RIO DE JANEIRO -- The comeback began with a challenge. Look at the equipment all you want, Mihai Brestyan told Aly Raisman, but do not touch.So Raisman didnt. For weeks. Brestyan needed to be sure Raisman was serious, so he put the three-time Olympic medalist through countless hours of cardio and plyometrics in 2014 designed to test her desire as much as her physical limits.If you dont control the body, the frustration is coming very fast, Brestyan said. You cant do this. You cant do that. Pain here. Pain there. I didnt want to deal with the mind before I dealt with the body.So Raisman pushed herself to the point of exhaustion -- and sometimes beyond -- while fighting a two-front internal battle: her fear of taking risks and her fear of failure in a seemingly chronic push-pull for supremacy. Heres the thing, though, the thing Brestyan knew the second Raisman walked back into the gym and told him she was ready: Raismans fear of failure always wins. Always.You cant tell her she cant do something, Brestyan said.And Brestyan also understood there was one more chip in play. Raismans performance in London four years ago -- gold in team and floor exercise, bronze on beam -- opened doors for her she never saw coming, including a spot on Dancing With The Stars and a series of endorsement deals. Theres no telling what another breakthrough moment in front of the world could lead to.The fame is going fast, Brestyan said. In the gymnastics world youre famous for one year then you become like everybody else. She feels she did not accomplish the maximum she can do, so the pleasure of doing gymnastics and the pleasure of being famous, this is what brings her back. She likes to be famous.Its a byproduct of Raismans relentless drive, one that has the 22-year-old back on the Olympic stage for the loaded U.S. womens team. The young woman that 16-year-old teammate Laurie Hernandez occasionally calls grandma may also be the best gymnast on the planet not named Simone Biles.Raisman, Biles and defending Olympic champion Gabby Douglas will all compete in the all-around when womens preliminary competition begins on Sunday, a prospect that hardly seemed possible as recently as this spring when Raisman appeared lost, her confidence shaken following a forgettable meet in Italy where she finished sixth overall and fifth among the Americans.Yet there she was during podium training on Thursday, drilling Amanar vaults with precision while cementing her spot as the third all-around entry along with three-time world champion Biles and Douglas. The top eight teams qualify for Tuesday nights team final, with the top 24 individual finishers earning a spot in the all-around final next Thursday.That list, however, comes with one very important caveat: only two gymnasts per country can make the cut. So while all three Americans should wind up in the top 10, the rules dictate one of them will be watching from the stands during the finals. The margin of error is extremely thin and Raisman has seen both sides up close.Four years ago she and Douglas edged good friend and reigning world champion Jordyn Wieber during preliminaries, leaving Wieber in tears afterward. Last fall at the world championships, Raisman struggled during qualifying and wound up being the odd one out while Biles and Douglas went on to go one-two in the finals. This time it was Raisman who couldnt mask her disappointment, apologizing repeatedly to national team coordinator Martha Karolyi even as the Americans rolled to a team title.Raisman buried herself even deeper in her work, though the initial returns were hardly promising. When she slogged to sixth at the Jesolo Cup in March, it seemed her odds of making an Olympic return were diminishing by the day. During the Secret Classic in June, Karolyi required Raisman to do the all-around while Biles and Douglas took on a lighter workload to help save them for the grind to come.The message from Karolyi couldnt have been more obvious: it was time for Raisman to get it together. And just like that, she did.Raisman was second at U.S. championships and a close third behind Hernandez at trials. There was no secret formula. There never is when it comes to Raisman. Her answer to adversity is always the same: work until youre gassed then drag yourself to your feet and work some more.I did like eight million routines, she said.Each one whittling away at the small mistakes that can save a tenth here or two-tenths there, particularly on uneven bars, easily her weakest event. Its no small feat for an admitted perfectionist who struggles at times to let missteps go.In that way shes leaned on Biles, who will occasionally stop talking in mid-sentence to dart down the runway for one of her ceiling-scraping, judge-confounding vaults.Ive found that the less I think and the more I just trust myself the better, Raisman said. Thats what Marthas really been working on with me and its been helping a lot.This is Raismans last round. Probably. She laughed when someone suggested she stick around until Tokyo, joking Brestyan couldnt handle another four years by her side. So shell drink in the moment, unleash a couple more of her physics-defying tumbling runs and embrace her role as the worlds youngest grandma.They can call me whatever they want, she said. I just wanted to be on this team more than anything. China Jerseys Cheap Authentic .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Wholesale China Jerseys . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. http://www.chinajerseysatwholesale.com/ .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Cheap China Jerseys . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. China Jerseys . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. WASHINGTON -- Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper is back in the starting lineup after missing five straight games with a neck injury.Harper will bat third in the series finale against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Washington did not originally include the 2015 National League MVP among the starters, but the Nationals issued a revised lineup 90 minutes before the scheduled 1:35 p.m. ET first pitch.Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo deemed Harper day-to-day before Saturdays game and after learning the sluggers MRI came back clean.ddddddddddddes got a stiff neck thats lingered on for five or six days, Rizzo said Saturday. Hopefully thats behind us now.Harper is batting .233 with 20 home runs and 57 RBIs this season.Washington was 3-2 without Harper. ' ' '