Excerpted from Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance by Simone Biles, Copyright ? 2016 by Simone Biles. Used by permission of Zondervan, www.zondervan.com.From Chapter 19: The Final Five... [On] Tuesday, August 9, our team did exactly what we had been training for so many years to do: We performed almost flawless routines and won team gold. If the all-around win was considered to be the jewel in the crown, the team medal was the crown itself -- the main reason we were there. On the podium afterward, feeling the heavy gold disc around my neck, I felt so privileged to be standing with my teammates. All I could think was, Wow, we did it. How long have I dreamed about this? We were so happy for each other and for ourselves, but our job was only half over. The all-around competition and the event finals were still to come. I wasnt anywhere near finished trying to make my family and my country proud.That afternn, we told Martha that wed named ourselves the Final Five as a tribute to her. When we explained how wed all agreed on the name, she dabbed the corners of her eyes and said in her thick accent, Oh my God, I love you guys even more now! And she hugged us tightly. The rest of the afternn and evening was a whirl of press interviews and photo ops, and then it was home to our little pod in the Olympic Village. We all fell right into bed, because we had to be up for our regular eight a.m. training the next morning. Before going to sleep, I carefully folded the green multicolored ribbon around my medal and put it at the bottom of my backpack. Later, they would give us sleek wden cases to hold our medals, but for now, my makeshift storage would have to do.Can you believe we actually did it? Laurie whispered, stifling a yawn before we drifted off. Were not just Olympians now; were gold medalists.I was t exhausted from happiness to answer, so I just smiled. But when I awoke the next morning, I wasnt quite sure if the day before had all been a dream. I reached for my backpack and pulled out the medal, just to be sure. I unrolled the green ribbon and placed the gold disc in the palm of my hand, feeling its distinctive weight as I sent up a silent prayer of gratitude.Thursday morning, the day of the Olympic all-around competition, dawned bright and clear. The apartment was silent when I opened my eyes. The rest of the girls except for Aly had already gone to breakfast. From there they would head to the training hall. Later, they would be in the gymnastics arena to see Aly and me battle it out with the best in the world for the coveted all-around title.I went to find Aly. She was in her rm and still in bed. I feel so gd about today, I told her.Me t, she said, holding up one hand for a fist bump.Were so prepared. I have a really gd feeling.My heart was galloping in my chest, but it wasnt nerves; it was excitement. I could hardly wait to get into the arena. Aly and I each showered and then we did our hair and makeup together in the living rm. We tk our time because the competition wouldnt begin until the early afternn. I outlined my eyes in gold glitter and chose a nude lipstick instead of a bold one. The eye makeup, with my usual winged corners, was dramatic enough, and my sparkly leo would complete the effect. The night before, wed chosen the leos we wanted to wear and laid them out on our beanbag chairs. Aly had opted for the shiny red with lines of crystals fanning out from the neckline like bursts of sunlight, while Id selected a super patriotic number with sheer white crystal-studded sleeves, and dazzling red-and-white stripes running from the shoulders down both sides, framing a high-sheen blue fabric dotted with glittering stars. Id saved this leotard, my favorite, for the all-around. I hoped its shimmer would help me win gold.I was already feeling incredibly happy to be sharing this day with Aly, who was such a rock-solid competitor and friend. As we walked to the bus that would take us to the arena, we held hands like schlgirls and bobbed our heads to the music coming through our headphones. Every so often wed hug each other and say, Youre gd. Youve worked so hard. You deserve to be here. Youve got this. And then wed say, I love you so much. I love you, no matter what. Today will be a gd day.Our warm-up in the training hall went without a hitch or a fall, and then it was show time. Before we walked out to compete, we always used the bathrm just in case. As I washed my hands and stared at my face in the mirror, my stomach was suddenly doing somersaults. I plopped down on a bench that was just outside the bathrm and tried to pull myself together. A few moments later, Aly walked out and sat down beside me. When she leaned her head back against the wall, I noticed she lked really pale.Are you okay? I said.She shk her head from left to right.Are you okay? she asked me.No, I said. I feel like Im going to throw up.The two of us sat there for several minutes, breathing slowly and trying to settle ourselves down.Were okay, I said after a while.Weve got this, Aly said.We can do this.Weve done this so many times.I love you, Aly.I love you, Simone.Lets go.We did another fist bump and walked out onto the arena flr.Courage to Soar releases on Tuesday, order your copy here.Clearance Custom Jerseys . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shtout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. l-jerseys-216h.html" target="_blank">Custom High Schl Jerseys . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. http://www.customjerseysnearme.com/custom-soccer-jerseys-186h.html . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Custom Uniforms Outlet . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Custom Hockey Jerseys .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The New Jersey Devils will lk to extend their season-best winning streak to four games on Saturday when they face the Buffalo Sabres in the second half of a home-and-home series.On Friday night, the Devils skated away with a 2-1 overtime road win in a game that featured an unlikely hero in captain Andy Greene. The steady defenseman was given a penalty shot opportunity 29 seconds into overtime and made no mistake, firing a wrist shot past Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson.A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while, Greene said. I came in and I was just trying to be patient there. Make sure I dont fall and get a decent shot off. I was thinking about going blocker there, he tk it away and try to sneak it five hole and luckily it went in.The Devils dominated the second half of the first meeting between the two teams and had several chances to put it away on the power play before Greenes game-winner. New Jersey outshot Buffalo 43-26 overall and 18-5 in the third period.We knew that this team was gd at home and we had a hard time at the beginning of the game, said defenseman Yohann Auvitu, who scored in regulation for New Jersey. But I think that we came through the game and our third period was really gd and at the end we get two points and were really happy for that.Both teams are expected to play their starting goaltenders after using their backups on Friday night, and both Cory Schneeider and Robin Lehner have gotten off to nearly identical starts to the season.dddddddddddd In 10 games, Schneider has a record of 5-3-2 and a save percentage of .928. Lehner, meanwhile, has a record of 4-4-2 and a save percentage of .929 in 10 games.The Sabres may be without top forward Ryan OReilly, who aggravated a previous injury in Fridays loss to the Devils. OReilly left the game early in the third period and did not return.He felt fine to go and I havent talked to him other than to know he re-aggravated it in the face-off circle there in the third period, Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said. Obviously its day-to-day at this point. I dont know if he cant go (Saturday) ... I dont see it lingering longer than getting that chance to rest.The Sabres must find a way to create more offense no matter who is in the lineup. They have struggled to generate offense with injuries to several key players and rank 29th in the league in goals per game.The Devils may be without a key forward as well. Left winger Mike Cammalleri missed Friday nights game due to personal reasons and his status for Saturday was uncertain after the win.I havent spoken with Mike since he left, Devils head coach John Hynes said. Will talk with him today and then tomorrow and see where hes at. He flew back to Jersey. ' ' '