100-meter freestyle final and looks to become the first African-American woman to medal in a swimming event. Manuel won

STINSON BEACH, Calif. -- The sleek, flapping salmon that fishermen hauled aboard the rolling Salty Lady charter boat near the Golden Gate Bridge were the survivors of the survivors.After five years of drought, the native Chinook salmon that the men were reeling in this past week were there only because state and federal agencies have stepped in to do much of the salmon-raising that Californias overtapped rivers once did. Most of the fish were born at the agencies hatcheries and carried in trucks for release downstream.As the men watched and waited for one of their fishing poles to dip sharply, Victor Gonella, president of the Golden Gate Salmon Association, remembered his childhood in the 1950s and 1960s when the salmon population was healthy enough that he could fish most months.Gonella recounted fishermen struggling to land salmon that had made their way to the Pacific Ocean from the San Joaquin River in particular, the fish powerful from muscling their own way from river to ocean.These days, he said, if it werent for these fish that were trucked, we wouldnt be fishing.The San Joaquin River has been dry for dozens of miles at a stretch for decades, its water diverted to booming farms and cities.With the drought bringing one of the driest periods in Californias history, federal and state authorities increasingly have had to intervene mechanically to carry out key stretches of the life cycle of salmon, whose numbers were already declining.In 2014 and 2015, authorities reared millions of young salmon in artificial hatcheries and trucked them downstream to keep the fishing industrys mainstay supply of fall-run Chinook salmon afloat.Another kind of California Chinook salmon, the winter-run, won federal listing in 2015 as one of the eight U.S. species most in danger of imminent extinction, after too-low and too-warm water in state rivers all but wiped out the 2014 and 2015 populations of the youngest winter-run salmon.Not all salmon from state and federal hatcheries are tagged, but on this day, after hours of fishing, two of the nine salmon that were caught bear the clipped fin and tiny metal tag of hatcheries.Management of Californias river water is a balancing act thats often described as fish versus farmers. With dams blocking more than 90 percent of the salmons original river habitat, agencies have struggled in the drought to release enough water at the right times to suit the needs of both crops and wildlife in the San Francisco Bay-Delta complex, the West Coasts largest estuary.Because the salmon grow, spawn and die in three-year cycles, the troubles of 2014 and 2015 made it critical that everything go well this year for winter-run salmon in particular, said Jason Roberts, a fisheries supervisor for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.So far, Chinook appear for now to have caught the critical break they needed, thanks to rain and snow from El Nino-related storms this past winter.Chinook salmon are an anchor species in California, not just for the states estimated $1.4 billion commercial and sport fishing salmon industry, but for the health of land, river and ocean habitats. Because salmon divide their lives between the ocean and rivers, they provide food for animals ranging from orcas to bears and eagles. Once the fish die upstream, their decomposing bodies supply nitrogen that helps sustain forests.Along with putting the winter-run salmon on the highly endangered list, federal authorities announced this year that they would formally review their management of key state waterways and reservoirs with regards to survival of native species.Farmers and some fishermen envision a different future for salmon, with more machinery aiding their life cycle and less water.Paul Wenger, an almond farmer and president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, has urged water managers, unsuccessfully so far, to consider widespread use of prototype mist incubators, touted to hatch larger numbers of salmon eggs in temperature-controlled machines using a fraction of the water the eggs would get in river beds.Gonella, the fishing industry representative, thinks Californias hatcheries might have to be moved to the oceanside, eliminating young salmons ancient migration down rivers that now have too little water.Environmental groups want agencies to go the other way, with less machinery and more water.The fact that these fish can no longer survive in the system that theyve become genetically adapted to over how many centuries says something about how badly were managing the system, said Kate Poole, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. What we really need to focus on is creating healthy river conditions so these fish can survive and thrive in the wild.Jake McCabe Jersey . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Scott Wilson Sabres Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. http://www.sabresteamstoreonline.com/authentic-carter-hutton-sabres-jersey/ . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. Ryan Miller Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Danny Gare Sabres Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Simone Biles and Michael Phelps have a chance to add more hardware to their resumes Thursday night in Rio. Heres a look at the top events to watch:Womens all-around final (3 p.m. ET; NBC prime-time coverage, 8 p.m. ET): The day will be Simone Biles to lose, as the three-time defending world all-around champion looks to lock up the one thing missing from her resume: Olympic all-around gold. Aly Raisman is in the event along with Biles, as the Americans will be vying for their fourth straight Olympic title. Raisman finished second in qualifying and was fourth in the all-around at the 2012 Olympics.Complete womens gymnastics coverageMens 200IM final (NBC, 10:01 p.m. ET), womens 100 free final (NBC, 10:18 p.m. ET): Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will duel again in the mens 200-meter individual medley after both advanced out of their Wednesday semifinal heat. Phelps could become the third athlete to win the same individual event at four Olympics and, in the process, win a record-breaking 15th individual Olympic medal. Lochte, who has medaled in the event at the past three Olympics, is seeking his 13th Olympic medal, which would tie him for third most by any mann.ddddddddddddIn the womens side, Simone Manuel competes in the 100-meter freestyle final and looks to become the first African-American woman to medal in a swimming event. Manuel won her semifinal heat Wednesday night. Katie Ledecky will swim in the 800 freestyle heats in the afternoon and is a huge gold-medal favorite in the event (her best time is 7.42 seconds faster than anyone else).Complete swimming coverageGolf, anyone? (Golf Channel, coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET): Golf officially returns to the Olympic program on Thursday for the first time since 1904. The four top-ranked mens players are not in the lineup, but Henrik Stenson (fifth), Bubba Watson (sixth) and Rickie Fowler (eighth) will be there.Complete golf coverageTennis (Bravo, coverage begins 9:45 a.m. ET): Rainy, cold weather in Rio on Wednesday forced most of the tennis events to be rescheduled to Thursday, so all of the top names (whats left of them) will be in action -- Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber and Juan Martin del Potro.Complete tennis coverage ' ' '