Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Sports Briefs: Falcons sign quarterback Ryan to six-year contract
By The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 | No comments posted.
ATLANTA — For the second time in eight years, the Atlanta Falcons opened the vault and dropped a ton of cash on a franchise quarterback.
Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick in last month’s draft, signed a $72 million, six-year contract. The announcement of the new deal came with smiles, confident talk of the future and no mention of Michael Vick, the first pick in 2001 who signed a $130 million extension, the richest in the league at the time, in December 2005.
Blank and the Falcons were especially eager to sign Ryan, avoid a holdout and help the franchise move away from the Vick era with new general manager Thomas Dimitroff, new coach Mike Smith and now a new quarterback.
Indianapolis to host 2012 Super Bowl
ATLANTA — Indianapolis was awarded the 2012 Super Bowl on Tuesday, the fourth time a cold-weather city will host the NFL’s championship game.
The new retractable-roof Lucas Oil Stadium was runner-up to Dallas last year. This time, Indianapolis beat out Houston and Arizona for the game, which will be played Feb. 5, 2012, for the title of the 2011 season. Part of the bid includes a pledge by the city to build a practice facility downtown that will be left in place for local residents to use.
The next two Super Bowls are in Tampa and South Florida.
Of the 42 Super Bowls, the three played indoors in cold-weather cities were in Detroit in 1982 and 2006 and in Minneapolis 1992.
Indianapolis wants to create a Super Bowl village downtown — a pedestrian-friendly area complete with fire pits to make “warm zones.”
In its bid, the city touted its $700 million stadium, scheduled to open in August, and its experience hosting major sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500 and the NCAA Final Four.
BASEBALL
Piazza plans to retire
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball following a 16-season career in which he became one of the top-hitting catchers in history.
The 39-year-old Piazza batted .275 with eight homers and 44 RBIs as a designated hitter for Oakland last season, became a free agent and did not re-sign. He was not available to discuss his decision, according to Josh Goldberg, a spokesman for Piazza’s agent Dan Lozano.
Taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft, Piazza became a 12-time All-Star, making the NL team 10 consecutive times starting in 1993.
TENNIS
UCLA wins NCAAs
TULSA, Okla. — UCLA’s women’s tennis team finally got to contribute to the school’s record haul of NCAA titles. Georgia merely found a new place to win the men’s championship.
The Bruins beat California 4-0 for championship No. 102, finishing it off when Riza Zalameda rallied to beat former NCAA singles champion Susie Babos 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. With a loss, UCLA would have tied Florida’s record with six second-place finishes.
Georgia beat Texas 4-2 for the first of its six NCAA men’s titles to come away from its home courts. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs had been the runner-up three times in the past 12 years on courts other than their own.
The Bulldogs also wrapped up their championship with a win from their top player. Travis Helgeson took the final five games of a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Dimitar Kutrovsky and was swarmed by his teammates after Kutrovsky’s final shot landed out of bounds beyond the baseline.
OLYMPICS
Women want to compete in ski jumping
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A group of women ski jumpers are going to court in an attempt to have their sport included in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
A statement of claim will be filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday against the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee, Deedee Corradini of the lobbying group Women’s Ski Jumping USA told the Canadian Press.
The jumpers are frustrated the International Olympic Committee did not include women’s ski jumping on the program for the 2010 Games.
Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick in last month’s draft, signed a $72 million, six-year contract. The announcement of the new deal came with smiles, confident talk of the future and no mention of Michael Vick, the first pick in 2001 who signed a $130 million extension, the richest in the league at the time, in December 2005.
Blank and the Falcons were especially eager to sign Ryan, avoid a holdout and help the franchise move away from the Vick era with new general manager Thomas Dimitroff, new coach Mike Smith and now a new quarterback.
Indianapolis to host 2012 Super Bowl
ATLANTA — Indianapolis was awarded the 2012 Super Bowl on Tuesday, the fourth time a cold-weather city will host the NFL’s championship game.
The new retractable-roof Lucas Oil Stadium was runner-up to Dallas last year. This time, Indianapolis beat out Houston and Arizona for the game, which will be played Feb. 5, 2012, for the title of the 2011 season. Part of the bid includes a pledge by the city to build a practice facility downtown that will be left in place for local residents to use.
The next two Super Bowls are in Tampa and South Florida.
Of the 42 Super Bowls, the three played indoors in cold-weather cities were in Detroit in 1982 and 2006 and in Minneapolis 1992.
Indianapolis wants to create a Super Bowl village downtown — a pedestrian-friendly area complete with fire pits to make “warm zones.”
In its bid, the city touted its $700 million stadium, scheduled to open in August, and its experience hosting major sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500 and the NCAA Final Four.
BASEBALL
Piazza plans to retire
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball following a 16-season career in which he became one of the top-hitting catchers in history.
The 39-year-old Piazza batted .275 with eight homers and 44 RBIs as a designated hitter for Oakland last season, became a free agent and did not re-sign. He was not available to discuss his decision, according to Josh Goldberg, a spokesman for Piazza’s agent Dan Lozano.
Taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft, Piazza became a 12-time All-Star, making the NL team 10 consecutive times starting in 1993.
TENNIS
UCLA wins NCAAs
TULSA, Okla. — UCLA’s women’s tennis team finally got to contribute to the school’s record haul of NCAA titles. Georgia merely found a new place to win the men’s championship.
The Bruins beat California 4-0 for championship No. 102, finishing it off when Riza Zalameda rallied to beat former NCAA singles champion Susie Babos 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. With a loss, UCLA would have tied Florida’s record with six second-place finishes.
Georgia beat Texas 4-2 for the first of its six NCAA men’s titles to come away from its home courts. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs had been the runner-up three times in the past 12 years on courts other than their own.
The Bulldogs also wrapped up their championship with a win from their top player. Travis Helgeson took the final five games of a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Dimitar Kutrovsky and was swarmed by his teammates after Kutrovsky’s final shot landed out of bounds beyond the baseline.
OLYMPICS
Women want to compete in ski jumping
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A group of women ski jumpers are going to court in an attempt to have their sport included in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
A statement of claim will be filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday against the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee, Deedee Corradini of the lobbying group Women’s Ski Jumping USA told the Canadian Press.
The jumpers are frustrated the International Olympic Committee did not include women’s ski jumping on the program for the 2010 Games.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines