OLYMPICS
MOSCOW (AP) At least 105 athletes from the 387-strong Russian Olympic team announced last week have been barred from the Rio Games in connection with the country’s doping scandal.
International federations in canoeing, sailing and modern pentathlon ruled out eight, including an Olympic gold medalist. Rowing added 19 more athletes to three that had previously been announced. Swimming has also barred some athletes. Some appeals are likely.
The vast majority of the Russian athletes who miss out are in track and field, where 67 athletes were ruled out when a ban on the Russian team was upheld at the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week.
More are falling foul of new rules imposed in the wake of the country’s doping scandal.
UNDATED – Roger Federer says he will miss the Rio Olympics and the rest of the tennis season to protect his surgically repaired left knee.
Federer wrote on his Facebook page that he will skip the Summer Games, where the tennis competition starts next week, and has been advised by doctors to remain sidelined for the remainder of 2016.
Federer said he needs ”more extensive rehabilitation” after arthroscopic knee surgery in February. That was the first operation of Federer’s lengthy and accomplished career.
The owner of a record 17 Grand Slams titles turns 35 on Aug. 8. He hasn’t played since losing to Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semifinals early this month. Federer fell awkwardly during that match and said at the time he wasn’t sure how badly he might have been injured.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for an Olympic truce and urging all warring parties to lay down their weapons and put aside differences during the upcoming Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The U.N. chief said in a video posted on Twitter that the International Olympic Committee and the United Nations work closely together ”for global harmony and peace.”
”I congratulate all the athletes and all the supporters and fans who will be filling the sporting arenas of Rio in the weeks ahead,” Ban said. ”The Olympics and Paralympics celebrate the best of humanity.”
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly has passed resolutions since 1993 calling for an Olympic truce, but countries continue fighting wars whether the Olympics are on or not.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Two days after describing the housing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics as ”dangerous,” Australian athletes and staff started moving into the massive athletes’ village compound.
Australia team spokesman Mike Tancred says up to 60 delegation members – evenly split between athletes and staff – were checking in.
Australians declined to enter their rooms on Sunday after ”stress tests” caused water to gush down walls and ceilings in the buildings. They also complained of electrical shorts and gas leaks.
Rio organizers said that 21 of 31 buildings were ready, occupied by 600 athletes and 1,800 staff from 120 countries. Organizers say all the buildings should be ready Thursday, barely a week before the games open.
The village will accommodate about 18,000 athletes and staff.
PRO FOOTBALL
RENTON, Wash. (AP) – The Seattle Seahawks and coach Pete Carroll have agreed on a contract extension, keeping the oldest head coach in the NFL locked up beyond the 2016 season.
Team owner Paul Allen tweeted confirmation of Carroll’s deal.
The move with the 64-year-old Carroll came just two days after the team locked up general manager John Schneider to a contract extension.
Both Carroll’s and Schneider’s current deals were set to expire after the 2016 season, but the tandem pairing that has brought the Seahawks unrivaled success in their franchise history will be teamed together for another few seasons.
BASEBALL
CHICAGO (AP) – Star closer Aroldis Chapman joined the Cubs, arriving to a mixed reaction in Chicago and saying he couldn’t remember what management told him about off-field expectations and behavior.
After Chapman’s awkward introductory news conference, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein insisted Chapman understands what the Cubs expect of him after an offseason domestic violence incident.
When the Cubs announced the trade with the New York Yankees on Monday, the team released a statement from Chairman Tom Ricketts saying they were cognizant of his 29-game suspension to begin the season under Major League Baseball’s new domestic violence policy.
Ricketts said he and Epstein talked by phone with Chapman before the deal was completed and ”shared with him the high expectations we set for our players,” adding that Chapman was ”comfortable” with them.
Asked repeatedly about that phone conversation before Tuesday’s game against the crosstown White Sox, Chapman said through an interpreter that he couldn’t recall details because he was taking a nap at the time the call came in.
Epstein called it a misunderstanding and said that Chapman was ”pretty nervous” as he faced seven cameras and more than two dozen reporters.
