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Olympics Notebook
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Published: July 17, 2008
Strasburg only collegian on the U.S. baseball roster
■ Pitcher Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State, whose 23-strikeout game April 11 brought him national attention, was the only college player picked yesterday for the U.S. baseball team that will play in the Beijing Olympics.
Outfielder Matt LaPorta, traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Cleveland Indians earlier this month in the CC Sabathia deal, also is on the squad of mostly minor leaguers. Team USA still has one player to be selected.
Also selected was pitcher Clayton Richard, who is in the Chicago White Sox organization with the Class AAA Charlotte Knights. Richard pitched for the Winston-Salem Warthogs last season.
Eight major-league organizations had two players each on the roster -- pitchers Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill (Oakland); outfielder Colby Rasmus and infielder Brian Barden (St. Louis); infielder Matthew Brown and pitcher Kevin Jepsen (Los Angeles Angels); infielder Jason Donald and catcher Louis Marson (Philadelphia); outfielder Dexter Fowler and pitcher Casey Weathers (Colorado); infielder Mike Hessman and pitcher Blaine Neal (Detroit); pitcher Mike Koplove and infielder Terry Tiffee (Los Angeles Dodgers); and LaPorta and pitcher Jeff Stevens (Cleveland).
Also selected were: pitchers Jake Arrieta (Baltimore), Geno Espineli (San Francisco) and Brandon Knight (New York Mets); outfielder John Gall (Florida); and catcher Taylor Teagarden (Texas). Fourteen players are in Triple-A, seven in Double-A and one, Arrieta, in Single-A.
■ Morgan Hamm's spot on the U.S. Olympics team is secure. USA Gymnastics said yesterday that a warning Hamm received earlier this month for getting a prescribed anti-inflammatory shot without clearance from anti-doping authorities did not affect his qualification.
Hamm's results from the second day of the national championships were wiped out as part of his punishment. Results from two days at nationals and two days of Olympic trials were used to help determine the U.S. team. The men's selection committee re-ran the numbers, taking Hamm's punishment into effect, and the result was the same, said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.
■ Jermaine Anderson made a late 3-pointer, and Canada used a late rally to beat South Korea 79-77 yesterday at the basketball qualifying tournament for the Beijing Games.
Also yesterday, Croatia rallied to beat Puerto Rico 95-81 and Dirk Nowitzki scored a tournament-high 35 points to lead Germany to an 89-71 victory over New Zealand. Kirk Penney scored 29 for New Zealand, which will meet Greece, an 89-69 winner over Brazil, in Friday's quarterfinals. Germany will play Brazil and Croatia will face Canada in the quarterfinals.
Twelve teams are competing for the final three spots in the Olympics tournament.
■ Kevin Durant, the NBA Rookie of the Year, and Derrick Rose, the league's No. 1 draft pick, were among the players chosen yesterday for the select team roster that will scrimmage against the U.S. Olympics team next week.
Ten players were picked for the team, which will be coached again by P.J. Carlesimo, who ran last year's squad. Two additional players will be selected from the Las Vegas summer league, which ends Sunday.
Also chosen for the select team were: Memphis rookie O.J. Mayo, Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala, Sacramento guard Kevin Martin, Atlanta center Al Horford, Oklahoma City's Jeff Green, Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey and Houston's Luther Head.
■ Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the world record-holder in the 100 meters, will run the 200 at next week's London Grand Prix in what most likely will be his last race before the Beijing Games. Bolt is concentrating on the longer sprint and promises "something very special" in the July 26 race at Crystal Palace.
He has run the fastest 200 meters in the world this year -- 19.67 seconds Sunday at the Tsiklitiria Athens Grand Prix.
■ Double-amputee Oscar Pistorius fell short of the 400-meter qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics yesterday but ran a personal best at a meet in Lucerne, Switzerland, finishing third in 46.25 seconds.
It was the final chance for Pistorius to impress the South African selectors, who can still pick him for the six-man roster for the 4x400 relay. The South African team for Beijing will be picked on Thursday or Friday.
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