Former major leaguers Mike Kinkade and Chad Allen lead the roster for the US national team that will compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Havana from Aug. 25 to Sept. 5.
The US did not qualify for the last Summer Olympics, in Athens in 2004.
The 24-man roster announced on Monday consists of professionals that are not in the majors and will be the eighth time the national team will use MLB-affiliated players.
Top two
Aruba, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will also compete, with the top two finishers advancing to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The third and fourth-place finishers will advance to a second qualifying event to be held in the spring of 2008.
Former major league manager Davey Johnson will be in charge of the team.
He will be assisted by hitting coach Reggie Smith, pitching coach Kirk Champion and bench coach Rick Eckstein.
Experience
In addition to infielder Kinkade, who's with the Florida organization, and outfielder Allen (Kansas City), both former Olympians, other players with previous national team experience are outfielders Billy Butler (Kansas City) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (St Louis); infielders Brian LaHair (Seattle), Bobby Hill (San Diego) and Brandon Wood (Los Angeles Angels); and pitchers J.B. Cox (New York Yankees), Zach Segovia (Philadelphia) and Nic Ungs (Florida).
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
After a dazzling college career that smashed records on and off the basketball court, Caitlin Clark’s legacy as a trailblazing icon for women’s sports is already secure, and she showed that when a record-breaking average of 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday’s women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association championship game. ESPN said that audience figures for the game, which saw the University of South Carolina take down Clark and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, peaked at 24 million viewers. The numbers made the game not only the most watched women’s college basketball game in history, but also the most-watched basketball game
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
‘SUPER DOPE’: Fans in Cleveland were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime event as the stadium blasted Pink Floyd as the eclipse cast fans and Progressive Field in darkness Shohei Ohtani on Monday had two doubles and a home run — his third in five games — to tie his career high with three extra-base hits and power the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Minnesota Twins 4-2, while the Cleveland Guardians’ followed a total eclipse by winning first-year manager Stephen Vogt’s home debut. In Minneapolis, James Outman hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh inning and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith drove in runs, while Evan Phillips picked up his fourth save to fuel another smooth victory for Dodgers newcomer James Paxton (2-0), who flashed a wide smile when asked