Deng Yawen, of China, performs a trick in front of a video screen during the cycling BMX freestyle women’s park final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Olympics – Deng Yawen of China wins freestyle BMX gold, 5-time world champ Hannah Roberts of Buchanan crashes out
Deng Yawen of China won gold in the women’s freestyle BMX competition at the Paris Olympics, while five-time world champion Hannah Roberts of the United States crashed out of both of her runs and failed to medal. Deng finished with a score of 92.60 points at the urban sports park built at Place de La Concorde. Perris Benegas of the U.S. rose to the occasion going from fourth place at the Tokyo Games to a silver medal with 90.70 points. Natalya Diehm of Australia had two clean runs and her first of 88.80 points was good enough for bronze. Roberts wound up crashing on a front flip late in her first run Wednesday, and was only seconds into her second when she put her foot down on the landing. That left the heavy favorite out of the medals entirely, and left Deng on the top step of the podium along with silver medalist Perris Benegas of the U.S. and bronze medalist Natalya Diehm of Australia. “It was just a lot mentally, a lot of pressure I put on myself,” said Roberts, who may have been feeling the effects of a hard crash in practice. “There’s a lot of things that can go wrong in a very short amount of time and today just wasn’t my day.”
Olympics – US tops South Sudan 103-86, earns spot in men’s basketball quarterfinals
The U.S. men’s basketball team had an easier time with South Sudan in the rematch than it did when the teams first met a couple of weeks ago. Easier. Not easy. The U.S. clinched a trip to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics by beating South Sudan 103-86 on Wednesday night — a game that wasn’t ever really in doubt but was no romp either. Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and Kevin Durant scored 14 for the Americans, who took control with a 25-4 run in the first half.
Olympics – What’s next for Katie Ledecky? Two more races and possibly more records
Katie Ledecky has tied one of swimming’s most impressive records. Chances are, she’ll have it all to herself by the time she finishes the Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old Ledecky bumped her career total to 12 medals with a dominating victory in the 1,500-meter freestyle. She equaled three fellow Americans for the most ever by a female swimmer. Here’s what’s next for Ledecky: She is expected to compete in the final of the 4×200 freestyle relay on Thursday. The U.S. took silver in that event at the Tokyo Games. She also has the 800 freestyle, where she’ll be going for her fourth straight gold medal.
Olympics – Canada women’s soccer team reaches QF despite penalties from drone scandal
Vanessa Gilles scored in the 62nd minute to give Canada a 1-0 victory over Colombia and send the team into the quarterfinals despite losing six points in the tournament because of a drone spying scandal. Canada will face Germany in a quarterfinals Saturday in Marseille. Earlier in the day, the defending Olympic champions lost their bid to overturn the FIFA-ordered points deduction for filming an opponent’s practice in France. The United States remained undefeated at the Olympics with a 2-1 victory over Australia and will play Japan on Saturday at Parc des Princes in Paris.
Olympics – Triathletes swim in Seine River after days of concerns about water quality
The Olympic triathlons were held Wednesday after days of delays and uncertainty over water quality concerns in the Seine River. Organizers said the latest tests of the famed Paris waterway showed compliance with quality standards. Elevated levels of bacteria delayed the men’s race from Tuesday. The decision to go ahead with the Seine swim for the triathlon competitions is a big win for the city and Olympics organizers. They undertook a more than billion-dollar plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine and have been steadfast in their insistence that swimming events could safely be held in the river.
| GROUP | G | S | B | TTL |
| United States |
5 |
13 |
12 |
30 |
| France |
8 |
10 |
8 |
26 |
| China |
9 |
7 |
3 |
19 |
| Great Britain |
6 |
6 |
5 |
17 |
| Australia |
7 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
| Japan |
8 |
3 |
4 |
15 |
| Italy |
3 |
6 |
4 |
13 |
| South Korea |
6 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
| Canada |
2 |
2 |
3 |
7 |
| Germany |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| Brazil |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
| Hong Kong |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| Sweden |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| Netherlands |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| South Africa |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
| Kazakhstan |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
| Belgium |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
| Hungary |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| Poland |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Zealand |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Georgia |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Guatemala |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Romania |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Ireland |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Croatia |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| North Korea |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Kosovo |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Turkey |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Switzerland |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Mexico |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Spain |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Moldova |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| India |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Ecuador |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Serbia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Uzbekistan |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Slovenia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Azerbaijan |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Argentina |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Tunisia |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Mongolia |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Fiji |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Egypt |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Ukraine |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Tajikistan |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Slovakia |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Greece |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Austria |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Kansas City Royals 10, Chicago White Sox 3
Chicago Cubs 13, Cincinnati Reds 4
Tigers were off
Royals 10, White Sox 3 – Fermin and Pasquantino homer as Royals hand White Sox 17th straight loss, 10-3
Freddy Fermin launched a two-run homer among his four hits and the Kansas City Royals pounded the White Sox 10-3, extending Chicago’s franchise-record losing streak to 17 games. Vinnie Pasquantino added a two-run shot and finished with three RBIs. Salvador Perez had three hits and drove in two runs as the Royals won their third straight. Major league batting leader Bobby Witt Jr. lengthened his hitting streak to 13 games with two infield singles, raising his average to .349. The star shortstop walked twice, scored three runs and stole his 24th base. Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs with a double and finished with two hits for the major league-worst White Sox, whose slide is the longest since Arizona dropped 17 straight games in 2021.
Cubs 13, Reds 4 – Happ launches 2-run homer and Cubs pound out 17 hits in 13-4 rout of Reds
Ian Happ launched a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs banged out nine doubles among their 17 hits in routing the Cincinnati Reds 13-4 to avoid a series sweep. Seiya Suzuki, Patrick Wisdom and Pete Crow-Armstrong each had a two-run double as the Cubs set season highs for runs and hits. They struck early and never really let the Reds climb back into the game. Chicago hammered one of Cincinnati’s best pitchers, left-hander Nick Lodolo, who exited with two outs in the sixth inning. He tied a career high by allowing eight runs and 11 hits in his worst outing of the season. The Cubs hit nine doubles for the sixth time and first since Aug. 30, 2010. They finished one shy of the franchise record.
Tonight
Kansas City (Lugo 12-5) at Detroit (Montero 1-4), 6:40 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:15
St. Louis (Gray 10-6) at Chicago Cubs (Imanaga 8-2), 8:05 p.m.
White Sox are off
NFL – NFL Preseason – Hall of Fame game
Tonight
Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans, 8:00 p.m. (at Canton, Ohio)
NFL – Judge hears motion in ‘Sunday Ticket’ case, NFL says jury didn’t follow instructions
The judge who presided over the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL said the jury did not follow his instructions in determining damages. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez made the remark as he heard the NFL’s post-trial motion asking that Gutierrez rule for the league if he finds the plaintiffs did not prove their case. Gutierrez could also order a new trial because the eight-person jury came up with its own calculations for damages. The NFL has said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
NFL – Pivotal season on tap for Saints, Giants, Jets, Bears, Cowboys and Eagles coaches
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis speaks well of coach Dennis Allen but says everyone in the organization should feel uncomfortable after several straight years without a postseason appearance. Allen is among several NFL coaches entering this season urgently looking to change the trajectory of their coaching careers. They include the Giants’ Brian Daboll, the Jets’ Robert Saleh, and Chicago’s Matt Eberflus. They all have losing career records. Daboll coached the Giants to the playoffs in 2022 but they regressed sharply last season. Dallas’ Mike McCarthy and Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni are a pair of winning coaches who nonetheless could find themselves interviewing for new jobs if they can’t avoid the playoff disappointments that ended their recent campaigns.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Great Lakes 15, Cedar Rapids 3
Dayton 12, Lansing 4
South Bend 5, Wisconsin 1
West Michigan 6, Fort Wayne 5
Tonight
Dayton at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes at Cedar Rapids, 7:35 p.m.
West Michigan at Fort Wayne, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend at Wisconsin, 7:10 p.m.
