Sports 2
2B | LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012
COMING THURSDAY s 4HE +ANSAS #ITY 2OYALS CONTINUE THEIR SERIES WITH /AKLAND s 4HE LATEST FROM THE +ANSAS 5NIVERSITY FOOTBALL CAMP
47/ $!9 30/243 #!,%.$!2
2/9!,3 TODAY • vs. Oakland, 7:10 p.m. THURSDAY • vs. Oakland, 7:10 p.m.
Johnson’s wife files for divorce NEW YORK (AP) — Evelyn Lozada is ending her 41-day-old marriage to Chad Johnson after the football star was arrested for allegedly head-butting her over the weekend. A rep for the VH1 reality star confirmed reports that Lozada filed for divorce Tuesday. “Given the recent events that have taken place, Evelyn has decided to file for divorce and move on with her life,� Lozada’s lawyer, Michael B. Gilden, told the TV show “The Insider� in a statement.
Johnson released his own statement — the first since his arrest — on his official website, OCNN, and reaffirmed his love for Lozada. “I am going to let the legal process run its course. I wish Evelyn nothing but the best, I have no negative words to say about her, the only thing I can say is I love her very much,� said Johnson, who was dumped by the Miami Dolphins a day after the arrest. “I will continue to be positive and stay training hard for
another opportunity in the NFL. I appreciate all my fans and supporters and if I have disappointed you in any way, you have my sincerest apologies. Once again I will continue to stay positive and appreciate all the support during this tough period in my life.� The marriage imploded Saturday after an argument between the two ended with Lozada being treated at a hospital for lacerations to her head. According to Davie, Fla., police, Lozada found a receipt for
condoms and confronted Johnson about it at dinner. The argument continued during their drive home, and when they arrived at their driveway, he allegedly head-butted her. In a 911 call released by authorities, a neighbor told police that there was an incident involving a “high-profile person� and is heard telling Lozada to wipe the blood from her head. Lozada is heard saying that Johnson head-butted her, and the caller says Lozada will probably need stitches.
30/243 /. 46 TODAY Baseball
Time
Atlanta v. Cubs Wash. v. San Francisco or Tampa Bay v. Seattle Texas v. Yankees Oakland v. Kansas City
1:10p.m. WGN
Soccer
Time
Net
Cable
Golf
Time
U.S. Amateur
3 p.m. Golf
Net
Cable 156,289
Net
Cable
9 p.m. ESPN2 34, 234
THURSDAY
U.S. victory in medals no surprise
Baseball
Time
Net
Texas v. Yankees noon MLB Mets v. Cincinnati or Boston v. Baltimore 6 p.m. MLB Oakland v. Kansas City 7 p.m. FSN
By Phil Sheridan The Philadelphia Inquirer
LONDON — With apologies to Olympic purists, that tacky and nationalistic medal count really is worth taking a look at. It may get too much attention in a jingoistic, we’re No. 1 sense, but it still matters. It matters because of the stories it tells about the state of the world’s competitive balance in sports and, by extension, the state of the world itself. The United States finished the London Games on top of the medal standings, with 46 gold medals, 29 silver, and 29 bronze. The total of 104 was 17 more than second-place China’s 87. China won 38 gold medals, eight fewer than the United States. That is a little bit of an upset. A lot of people who pay close attention to this stuff thought China would continue its rise as a power — in sports and in everything else — with a firstplace finish. And that’s how it looked for the first 10 days of the Games. But the Americans surged ahead with a big week in team sports and track and field. For decades, Team USA’s deepest rivalry was with the Soviet Union. Now it’s China. There is a pretty clear and obvious parallel between what’s going on in politics and economics and world events and what’s happening on the track, in the pool, and at the arenas. There is precious little actual rivalry between American and Chinese athletes. It is as if the two superpowers are compiling their medals in two separate Olympics. The Venn diagram would show China racking up medals in badminton (8), diving (10), table tennis (6), and weightlifting (7). The United States amassed a bunch in track and field (29), swimming (31), and tennis (4). There is an overlap with direct competition in gymnastics and shooting and, to a lesser degree, swimming. China won more medals (10) in the pool than in any other discipline, but the United States won three times as many. Follow the bouncing shot put, though, and you see what’s at work here. Simply put, the United States is being rewarded at the Olympics for being ahead of many nations on the fundamental issue of gender equity. That doesn’t mean we’re there, but in sports, at least, women earn the same gold medals as men. They’re just earning more of them. Female athletes won 29 of those 46 gold medals. The women’s soccer team won a gold medal; its male equivalent failed to qualify for the Games. Women won gold medals in judo and water polo and boxing. Men were shut out in all those sports. “We believe strongly that Title IX had a lot to do with it,� Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee said. “If you look at the U.S. medal performance over the last 10 to 20 years, a lot of the success that we’ve had in comparison to other nations is from our women. Title IX gave us a head start.�
16
Columbus v. Los Angeles 6 p.m. NBCSP 38, 238 Mexico v. U.S. 6:30p.m. ESPN2 34, 234
World Series final
| SPORTS WRAP |
Cable
2:30p.m. MLB 155,242 6 p.m. ESPN 33, 233 7 p.m. FSN 36. 236
Little League Softball Time
COMMENTARY
Net
Dave Martin/AP File Photo
LSU COACH LES MILES TALKS WITH CORNERBACK TYRANN MATHIEU (7) during a 2011 game against Georgia in Atlanta.
LSU’s Miles won’t rule out Mathieu for 2013 BATON ROUGE, LA. — LSU coach Les Miles on Tuesday declined to close the door completely on the possibility, however remote, of Tyrann Mathieu playing football for the Tigers in 2013. “Tyrann can be a student at LSU,� Miles said after practice, adding that he is “not in any way speculating� about whether Mathieu could conceivably play for the Tigers again. “He will not be on this football team this year — I guarantee that’s a fact. So I have no idea beyond that.� Miles indicated he was ready to put his emphasis back on preparing the Tigers for the upcoming season. He stressed that it was time to be concerned about getting the Tigers ready for the season-opener against North Texas on Sept. 1. However, questions kept coming about the dismissal of Mathieu, an All-America cornerback and 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist. “I certainly am rooting for Tyrann and whatever his future is. But I’m not focused on that,� Miles said. “I’ve got games to play and I’ve got 104 guys I have to be ready for. I know that this is a very key time in his life and I hope the decisions that he makes are in his best interest for the long-term. So we’ll help in any way we can.� Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU team last Friday for what reportedly was the latest of several failed drug tests. At that time, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said that Mathieu lost his scholarship and was not expected to remain enrolled in school. Miles also said last Friday that he could not foresee Mathieu choosing to pay to remain at LSU this academic year and not play football when scholarships were awaiting him at other schools. If Mathieu joined a program at the FCS level, the second tier of Division I, he could play this season before becoming eligible for the 2013 NFL draft. Mathieu already has visited McNeese State, an FCS school in Lake Charles, La., and is expected to make a decision by today. Mathieu also has the option of sitting out this season and transferring to another FBS school. But under NCAA rules, LSU will retain the right to refuse to grant Mathieu’s release if the coaching staff or administration does not approve of his choice.
PRO FOOTBALL
Urlacher has knee surgery BOURBONNAIS, ILL. — Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and still hopes to be ready for the season opener. The Bears said that Urlacher had an arthroscopic procedure on Tuesday morning to help relieve swelling in the knee and was back at training camp by 10 a.m. He missed the offseason training program after spraining the medial collateral ligament and partially spraining the posterior cruciate ligament in the final game last season against Minnesota. “The treatment that we were giving Brian, he didn’t respond as well as we wanted it to,� coach Lovie Smith said after Tuesday’s practice. “So we had it scoped this morning, a minor scope on his knee. Everything came out the way that we wanted it to.�
Saints owner, Goodell meet METAIRIE, LA. — New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson met Tuesday with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York to discuss matters concerning both the team and the league. The meeting came amid a backdrop of lawsuits filed by current and former Saints players who’ve challenged the findings of the NFL’s bounty investigation. Benson also has hired the firm of former FBI director Louis Freeh to investigate the accuracy of the league’s bounty probe.
BASEBALL
Meeting surprises Valentine BALTIMORE — Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine expressed surprise over a report that several Boston players met with team owner John Henry and team president Larry Lucchino last month to complain about the manager’s handling of the team. According to Yahoo! Sports, Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were “the most vocal� at a July 27 meeting in New York. Asked about the meeting, Valentine said Tuesday, “I’m glad July is over because they are still playing for me. I don’t know what issues they might be referring to. Dustin and I talked. That’s a meeting I had. But I don’t know if it was in July.�
Cable 155,242 155,242 36, 236
Pro Football
Time
Net
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Cincinnati v. Atlanta
7 p.m.
Fox
4, 204
Golf
Time
Net
Cable
Wyndham Championship 2 p.m.
Golf
156,289
Little League Baseball Time
Net
Cable
W.S. Int’l pool play World Series pool play W.S. Int’l pool play World Series
noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 7 p.m.
ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN
33, 233 33, 233 33,233 33, 233
Tennis
Time
Net
Cable
Western & Southern Western & Southern
noon ESPN2 34, 234 6 p.m. ESPN2 34, 234
,!4%34 ,).% NFL PRESEASON Favorite ............ Points (O/U) ........... Underdog Thursday Week 2 ATLANTA ......................... 4 (38) ........................ Cincinnati GREEN BAY ..................... 3 (40) ........................ Cleveland Friday TAMPA BAY .................... 3 (38) ...................... Tennessee CAROLINA ....................... 4 (37) ................................ Miami BALTIMORE ..................... 3 (39) .............................. Detroit MINNESOTA .................2 1/2 (37)........................... Buffalo NEW ORLEANS ............6 1/2 (39)................ Jacksonville ARIZONA .......................... 4 (36) ............................ Oakland Saturday NY JETS .........................1 1/2 (36) ...................... NY Giants ST. LOUIS ................1 (36) ............ Kansas City CHICAGO ...........................1 (37)..................... Washington HOUSTON .....................3 1/2 (37)............. San Francisco DENVER .........................1 1/2 (37) ........................... Seattle SAN DIEGO .......................3 (37) ................................ Dallas Sunday PITTSBURGH ...............3 1/2 (38)................. Indianapolis Monday NEW ENGLAND ...............3 (41).................... Philadelphia MLB Favorite .................. Odds ................. Underdog National League Philadelphia .....................6-7................................... MIAMI CHICAGO CUBS ..........5 1/2-6 1/2....................... Houston Milwaukee ..................... Even-6 ..................... COLORADO Washington .................. Even-6 ........... SAN FRANCISCO LA Dodgers ................ 6 1/2-7 1/2 ............... PITTSBURGH ATLANTA ............................7-8........................... San Diego NY Mets .......................... Even-6 .................... CINCINNATI ST. LOUIS .................... 7 1/2-8 1/2 ......................... Arizona American League Detroit ................................6-7........................ MINNESOTA SEATTLE ......................5 1/2-6 1/2.................. Tampa Bay BALTIMORE .................... Even-6 ............................. Boston Chi White Sox ............... Even-6 ........................ TORONTO NY YANKEES ................. Even-6 ............................... Texas Oakland ..................Even-6 ......... KANSAS CITY LA ANGELS ................. 7 1/2-8 1/2 .................... Cleveland Home Team in CAPS (c) 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
4(% 15/4%
TENNIS
Andy Roddick falls in two sets MASON, OHIO — Andy Roddick developed back spasms during his opening match at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday, setting up a two-set loss that left questions about his health heading into the U.S. Open. Wild card Venus Williams survived a threeset opening match, another encouraging win coming off her Olympic gold medal in doubles with sister Serena. Roddick, who has played through a sore shoulder this summer, developed a new concern as he lost to a player who was in the draw as an injury replacement. He got treatment for his back during the second set of his 7-6 (4), 6-3 loss to France’s Jeremy Chardy, who replaced injured No. 9 seed John Isner. Roddick had won all three of his career matches against Chardy. Williams beat 12th-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, in a match that lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes, serving 11 aces.
COLLEGES
Big East names commissioner The Big East has hired CBS executive vice president Mike Aresco to be commissioner of a conference now in rebuilding mode. Aresco has been a vice president in charge of programming for CBS since 1996. He’s handled the network’s contract negotiations with the NCAA for the rights to the men’s basketball tournament. He also negotiated CBS’s 15-year deal with the Southeastern Conference.
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4/$!9 ). 30/243 1950 — Ezzard Charles knocks out Freddie Beshore in the 14th round to retain his world heavyweight title. 1965 — Dave Marr edges Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper to take the PGA Championship. 1966 — Jose Torres retains his world light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Eddie Cotton in Las Vegas. 1993 — Greg Norman lips his putt on the PGA Championship’s second playoff hole, giving Paul Azinger the title and leaving Norman with an unprecedented career of Grand Slam playoff losses. Norman, despite winning his second British Open title a month earlier, has lost playoffs in three other majors — the 1984 U.S. Open, the 1987 Masters and the 1989 British Open. 1999 — Tiger Woods makes a crucial par save on the 17th hole and holds on to win the PGA Championship by one stroke over 19-year-old Sergio Garcia. .
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