Michael Phelps had plenty to celebrate Tuesday night. He also had reason to laugh.

With tears in his eyes, Phelps stood silently as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played after his gold medal finish in the 200-meter butterfly. Inexplicably, the U.S. Olympic superstar broke out in a fit of laughter.

But nobody really knew what caught Phelps' eye.

He cleared up the mystery in his post-race interview with NBC after winning his 21st gold medal in the men's 800-meter freestyle relay.

[ARKANSANS IN RIO: Full coverage of 24 in Olympics]

"My boys from Baltimore were down on the other end, and back in Maryland, we all say 'O!' for the Orioles during that part of the national anthem. And all of the sudden I hear them roar 'O!' and I knew exactly where [it] came from, and I just lost it because those guys came down from Baltimore and New York City to be here, and it's just special to see those guys in the stands."

Man vs. woman

Basketball observers have been wondering for years whether Brittney Griner -- the 6-foot-8 center who was one of the most dominant players ever in women's college basketball en route to becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft and a three-time WNBA All-Star -- could compete in the NBA.

The U.S. women's national basketball team member has decided she wants to find out how she stacks up against NBA talent ... and she knows just who she wants to target.

The chosen opponent -- according to Sam Amick of USA Today -- is DeMarcus Cousins, the Sacramento Kings big man and fellow Team USA talent who has been ribbing Griner while on the cruise ship both teams are sharing.

"I would love to just go out there and play against [Cousins]," said Griner, who has never played against NBA players. "We talk a lot of crap to each other. I love talking to him. He's really funny. I would love to just go out there and play against him."

"Whenever you're ready to get it on camera and see her get embarrassed, I'm ready for it," Cousins said after practice Tuesday. "It's almost like we're the same person. As soon as I walk in the door, she's at me. She says I'm a bum. She says she'll kick my butt. It's all in fun. She's an incredible competitor. She's an incredible player. It's fun to be around the ladies and get to know them."

While it's plenty reasonable to believe Griner might not be able to hold a candle to Cousins, one of the more physically dominating and imposing centers in the NBA, her game has grown in the past few years. She is a the two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, plus she could break out the sky hook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar taught her a couple of years ago.

With a day off from games today for both, there's a slight chance the two American stars find time to settle the score. What would be impressive is if there are any members of the media on hand to share the results.

Bronze is safe

Well that's a fine how-do-you-do.

Not long after Dirk Van Tichelt won a bronze medal in judo, the Belgian athlete was beat up and hospitalized by an opportunistic thief on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

While the beach bandit got away with a cellphone, he did not make off with Van Tichelt's shiny new medal.

Sports on 08/11/2016