Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Astros 9, Pirates 5
HOUSTON — Houston ended its team-record losing streak at 12 games behind three hits and three RBIs from Marwin Gonzalez. Jordan Schafer homered and drove in three runs for the Astros, who won for the third time in 28 games.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
CollegeS
Most Penn State recruits to stand by Oral Pledge
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Several of the top prospects who have given nonbinding oral commitments to Penn State have told Nittany Lions football coaches they will stick with the program despite the sanctions handed down by the NCAA last week.
Two of new coach Bill O'Brien's most anticipated commitments — tight end Adam Breneman of Camp Hill, Pa., and quarterback Christian Hackenberg of Fork Union, Va. — visited Saturday.
Defensive tackle Greg Webb of Sicklerville, N.J., and cornerback Ross Douglas of Avon, Ohio, have changed their minds, but 12 others have stayed firm.
UCF basketball: The Knights hired Craig Brown as director of basketball operations for coach Donnie Jones, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Brown, a former Gators player in the 1990s, was a UCF assistant from 2000 to 2010.
Coach hurt, son killed: Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball coach Brad Bigler was in critical condition after a truck crossed the center line and hit the vehicle he was in, killing his 5-month-old son, Drake, and injuring two relatives. The State Patrol said alcohol was detected in the truck driver's system.
Boxing
Fighter positioned for Mayweather
Robert Guerrero, in his first fight in more than a year and jumping from 126-pound featherweight to 145 pounds, outpointed Selcuk Aydin (23-1, 17 KOs) late Saturday night to win the WBC interim welterweight title in San Jose, Calif.
Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KOs), who won 117-111 on one card and 116-112 on two others, is hoping for a high-profile fight against Floyd Mayweather, who will be out of jail next month and holds the full WBC welterweight title.
"I'm the mandatory (challenger) to Floyd now," Guerrero said. "Let's make it happen."
ET CETERA
Horses: Paynter won the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., by 3¾ lengths over Nonios.
NBA: Shooting guard James Harden, who is eligible this summer for an extension with the Thunder, told the Arizona Republic that if he reaches free agency in 2013, he would consider the Suns. "That's definitely my second home as far as my comfort level and going to school there," said Harden, who went to Arizona State.
Tennis: Sam Querrey won his third Farmers Classic in four years, beating Ricardas Berankis 6-0, 6-2 at Los Angeles.
Times wires
By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Running out the clock
Clock management is a big issue in the NFL. But not just on game days.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, there no longer are two-a-day practices during training camp. Typically, players are in pads practicing for about 2½ hours and, maybe, another hour for a walkthrough.
Then there are meetings, meals, weightlifting and time with trainers. Under coach Greg Schiano, players have been bussed from the team hotel a few miles away and generally arrive before 8 a.m. Meetings don't typically adjourn until roughly 9:30 p.m.
For a young team, concentration can be an issue.
What's the best advice an eight-year pro such as receiver Vincent Jackson can impart about making it through the rigors of training camp?
"Just focus on one day," Jackson said. "If you start thinking about how many more days you've got or how long camp is and what time it is of the day, it's going to be tough to make it through. So you just focus on the next meeting, the next period."
Hit of the day
Defensive end Adrian Clayborn led the Bucs in sacks as a rookie last season. But he doesn't just hit quarterbacks.
Sunday, Clayborn laid the lumber on fullback Erik Lorig after his catch in the flat. Coach Greg Schiano immediately blew the whistle and gathered his team in a huddle.
But Schiano said it was just the end of the period.
"No, no, no," Schiano said. "I actually thought it was a really good play by A.C."
Quote of the day
"As we get into this thing and we hit our stride, we have to be able to clean up our football and play smart football. But that's still a little bit down the road before we start looking like that."
— Schiano on the penalties and turnovers during Sunday's practice
Rick Stroud, Times staff writer
Training camp
Where: One Buc Place, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, just east of Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
Admission: Free
Et cetera: All practices are weather permitting and subject to change. For updates, go to buccaneers.com.
Schedules
Public practices
Wed.: 8:45 to 11:30 a.m.
Friday: 8:45 to 11:30 a.m.
Saturday: 6:30 to 9 p.m. *
Aug. 6: 8:45 to 11:30 a.m.
Aug. 7: 8:45 to 11:30 a.m.
* Intrasquad scrimmage at Raymond James Stadium; free parking, autograph sessions, $1 hot dogs and soft drinks, and fireworks
Preseason games
Aug. 10: at Dolphins, 7:30, Ch. 10
Aug. 17: Titans, 7:30, Ch. 10 *
Aug. 24: Patriots, 7:30, Ch. 10 *
Aug. 29: at Redskins, 7:30, Ch. 10
* Subject to blackout
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Twins 5, Indians 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer, Brian Duensing pitched six innings as a late fill-in for Francisco Liriano and Minnesota finished a three-game sweep. Duensing's Twitter followers started asking him if he was starting after the Liriano trade Saturday. He saw the news on the team's website and texted pitching coach Rick Anderson to confirm it. "He said, 'Yeah,' and asked if I was okay with it," Duensing said. "I'm not going to say no."
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Nationals 11, Brewers 10
11 innings
MILWAUKEE — Michael Morse hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning then delivered a two-run double in the 11th that lifted Washington.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Cubs 4, Cardinals 2
10 innings
CHICAGO — Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning that lifted Chicago. Starlin Castro led off the 10th with a single against Trevor Rosenthal, and Rizzo followed with his seventh homer.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Reds 7, Rockies 2
DENVER — Mat Latos pitched eight strong innings and Drew Stubbs homered as Cincinnati won its 10th straight game, its longest streak since it won 10 in a row in 1998. The Reds are two short of the franchise record, done twice, most recently in 1957. Cincinnati opened a three-game lead over the Pirates in the NL Central, its biggest since mid June.
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Rays at A's
When/where: 10:07 tonight; Oakland Coliseum
TV/radio: Sun Sports; 620-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)
Probable pitchers
Rays: LH David Price (14-4, 2.57)
A's: RH A.J. Griffin (3-0, 2.25)
On Price: Leads the majors in wins, including six straight, one shy of the team record. Has allowed only 10 runs over his past seven starts. Is 2-1, 3.62 in five starts vs. Oakland, including 1-1, 3.66 in three games at the Coliseum.
On Griffin: A 13th-round pick in 2010, Griffin (6-5, 230) worked his way from Double A to Triple A to the majors by late June. Has worked six innings in each of his six starts, allowing two or fewer runs five times. Has struck out 29 and walked only eight in 36 IP.
Rays vs. Griffin
None have faced.
A's vs. Price
Jonny Gomes 3-for-6
Brandon Inge 2-for-11
Kurt Suzuki 1-for-8
On deck
Tuesday: at A's, 10:07, Sun Sports. Rays — James Shields (8-7, 4.52); A's — Tommy Milone (9-7, 3.51)
Wednesday: at A's, 3:37, Sun Sports. Rays — Alex Cobb (4-8, 4.93); A's — Jarrod Parker (7-4, 3.38)
Thursday: Off
Friday: vs. O's, 7:10, Sun Sports. Rays — Matt Moore (7-7, 4.01); O's — TBA
Marc Topkin, Times staff writer
Laundry mishap of the day
The new size-XL sweater Rays INF Ryan Roberts wore to the stadium Sunday was a little big, so he asked the clubhouse staff to wash and dry it so it would "shrink up a little bit." But they went a little too far, because when Roberts got it back, the sweater was reduced to essentially a kid's size. "Look at this thing," Roberts said. "I can't even get it on. I mean, are you kidding me?"
Quote of the day
"I made sure when he came in I fist-bumped his glove and not his bare hand."
Rays manager Joe Maddon, on congratulating starter Jeremy Hellickson, who was ill.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Mariners 7, Royals 6
SEATTLE — Felix Hernandez shook off a line drive to his left wrist to pitch seven strong innings, and Seattle overcame poor relief to complete a four-game sweep. The Mariners swept Kansas City in four games for the first time since May 2001. Hernandez lost out on his sixth straight win when the Mariners bullpen gave up three runs in the eighth.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Mets 5, D'backs 1
PHOENIX — R.A. Dickey rebounded from his first loss in three months to earn his National League-leading 14th win, and New York split the four-game series with only its third victory in its past 17 games. Dickey allowed an unearned run in seven innings and matched Rays ace David Price for the major-league wins lead. The knuckleballer's only losses have been to the Braves on April 18 and Nationals on Tuesday.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Rangers 2, White Sox 0
ARLINGTON, Texas — Scott Feldman tied a career high by pitching eight innings to help Texas snap a two-game skid. Feldman, who retired eight of the last 10 batters he faced, threw only 88 pitches in matching the eight innings he had pitched twice before, the last time being June 2, 2010, also against the White Sox in Chicago. David Murphy had three hits, including a double, for the Rangers. White Sox starter Gavin Floyd lost despite a solid 62/3 innings. He was 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA in his previous five starts.
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, July 29, 2012
. Up next
at A's
Tonight-Wednesday
What's new: The A's, even with Sunday's loss at Baltimore, have been the majors' hottest team for nearly two months, 18-4 in July, 33-16 since June 2. They lead the AL in pitching (just ahead of the Rays) despite using 10 rookies and have improved their defense to middle-of-the-pack, but the key to their ascension has been a sizzling offense that is leading the majors in homers and the AL in runs since the All-Star break. Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes has been the spark, hitting .439 since the break with 5 homers and 17 RBIs. Former Red Sox OF Josh Reddick has also been a hit, with 22 homers.
Key stat: The A's have a major league-leading 11 walkoff wins, from 10 different players, five by home runs.
Connections: Oakland RHP Grant Balfour and OF/DH Jonny Gomes are ex-Rays. Tampa Bay 1B Carlos Peña played for the A's, RHP Joel Peralta started his career with them as an infielder.
Series history: A's lead 2-1 this year, 83-49 overall, 46-19 in Oakland (the Rays' worst record in any road stop).
Marc Topkin, Times staff writer
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw put together another dominant performance at AT&T Park.
His teammates are also getting comfortable at the Giants' waterfront ballpark — and now they are right back in the thick of the NL West race.
Kershaw pitched a five-hitter for his second shutout this season, and Los Angeles beat San Francisco 4-0 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the division leaders.
"We understand this is our year. There's no excuses," Kershaw said. "Everybody's doing everything they can to put us in the right place to win. We just have to go out there and play now."
That is a far cry from the feeling in the clubhouse a month ago, when the Dodgers were shut out three straight times and let a three-game division lead slip away.
San Francisco still leads Los Angeles by one percentage point with nine games left between the teams.
"This is going to be a battle through the next couple of months," Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp said.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
LONDON — Ryan Lochte grabbed at the edge of the pool, head down, staring at the water. Michael Phelps glared at the scoreboard, trying to digest the first silver medal of his Olympic career.
Right beside them, the French celebrated. It was like 2008 but with the roles reversed. This time, it was France chasing down the United States in the 400-meter freestyle relay to win at the Olympics.
"We got our revenge," France's Clement Lefert said.
The Americans built a commanding lead over the first three legs Sunday with Nathan Adrian, Phelps and Cullen Jones. When Lochte dived in for the anchor leg, he was a half-body length ahead of the field and looking to add a gold to his dominating victory Saturday in the 400 individual medley.
Not so fast.
Yannick Agnel, playing the chaser role Jason Lezak did for the Americans four years ago, sliced through the water and was right on Lochte's shoulder as they made the flip at the far end of the pool.
With about 25 meters to go, they were stroke for stroke. And Lochte, the former Gator who had already competed in 1,200 meters of racing over the first two days, couldn't hold off Agnel, who touched in 3 minutes, 9.93 seconds.
The Americans dropped to silver in 3:10.38. Russia took the bronze.
Phelps settled for his 17th career medal and completed his collection of Olympic colors, adding a silver to his 14 golds and two bronzes.
"At least I'm in a medal," he said ruefully, referring to his fourth-place finish to Lochte on Saturday.
Four years ago, France had the lead in the race and its best sprinter, Alain Bernard, going out on the final leg. But Lezak swam the fastest relay leg in history, beating Bernard by 0.08 seconds to keep Phelps on track for his record eight gold medals.
"I was just really excited, and I think I overswam the first 50, and it hurt me for the last 50," Lochte said.
The U.S. coaches might come under scrutiny for choosing Lochte for the relay. He has little experience in the 100 free and had never competed in this relay at the Olympics.
Two more world records fell earlier in the evening, the second and third of the Games. American Dana Vollmer took down the mark in the 100 butterfly. Then Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa broke the record in the 100 breaststroke, denying Japan's Kosuke Kitajima a threepeat.
France's Camille Muffat won a riveting 400 freestyle duel with American Allison Schmitt. Britain's Rebecca Adlington touched third, the home country's first swimming medal of the Games.
Vollmer's 55.98 seconds beat the record of 56.06 set by Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom at the 2009 world championships.
"I still know I can go faster," said Vollmer, who had one of the two caps she wears during a race pop off somewhere during the first 50 meters.
Kitajima was trying to become the first male swimmer to win the same race at three straight Olympics. He finished fifth. Van der Burgh won in 58.46, knocking off another mark set at the 2009 worlds. American Brendan Hansen claimed bronze.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
BALTIMORE — Brian Roberts' frustrating season is over.
The Orioles second baseman will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. Roberts made the announcement Sunday, less than 24 hours after he began a rehab assignment with Class A Aberdeen.
"It just hasn't responded the way we were hoping it would," he said. "Deep down in my gut, I think I knew before last night."
Roberts went on the disabled list July 3. The first doctor he spoke to recommended surgery, but a second suggested rehabilitation. Robert received a cortisone shot and worked out at the team's facility in Florida before heading to Aberdeen.
After going 0-for-4 with a walk on Saturday night, he abandoned the plan.
"We kind of knew this was a possibility going in," Roberts said. "We wanted to give it the best possible shot we could to get back out there and try and help for the last two months of the season, but it's not going to put me in a position to play the way that I think is going to be necessary to help."
Roberts, 34, missed the start of the season with a concussion. He returned June 12 and got three hits against the Pirates but was batting .182 in 17 games before going on the disabled list. Last season, he played in just 39 games because of a concussion. And he played in 59 in 2010 because of back and abdominal injuries.
In other Orioles news, LF Lew Ford's contract was purchased from Triple-A Norfolk, and he went 0-for-3 with a walk and an outfield assist in his first big-league game since 2007.
PADRES RE-SIGN CLOSER: All-Star closer Huston Street and San Diego agreed to a $14 million, two-year contract through 2014. The right-hander, who turns 29 Thursday, has a 0.91 ERA and has converted all 17 save opportunities.
STANTON RECOVERING: Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn't played since July 7, will begin his rehab from right knee surgery Wednesday with Class A Jupiter. In other Marlins news, LF Logan Morrison went on the 15-day disabled list with right knee inflammation and may need season-ending surgery.
A'S GET CATCHER: Oakland acquired C George Kottaras from the Brewers in a trade for minor-league RH reliever Fautino De Los Santos.
ASTROS-D'BACKS TRADE: Houston traded 3B Chris Johnson to Arizona for minor-league INF Bobby Borchering and OF Marc Krauss. The trade was the Astros' fifth this month.
CARDINALS: LHP Jaime Garcia, out since June 6 with a left shoulder strain, is set to make a rehab start today for the Gulf Coast League affiliate in Jupiter.
NATIONALS: 1B Adam LaRoche left in the fourth inning with back tightness. … CF Bryce Harper returned a day after being scratched with a stomach lineup.
RANGERS: RHP Neftali Feliz, out since May 21 with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, was scratched from a rehab start at Double-A Frisco because of discomfort.
YANKEES: LHP Andy Pettitte shut down his throwing program after suffering a slight setback in his recovery from a fracture in his left fibula. … Nick Swisher was back in the lineup as the DH after sitting out six games with a strained left hip flexor.
Times staff, wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Parker's new look at the world
Tony Parker has a new look for the Olympics. Not by choice. The France and Spurs guard is wearing protective glasses after almost losing his left eye when he was caught in a bottle-throwing melee between R&B singer Chris Brown and rapper Drake's entourage and wound up with a piece of glass embedded in the cornea. Doctors told him he came within "2 millimeters away of losing my eye," Parker says. "You don't want to dramatize too much, but it still puts it all in perspective." Parker won't give details of the fight in the early hours of June 15 at the New York club Greenhouse, now closed. He does say, "It was almost like you were in a movie." Parker is suing the club for $20 million.
Only a publicity threat
Indian officials are mystified — and miffed — that a young woman they say they don't know managed to march with their team in the opening ceremony. Images from the ceremony show a young woman in turquoise jeans and a red jacket marching alongside flag bearer Sushil Kumar. Indian officials say they have no idea who the woman is and are concerned about Games security. London organizing chief Sebastian Coe says the woman was a cast member for the ceremony "who clearly got slightly overexcited" but she had been properly screened and wasn't a security threat.
Stay updated
Gary Shelton is in London to cover his 10th Olympic Games for the Times. Follow his experiences on Twitter at @Gary_Shelton, through his photo feed #londongary on Instagram, and through his daily columns in the Times.
NBC's ratings > YOUR GRIPES
Bashing NBC for its event coverage is a sport with a longer association with the Games than a few legitimate ones. But the growth of social media outlets and the number of people using them has taken it to a record level of vitriol, so much so that NBC's executive producer of the Games, Jim Bell, has taken to Twitter to answer critics. (Communicate with him at @jfb.)
The latest subject of ire: the U.S. men's basketball team's opening game against France on Sunday being on — gasp — CABLE (the NBC Sports Network) while women's cycling was on the mothership, NBC. Complainers on Twitter have even set up a hashtag — a way to keep track of topics on a subject — #nbcfail. And Sunday a parody Twitter account surfaced to mock the network for its delayed coverage of events, @NBCDelayed (its tweets included "BREAKING: American colonists announce independence, King to respond").
NBC isn't wavering from its plan to save big events for prime time. It maintains that is when most viewers are available to watch them. It's also when the network makes most of its advertising revenue. And these Games' early ratings aren't going to make NBC think again. After the opening ceremony drew more than 40 million people, the most for one of those Olympic events, Saturday drew 28.7 million, the most for the first night of a Summer Olympics on record, the Nielsen company said.
Maybe delayed tv isn't so bad
Meanwhile, NBC likes to keep reminding us that it is streaming every second of every event on NBCOlympics.com. Except that through the first days, that feed was more likely to make your computer melt down worse than a hungry, cranky 2-year-old, based on an unscientific survey.
Our Tampa Bay Times Olympic crew encountered herky-jerky feeds that kept causing our computers to shut down. The New York Times' Richard Sandomir blogged on the paper's website he had similar problems and people reported troubles to him anecdotally on Twitter and in emails.
Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media, told the New York Times that troubleshooting suggested the problems might have been with the bandwidth provided by cable operators or users' computers or devices. He said he hoped the problems would be resolved Sunday.
Readers Ask us
In major cycling tours, racing is a team sport. Medalists in the road races were given to individuals. Do others on the team receive a medal as well, like relay races? Hard to see how the team comes together to cooperate if it's an individual event.
Medals are awarded only to the first three riders across the finish line. If Britain's Bradley Wiggins is representative of riders, they don't mind. This year's Tour de France winner was a member of his country's five-man team Saturday (women's teams are limited to four), and before the race, won by Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan, he sounded dedicated to getting the gold medal for teammate Mark Cavendish, also his Sky teammate who helped him win the Tour. "Our job is pretty simple," Wiggins said. "It's been no secret made that 'Cav' wants to win it. He's got four incredible guys to help him doing that."
How deep is the Olympic pool? The pool at London's Aquatics Centre, built for the Games, is almost 10 feet deep.
Compiled by Times staff writer Sharon Fink from information from the Associated Press, New York Times, NBCOlympics.com, Times staff.
Times wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
MANCHESTER, England — Hope Solo met with the coach and captains of the U.S. women's soccer team Sunday to discuss her Twitter rant against former U.S. player Brandi Chastain's commentary during the NBC broadcast of the Americans' 3-0 win over Colombia on Saturday.
Coach Pia Sundhage said Solo will not be disciplined.
"We had a conversation: If you look at the women's national team, what do you want (people) to see? What do you want them to hear?" Sundhage said.
The meeting took place after the team arrived in Manchester, where it plays the North Koreans on Tuesday in a game that will determine pairings for the quarterfinals. The United States advanced to the quarters Saturday.
The team said Solo would be available for comment today.
Chastain, one of the most accomplished players in U.S. history, said, "I'm here to do my job, which is to be an honest and objective journalist at the Olympics, nothing more than that."
Meanwhile, the sport's world governing body is reviewing an episode during the Colombia game that left American forward Abby Wambach with a black eye.
They're out: Former world champion and 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans of Australia withdrew from the cycling time trial. Evans, who finished 79th in Saturday's road race, is too tired to compete Wednesday, the Australian Olympic Committee said. … Marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe of Britain withdrew from the race, citing the recent flareup of a lingering left foot injury.
More flame throwing: London organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe defended keeping the cauldron with the Olympic flame inside Olympic Stadium, out of the general public's view, saying it "wasn't created as a tourist attraction." Spectators are complaining they can't see the flame or take pictures of it.
Drugs: St. Kitts & Nevis sprinter Tameka Williams was sent home by her team for a potential violation. Williams had been using a substance "clearly outside the medical code," St. Kitts Olympic committee vice president Dennis Knight said, though she had not tested positive. The team did not disclose the drug.
Times staff, wires
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Country G S B T
China64212
U.S.35311
Italy2327
S. Korea2125
France2114
In gymnastics, the U.S. men go for their third consecutive medal in the team competition, on Ch. 8 in prime time. They were the top team in qualifying but start from scratch today. It's Day 3 of swimming and Day 3 of notable races. Ryan Lochte goes for his second gold, in the 200-meter freestyle, in prime time on Ch. 8. Also in prime time, Missy Franklin makes her individual event gold medal final debut in the 100 breaststroke. Michael Phelps swims in the heats of the 200 butterfly, which he has won at the past two Games, on Ch. 8 during the day. The U.S. women's basketball team meets Angola at 5 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.
Best bets
4 a.m. – 7 p.m. NBC BASKETBALL
•Basketball (W) – U.S.-Angola; Russia-Brazil; France-Australia; Croatia-China; Czech Republic-Turkey; Great Britain-Canada (ALL LIVE)
4 a.m. – 8 p.m. NBCSN
• Basketball (W) – U.S. vs. Angola (LIVE)
• Beach Volleyball (W) – China-Switzerland (LIVE)
• Volleyball (W) – Qualifying (LIVE)
• Equestrian – Eventing Cross Country (LIVE)
• Boxing – Elimination Bouts
• Shooting (M) – 10M Air Rifle Final
• Badminton (W) – U.S.-China
• Archery (W) – Qualifying (LIVE)
• Table Tennis – Qualifying
7 a.m. – 3 p.m. BRAVO
• Tennis – Early Rounds (LIVE)
9 a.m. – 3 p.m. TELEMUNDO
• Swimming – Heats
• Beach Volleyball – Qualifying
• Volleyball (W) – Qualifying
• Tennis – Early Rounds
• Boxing – Elimination Bouts
9 a.m. – 6 p.m. MSNBC
• Basketball (W) – Russia vs. Brazil (LIVE)
• Water Polo (W) – Qualifying (LIVE)
• Beach Volleyball (W) – Qualifying (LIVE)
• Weightlifting (W) – 58KG Final
• Table Tennis – Qualifying Round
• Badminton – Qualifying Round
• Field Hockey (M) – Qualifying
• Badminton (M) – U.S.-Japan
• Handball (W) – Qualifying
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Ch. 8
• Swimming – Heats
• Beach Volleyball (M) – U.S.-Poland (LIVE)
• Volleyball (W) – U.S. vs. Brazil (LIVE)
• Water Polo (W) – U.S. vs. Hungary (LIVE)
• Rowing – Heats
• Canoeing – Heats
5 – 8 p.m. CNBC
• Boxing – Elimination Bouts
8 p.m. – Midnight Ch. 8
• Swimming — Finals: Men's 200M Freestyle, Men's 100M Backstroke, Women's 100M Backstroke, Women's 100M Breaststroke
• Gymnastics (M) – Team Final
• Diving (M) – Platform Synchronized Final
Midnight – 2:30 a.m. TELEMUNDO
• Swimming – Finals
• Gymnastics (M) – Team Final
• Diving (M) – Platform Synchronized Final
12:35 – 1:35 a.m. Ch. 8
• Swimming – Semifinals
• Canoeing – Heats
NBC SOCCER
• Best of Qualifying Round
(W)– Women's event; (M)– Men's event
Contact your cable or dish provider to see if it carries the NBC Soccer and Basketball networks.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
u.s. gymnasts have day of extremes
On a day the U.S. women's gymnastics team showed it was good enough and deep enough to win the gold medal by leading the qualifiers for the final, there was a loss for words. Jordyn Wieber, the reigning world all-around champion and a favorite to win the gold medal, finished third among the U.S. women Sunday, meaning she wouldn't advance to the final. Only two from each team advance. Americans Aly Raisman, Wieber's close friend and Olympic roommate, and Gabby Douglas will compete in the all-around final. Wieber's consolation is that she qualified for the floor exercise final. Wieber did not have major mistakes in her four routines but was not as sharp as usual, and Raisman gave one her best performances. When Wieber, 17, learned she was the odd woman out, she burst into tears. "It was hard because, of course, I wanted that spot," she said in a statement (she gave a TV interview but left the arena before talking to other reporters). "In the end, it is what it is." Russia, runnerup to the United States at last year's world, was second in team qualifying, followed by China, Romania, Britain, Japan, Italy and Canada. The team final is Tuesday; the scoring starts from scratch.
rough sailing start for clearwater's zach railey
Clearwater 2008 silver medalist Zach Railey had a rough first day on the course off Weymouth, finishing 10th and 15th in his first two Finn races to sit 15th overall. "The second race I made two major mistakes on the first upwind and never got into it," he told U.S. Sailing. "I felt fine, but didn't execute well." In Star, St. Petersburg native Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih of Miami started fifth and 14th to sit 10th overall. The courses were shifty, Fatih said. "We were able to fight back in the first race," he said. "In the second race, it was even more difficult." Anna Tunnicliffe of Plantation, Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi started with a win and a loss in match racing.
stunning loss ousts spain; britain gets win
Spain was eliminated from the men's soccer tournament, losing 1-0 to Honduras for a second straight defeat that left it with no chance of advancing from the group stage. This is the first time Spain lost its first two group matches at a World Cup, Euro tournament, Confederations Cup or Olympics. Britain got its campaign back on track with a 3-1 victory over United Arab Emirates that knocked the Middle Eastern team out of the tournament. It was Britain's first Olympic victory in 52 years. Britain's Ryan Giggs became the oldest player to score at an Olympics at 38 years, 243 days, breaking an 88-year-old record. Giggs is playing in his first major international tournament.
u.s. gets first medal in diving in 12 years
The medals were silver, but the smiles of Abby Johnston and Kelci Bryant showed they meant much, much more than that. Johnston and Bryant finished second in the women's synchronized 3-meter competition, claiming the first U.S. diving medal since 2000. Their final dive, a backward 21/2 somersault, might have been their best. "My heart rate was going, but I knew Abby was going to do a great dive," said Bryant, who acknowledged she was scoreboard-watching on the final dive in 2008, a mental error that led to an agonizing fourth-place finish. This time, she said, she never peeked. Canada's Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel took the bronze, but they and the Americans were far behind China's Wu Minxia and He Zi. Wu's gold was her third in a row in the event.
rhode wins skeet to set record
Kimberly Rhode became the first American with individual medals in five straight Olympics, tying a world record in women's skeet shooting and setting the Olympic mark with 99 points, meaning she missed once in 100 shots. She was eight targets better than silver medalist Wei Ning of China. "It's just been an incredible journey," said Rhode, 33. Track stars Carl Lewis, Al Oerter and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and wrestler Bruce Baumgartner are the other Americans recognized as individual medal-winners in four straight Summer Olympics. Rhode becomes the eighth U.S. woman with at least five individual medals.
Other sports
• Russia's Maria Sharapova won her Olympic debut, playing under Wimbledon's retractable roof on Centre Court because of rain, beating Israel's Shahar Peer. Britain's Andy Murray returned to the court where he lost this month's Wimbledon final and beat Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. Serbia's Novak Djokovic also won.
• The defending champion U.S. men's volleyball team opened play by sweeping Serbia 25-17, 25-22, 25-21.
• The South Koreans stayed perfect in women's team archery, winning their seventh straight gold medal. The Americans, second in the ranking round Friday, lost to the Chinese in the quarterfinals.
By Derek LaRiviere, Times Correspondent
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Plant City took another step Sunday toward the dream of playing in the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa.
After Plant City (9-1) and South Fort Myers pushed out Bayshore (9-2) via a pool-play runs-surrendered tiebreaker, Plant City crushed Merritt Island 17-2 to reach today's title game of the Majors (ages 11-12) Division state tournament in DeBary.
Plant City gave up 14 runs in going 2-1. Bayshore, from South Tampa, lost the three-way tiebreaker because it gave up 17 runs to South Fort Myers' 16.
Plant City faces Windermere, a 7-3 winner over South Fort Myers, in the championship game at 6 p.m. today at Bill Keller Park. The winner advances to Southeast Region play at Warner Robbins, Ga., where that winner goes to Williamsport.
Minors baseball: Plant City fell to 1-1 at the Tournament of State Champions (ages 10-11) in Greenville, N.C. A day after beating South Carolina 3-2, Plant City lost 5-2 to Tennessee. Plant City (10-1) plays Virginia today hoping to avoid elimination.
Minors softball: Land O'Lakes, which had yet to surrender a run in two games at the Little League Minors (ages 9-10) Southeast Region tournament, lost to the host team, Luray, Va., 6-2 Sunday. Land O'Lakes still advances to the semifinal round today against North Carolina.
After a day off, Palma Ceia/Tampa Bay (10-0) continues play at the Little League Minors (ages 10-11) Southeast Region tournament against host team Cape Coral at 6:30 tonight. No matter who wins, both teams will advance to the semifinal round Tuesday because North Carolina is 0-2 in pool play.
At the Tournament of State Champions, also in Luray, Va., Citrus Park (ages 10-11) advanced out of pool play by beating West Virginia 7-4. Citrus Park plays Virginia in a semifinal today.
Dixie Softball: Spring Hill staved off elimination at the Ponytails X-Play World Series in Hartsville, S.C., beating Virginia 12-0 behind Bre Blakenship (4-for-5 with three doubles). Spring Hill had lost earlier in the day to Louisiana 2-1 despite a good pitching effort from Chayse Skinner. Spring Hill (8-1) faces another elimination game tonight against South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Wesley Chapel was eliminated with two losses at the Darlings World Series in Georgetown, S.C. The Pasco County team fell 14-4 to Louisiana, then 9-3 to Alabama.
