecutive gold in a sport it flat-out owns. (11:30 a.m.)

1:30 p.m., soccer, men’s final: The pressure is on Brazil, should it reach this stage. The hos nation has put considerable stock in winning. (1:30 p.m.)

6:15 p.m., volleyball, women’s final: Brazil volleys well on the hardwood, too, having bumped off the U.S. in the past two Games. (8 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 21

The curtain shuts before the Closing Ceremony with an assortment of medal events.

5:30 a.m., men’s marathon: Two Americans add to the interest. Galen Rupp also was entered in the 10,000, and Meb Keflezighi, 41, is the oldest U.S. marathoner yet. (5 a.m.)

12:15 p.m., volleyball, men’s final: If Brazil can sweep the four volleyball golds, beach and indoor, the party will extend into the following week. (12:15 p.m.)

10 a.m., boxing, women’s 165-pound finals: Claressa Shields could slug her way to the lone boxing gold for the U.S. (9:30 a.m.)

2:45 p.m., basketball, men’s final: With many stars staying home, the Americans pursue gold with a formidable A-minus roster. (2:45 p.m.)