There is no way that consuming pot makes a difference in your judo ability. It should not be on the prescribed list, IMO.
US women win soccer thriller
By JAY COHEN / AP Sports Writer
Posted: 08/07/2012 03:00:00 AM EDT
Tuesday August 7, 2012 LONDON -- Five things to know about Monday, Day 10 of the London Olympics:
--American classic: U.S. women win soccer thriller against Canada.
--Durant helps feisty U.S. beat Argentina in men’s hoops.
--U.S. judo fighter expelled for doping.
--Suhr takes women’s pole vault for U.S.; Grenada’s James wins 400 meters.
--Gabby Douglas last on uneven bars; Russia’s Mustafina wins gold.
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Alex Morgan’s looping header gave the U.S. women’s soccer team a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory against Canada on Monday night.
And this physical classic was only the semifinal.
Morgan put the U.S. in front for the first time in the third minute of injury time at Old Trafford. Megan Rapinoe scored in the 54th and 70th minutes, and Abby Wambach in the 80th on a penalty for the U.S.
Morgan’s 6-yard header, on a long cross from Heather O’Reilly, went high into the net over goalkeeper Erin McLeod for the winning score.
The Americans overcame a hat trick from Christine Sinclair, who scored in the 22nd, 67th and 73rd minutes for Canada.
Next comes the game the U.S. players have been eyeing for more than a year, a rematch with Japan on Thursday at Wembley Stadium with gold on the line. The top-ranked Americans lost to Japan on penalty kicks in the World Cup final last summer.
"This is redemption for us," midfielder Carli Lloyd said. We know how hard it was for us after that game. It hurt us for a really long time." Japan advanced with a 2-1 victory over France, getting goals from Yuki Ogimi and Mizuho Sakaguchi.
In men’s basketball, Kevin Durant helped the U.S. team put away Argentina with one impressive shooting burst.
Durant scored 17 of his 28 points during the Americans’ 42-point third quarter, turning a one-point game into a blowout that sent the U.S. soaring into the quarterfinals with a 126-97 victory over Argentina.
Carmelo Anthony made a 3-pointer in the final second of the big third while taking what he and the U.S. bench right behind him felt was a cheap shot from Argentina’s Facundo Campazzo, setting off an exchange of words and technical fouls.
The Americans (5-0) will play Australia (3-2) in a quarterfinal game Wednesday.
Also Monday, American judo fighter Nick Delpopolo apologized after he was expelled from the Olympics for doping, blaming the disqualification on his unintentional consumption of something baked with marijuana.
Delpopolo is the first of the 10,500 London Games athletes to fail an in-competition doping test.
The International Olympic Committee said it disqualified him from the 73-kilogram class, where he placed seventh. He beat opponents from Hong Kong and Belgium, then lost to fighters from South Korea and Mongolia. The IOC added that he tested positive for metabolites of cannabis after competing on July 30, the day of his event.
The judoka from Westfield, N.J., said his positive test was "caused by my inadvertent consumption of food that I did not realize had been baked with marijuana" before he left for the Olympics.
"I apologize to U.S. Olympic Committee, to my teammates, and to my fans, and I am embarrassed by this mistake," he said in a statement released by the USOC. "I look forward to representing my country in the future, and will rededicate myself to being the best judo athlete that I can be."
Defending Olympic 50K race walk champion Alex Schwazer also tested positive for doping, and the Italian Olympic Committee said he had been removed from the team. Schwazer was scheduled to compete on Saturday.
Jenn Suhr has been America’s best female pole vaulter for a while. Now she’s the best in the world.
Suhr rounded out her resume with Olympic gold, vaulting 15 feet, 7 inches to defeat Cuba’s Yarisley Silva, who cleared the same height but lost on a tiebreaker because she had one more miss in the competition.
Suhr also beat two-time defending Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, who failed to become the first woman to win the same individual track and field event at three consecutive Olympics. Isinbayeva settled for bronze with a vault of 15-5.
Grenada’s Kirani James won the men’s 400 meters and 35-year-old Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic took the men’s 400-meter hurdles on a rainy night at Olympic Stadium. Other track and field winners included Belarus’ Nadzeya Ostapchuk (women’s shot put) and Russia’s Yuliya Zaripova (women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase).
Michael Tinsley was second in the 400 hurdles, but it was a disappointing session for the U.S. overall. The U.S. was without a representative in the 400 final, and it was the first time since the 1980 Moscow Games that someone other than an American won the race.
"It’s probably crazy at home right now," James said. "There’s probably a road party right now in the streets. I don’t think there are any words to describe the celebration right now."
In gymnastics, Gabby Douglas was nowhere near the podium this time. The all-around champion, who also helped the United States to team gold, finished last on uneven bars. Russia’s Aliya Mustafina rallied to the victory.
"Toward the end of the Olympics, you get mentally and physically tired and you’re just like drained," Douglas said. "I tried to fight through it as much as I could."
Mustafina, who injured her left knee in April 2011, gave Russia its first gold in women’s gymnastics in London. This completed her medal set following a silver in team competition and bronze in all-around.
Arthur Zanetti finished first on still rings for Brazil’s first gymnastics medal, and Yang Hak-seon of South Korea added the gold on vault to his world title.
The rest of the Olympic action Monday:
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Americans Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal were knocked out of the men’s tournament by Latvia.
The Americans won the first set 21-19, then dropped two straight to Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins, 21-18, 15-11. The other American men’s team, Beijing gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, had already been eliminated.
Latvia will meet the reigning world champion Brazilian team of Emanuel and Alison, which escaped a set point in the third to beat Poland 21-17, 16-21, 17-15.
The No. 2 Brazilian team of Ricardo and Pedro Cunha lost to Germany, and Reinder Nummerdor and Rich Schuil of the Netherlands beat Italy in the remaining quarterfinal.
BOXING
Flyweight Marlen Esparza and middleweight Claressa Shields clinched the U.S. team’s first two boxing medals. Esparza patiently outboxed Venezuela’s Karlha Magliocco, and the 17-year-old Shields closed furiously in an 18-14 win over Swedish veteran Anna Laurell.
VOLLEYBALL
David McKienzie scored 17 points and the defending champion U.S. men’s team clinched a top tournament seed with a victory over winless Tunisia.
Sean Rooney added 12 points in the 25-15, 25-19, 25-19 win, which set up a quarterfinal against Italy on Wednesday.
The United States was coming off a five-set loss to Russia, which ended an 11-match winning streak in Olympic play, dating to the Americans’ undefeated march to the gold medal at the Beijing Games.
Bulgaria plays Germany, Poland faces Russia and Argentina plays Brazil in the other quarters.
SHOOTING
Matt Emmons finally made his way to the podium in the 50-meter three-position rifle event at the Olympics.
The U.S. marksman held on to win the bronze medal at the London Games. Italy’s Niccolo Campriani set Olympic marks of 1,180 in qualifying and 1,278.5 for his overall score, easily topping silver medalist Kim Jong-hyun of South Korea.
Emmons won a 50-meter prone rifle gold at Athens and silver in the event at Beijing, but is best-known for his Olympic three-position misfortunes.
He was the leader with one shot left in three-position at Athens in 2004, then somehow managed to shoot at the wrong target. He was in front again with one shot left in Beijing, but the gun went off before he was aligned with the target.
In men’s trap, Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia beat world champion Massimo Fabbrizi in a shoot-off for the gold. Kuwait’s Fehaid Aldeehani won another shoot-off for the bronze.
FIELD HOCKEY
Three-time Olympic champion Australia was knocked out of the women’s tournament when it played a scoreless draw against world champion Argentina.
Argentina advanced to the semifinals with the draw in the finale of pool play. Australia had to win, and it never looked likely.
Germany, the other former Olympic champion in Pool B, also was eliminated with a 0-0 draw with New Zealand.
New Zealand’s reward for making it to the semifinals for the first time was a clash with unbeaten defending champ the Netherlands on Wednesday. Britain meets Argentina in the other semi. |
