London

David Beckham, 37, has played in more matches than almost any other English soccer player, but he won't get a chance to add to his 115 caps this summer in London. The LA Galaxy midfielder announced Wednesday that he has been left off Great Britain's roster for the 2012 Olympics. “Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me, so I would have been honored to have been part of this unique Team GB squad,” Beckham said in a statement to Britain's Press Association.

While the vaunted rivalry between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will continue to play out as the Olympic qualifying trials continue in Omaha, on Monday night, it was Lochte's turn in the spotlight. He won the 400-meter individual medley, although Phelps as the second place finisher also goes to London in the event. And, in fact, Phelps got a first, which he said is one of his motivations as he tries for one more Olympics: He became the first American male swimmer to qualify for four Olympics.

Round two of the Michael Phelps-Ryan Lochte prize fight, also known as the Olympic qualifying trials, got underway this morning with the men's 200-meter freestyle preliminaries. Phelps qualified for tonight's semifinals as third seed with -- who else -- Lochte as the top seed. "The morning felt pretty comfortable, so hopefully we can just keep everything going," Phelps said after swimming a 1:48.31. Lochte swam in the next heat, finishing at 1:48.14. The duo are coming off of their Monday night battle in the 400-meter individual medley, a race that Phelps has owned but that Lochte won this time around.

Michael Phelps finished second in the 400-meter individual medley to arch-rival Ryan Lochte in the opening act of the Olympic swimming trials here Monday, but both qualified for the London Games, setting the stage for another duel over their sport's most challenging event. After a race that began with the Baltimore swimmer, Lochte and Tyler Clary grabbing the lead from one another, Lochte pulled away halfway through and stormed to a 4-minute, 7.06-second finish. Phelps pulled in .83 seconds later.

Keli Smith Puzo ran out of options early last month. Her 9-month-old son, Ian, had a highly contagious virus, and her babysitter was incapacitated with the stomach flu. More than 2,000 miles from friends and family, the U.S. women's field hockey forward had no one else to take care of her two young boys. For the first time during her four-month stay in San Diego training with the national team, she would have to miss practice. It was a trying day for the 33-year-old Smith Puzo.

Like many Olympic athletes not named Michael Phelps , Suzanne Stettinius is both training and fundraising in these final weeks before the Summer Games. She's made appeals via Facebook and her blog and, next week, will host a party at a Baltimore County tavern where among the auction items will be a date with the athlete herself. A risky proposition for a 24-year-old woman? Maybe, but perhaps not one whose sport involves shooting and fencing and, should flight rather than fight seem advisable, running, swimming and riding a horse.

"London's calling and I'm going to answer it. " Emily travels to London with her top 10 men. When Chris Harrison greets the group in Trafalgar Square, he congratulates them on being one step closer to marrying Emily. There are no cheers, no smiles. They finally realized this is more than an all-expenses paid vacation with a bunch of douche bags and cameras. Shawn's face finds good lighting Sarah: Emily invites Shawn ("Biceps") on a one-on-one date. They start with a double-decker bus tour and a quick walk through the park.

It was Queen Elizabeth who made me a foreign correspondent. Before she turned up, my newspaper career had consisted of listening to Baltimore policemen reminisce about great hangings and covering bush-league statesmen deploring the state of the world. I had also covered night rewrite: stickups, accidents, floods, fires, murders, from supper time to 2 in the morning. It wasn't a dead-end job, but neither was there a lot to look forward to except retirement after 40 years of good behavior.

In the four years since he made history at the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps concedes losing his focus. But with the London Games looming, the Baltimore swimmer told "60 Minutes" in an interview that will air Sunday that he has gone all-out recently and says he is now approaching the shape he was in before Beijing, where he won an unprecedented eight gold medals. His coach, Bob Bowman, predicts Phelps will again win multiple gold medals for the United States this summer.

The day began as so many have for Michael Phelps : at Meadowbrook pool in Mount Washington, where the mileage he has swum over the years would have gotten him to London a long time ago. But on this Saturday, the Baltimore swimmer's work would continue out of the water as well. On deck was Ryan Seacrest, recently named a prime-time host of NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics in London, in town to interview him. And later that night, Phelps would headline a fundraising gala for Meadowbrook's North Baltimore Aquatic Club, mingling with the Maryland governor and first lady and donors who in some cases paid in the five figures to meet him. A hundred days from Wednesday, the Summer Games will open, but the event is also the beginning of the end of one of the greatest Olympic careers ever.