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Olympics Notebook: James will sit Friday with a sprained ankle
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Published: July 24, 2008
■ U.S. forward LeBron James will most likely miss Friday's exhibition against Canada as he recovers from a mild right-ankle sprain. James shot baskets on the sidelines but was held out of a scrimmage in Las Vegas yesterday.
"If the gold-medal game was tomorrow, he'd play," Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "But we're not playing the gold-medal game, or a medal-round game right now. So we would rather be cautious right now."
James injured his ankle when he landed on Kevin Durant's foot during a Tuesday scrimmage between Team USA and a select squad of young NBA players. James said it improved overnight, and he moved without a limp after reporters were admitted to the gym at the end of practice.
■ Swimmer Jessica Hardy's trip to Beijing could be in jeopardy because she tested positive for a banned substance.
Hardy's "A" sample from the U.S. trials tested positive, said an AP source familiar with the results. The Web site nbcolympics.com reported that her backup "B" sample also tested positive.
■ Second baseman Jayson Nix of Colorado was picked yesterday to round out the U.S. baseball team for Beijing. The Rockies sent Nix to Class AAA Colorado Springs on Saturday so he would be eligible to play.
USA Baseball also named three minor-leaguers -- pitchers Jeremy Cummings (Tampa Bay) and Brian Duensing (Minnesota) and outfielder Nate Schierholtz (San Francisco) -- as replacements.Pitchers Clayton Richard (Chicago White Sox) and Geno Espineli (San Francisco) were called up by their big-league teams.
, and outfielder Colby Rasmus (St. Louis) is injured. Richard pitched for the Winston-Salem Warthogs last season.
■ The U.S. softball team needed a test before leaving for China, and Angela Tincher and her Akron Racers teammates made sure it got one.
Tincher, the Virginia Tech star who pitched a no-hitter against the U.S. team in March, gave up just one run in her three innings, but the U.S. warmed up for its gold-medal run in Beijing by rallying for a 6-2 win Tuesday night.
Kelly Kretschman snapped a 2-2 tie by driving in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and Andrea Duran followed with a three-run homer off reliever Jamee Juarez.
the U.S. improved to 57-1 on its "Bound 4 Beijing" tour.
■ Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, said yesterday that soccer clubs were going against the Olympics spirit in trying to stop their players from going to Beijing.
"It would appear to be against the spirit of the Olympic regulations to hinder players under the age of 23, who are actually the core of the squads participating in the men's Olympic football tournament, to take part in the final phase of the event," Blatter said in a letter to the 205 member associations of soccer's world governing body.
"The release of players below the age of 23 (for the Olympics) has always been mandatory for all clubs. The same principle shall apply for Beijing 2008."
Blatter spoke out as German clubs Schalke and Werder Bremen prepare to step up their fight to prevent their Brazilian players -- Rafinha and Diego -- from playing in Beijing next month. Both clubs have pledged to go to sport's highest appeal body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
■ Michelle Kwan will be among seven members of the presidential delegation to the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
President Bush announced the delegation, to be headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He also listed Kwan, a two-time figure skating medalist who has made several trips to China on behalf of the U.S. government as a diplomacy envoy.
Also in the delegation are: Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao; Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt; Clark T. Randt Jr., the U.S. ambassador to China; Peter Ueberroth, the U.S. Olympic committee president; and Karen Hughes, global vice chair of Burson-Marsteller.
■ Hundreds were evacuated yesterday from the massive building that will house broadcasting facilities for the Beijing Olympics, fearing there was a gas leak after people smelled a strong odor. Authorities later said it was a false alarm, and the smell probably came from building materials or chemicals.
Authorities told workers that it was safe to go back in, and there were no reports of injuries.
John Barton, the director of sport for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, said he was in his office at the International Broadcast Center when people began running down the halls and telling occupants to clear out. He said no alarm sounded.
Others at the scene also said there was a strong gas smell in the building before it was evacuated. Firefighters went in along with at least one emergency worker dressed head-to-toe in an orange hazardous materials suit.
Gao Changli, the executive venue manager of the IBC, said that the odor came from building materials or liquids. He said there was no gas leak.
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