OLYMPICS
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Throughout more than 120 years of Olympic history, no city has hosted both the winter and summer games. Now, Beijing will be the first do it – and in the span of just 14 years.
The Chinese capital was awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics, beating Kazakh rival Almaty 44-40 in a surprisingly close vote marred by technical problems, taking the games back to the city that hosted the summer version in 2008.
Beijing was seen by the International Olympic Committee as a secure, reliable choice that also offered vast commercial opportunities in a new winter sports market of more than 300 million people in northern China.
The IOC’s secret vote was conducted by paper ballot, after the first electronic vote experienced technical faults with the voting tablets and was not counted. The result of the first vote was not disclosed. There was one abstention in the paper ballot.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Triathletes swam in waters off Copacabana Beach ahead of weekend Olympic test events, despite published warnings that water in the area was ”unfit” for swimming.
The website of the Rio de Janeiro environmental agency said the water, which has been declared unfit ten previous times this year, was unsafe based on the results of a Monday water test.
Officials publicly insisted athletes were safe and stuck to the competition schedule. Later in the day, Rodrigo Garcia, the sports director for the local Olympic organizing committee, said that new, unpublished water test results show that the area is suitable for the competition, but provided no details on the results. The Rio environmental agency didn’t respond to requests for comment.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) – The Mets finally landed the bat they were looking for in Yoenis Cespedes just ahead of the trade deadline, and Cole Hamels confirmed he blocked a trade to Houston before Philadelphia dealt its ace to Texas.
Sixteen trades were made Friday ahead of the annual deadline for deals without waivers, but San Diego was among the buyers, not the sellers, to the surprise of some.
Hamels was the only top starting pitcher dealt following earlier trades that sent Scott Kazmir to Houston, Johnny Cueto to Kansas City and David Price to Toronto. The Blue Jays scheduled a blowout news conference at Rogers Centre to introduce Price, but instead the left-hander was sidetracked by a blowout to one of the tires on his gray sports car
Eleven of 15 AL teams began the day within five games of a playoff berth, and seven of 15 in the NL, where the races are more defined.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) – The federal judge handling Tom Brady’s attempt to overturn his four-game suspension strongly suggested the New England quarterback and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appear in court on Aug. 12 and 19.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman told the sides he had scheduled conferences on both days ”with your principles (including, without limitation, Mr. Goodell and Mr. Brady).” He also requested the parties ”engage in comprehensive, good-faith settlement discussions prior to the conference on August 12.”
Earlier in the day, the NFL and the players’ union said they wanted Berman to resolve their dispute over Brady’s suspension by Sept. 4 – six days before the Patriots’ opener.
GOLF
GAINESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Tiger Woods showed a rare flash of anger on a mostly stress-free day when his second shot on the eighth hole failed to clear a massive fairway bunker. The best he could do was to squeeze it onto the front of the green.
The mistake on the par-5 hole set up the signature moment of a 5-under 66 in the Quicken Loans National that put Woods in contention for his first victory in nearly two years. Woods sank the 36-foot birdie putt, which broke hard to the right and trickled over a crest and into the hole.
Woods was tied for fifth, three shots behind Ryo Ishikawa, who was even par for the day before he birdied the last three holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Ishikawa had a 68 to reach 11 under, one shot ahead of Rickie Fowler, who also birdied the last three for a 65, and Kevin Chappell, who shot 68.
TURNBERRY, Scotland (AP) – Norway’s Suzann Pettersen shot a 3-under 69 in windy morning conditions to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Women’s British Open.
Pettersen had a 7-under 137 at Turnberry’s Alisa Course. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, Taiwan’s Teresa Lu and South Koreans So Yeon Ryu and Jin-Young Ko were tied for second. The 18-year-old Lydia Ko shot a 73 in some of the worst conditions in the rainy afternoon, when the wind swirled and gusted up to 25 mph. Lu and Jin-Young Ko shot 71, and Ryu had a 72.
Sweden’s Maria McBridewas the only player to beat Pettersen’s score with a bogey-free 66, but she was still way off the pace after opening with a 79. Top-ranked Inbee Park, trying to complete a career sweep of the majors, was five strokes back after a 73.
NBA
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman was hired as an assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings, joining Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs as another female NBA assistant coach.
The 57-year-old Lieberman joins George Karl’s staff in the state capital just shy of a year after Hammon was hired by the Spurs, making her the first full-time paid female NBA assistant coach.
Lieberman has worked as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks‘ D-League team – leading the expansion team to the playoffs in its first season – and also most recently as an assistant general manager of the organization. She was previously head coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.
She brings a decorated resume to the Kings and Northern California. Lieberman is a two-time Olympian, three-time All American, two-time national champion in college for Old Dominion.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – The Golden State Warriors have acquired forward/center Jason Thompson from the Philadelphia 76ers for forward Gerald Wallace, the player they had just received from Boston in the David Lee deal.
The deal that also gives Philadelphia cash and draft considerations.
The 29-year-old Thompson played in 81 games last season with 63 starts, averaging 6.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in 24.6 minutes with seven double-doubles. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 12th overall pick of the 2008 draft. Thompson was traded to Philadelphia from Sacramento, along with Carl Landry and Nik Stauskas, on July 9.
