Sports Briefs: Team USA 11th in FIFA rankings
ZURICH The United States remains at No. 11 while Brazil again is on top of the latest world rankings published Friday by FIFA. European champion Spain closed the gap on Brazil, the Confederations Cup winner, but stayed at second. The Netherlands fo...
 2.8K - Oct. 16, 2009; scored 586.0 Ideals over action?
WASHINGTON The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama landed with a shock on darkened, still-asleep Washington. He won! For what? For one of America s youngest presidents, in office less than nine months and only for 12 days...
5.5K - Oct. 9, 2009; scored 778.0 Sports Briefs: Phoenix forces Game 5 in finals
INDIANAPOLIS Cappie Pondexter scored 22 points and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Indiana Fever 90-77 in Game 4 of the WNBA finals, tying the best-of-five series. Penny Taylor added 17 points for the Mercury while Diana Taurasi and Tangela Smith each...
4.8K - Oct. 8, 2009; scored 504.0 Olympics headed to South America
COPENHAGEN ” Like sweet, sultry samba music, Rio hit all the right notes. Chicago had Barack Obama. Tokyo had $4 billion in the bank. Madrid had powerful friends. But none of that mattered. Rio de Janeiro had the enchanting story ...
8.3K - Oct. 3, 2009; scored 908.0 Rio to host 2016 Olympics
COPENHAGEN Finally, South America gets an Olympics. The 2016 Games are going to Rio de Janeiro. In a vote of high drama, the bustling Brazilian carnival city of beaches, mountains and samba beat surprise finalist Madrid, which got a big helping han...
4.6K - Oct. 2, 2009; scored 658.0 Top Afghanistan commander meets Obama in Denmark
COPENHAGEN (AP) President Barack Obama summoned his top commander in Afghanistan for a 25-minute meeting aboard Air Force One today as part of his review of a war strategy that has divided the president s national security team. Army Gen. Stanley M...
3.3K - Oct. 2, 2009; scored 394.0 Why they will (or won t) win
Friday s vote by the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen to select the host city for the 2016 Summer Games is too close to call. Any of the four candidate cities Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo could win. Then again, any city ...
6.0K - Oct. 1, 2009; scored 802.0 Vocal group lobbies against Chicago bid
CHICAGO The mayor, the president and Oprah Winfrey may hope to return to Chicago from Copenhagen with the 2016 Olympic Games, but some around town hope the International Olympic Committee deems the Second City the second city. As in second to Rio d...
4.3K - Sep. 30, 2009; scored 663.0 Many IOC voters undecided for 2016 site
COPENHAGEN International Olympic Committee members are agonizing over which city should be awarded the right to host the 2016 Games and many remain undecided just two days before the vote. IOC members settling into their hotel in Copenhagen today t...
4.3K - Sep. 30, 2009; scored 572.0 Sports Briefs: Brady, bride sued by photographers
NEW YORK Two photographers sued New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen for $1 million, saying they were shot at during a post-wedding party in Costa Rica. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manha...
7.9K - Sep. 23, 2009; scored 394.0 President lends backing for Chicago bid
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama staged a homecoming-style Olympic rally at the White House on Wednesday, saying the whole country is rooting for his hometown of Chicago in its efforts to host the 2016 Summer Games. Chicago is ready. The American ...
4.1K - Sep. 17, 2009; scored 615.0 Report on 2016 Olympic bid cities due Wednesday
LONDON Heading into the final month of the race, the four cities vying for the 2016 Summer Games are awaiting a key International Olympic Committee report assessing their technical bids. The IOC will release its evaluation commission report on Wedn...
4.9K - Sep. 1, 2009; scored 528.0 Sports Briefs: Rookie wins LPGA tourney
NORTH PLAINS Rookie M.J. Hur made a 6-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole of the Safeway Classic on Sunday to beat Suzann Pettersen for her first LPGA Tour victory. Hur shot a final-round 65, while Pettersen and veteran Michele Redman each ...
6.6K - Aug. 31, 2009; scored 649.0 Sports Briefs: Sloan captures U.S. championship in gymnastics
DALLAS Bridget Sloan won the women s national gymnastics championship, overcoming an early deficit to outscore Ivana Hong 117.55-117.25 and capture her first title. Sloan, a member of last year s Olympic team, was trailing by 0.85 points coming int...
4.2K - Aug. 17, 2009; scored 798.0 Hardy prepares for comeback
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. Jessica Hardy sat up straight on a wooden chair in the lobby of suburban hotel, one mile away from where she will resume her once-skyrocketing swimming career. She is a year away from a shocking heartbreak she likens to having a ...
6.4K - Aug. 5, 2009; scored 677.0 Softball players keep hopes up
OKLAHOMA CITY For years, the likes of Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and Lisa Fernandez have been carving out a niche for U.S. softball and giving young women a chance to reach the Olympics. With softball dropped from the 2012 Games in London, the play...
3.7K - Jul. 22, 2009; scored 1000.0 Thousands turn out for McNair funeral
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) Thousands turned out in Tennessee to say goodbye to Steve McNair, and people in his native state did the same Sunday to give the former NFL quarterback one of the biggest funerals in recent Mississippi history. At least 4,50...
3.5K - Jul. 13, 2009; scored 846.0 Sports Briefs: San Diego RB shot in Pennsylvania
CHELTENHAM, Pa. A San Diego Chargers running back from Philadelphia was hospitalized after being shot in his car at a suburban intersection. A hospital spokesman said 23-year-old Curtis Brinkley is in stable condition in the intensive care unit at ...
3.7K - Jul. 10, 2009; scored 793.0 Sports Briefs: Kim breaks course record in opening round at Congressional
BETHESDA, Md. Anthony Kim ran off eight birdies over his final 13 holes and set the course record at Congressional with an 8-under 62, giving him a two-shot lead over tournament host Tiger Woods, Bryce Molder and D.A. Points. The 24-year-old Kim ha...
7.6K - Jul. 3, 2009; scored 331.0 Dream team picked for Hall of Fame
NORTHBROOK, Ill. The Dream Team is still dominating. The star-studded team that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley and won the gold medal in Barcelona headlines this year s inductees for the U.S. Olympic Hall of ...
2.5K - Jul. 1, 2009; scored 615.0 | 
