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Sports Briefs

■ Winter Olympics
Greenpeace bid rejected
Environmentalists lost their bid on Wednesday to block construction of sports facilities in Sochi if the Black Sea resort gets the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia's Supreme Court rejected Greenpeace's contention that Olympic-related projects would cause major ecological harm to the region. Sochi's infrastructure and sports facilities are less developed than the other two finalists for the games -- Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea. Russia plans to develop the Sochi region regardless of whether it wins the bid. Government representatives argued that significant studies showed construction would not pose a threat to the region's environment, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

■ Skiing
Svartedal clinches title
Jens Arne Svartedal of Norway clinched cross-country skiing's World Cup sprint title despite finishing last in the Royal Palace Sprint B final on Wednesday. Skiing on an illuminated 1km course around one of the world's biggest royal palaces in Stockholm's Old Town, Mikhail Deviatiarov of Russia won the men's classic-style. Petra Majdic of Slovenia won the women's race. Tobias Angerer, the two-time defending World Cup champion from Germany, did not compete. He clinched the men's overall title last week in Norway.

■ Soccer
Cole teams up with Bruce
Birmingham signed former England striker Andy Cole on loan on Wednesday from Portsmouth. Cole, the second highest career scorer in the Premier League with 188 goals, was a team-mate of Birmingham manager Steve Bruce when they played at Manchester United. Birmingham will have Cole until the end of the season. "We are absolutely delighted to bring Andy in for our Championship run because he is an exceptional player with a phenomenal goalscoring record," Bruce said. "We feel that his experience will prove to be very beneficial to the team, particularly as we have so many young players."

■ Basketball
US to face Venezuela
The US will open qualifying for next year's Olympics against Venezuela in the Americas tournament. Brazil, Canada and the US Virgin Islands were placed in the same group in a draw held on Wednesday. The tournament will be held from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2 in Las Vegas. The top two teams will earn spots in Beijing, while the teams finishing third through fifth have another chance in a qualifying tournament to be held in July next year. Each team plays the other four teams in its group, with the top four finishers advancing to the second round.

■ Baseball
No extension for Rodriguez
The New York Yankees don't intend to offer Alex Rodriguez a contract extension, leaving him the option of opting out of his deal after the season and becoming a free agent. Rodriguez has four seasons left in the record US$252 million, 10-year agreement he signed with Texas before the 2001 season. He is owed US$27 million in each of the final three seasons -- with the Yankees responsible for US$50.7 million and the Rangers owing US$30.3 million, including US$9 million in deferred money. Under the terms of the deal, Rodriguez can terminate it after this season. He also can stay for next year and have the right to opt out of the final two seasons if the Yankees don't boost his salary to US$32 million annually for the final two years.

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