e guys at the top are good pool swimmers. The days of this being an adventure sport are passing.But Vogt said theres no substitute for actual open water experience, which she believed was

This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Winnipeg JetsOverall: 71 Title track:?94 Ownership: 48 Coaching:?57 Players:?68 Fan relations:?59 Affordability:?102 Stadium experience:?75 Bang for the buck: 82 Change from last year: -2The Jets arent exactly flying high in the rankings, but after a 28-spot jump in 2015, they managed to hold steady and only fell two slots this year. Winnipegs picked to be a playoff contenders this year, and for a team that hasnt had a postseason win since the turn of the millennium, thats a big deal.Whats goodPlayers like Patrik Laine and Ondrej Pavelec have Jets fans feeling optimistic, and so does the way the team treats its die-hard hopefuls (its 59th in fan relations). Winnipeg finished last in the Central Division this past season, but Mark Scheifele and Dustin Byfuglien help make this team a sleeper pick. Fans love the players off the ice, too, with the Jets drawing a high favorability rating on player likeability -- theyre ranked 68th overall. Winnipegs primed to make a considerable leap in the NHL standings this season, but even without that, its found a way to improve in bang for the buck (up 20 spots this year).Whats badAs promising as the current Jets roster is, its lack of past success -- or, in the past 16 years, of a postseason win -- hasnt inspired much faith. Winnipeg fans are iffy on whether their team will win ever a title while theyre rooting for the team (94th in title track). Despite the quality of play, the Jets remain one of the most expensive places to watch a game in the NHL with an average ticket price of nearly $80 -- their affordability ranking of 102 is their worst rank in any category. On average, attending a game at the MTS Centre costs more than all but six other NHL venues.Whats newCoach Paul Maurice and his staff took a dip in the coaching standings, and part of that might be because confidence in Maurice is slipping (down 27 spots in 2016). Winnipeg is still selling out the MTS Centre, though, with standing-room-only attendance since the 2014-15 season. But the Jets fell in stadium experience this year (down 26 spots, to 75th overall) -- perhaps because of renovations in 2015 that led to obstructed views on the upper level of the arena last season. That, officials said in March 2016, will be fixed for this season.Next: Colorado Avalanche?| Full rankings NFL China Jerseys . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- After almost two hours in the waters off Copacabana Beach, six men bore down on the finishing chute of Tuesdays Olympic 10-kilometer swim in a thrashing knot. World champion Jordan Wilimovsky of the U.S. was in the thick of it, aiming half-blindly toward the arch with the elevated touchpad.I knew Ferry would be good, Wilimovsky said, referring to Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands. The 22-year-old Northwestern University student paused. He won, right?At least 20 minutes had elapsed since the end of the race, but a water polo-style scramble for the podium, a controversial disqualification, and a photo finish took a while to sort out. Weertman found out he had beaten veteran Spiros Gianniotis of Greece via a call from a friend while riding up from the beach in an official golf cart. When Weertmans phone rang again, it was the prime minister of the Netherlands, who let the swimmer listen as other officials applauded in the background.I had a perfect finish, said Weertman, whose coach improvised a proxy for a touchpad at the end of a fishing pole and held it in front of him during training in the pool like a carrot so he could refine his technique.The Dutch reclaimed the sea over two days of open water competition at Fort Copacabana in calm conditions. Weertmans teammate, Sharon van Rouwendaal, won the womens race Monday ahead of a tumultuous battle for silver and bronze that also featured a disqualification at the finish. Wilimovsky and Haley Anderson were the top U.S. finishers, fifth respectively in the mens and womens races.And months of speculation and concern about pollution levels in the waters off Fort Copacabana took a back seat on race day, as athletes and officials had predicted. Testing done by both governmental and independent entities, including The Associated Press, showed the venue did not have the same level of bacteria and viruses as garbage-engorged Guanabara Bay or the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. One swimmer mentioned a stray plastic bag. None said the water betrayed any smell, taste or other worrying characteristic.Organizers got lucky with the lack of wind and rain, which could have upped the chances of poor water quality due to urban runoff.Of course, the worst water-borne agents can be invisible, and only the next days and weeks will tell whether any athletes will fall ill. Many, including the U.S. swimmers, took prophylactic doses of antibiotics and probiotics. We took every precaution we could, said U.S. open water coach Catherine Vogt. The USOC and USA Swimming prepared us for the worst possible outcome. We came down [to Rio] in January, and that helped.The water quality in Barcelona [for world championships] in 2013 was probably worse than it was here.A different definition of foul and fair arose as the race built to its conclusion.Australias Jarrod Poort surged away from the rest of the pack and soloed in front for three of the 2.5-kilometer laps, extending his lead to more than a minute at one point before the rest of the field reeled him in.Weertman was the first to overhaul Poort, closely followed by a small group of men including Wilimovsky, who eventually duked it out at the finish. British swimmer Jack Burnell was infuriated at being disqualified for his second yellow warning flag. The first was delivered early in the race a couple minutes after he scrapped with another swimmer, and the second was imposed in the chaotic final seconds.Burnell said 2012 10k gold medalist Ous Mellouli of Tunisia -- who declared this race would be his last -- slowed him by grabbing one of his legs in the chute and hanging on for several strokes. I had to turn around to get [Mellouli] off, Burnell told reporters. What am I meant to do? We are all at top speed and I am stopped dead.The results first showed Burnell thirdd, then fifth, then nowhere.dddddddddddd When officials reviewed footage of the finish after a British appeal, there was no visual evidence of a hold by Mellouli, who has been based in Southern California since his college days at USC. But the video did show Burnell punching him, according to chief referee Sid Cassidy of the United States.Medal standings also remained in question until midafternoon Tuesday. Weertman and Gianniotis finished with identical times of 1:52.59, but the Greek veteran was bumped into second place by officials who ruled he had missed the touchpad by a fraction with one hand before hitting it with the other. The Greek team asked officials to reconsider, but withdrew their protest after viewing the video.I acknowledge the frustration of the swimmers, but I believe we got [the rulings] right, Cassidy said.One logistical issue affected race preparations, including the way swimmers entered the water. The athletes originally were supposed to dive off a floating dock, but it broke free from its mooring in blustery weather over the weekend and washed up on the beach. Organizers worked with local authorities to secure another pontoon positioned further from shore for the coaches to monitor, feed and hydrate their athletes during the races.Both the women and men entered the water from the beach and lined up for the official start in 7-foot-deep water.Theres always last minute changes with open water, so were used to going with the flow, Anderson said. When they changed the start, we said, Lets not freak out about it, lets adapt.American Sean Ryan, the Club Wolverine swimmer who joined Wilimovsky at last years world championships in qualifying for Rio, was briefly bewildered when a DSQ appeared next to his name in the official results.I was like, did I miss a buoy, or what? a relieved Ryan said after Vogt informed him it was a timing system error. Ryan, a mechanical engineering major at the University of Michigan who has accepted a job with Detroit Diesel, finished 14th.Sean and Jordan did an amazing job, said Wilimovskys coach, Dave Kelsheimer. It was an extremely physical race with a lot of contact. As the level of open water swimming continues to rise and it becomes more popular, people are going to get a lot more competitive. Obviously, the challenge is for the officials to be able to monitor that, and theyve done a pretty good job of doing that.For the most part, the guys at the top are good pool swimmers. The days of this being an adventure sport are passing.But Vogt said theres no substitute for actual open water experience, which she believed was a factor in the 2016 all-European podium. This year, this Olympic Games, this course, even though we had relatively flat seas, still went to the people that are savvy racers, she said. European countries have a lot more opportunities to swim, and thats something that does benefit their athletes.You have to learn in the races, because going up and down a pool on a black line, fast, does not win a medal on Copacabana Beach.An armada of kayaks and motorized craft accompanied the swimmers on the course, dwarfing their forms and sometimes obscuring the spectators view from the beach, but Vogt was happy to see them. The late Fran Crippen, an American who won gold at Copacabana at the 2007 Pan American Games and drowned at a race in the United Arab Emirates three years later due to heat and organizational safety lapses on the course, was very much on Vogts mind.I know everyone is so concerned about water quality, and thats super-important, said Vogt, who was the coach for that 2007 Pan Am team. Its just as important to have eyes on every single athlete here. ' ' '