U.S. considers Spain a worthy foe in basketball semis

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The U.S. men’s basketball team expected this. Whether it was for the gold medal, as in the last two Olympics, or just along the road to gold, the Americans figured they would see the Spanish again. “No doubt in my mind,” Kevin Durant said. Well, here they are. The world’s top teams meet again Friday in the semifinals, with Spain getting another chance to finish the job against the U.S. after being oh-so-close in the last two gold-medal games. “We’ve been battling against them for a long time,” Spain point guard Ricky Rubio said. “We’ve always come up short. It would be a dream for us to beat them. I really think we can do it,

Calm, collected…‘Maniac’ Iannone?

In the time since Casey Stoner won his home race at Phillip Island back in 2010, Ducati has been through some tough years - to the point where you began to wonder if they would get back to winning ways. And yet, the paddock heads to Brno this weekend with Ducati restored as a winning force in the MotoGP™ World Championship, as the darks days were quickly forgotten by Andrea Iannone’s brilliant win: a Spielberg thriller at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Source link

Gabby Douglas Answers Critics Who Don’t Think Winning Gold Medals Is ‘Patriotic’…

Share this: Although Gabby Douglas positioned her hands well enough to win Olympic gold, keyboard warriors still aren’t satisfied. The U.S. gymnast was criticized Tuesday for how she stood on the podium during the national anthem at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. While her teammates stood with their hands on their hearts during the anthem, Douglas stood with her hands at her side, prompting accusations of “disrespect” from some Twitter users. Douglas on Wednesday used the same medium explain herself. As if she even needed to do so. Douglas only was on the podium because she helped USA gymnastics win the gold medal in the women’s team competition … just as she did in 2012. If that isn’t “patriotic” enough, I don’t know what is. Thumbnail

Holly Holm Must Go Though Valentina Shevchenko To Return To Winning Ways

The moment the lights started to go out late in the fifth round against Miesha Tate at UFC 196, Holly Holm — rapidly losing consciousness, along with her UFC bantamweight title — found herself on the other end of things. Just four short months earlier, Holm was on top of the world after putting an end to the dominant championship reign of Ronda Rousey in devastating knockout fashion. But after Tate choked out Holm to claim the championship, she was the one left lying in the octagon. Clearly, Holm is disappointed that she lost her belt. Nobody wants to drop the title one fight after winning it, but in keeping with her businesslike manner, Holm has moved on. Next up is Valentina

Copa America 2016: Three Reasons Why USA Soccer Has No Chance Of Winning

Argentina is the oddsmakers’ favorite to win Copa America 2016 in the United States. Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Mexico also are confident of succeeding at the 24-day tournament, which kicks off Friday in Santa Clara, Calif. So can the United States upset the odds and win Coppola America 2016? We say a resounding “no.” Ever-optimistic United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann targets players’ “growth” and a place in the semifinals as his team’s objectives at Copa America 2016. We’ll examine Team USA’s chances of hitting that mark later this week, but this piece is about its chances of winning Copa America 2016 on home soil.

Olympiacos’s record winning league start ends

The longest winning start to a European league season this millennium has come to an end after Crete outfit Platanias became the first Greek side to take points away from a meeting with Olympiacos in 2015/16.Marco Silva's men secured their 17th successive league victory last weekend, surpassing F91 Dudelange's 2007/08 mark of 16, but could not keep the run going on Monday evening. For the first time in the Greek Super League this season they fell behind, and though Kostas Fortounis equalised the visitors could not find a winner.It is not all doom and gloom for Olympiacos, though. They can take solace from the fact that they are 16 points clear of second-placed AEK Athens, an...

Paige Attacked By Naomi After Winning WWE Divas Battle Royal (Video)

The stage appeared to be set for an epic Divas Championship. Paige took on all competitors at WWE’s Monday Night Raw, winning the Battle Royal to set up a title match against defending champion Nikki Bella at Extreme Rules. Or so it seemed. As Paige, a native of Norwich, England, addressed the London crowd at O2 Arena, Naomi intervened with a vicious attack on the 22-year-old (the fighting begins at the 1:40 mark). That got out of hand fast. Paige was injured in the brawl, putting her status for Extreme Rules in jeopardy. After the incident, Naomi took to Twitter to make her intentions clear. It