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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Speaking to reporters after the all-around final in mens gymnastics Wednesday night, Sam Mikulak and Chris Brooks expressed pride in their seventh- and 14th-place performances, and satisfaction with a level of competitiveness in which the two Americans avoided major errors in all six of their routines.The juxtaposition was still stark. For at the same time they made their remarks, medals were being awarded following one of the hardest fought and definitely the highest level the sport has ever seen as reigning gold medalist and six-time world champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan edged out Ukraines Oleg Verniaiev for gold, while Great Britains Max Whitlock picked up the bronze.Separated by fractions of a point all night, the drama reached its climax on the high bar, the final rotation for both Uchimura and Verniaiev. Performing last and needing a 14.899 for gold, Verniaiev appeared to have nailed it as the hushed crowd erupted, only to gasp minutes later when he received a 14.8, a full point below Uchimuras high bar score.The final point total: Uchimura 92.365, Verniaiev 92.266.The 27-year-old who led Japan to team gold two days earlier, became the first man to achieve back-to-back titles in the Olympic all-around since his countryman Sawao Kato achieved the feat in 1968 and 1972.After winning the group gold, it was tough to refocus, Uchimura said. Im so exhausted right now.The charismatic Mikulak, on the other hand, said he jumped from 16th-place after the third rotation to a final seventh based on the pick-me-up he got from slamming his third can of his herbal energy drink, a business he and two friends started while he was at Michigan.I honestly believe that was the turning point for me, said the 23-year-old, who added that he wants to compete in at least one more Olympics.Like Brooks, who at 29 was an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team, Mikulak, 23, beat the odds to compete both in London (after a sprained ankle kept him out of five of six events at Olympic trials) and in Rio (after completing rehab in March from surgery to repair ankle and Achilles injuries).Criticized for his inconsistency at times and again during team finals, when he went out of bounds on his first two passes on floor -- the Americans first rotation -- Mikulaks mission was clear.I hit six-of-six [Wednesday], I think that was the biggest goal of mine coming out here, he said. For a while, the P&G [Championships] and trials [both in June], I didnt hit six-for-six, but I came to the grandest of stages and I did it here. So I think I proved to myself and a lot of others that Im still capable of hitting all my routines.For Brooks, this will be his first and last Olympics, his battered body delivering one of the better nights of his career Wednesday.I have a whole new respect for those who have competed in all-around finals before me, he said. That was intense, it was extreme. My body was sore, I was tired after doing prelims [Saturday] and team finals [Monday]. It was an emotional roller coaster through all that. And then to have to get up and do six events [Wednesday], it was mentally and physically a struggle, but Im glad my training, my preparation, everything Ive been doing outside the gym, paid off.To see my name even near the top of the scoreboard was an amazing honor.While it is a sport, to be sure, in which competitors are often separated by no more than tenths of a point and one or two mistakes, Mikulaks 89.631 was 1.01 off the bronze medalists point total and leaves the men to re-examine their program.Certainly finishing fifth [as a team] puts everything into question and you have to take a serious look at it and it falls on my shoulders as team coordinator, Kevin Mazeika said. I have to take a really hard look at it and see what we need to do to get over the hump and get back on the medal stand.Were definitely not satisfied with finishing fifth. [But] it was a different fifth [than 2012] in terms of the way these guys did everything and anything we asked of them inside the gym, outside the gym, with preparation, nutrition, diet, the mental part of it. Theyre all working very, very hard and we saw some amazing gymnastics. There were incredible bright spots.Mikulak, for all intents and purposes the face of U.S. mens gymnastics as the four-time national champion, said he wants to work with young gymnasts to maximize their potential and not make the same mistakes I have. But he also prefers to look at the positive.It wasnt quite as nerve-wracking as I thought, he said of Wednesday night. This is the type of situation where youve got to remember it for the rest of your life. And when I came out on the floor, I was like Wow, either this moment is going to be super nerve-racking or its going to be very enjoyable. 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DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says his decision to revoke the credentials of two ESPN writers who cover his team was driven partly by concern that automated game reports could eventually replace human-generated content.Cuban said Monday that he banned Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon from Mavericks home games to bring attention to the issue of companies using automation in sports coverage.The Associated Press, in a partnership with Automated Insights, produces automated stories on minor league baseball but does not use the technology for most of its sports coverage. The AP has at least one reporter at all games in the four major professional sports and most major college football and basketball games.Maybe I will be wrong but I see a direct path from the trends in coverage of games we are seeing over the last couple years to the automation of reporting on games and the curation of related content, Cuban wrote in an email to the AP. This isnt a knock on wire services or their reporters. They are valued and valuable in sports coverage.The billionaire who made his foortune through internet technology told The Dallas Morning News that ESPN had informed the club that it wouldnt have a reporter at every game and would rely on wire services.dddddddddddd Barry Bedlan, APs sports product manager, said ESPN has relied on us for years.Nothing has changed from our perspective and there are no plans to change that, Bedlan said.Cuban said he was responding to what he considers a disturbing trend of reporters being replaced by machines.While it may seem counterintuitive to ban someone from covering us as a way of stopping automation, it really was my only option, Cuban said. As is evident by the AP partnership with Automated Insights, its not if but when.MacMahon has covered the Mavericks primarily for several years but has spent more time in other cities this season. Stein joined ESPN as a national NBA writer in 2000 after previously covering the Mavericks for the Dallas newspaper. Both reporters are based in Dallas. ' ' '