Despite it all, the participants, from across the American continent, show up as they vie for the medals and glory. Along the way, they give us some moments that are captured for posterity. Here are some eye-catching scenes from the Pan Am Games...
AC Milan were held 2-2 at struggling Torino on Sunday, leaving city rivals Inter Milan three points clear at the top of Serie A. Torino's Alessandro Rosina scored a 78th-minute penalty, which was conceded for handball by Kakha Kaladze, to earn the hosts a draw after Ronaldinho had put Milan 2-1 up with a spectacular free kick in the 34th.
World Cup winner Paul Pogba's third minute penalty and a late goal from Luke Shaw gave Manchester United a 2-1 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford in the opening game of the Premier League season on Friday.
The Football Association has rejected appeals by Chelsea left back Ashley Cole and Aston Villa defender Zat Knight for wrongful dismissal in the 4-4 draw between the teams in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Diogo Jota and Joao Felix both scored their first international goals in the second half before Bruno Petkovic pulled one back and Andre Silva then added a fourth.
China basked in the glow of their 51st gold medal and got a clear thumbs-up from International Olympic Committee on the last day of the Games on Sunday. The hosts finished well clear atop the medals table with 15 more golds than the United States. The last of the 302 gold medals was won by France in the men's handball.
Hellas Verona produced a huge upset by coming from behind to beat Serie A leaders Juventus 2-1 on Saturday, inflicting a third defeat of the season on the Italian champions. Cristiano Ronaldo set a new Juventus record by scoring in a 10th consecutive league game to put the visitors in front at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi after 65 minutes.
The following factbox details five times a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) made an impact at the World Cup.
Images from the Round of 16 match between Russia and Spain, in Moscow, on Sunday.
Kolpak deals to end; Cricket South Africa's Graeme Smith says they will welcome back any former Kolpak players who are willing to be part of the domestic structures.
An inhospitable climate and the smallest population of any World Cup nation have failed to dampen Iceland's burning desire
A controversial last-gasp goal deflected into the net off Laurent Koscielny's hand from a close-range shot by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave Arsenal a lucky 1-0 victory at Burnley on Sunday as manager Arsene Wenger marked his 20th anniversary at the club.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-fighting Las Palmas on Thursday in an unexpected setback that left them with a five-point lead in La Liga ahead of their top-of-the-table showdown with Atletico Madrid this weekend.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in Spain.
Real Madrid on top because of performances, not referees, says coach Zidane.
A stunning strike by Romelu Lukaku gave Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Brescia on Tuesday although they had to cling on for three points in the face of heavy pressure from the promoted side.
Inter Milan began their Serie A title defence with a 1-1 home draw with Udinese on Sunday after an Ivan Cordoba own goal in injury time, while AC Milan won 3-0 at promoted Genoa helped by Kaka's brace.
Brief reports of Premier League matches on Saturday.
A debatable penalty awarded with the use of FIFA's new video replay system proved a turning point in the World Cup final on Sunday and raised more questions over whether the new technology is being used in the way it was originally intended.
India's total medal count stood at 252 (132 gold, 79 silver, 41 bronze), leaving behind hosts Nepal and Sri Lanka behind. Nepal has won 165 medals (45 gold, 44 silver, 76 bronze) while Sri Lanka have collected 197 medals (36 gold, 68 silver, 93 bronze).
FIFA technical director Marco van Basten would like to see how football works without offside and limit the number of fouls a player can commit during a game.
Sixteen years after being an unused reserve at her home Sydney Olympics, Australian rider Sue Hearn will finally make her Games debut at the age of 60 in Rio.
A Robbie Keane penalty gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 victory over Reading on Sunday to move the London club up to sixth in the Premier League.
Striker El-Hadji Diouf scored twice in two minutes as Bolton Wanderers came from behind to win 2-1 away to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Not even a lively performance from Lionel Messi - at least in the first half in St Petersburg - as they edged out Nigeria 2-1 to finish second in Group D will give their large travelling band of supporters in Russia much in the way of confidence.
Karim Benzema made history at Real Madrid, the battle for the top four continues to heat up
There are great goals, lucky goals, own goals, winning goals and now, in the era of VAR, we have the 'provisional goal'.
Defending champions Bengaluru FC registered a narrow 1-0 win over ATK in the first leg of their Hero Indian Super League semi-final clash at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Lionel Messi dragged a nervous Barcelona to a 1-0 win at home to Levante in La Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo converted two late penalties on his 100th appearance for Juventus in all competitions as the Serie A titleholders ground out a 3-1 win away to a dogged Genoa side.
Following is the schedule of Indian contingent on the seventh day of the Asian Games on Saturday.
World champions Germany will not be present at the Euro 2016 final in Paris after being knocked out by hosts France 0-2 at Marseille. French football fans painted the town red, white and blue after Antoine Griezmann scored twice to take his country within a striking distance from European glory. The Les Blues will now face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the final at Paris.
Indian boxer Pavitra (60kg) advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games after out-classing Pakistan's Rukhsana Perveen in a bout that did not go beyond the opening round, in Jakarta, on Saturday.
Pepe opened the scoring for Real with a looping header that flew past Jan Oblak in the 52nd minute and it looked like the hosts would earn three points to move five clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi pulled his side level in the 57th minute after a handball by Paraguay's Ivan Peris which no-one on the pitch appealed for but was spotted by a VAR review.
The Ivory Coast striker earned Chelsea a comfortable, though controversial, 2-0 home win over Manchester City in the Premier League.
A summary of Saturday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Cristiano Ronaldo answered his critics with a hat-trick as Real Madid came from behind to win 4-1 at Alaves and provisionally go three points clear at the top of La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as leaders Real Madrid beat Cordoba 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday thanks to late Gareth Bale penalty.
The inaugural Indo-Pak Punjab Games kicked off in Patiala on Sunday. Next year the games will be held in Lahore.
Espanyol secured a commanding lead in their King's Cup quarter-final tie against Sevilla when Felipe Caicedo, Sergio Garcia, with a penalty, and Lucas Vazquez scored in a 3-1 first-leg home win on Thursday.
