2012 Summer Olympics What To Watch: Opening Ceremony

The 2012 Summer Olympics reaches its conclusion Sunday afternoon, and it saved some of the best for last.

The day begins with the men’s marathon, one of the Games’ most famous events, and has a trio of Americans looking to challenge the East Africans for medals. That’s followed by the gold medal game in men’s basketball, with Team USA meeting a dangerous Spain squad in a rematch from the final in Beijing. And then the day is closed with (obviously) the Closing Ceremony.

Saturday is not only the second-to-last day at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but it’s also the busiest -- a total of 32 gold medals are handed out on Day 15, including women’s basketball and what should be one of the more thrilling track races in London.

So let’s get right to it! Here’s What To Watch on Day 15 at the Summer Games:

Friday marks Day 14 of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the beginning of the end for the Games in London. After Friday, there are only 47 medals (of 302) left to be awarded over the final two days, including one of the most coveted: men’s basketball. But first, we have Friday’s semifinals to determine who gets to play for Sunday’s title.

Spain and Russia meet first (12 p.m. ET), in a rematch from group play that ended with a surprise win by the Russians. Then, at 4 p.m. ET, Team USA takes the court against Argentina in another rematch -- the Americans pulled away in their game Monday to win, 126-97. Will it be more of the same Friday night?

Tuesday at the 2012 Summer Olympics is another full day of must-see events in London, starting very early with the men’s triathlon at 6:30 a.m. ET. But trust me -- it’s worth getting up for! Triathlon features some of the world’s fittest athletes competing in what amounts to a sprint, in the water, on bike and finally in a run for the finish line. It should be especially electric Tuesday morning in London, with two of the medal favorites, the Brownlee brothers, being British.

Elsewhere at the Summer Games, medals will be decided in gymnastics -- women’s beam, men’s horizontal bar and and women’s floor -- and on the track, with the finals in women’s 100m hurdles and men’s high jump.

Day 10 at the 2012 Summer Olympics is a packed day of United States team action, with Team USA men’s basketball, women’s soccer and men’s volleyball (both indoor and beach) all in action on Monday. On the track at Olympic Stadium, medals will be decided in women’s shot put, pole vault and 3000m steeplechase, as well as the men’s 400m, but the must-see event should be the men’s 400m hurdles, where the Americans hope to win all three medals for the second-straight Olympics.

What To Watch at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Monday, August 6:

The second full weekend of competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics brings with it some of the absolute can’t miss events of the London Games, in the water, at the track and on the sand.

Saturday is highlighted with the final Olympic appearance ever from Michael Phelps. He’ll swim the butterfly leg in the men’s’ 4x100m medley relay final, looking to add to his record with career medal No. 22. In track and field, which gets under way in earnest on its second day of events, men’s long jump and then men’s 10,000m are the must-see competitions.

Day 7 at the 2012 Summer Olympics offers another full day of medals (22 in all). And it also offers a bit of a unique juxtaposition. As swimming begins to conclude with its penultimate day, one of the Summer Games’ most anticipated sports, track and field, opens its competition.

Friday will be Michael Phelps’ final time ever swimming for an individual medal at the Olympic Games (he says there is no way he is going to Rio in 2016, despite his mother’s pleadings. Of course, he also said he was never again going to swim the 400m IM after Beijing).

Day 6 at the 2012 Summer Olympic could be yet another banner day for Team USA in London, both in the pool and in the gym.

Just two days after winning gold in the team competition, Americans Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman will go for gold in the women’s individual all-around. The U.S. has taken home the gold in this competition in the past two Olympics -- will Gabby or Aly be able to add their name alongside Nastia, Carly and Mary Lou?

Day 5 at the 2012 Summer Olympics is underway and it has been a busy morning in London! Already American Kristen Armstrong has defended her gold in the women’s cycling time trial, three rowing medals have been decided -- including Great Britain’s first gold of the Games -- and eight women’s badminton players have been disqualified for match fixing. Olympics!

The rest of Wednesday still has plenty of can’t-miss events, including Michael Phelps, the new all-time Olympic medal winner, back in the pool, the men’s individual all-around in gymnastics and the fastest men’s cyclists in the world.

Tuesday’s schedule at the 2012 Summer Olympics brings with it the possibility of record-breaking history. Michael Phelps, a swimming enthusiast, is set to compete in the men’s 200m fly, his signature event. If he wins, he’d become the first male swimmer to win gold in the same individual event at three straight Olympics (he won in both Athens and Beijing).

But any medal would give Phelps a career total of 18, equaling the record currently held by former-Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. Phelps could then have a chance to break that mark less than an hour later, assuming he’s included on the U.S. team in the 4x200m free relay. (He was part of the world record foursome in Beijing).

Wow, what a wild Day One at the 2012 Summer Olympics, huh?! Oh, sorry, forgot: “spoiler alert.” But seriously, NBC’s coverage of these Games so far has been pretty ridiculous -- our West Coast friends didn’t see Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps on their TVs until roughly 10 hours after it actually happened. It’s 2012, let’s go people!

Fortunately, Day Two at the London Games brings with it plenty of live events to watch, headlined by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Team USA basketball opening their defense of the Olympic gold medal against France.

Our daily What To Watch series for the 2012 Summer Olympics begins Friday, with the Opening Ceremony. This also marks the shortest What To Watch we will offer -- because the Opening Ceremony is the only event on the day’s schedule.

Every day throughout the Summer Games, we will provide a quick guide for your Olympic viewing. We won’t list every event that day, but instead will highlight the select few events you should make it a point to watch. And we’ll give the information on where, how and when to watch the competitions, too. The suggestions will range from the marquee events, like the Men’s 100 Meters and the Women’s Gymnastics Finals, but also some of the more exciting competitions that fly under the radar, like Triathlon and Water Polo.