RIO DE JANEIRO -- Somewhere in Wayzata, Minnesota, a bunch of teenage boys are plotting when and where theyll next sing Happy Birthday to their coach.The high school swim team tradition started as a random goof, when the boys sensed the best way to get to their modest mentor was to make him the center of attention. So theyd get the song going at a fast food joint and encourage the whole place to join in. Theyd bellow it out on the bus coming back from a meet, or in any public place. David Plummer would just shake his head.Plummer wont turn 31 until October, but the new Olympic 100-meter backstroke bronze medalist is likely to be serenaded before that. Its part of a gift that has been a long time coming.Monday, he and winner Ryan Murphy continued the Americans dominance in the event, extending a gold-medal streak that dates back 20 years and spans six Olympic Games. Murphys gold-medal time of 51.97 seconds was an Olympic record. Plummers 52.4 was a milestone of a different kind.The Oklahoma native, one of four brothers, qualified for his first Olympic team at the U.S. trials last month in Omaha, Nebraska. In the long annals of American swimming, only one older Olympic rookie has stood on the podium: Edgar Adams, who won a silver medal in 1904 for an event called plunge for distance, in which swimmers dove into the pool and floated motionless as far as they could.Plummer, his salt-and-pepper hair still damp, told reporters he didnt have the ideal race but still felt elated.[Murphy] is going to be one of the best of all time and already is, Plummer added. Just to be a little part of his journey is a really cool thing.Along with having no visible ego, Plummer has no agent and no sponsor other than a relationship with Mizuno that provides him with competition suits. He logged the mileage that got him to Rio as a husband, a father of a 3-year-old boy and an infant son, and a coach at two different Twin Cities area high schools -- gigs that keep him on the pool deck at least a couple of hours a day from August through March.He is so down-to-earth and dedicated that its hard to picture the younger version of himself he has described as arrogant and prone to party a little too hard. But Plummer says that less disciplined era doesnt account for the 0.12 seconds that cost him a slot on the London 2012 team. He was hopeful enough of making the team that he cleared his calendar for late July and early August.After that painful near miss, Plummer took off on a monthlong driving trip west with his German shepherd mix riding shotgun, camping, visiting national parks and spending time with friends and extended family. From the outside, it looked like a purposeful voyage to introspection. Plummer, with characteristic self-deprecation, says he simply wanted to avoid hanging around and driving his new bride, Erin Forster, crazy.He returned with renewed commitment, despite the odds stacked against an athlete his age staring down a four-year tunnel. Doubt continued to afflict him any time I had a bad practice, he said. Is this right, is this what Im supposed to be doing?His wifes support was indispensable. Plummer and Forster met on a recruiting trip to the University of Georgia; she enrolled there and he chose the University of Minnesota, but two years later she transferred and they chose each other. They married just before the Olympic trials four years ago.When David weighed whether to continue swimming, she told him, Youd be cheating yourself if you dont. Theyd both finished school with no debt and knew they could stay afloat on what Erin, a physician currently doing a fellowship in neonatal medicine, earned early in her career.We were so lucky it was realistic and we didnt have to struggle with finances, Plummer said.The most intriguing question about Plummer may be when he finds time to sleep. Hes a volunteer assistant for the Minnetonka High School girls team in the fall, working with his close friend and fellow former Gopher Dan Berve.He knows when to challenge them, when to praise them, Breve said. Hes not the kind of guy whos going to blow up on you. He loves being a part of something bigger than himself.Plummer is the head boys coach at Wayzata High School, where one of his volunteer assistants is Peter Rocca, who won two silver medals and a medley relay gold at the 1976 Montreal Games.Rocca recruited Plummer for the position three years ago. The school promptly won the state championship and Plummer was named Minnesota Coach of the Year.He connects with every single kid and makes them feel special, said Rocca, an investment company executive. If you werent getting along, you had to go talk to him. The seniors had to take care of the eighth graders. Theyre squirrelly males at that point, and they all took a lot more responsibility.Monday, Plummer said he didnt think his medal would change his coaching style.Getting high school kids to listen to anything isnt super-easy, but hopefully it gives me a little more credibility, he said.Theres a decent chance of that. At the very least, theyll have to believe him when he says wishes made over candles on a cake sometimes need a little time to come true.ESPN Stats and Information reporter Paul J. Carr contributed to this story. Air Force 1 Mid Uomo . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Air Force 1 Alte Comfort Prm Year Of Snake . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. http://www.airforce1outletitalia.it/scontate-air-force-1-mid-nere.html . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Air Force 1 Alte Bianche Outlet . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Air Force 1 Alte 07 . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. OAKLAND, Calif. -- After more than two weeks of close games decided by three runs or fewer, the Seattle Mariners finally had a relaxing ninth inning.Seattle also inched closer to division-leading Texas -- a small but significant step for manager Scott Servais ballclub.Kyle Seager doubled twice and drove in four runs and the Mariners won for the eighth time in nine games, beating the Oakland Athletics 8-4 on Sunday.Its nice to build a little bit of a lead there and really let our pitchers settle in and not throw quite as many stressful pitches, Seager said. Weve been putting pretty good at-bats, top to bottom. I like the way our offense is swinging the bat.Adam Lind homered, Nori Aoki had three singles and Shawn OMalley added two hits and scored twice for Seattle.The Mariners moved within 5 1/2 games of AL West-leading Texas, matching the closest theyve been to the division leaders since early June.A lot of guys chipped in, contributed, Servais said. We needed it. To go out and win the series, you need to score a few runs in the last game, and we got it done today.Wade LeBlanc (2-0) gave up three runs over six innings to earn his second win since being acquired from Toronto in June. The lefty struck out seven and walked one.Khris Davis hit his third home run in three days. He became the first As player with at least 30 homers since Brandon Moss hit 30 in 2013.Im just trying to do me and help the club out and have fun with the boys, Davis said.Ryon Healy and Brett Eibner also homered for the As.Zach Neal (2-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.Every Seattle player except designated hitter Dae-Ho Lee had at least one hit. Lee, a late lineup addition, was hit by a pitch in the fourth.Lind homered in the secondd.dddddddddddd Seager hit an RBI double in the third and a three-run double in the sixth.The Mariners also scored in the fourth after an inning-ending double play was overturned by replay. OMalley singled in Lee following the reversal.COLLISION COURSELind is significantly bigger than OMalley but it hardly mattered when the Mariners first baseman and shortstop collided chasing a pop-up near the mound in the third inning. Lind crashed to the ground while OMalley, who made the catch, barely moved. Second baseman Robinson Cano helped Lind to his feet then playfully held up two fingers to see if Lind was coherent.Shawn always talks about he was a really good football player, that he might have been a better football player than baseball player in high school, Seager said. Im kind of starting to believe him. But he kind of hit a helpless receiver there.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: Lee was in the lineup after Seth Smith was a late scratch due to a right foot contusion. ... James Paxton emerged from his bullpen session feeling fine and is slated to start Tuesday in Anaheim. Paxton was hit in his left elbow by a line drive in his previous outing Aug. 7.Athletics: Right-hander Jesse Hahn (right shoulder strain) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.UP NEXTMariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (6-4) pitches Monday in Anaheim and will be going for his 16th career win against the Angels.Athletics: LHP Ross Detwiler (1-0) makes his second start for Oakland when the As open a three-game series in Texas on Monday. Detwiler pitched eight scoreless innings against Baltimore in his debut on Aug. 10. ' ' '