1. Michael Phelps
All he wants is history. Meaning eight victories in swimming to outdo the gold-medal binge of Mark Spitz in 1972. Spitz's remarkable accomplishment has gone unchallenged for three decades, but Phelps has made it his mission.

The U.S. swimming trials, when Phelps lost to fellow world record-breaking Yanks in two events, clearly suggested how difficult that mission will be in Athens. Phelps will need to find a way in the next month to get past his own countrymen, but the showdown everyone is waiting for is in the 200 freestyle, when Phelps faces Australian man-fish, Ian Thorpe.

Michael Phelps is competing for the United States - and an important place in history. (AP file photo)

2. Shot put
This will not just be big guys and gals throwing around a heavy ball. Well, yes it will, but they will be doing it on the hallowed grounds of Olympia. It is the only competition scheduled for the site of the original ancient games. Even the ghosts will be watching.

Besides that, the men's shot put is an American stronghold, and the United States has an outside chance to sweep the medals.

3. Men's basketball
The Dream Team was of another age and another generation. Now most of the top American stars stay home to get married, raise babies, heal bodies, face felonies, avoid terrorists and play golf. And any number of teams - Lithuania, Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina - have no fear of the USA.

Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson are still going, and Larry Brown is a coach who doesn't lose much. But if the Americans are to avenge the humiliation of the sixth-place finish in the world championships and avoid their first Olympic loss since the NBA began sending players, the new wave will have to produce. The stage is open for LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Emeka Okafor.

4. Marion Jones
She remains to this day officially uncharged in the drug scandal that has engulfed American track and field like a grass fire. But clearly, she has been caught in the undertow, and unless things change at the last moment, the queen of 2000 will only be in the long jump.

A gold medal there would be an emotionally charged answer to the rigors of motherhood, the toll of time, and the turmoil and allegations around her.

5. Gymnastics
Know how many medals the American women gymnasts won in Sydney? None. What in the name of Mary Lou Retton was going on?

The U.S. team aims for better days in Athens, with a mixed bag of kids and geezers. Teenager Courtney Kupets has already had to fight back from an Achilles tendon injury and could be one of the darlings. But there are also vaulters Mohini Bhardwaj, 25, and Annia Hatch, 26. Bhardwaj has received financial support from actress Pamela Anderson. Hatch used to compete for Cuba.

6. Rulon Gardner
He was the miracle man in Sydney. The small-town giant who convinced millions of Americans that yes, there actually is something called Greco-Roman wrestling. Gardner's defeat of the unbeatable Russian mountain Aleksandr Karelin was the upset of the Olympics in 2000. He became an instant hero. Then bad things began to happen. A snowmobile mishap in 2002 left him stranded in the snow. The frostbite he suffered led to the amputation of a toe.

He was thrown from a motorcycle this year - not wearing a helmet on his famous head - and then injured his wrist playing pickup basketball.

Ah, well. He'll be back to the safer world of wrestling soon, trying to defend one of the least likely gold medals in history.

7. The 100-meter dash
This is always a signature moment of track and field, crowning the fastest man in the world. Only thing is, the current fastest man in the world won't be there.

Tim Montgomery's world record has long since been tarnished by steroid allegations, and he didn't even make it out of the U.S. Olympic trials.

But there is always a story in this race, and defending champion Maurice Greene is a good place to start. The GOAT tattoo on his arm - Greatest of All Time - leaves him little margin for error.

Lisa Fernandez and her teammates are on a roll heading into the Games. (AP file photo)

8. Softball
The closest thing to the Yankees-Red Sox in the Olympics? The U.S. vs. Australia in women's softball. The Americans lost to the Aussies in the early rounds in Sydney, then stormed back to win the gold medal. Later, they edged Australia 4-3 in the world championships.

The United States just finished a summer tour 54-0, but in the end, it will probably still have to beat Australia again. And the Americans have another cause now, too. The wife of Coach Mike Candrea suddenly died of a brain aneurysm during the tour in July.

9. Women's soccer
Her name is on the back of jerseys worn by little girls everywhere. Mia Hamm. Athens is her farewell to international competition, and probably the same for Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Kristine Lilly. They have been at the center of the American emergence as a soccer powerhouse with the 1996 gold medal and 1999 World Cup (Chastain .. sports bra ... you remember). They settled for the silver in 2000 and third place in the 2003 World Cup, but this is the chance for one last gold medal bow.

10. Marathon
You know the legend. When the Greeks defeated the Persians in the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., a runner named Phidippides was dispatched to carry the news to Athens. He ran 26 miles, delivered the news, then collapsed and died.

Some fuddy-duddy historians now question details of the legend. But no matter. The competitors in these games - the women on one Sunday, the men on the next - will start near the battle site and end in Athens, following Phidippides' supposed route.

Two things are likely - none of them will die and the winner in the men's race will be from Africa.