Die Macht » 2015. But Good Morning America has been losi

RIO DE JANEIRO -- For Australian Mack Horton, having his Chinese rival Sun Yang bomb out of the Olympic 1500m freestyle event is water off a swimmers back.Horton sealed his spot in the 1500m final, but Sun - the world record-holder and defending Olympic champion - wont be there after crashing in Fridays heats at the Rio Games.It doesnt really matter if hes there or not, to be honest, Horton said.Im just doing my own thing.Horton, after beating a field including Sun to win the 400m freestyle gold medal earlier in the week, sparked controversy by labelling the Chinese swimmer a drug cheat.Sun was banned for three months in 2014 for doping.Hortons comments triggered a chorus of support from swimmers including American legend Michael Phelps criticising the presence of past drug cheats at Rios Games.Chinas Olympic officials also demanded Horton apologise, a request roundly rejected by Australian hierarchy.Asked on Friday if he was surprised by the furore, Horton replied: Probably not.I dont know. Im not really paying that much attention to it, he said.The Olympic village is kind of like a bubble and you just stick to your own sort of thing in your little tower.Horton qualified fourth-fastest for Saturday nights final but a sagging Sun was 16th-quickest and missed the cut. Ryne Sandberg Cubs Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Addison Russell Cubs Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-jon-lester-jersey/ . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Cole Hamels Cubs Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Willson Contreras Cubs Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. NEW YORK -- The last time the Today show went to the summer Olympics, the break provided salve for its wounds. This years Rio trip offers an opportunity.The NBC morning show has found its footing after years in the wilderness, cutting into the advantage of ratings leader Good Morning America on ABC. Since viewers flock to the morning show of the Olympics rights holder, Today hopes to reintroduce itself to people who may have drifted away.The show has never been at a better place, so were excited for those additional eyeballs, said Noah Oppenheim, NBC News senior vice president in charge of the Today show .Today will import its cast to Brazil, and introduce new member Billy Bush, who is set to anchor the 9 a.m. hour after Natalie Morales departure. The exception is Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor with Matt Lauer of the first two hours, who is pregnant and decided to remain in New York because of concerns over the Zika virus. With Guthries political expertise, that could prove fortuitous in an election year.At the time of the London Olympics in 2012, Today had tumbled from first place in the ratings after its disastrous ouster of Ann Curry. It has remained No. 2 in viewership ever since.Oppenheim has sought to reorient the show toward news, adding some subtle changes that increase the sense of urgency. Lauer and Guthrie now anchor the shows first half hour alone and give the news headlines themselves, rather than passing them off to a separate newscaster. The anchors usually do big interviews together now, instead of separately.The `Today show at its best had always been the morning show that set the nations agenda, said Oppenheim, who took over at the beginning of last year. Its a news show at its heart, and what I wanted to do was make sure we lived up to that legacy.Seeking interviews that advance news stories is an important goal, too. Lauer was let on the plane when Donald Trump arrived in Cleveland for last months GOP convention, for example, and his sound bite of Melania Trump talking about writing her speech became valuable as the week went on.Billie Gold, research chief at the advertising firm Amplifi US, said she was a regular viewer of Today until she saw it was trying too hard to emulate the lighter touch of Good Morning America.ddddddddddddAt one point, I was turning it off, she said. I wanted the news and I felt like I wasnt getting the news. It was too much fluff. When Oppenheim came in, he made it more of a blend and they put the news back in.While the veteran Lauer seems more engaged, research shows that he hasnt recovered the popularity he enjoyed before many viewers seemed to blame the ugliness of the Curry incident on him. Lauers Q score was an impressive 23 in 2010 -- meaning 23 percent of people in a survey who knew Lauer considered him one of their favorites. By winter 2013, his score had tumbled to nine. Last winter, it was 11, according to Marketing Evaluations Inc., which makes the calculations.The whole debacle with Matt Lauer, I think its in the past now, Gold said.The Today show has cut the gap with GMA to an average of 177,000 viewers this year after being down by more than a half million in 2015, the Nielsen company said. Both shows are seen by between 4 and 5 million viewers each morning. This year, NBC has taken over the lead among viewers aged 25-to-54, a key demographic since advertising sales are based on that number.NBC isnt gaining viewers; in fact, its viewership is off 83,000 from 2015. But Good Morning America has been losing viewers at a much more rapid pace, Nielsen said.The real morning mover is CBS This Morning, which has gained more than 250,000 viewers since last year but still isnt seriously challenging the two leaders in ratings.History indicates that Today will dominate the ratings during the Olympics. The key will be keeping some of those new viewers when everyone gets home. GMA has an edge in older viewers, who tend to be more resistant to changing their habit, Gold said.It just makes it more incumbent upon us to make sure the product we put on in the morning is so compelling that people have to turn us on, Oppenheim said.---Follow David Bauder at twitter.com/dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder ' ' '