Category: track and field

track and field

Diamond League: Gay, Pearson upset Bolt, Jones

Posted on by Beau Dure

The introductions were fantastic, sounding every bit like a UFC fight. But the odds favoring Usain Bolt against Tyson Gay at the DN Galan, a Diamond League meet Friday in Stockholm, were even greater than Anderson Silva’s odds against Chael Sonnen.

The delays were annoying. It took two tries just to get everyone set. But then it was a clean start, with Gay getting out slightly ahead of Bolt.

And he stayed there. Win and meet record 9.84 for Gay, just 0.02 off Bolt’s world lead.

Neither guy has been fully healthy this season, so there’s only so much we can read into this. It was a convincing margin — Gay at 9.84, Bolt at 9.97.

Asafa Powell was unable to run but maintained his Diamond League lead in absentia.

Other highlights included the typical impressive runs from Bershawn Jackson and Allyson Felix, along with an upset in the women’s 100 hurdles and a personal best from a U.S. distance contender. Full rundown (the Universal Sports broadcast had a technical hitch at the beginning, so I missed a couple of events):

Continue reading →

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mma, olympic sports, rugby, soccer, track and field

Friday Myriad: Bolt vs. Gay, Silva vs. Sonnen, DPs vs. DPs …

Posted on by Beau Dure

If you’re not a fan of American soccer leagues, this isn’t much of a weekend, though some European leagues (France, Netherlands, English Championship) kick off.

FRIDAY

2 p.m.: Track and field, Diamond League, Stockholm. Bolt vs. Gay. Great stuff. Universal Sports online

SATURDAY

3:35 a.m.: Rugby, Tri-Nations Cup, New Zealand vs. Australia. Travis’ preview will run in an hour or so. RugbyZone.com

3 p.m.: Harness racing, Hambletonian. We don’t cover much horse racing, but this is seriously the most interesting non-league item on USA TODAY’s listings. NBC

7 p.m.: Soccer, PDL championship. As with the W-League, this game is way too early because the players all need to scramble back to college. FSC

10 p.m.: Mixed martial arts, UFC 117, Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen, Roy Nelson-Junior dos Santos, Jon Fitch-Thiago Alves. Good card. Previews at USA TODAY. Pay-per-view

SUNDAY

10 a.m.: Soccer, Community Shield, Chelsea-Manchester United. I tease Eurosnobs, sure, but of course I’m thrilled to see resumption of play in England. FSC

6 p.m.: Soccer, MLS, Dallas-Philadelphia. If you’re a Philly fan, stick around for the next game on FSC

8 p.m.: Soccer, WPS, Philadelphia-Boston. Alternately, you might have made the trip out to West Chester. Yeah, it’s a haul, but isn’t West Chester beautiful? FSC

9 p.m.: Soccer, MLS, Chicago-New York. Counting something like five Designated Players who might be on the field at the same time, which would be a record. Let’s see — Ljungberg, Castillo, Henry, Angel, Marquez. Might not all be ready, though. We had Beckham-cam a couple of years ago when he was on the bench and thinking about coming in — will we see Marquez-cam? ESPN2

MORE MYRIAD

  • Full soccer listings at Soccer America: MLS, international friendlies, France, Mexico, Brazil.
  • Selected weekend listings at USA TODAY
  • ESPN3: Lots of tennis and lacrosse, plus Australian Rules football, Dutch soccer and the odd friendly.
  • Tennis Channel: Live and delayed coverage of ATP Washington, WTA San Diego.
  • Universal Sports: Volleyball, beach volleyball, USA Swimming.
  • More Olympic sports: Shooting World Championships continue (live TV).
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track and field

Paralympic poker player cashing in

Posted on by Beau Dure

No, poker hasn’t been added to the Olympics or Paralympics. But a Paralympic veteran is having some success in the World Series of Poker’s Main Event.

Marlon Shirley, two-time gold medalist at 100 meters and a man with an inspiring story of overcoming multiple adversities, is still in the Main Event and is now guaranteed to make at least $41,967 off his $10,000 buy-in.

Shirley is Tweeting under the apropos handle ibtrackin, and he shared the news when UFC announcer Bruce Buffer was ousted on a really unlucky hand. Buffer was full of good cheer as he departed. The $27,519 prize didn’t hurt, but Buffer is a perpetually friendly person.

The Main Event is down to 313 players from the original 7,319 and still includes multiple Mizrachi family members.

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basketball, cycling, mind games, olympic sports, rugby, soccer, track and field

Monday Myriad: No soccer withdrawal here

Posted on by Beau Dure

Sixteen years ago, I felt a few pangs of withdrawal. I had been able to watch maybe half of the World Cup games on my little TV in my little living room in my little apartment. After that dreary final … nothing. No MLS. No regular European broadcasts. No women’s soccer.

Sunday, an hour after bidding farewell to the group of friends who came over to drink Dutch and (blech) Spanish beer while we gorged ourselves on food and watched a final that was a little less dreary, I went back into our HDTV room downstairs and flipped to Fox Soccer Channel. WPS — Washington Freedom vs. FC Gold Pride. And while the officiating was just as atrocious as the worst of what we saw from South Africa, I could rest assured that I was still watching soccer. As I’ve said elsewhere, U.S. soccer fans have been enabled. We can watch all weekend. And all week. Sorry, Tim Dahlberg, but we don’t need your permission.

And because we’re sports geeks who watch and comment on every competition shy of the foosball games downstairs (for the record, I was able to play an actual game against someone tall enough to see the table for once, and I won twice by a 10-2 count), we have much else to follow as well.

Women’s soccer: USA’s revenge over Ghana! The USA start play Tuesday in the U-20 Women’s World Cup, and it’ll be an upset to end all upsets if Ghana duplicates its 2006 and 2010 2-1 men’s victories. Dive all you want. Not going to happen.

Cycling: Lance Armstrong is now fourth in the Tour de France … on his own team. We can see if Team Radio Shack regroups to give Levi Leipheimer a push for the final podium, but more realistically, we’re looking at a Cadel Evans-Andy Schleck-Alberto Contador shootout.

Olympics (winter and summer): We’ve seen speedskaters take up cycling. Bobsledders recruit from football and track. So can skeleton veteran Katie Uhlaender make it back to the Olympics in weightlifting?

Volleyball: The U.S. men made a nice run at the World League final six, beating Russia in the first match of two in the final weekend. But the pool leaders came back for a 3-1 win in the finale, and the USA didn’t qualify as the “lucky loser” second-place team.

Basketball: Gold medal for USA U-17 men.

Track and field: Tyson Gay beat Asafa Powell in the highlight of the Diamond League’s stop in England.

Rowing: USA women’s eight still a powerhouse.

Poker: We’re down to 2,557 players in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Exiting gracefully on Day 2B were poker legend Doyle Brunson, baseball great Orel Hershiser, Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander, Phil Ivey and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

Some of the names we’ll be watching on Day 3 (which is really Day 7, but they have four Day 1s and two Day 2s to accommodate the crowd):

– Bruce Buffer, UFC cage announcer
– Hank Azaria, Apu and many, many other Simpsons voices
– Johnny Chan, two-time Main Event winner
– Chris Moneymaker, 2003 surprise winner who helped start the poker boom
– Joe Cada, defending champion
– Daniel Negreanu, top poker pro and lively Twitter personality
– Allen Cunningham, like Negreanu a former WSOP Player of the Year
– Frank Kassela, sure to be this year’s Player of the Year
– Jennifer Harman, top poker pro
– Phil “Unabomber” Laak, one of the better nicknames among poker pros
– Vanessa Rousso, Duke grad like me but obviously much smarter
– Jack Ury, age 97
– Gabe Kaplan, Mr. Kotter

Sunday was a rest day at the WSOP, but they’ll be back on the Tour de France’s rest day Monday. Strange how that works.

Rugby: New Zealand sent what some in the U.S. media might call “a message,” dominating South Africa 32-12 in a Tri Nations matchup ahead of next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Cricket: Bangladesh beat England for the first time ever in a one-day international. Carrie Dunn captured some of the late drama.

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cycling, mind games, olympic sports, soccer, tennis, track and field

Friday Myriad: Up all night for Aussie Rules, MMA, Le Tour

Posted on by Beau Dure

No, I didn’t forget. Today was a last-ditch effort to get some progress on two nagging free-lance assignments.

Which reminds me — if you or someone you know is a male caregiver for a spouse or loved one who has breast cancer AND you’ve done the Komen 3-day walk, could you please, please get in touch with me?

On to the weekend (all times ET):

SATURDAY

12:01 a.m.: Australian football, Geelong-Hawthorn. Nice to see this sport making a comeback on U.S. airwaves. Still have no idea how anyone has the stamina to run for two hours while being pummeled every time the ball is nearby. ESPN2

3 a.m.: MMA, Dream 15, lightweight title fight, Shinya Aoki-Tatsuya Kawajiri. Also in action: Gegard Mousasi, Melvin Manhoef, Gesias Cavalcante. If you can’t watch live, check recaps from my colleague Sergio Non. HDNet

7:30 a.m.: Tour de France, Stage 7. To the mountains we go! Well, sort of. Just a couple of category-2 climbs today. The Alpine stages this year aren’t quite as torturous as usual, with most of the massive climbs coming in the Pyrenees in the third week. Versus

8 a.m.: Davis-Cup, quarterfinals, France-Spain, doubles. France leads 2-0. They’re playing without Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but Spain is playing without someone named Nadal. Gael Monfils outlasted David Ferrer in a five-setter Friday. Tennis Channel

Noon: MLS, Toronto-Colorado. In case you need a warm-up for the big one. Some of CONCACAF’s best attacking talent is on display in this one, even if one of the defenses tends to play with what Bob Dylan called “a little too much force.” Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com

2:30 p.m.: World Cup third-place game, Uruguay-Germany. These games are often entertaining. Near the end of a World Cup that has brought some excellent games but quite a few dreary efforts, can that be so bad? ABC/Univision

3:30 p.m.: Women’s basketball, WNBA All-Stars vs. U.S. National Team. Really? You couldn’t have waited another hour, when the Cup final would likely be over? ESPN

6 p.m.: MLS, Philadelphia-San Jose. The Earthquakes could be interesting this season. Fox Soccer Channel

7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: MLS, the rest of the Saturday games (four), with the New York-D.C. United rivalry among the highlights. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com

SUNDAY

7 a.m.: Davis-Cup, quarterfinals, France-Spain, singles. Tennis Channel

7:30 a.m.: Tour de France, Stage 8. Two category-1 climbs, including one at the finish. That’s more like it. Will we see the virtual end of Lance Armstrong’s career here? Versus

2:30 p.m.: World Cup, final, Netherlands-Spain. I picked Spain over Brazil in the final, and I’m sticking with the team that never loses possession of the ball. ABC/Univision

6 p.m.: WPS, Gold Pride-Washington. Wonder how the Freedom will adjust after practicing all week in 100-degree temperatures. I went out to practice today, and the artificial turf field felt like a frying pan. FSC

10:30 p.m.: MLS, Seattle-Dallas. I don’t usually list all the Direct Kick games, but if you’re going into withdrawal just six hours after the end of the Cup, here you go. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com

MORE MYRIAD

  • World Series of Poker: Main Event runs all weekend.
  • Full soccer listings at Soccer America.
  • Selected weekend listings at USA TODAY
  • ESPN3: Australian Rules football, CFL, NBA Summer League and lacrosse.
  • Tennis Channel: A few re-runs and the France-Spain Davis Cup match.
  • Universal Sports: Beach volleyball (FIVB Grand Slam), track and field (Diamond League, British Grand Prix) live online, delayed on TV. Swimming (Grand Prix season finale, Los Angeles) online-only. In beach volleyball, the top U.S. teams were upset in pool play, which doesn’t happen often, but still advanced.
  • More Olympic sports: Why is no one Webcasting the last weekend of World League volleyball pool play? U.S. men hosting Russia in Wichita. Wait a few weeks, and you can watch (see PDF).
  • Rugby: Tri-Nations (Southern Hemisphere) gets underway this weekend, just in case South African sports attention can be diverted for a moment.

HEADLINES

Chess/poker: Chessboxing just seems strange, but chesspoker has possibilities. Jennifer Shahade takes us through a matchup.

Soccer: 3rd Degree is basically the grandfather of independent MLS sites, so it’s nice to see Buzz Carrick take the operation into ESPNDallas.com. Could also bode well for ESPN’s MLS Draft coverage? Maybe?

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olympic sports, track and field

Un-Bolted wrap from Diamond League, other Oly sports

Posted on by Beau Dure

Yes, Usain Bolt is fast, and 9.82 is borderline superhuman, tying the world lead in his first race back from an Achilles injury. But if you want to know what’s going on in the Diamond League, you’ll need to look elsewhere — the 100 meters was a non-Diamond race tacked onto the program so they could bring Bolt in.

The rest of the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, had seven more world-leading performances and six U.S. wins. The quick look:

MEN

– 400: Jeremy Wariner (USA) posted a world-leading 44.57, just holding off countryman LeJerald Betters (44.70). He’s 3-for-3 in Diamond League.

– 400 hurdles: Bershawn Jackson (USA) didn’t match his world-leading 47.32 but won handily in second-fastest time of the year, 47.62. Angelo Taylor (USA) was second at 47.96. Jackson also claimed the Diamond lead ahead of Kerron Clement (USA).

– 200: Walter Dix (USA), 19.86, tied his own mark for fourth in the world this year. He has won the last three Diamond League races.

– 1,500: Not a Diamond League race, but another world lead: Nicholas Kemboi (KEN), 3:31.52

– 3,000 steeplechase: Brimin Kipruto (KEN), 8:01.62, world lead and nearly five seconds off meet record. This is one of the Diamond League disciplines with some suspense in the standings — Paul Koech (KEN) finished third and still leads Kipruto in the standings.

WOMEN

– 100: Carmelita Jeter (USA) won in 10.99, not a world lead, to build a five-point lead in the Diamond points. The event is reeling from the news that Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser tested positive for a painkiller. The explanation for the test: She went to the dentist, then had to fly, and she forgot to declare it. The explanation for why a drug that fails to enhance performance or mask anything is on the prohibited list: …. well, we’ll have to ask. But the situation is a crisis! At least, that’s what the Telegraph says.

– 400: Debbie Dunn (USA), 49.81, second this year only to her 49.64 in USA Championships.

– 1,500: Gelete Burka (ETH), world-leading 3:59.28, then national record-setter Ibtissam Lakhouad (MAR, 3:59.45) and personal best-setter Nancy Langat (KEN, 4:00.13). Funny thing is that Langat, the Olympic champion, had been dominating the season.

– 3,000: Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), 8:34.58, world lead and meet record.

– Long jump: Brittney Reese (USA), the world champion, fourth in the world at 6.94 meters/22-9.25.

– Triple jump: Yargelis Savigne (CUB), 14.99 meters, world lead and far ahead of the rest.

– High jump: Ivan Ukhov (RUS) ties world lead at 2.33 meters. World champion Yaroslav Rybakov (also RUS) tied Ukhov but lost on more misses.

**

In other Olympic sports news:

– Figure skating: Johnny Weir is taking the season off to reinvent his skating and promote his single, fashion line and book. But he’ll be back for Sochi.

– Swimming: The Grand Prix finale is in this week in Los Angeles. Betting on Chloe Sutton to take season honors.

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cycling, mind games, olympic sports, soccer, tennis, track and field

Monday Myriad: Want U.S. world titles? We’ve got ’em

Posted on by Beau Dure

Even with an extra day, the weekend was overstuffed:

Soccer: No disrespect to Uruguay and the Netherlands, but isn’t the Germany-Spain matchup as good as it gets? The most explosive team in the Cup against a team that has spent the last three and a half years as the Harlem Globetrotters of world soccer?

Closer to home, MLS had terrific goals in the Seattle-Los Angeles matchup, and Conor Casey is playing like he’s still auditioning for the national team. Or like he thinks he’s Marta.

Tennis: Serena and Nadal winning Wimbledon isn’t the surprise. The surprise is that Roger Federer has fallen all the way to No. 3.

Track and field: David Oliver set an American record in the 110 hurdles at the Prefontaine Classic, which also saw Walter Dix outrun Tyson Gay down the stretch in the 200. Field events were less kind to Americans — Dwight Phillips finished second in the long jump and pulled up with some sort of strain, and Jenn Suhr no-heighted in the pole vault.

Softball: Not all of the games were easy, but the USA trounced Japan 7-0 in five innings in the World Championship final.

Water polo: Soccer isn’t the only sport settled with a penalty shootout. The U.S. women tied Australia 7-7 in the World League final and won the shootout. Brenda Villa was named top player; Betsey Armstrong was top goalkeeper.

Gymnastics: Bronze for U.S. men at Japan Cup, featuring mostly A-teamers.

Cycling: The Tour de France is underway, which means it’s time for one of the funniest annual reading activities — the Tour de Schmalz. If you prefer drama to comedy, read the Wall Street Journal‘s harrowing story on Floyd Landis’ doping allegations.

Poker: The Main Event is underway, even as two other events are still going … and going … and going …

The Tournament of Champions is over, at least, with Huck Seed outlasting Howard Lederer.

Volleyball: The U.S. men got two wins in Egypt, leaving themselves in contention to make the World League’s six-team final tournament. All they have to do is beat pool-leading Russia twice July 9-10 in Wichita.

Beach volleyball: Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers remained unbeatable, winning the FIVB event in Norway. Yes, Norway. What? They have beaches.

MMA: All hail Brock Lesnar.

Chess: Yes, they exhumed Bobby Fischer.

And a couple of random reads of interest …

Cricket: Did you know about Staten Island’s cricket history?

Soccer: One of the best reads about South Africa since the Cup started — meet Santos, “The People’s Team.” (Not in the Communist sense.)

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track and field

Viewer’s guide: Prefontaine Classic

Posted on by Beau Dure

What: Prefontaine Classic

Where: Eugene, Ore.

When/how to watch: Saturday 2 p.m. ET for first field event, 4 p.m. at UniversalSports.com, 4:30 p.m. at NBC

More info: Schedule, start lists, results

The Prefontaine Classic track and field meet is indeed an American classic. Named after the legendary Steve Prefontaine, the meet has always attracted a solid collection of athletes.

On the international calendar, the Pre has long been in the second tier, whatever it was called — Grand Prix, Super Grand Prix, Super Duper Fast Meet, etc. With the expansive, global Diamond League replacing the Euro-centric Golden League, the Pre made the cut.

So most of the events in Eugene will have Diamond League points at stake. The exceptions are the women’s 5,000 (featuring American stars Shalane Flanagan, Jen Rhines and Amy Yoder-Begley), the women’s hammer throw (not a Diamond League discipline for some reason) and the men’s 1,000 (an iconoclastic event, perfect for a meet featuring an iconoclastic distance runner).

Even in these metric days, the Pre simply has to feature the mile, which will count toward the Diamond League’s 1,500 standings.

The Diamond races at a glance:

MEN

Mile (1,500): Asbel Kiprop (KEN) has the Diamond League lead, and Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH) and Gideon Gathimba (KEN) also are here. So is meet-record holder Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (KEN). But American distance runners always show up in force at the Pre, and Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and Leo Manzano can all run with the top guys from Africa.

110 hurdles: Terrific opportunity for co-leader David Oliver (USA) to gain points. Cuban co-leader Dayron Robles and Chinese contenders Shi Dongpeng and Liu Xiang aren’t here.

200: Co-leader Usain Bolt (JAM) still isn’t back from injury. Tyson Gay (USA), on the other hand, is on the entry list. So is co-leader Walter Dix, who won the 100 at the U.S. championships last week.

5,000: Leader Imane Merga (ETH) is here along with the only man to beat him in the Diamond League this year, Eliud Kipchoge (KEN). Bernard Lagat is the only American to get points in any of the three Diamond League races so far, but he’s in the mile instead of this one. American hopefuls are Matt Tegenkamp, Ben True and Chris Solinsky.

Discus: Zoltan Kovago (HUN) and Piotr Malachowski (POL) have split the two Diamond League events so far and share the lead. Gerd Kanter (EST) shares third with Robert Harting (GER), the only member of the leading quartet not to be here. Good competition for the American contingent — Ian Waltz, Jarred Rome, Casey Malone, Jason Young.

Long jump: Dwight Phillips (USA) is still bringing it in this event, leading with six points to five for Fabrice LaPierre (AUS). Third-place Irving Saladino (PAN) also is here. This one will be fun. Prepare rhythmic claps.

Shot put: Americans have been trading the podium places amongst themselves in this event for a while, but this year, it’s all Christian Cantwell. He’s 3-for-3 in the Diamond League. Dylan Armstrong (CAN) is second, Reese Hoffa (USA) is tied for third, and Tomasz Majewski (POL) has a point. Another German, Ralf Bartels, didn’t make the trip. Adam Nelson (USA) has a world championship and was unlucky to get silver rather than gold in 2000 and 2004.

WOMEN

100: All five sprinters with Diamond points are in the race — Carmelita Jeter (USA, 4), Lashauntea Moore (USA, 4), Chandra Sturrup (BAH, 3), Shelly-Ann Fraser (JAM, 2) and Tahesia Harrigan (IVB, 1). Also 200-meter leader Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM).

400: Allyson Felix (USA) won the only Diamond League race she has entered at this distance. She trails Amantie Montsho (BOT) in the standings. The other two points-getters also are here: Noviene Williams-Mills (JAM) and Debbie Dunn (USA).

400 hurdles: Lashinda Demus (USA) has won both Diamond League races. Second-place Natalya Antukh (RUS) isn’t here, but third-place Kaliese Spencer (JAM) is.

800: Fellow Duke grad Shannon Rowbury is dropping down to 800? Actually, so is 1,500 leader Nancy Jebet Langat (KEN), so she’s in good company. Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN) is the leader here. Alysia Johnson and Maggie Vessey finished 1-2 in the USA championships.

3,000 steeplechase: Leader Milcah Chemos Cheiywa (KEN) is the only runner here with points. It’s mostly a North American group, including new U.S. champ Lisa Aguilera and runner-up Nicole Bush.

Javelin: Leader and world record-holder Barbara Spotakova (CZE) is in a six-woman field including new U.S. record-holder (and, obviously, champion) Kara Patterson.

Pole vault: Fabiana Murer (BRA) and Anna Rogowska (POL) have points, but this may be the day Jenn Suhr (USA, formerly Jenn Stuczynski) launches her challenge for the season jackpot.

Triple jump: Co-leader Olga Rypakova (KAZ) can open a gap over absent Yargelis Savigne (CUB).

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cycling, mma, olympic sports, soccer, tennis, track and field

Friday Myriad: Wimbledon, World Cup, le Tour

Posted on by Beau Dure

Funny thing about July 4th weekend – the most important action in the sports world is all overseas.

The three-day absence from posting here won’t happen often. Had a lot of actual paid work to do, plus a week of solo parenting. Shouldn’t have a break like this until vacation.

Off we go (all times ET) …

HEADLINES

Water polo: Big comeback keeps the U.S. women unbeaten in World League final tournament.

Poker: The last weekend before the Main Event — the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold-’em World Championship that draws thousands of entrants and weeks of ESPN coverage — features several events of interest:

  • Tournament of Champions: They’ve only knocked the field down the original 27 to 17, and that’s causing scheduling problems. The idea was to play it across two weekends. They’ll resume Saturday at 10 p.m. IF none of the 17 players is busy in another event. They may have to resume at noon Sunday. That’s 9 a.m. Vegas time. Is anyone awake then?
  • $25,000 buy-in six-handed no-limit hold’em: Several big names just missed out on the final three tables (18 players) — John Juanda, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Freddy Deeb, Erik Seidel and Phil Ivey. But Daniel Negreanu is still in, threatening Saturday’s Tournament of Champions start. So is Frank Kassela, who’s in position to edge Juanda for Player of the Year honors.
  • Pot-limit Omaha World Championship: Phil Hellmuth is still active in this one and the TOC, and a few other notable names are still going after Day 1.
  • Two smaller no-limit hold’em events that shouldn’t attract may top players.
  • Ante Up for Africa: Poker pro Annie Duke and actor Don Cheadle host an annual charity event that usually draws a good crowd of celebrities, some of whom hang around for the Main Event the next week, and many top players, though the crowded schedule may preclude a few people from entering.

FRIDAY (all times ET)

10 a.m.: World Cup quarterfinal, Netherlands-Brazil. ESPN / ESPN Deportes / ESPN3 / Univision

10:45ish a.m.: Wimbledon men’s semifinal, Andy Murray-Rafael Nadal. Winner faces Tomas Berdych, who upset Roger Federer this week and Novak Djokovic this morning. Murray’s path of Nadal, always better on clay and inconsistent here, and Berdych is Britain’s best hope in a generation. ESPN2, shifting to NBC at noon

2:30 p.m.: World Cup quarterfinal, Uruguay-Ghana. Just think — this could be the USA. ESPN / ESPN Deportes / ESPN3 / Univision

7:30 p.m.: Softball, World Championship final, USA vs. Canada-Japan winner. Not vouching at all for quality, reliability or even safety of this Webcast. Venezuelan government

SATURDAY

9 a.m.: Wimbledon women’s final, Serena Williams-Vera Zvonareva. Also should get some doubles finals, with at least one American player to appear in the women’s doubles. NBC

10 a.m.: World Cup quarterfinal, Argentina-Germany. ABC / ESPN Deportes  / Univision

11:30 a.m.: Tour de France, prologue. Lance Armstrong is saying this will be his last, though he has said that before. If he’s trying for an individual win rather than a teammate’s win this year, he’ll need to do well in the time trials, starting here. Versus

2:30 p.m.: World Cup quarterfinal, Paraguay-Spain. ABC / ESPN Deportes  / Univision

4:30 p.m.: Track and field, Diamond League Prefontaine Classic. One of the most storied meets in the USA is now part of the world’s top circuit. Full preview coming later today. Really. Hold me to it. NBC

5:30 p.m.: Poker, $25K no-limit hold’em six-handed. See above. ESPN3

7:30 p.m.: Water polo, World League women’s final. TeamUSA.org

8 p.m.: MLS, Columbus-Chicago. FSC

9 p.m.: UFC 116, Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin for the heavyweight title in the main event. Spike has Seth Petruzelli, whose win over Kimbo Slice was erroneously called the biggest upset in MMA history at the time, in one of its two prelims. Spike, shifting to PPV at 10 p.m.

10:30 p.m.: MLS, Chivas USA-Philadelphia. FSC

SUNDAY

8:30 a.m.: Cycling, Tour de France, Stage 1. Cue the sprinters. Thor smash? Versus

9 a.m.: Wimbledon men’s final and possibly mixed doubles final. NBC

Noon: Hot dog eating. No Kobayashi? ESPN3

10:30 p.m.: MLS, Los Angeles-Seattle. ESPN2

MORE MYRIAD

  • Full soccer listings at Soccer America.
  • Selected weekend listings at USA TODAY
  • ESPN3: Australian Rules football, CFL, golf, lacrosse and poker.
  • Tennis Channel: Classic matches.
  • Universal Sports: Beach volleyball and more Prefontaine Classic coverage.
  • More Olympic sports: Canoe/kayak World Cup final stop, U17 men’s basketball World Championship, U.S. men’s volleyball in Egypt for World League
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mma, olympic sports, soccer, track and field

Monday Myriad: Marry Lolo, beat Phelps

Posted on by Beau Dure

A few things aside from the World Cup, the USA Track and Field Championships, the MLS weekend and Strikeforce, all of which will be covered in greater detail later.

Poker: The World Series of Poker’s Tournament of Champions has run into a small problem: No one’s getting eliminated.

Tennis: The top four men’s seeds — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — are all through the quarterfinals, along with No. 6 Robin Soderling. No. 5 Andy Roddick lost in five (fifth set: 9-7) to unknown Taiwanese player Yen-Hsun Lu. He took it well, as always.

The women’s quarterfinals consist of the Williams sisters, Kim Clijsters (winner of the grudge match against Justine Henin) and five players you’ve never heard of.

MMA: No UFC future for Jamie “Crabman” Yager?

Action sports: Shaun White aggravated an ankle injury and couldn’t compete at the Dew Tour/International Skate Federation World Championship, so he did some commentary and signed some autographs. Nice guy, articulate, humble — he’s an action sports-hater’s worst nightmare.

Swimming: Michael Phelps is quite human in the middle year between Olympics.

Track and field/MLS: As MLS commissioner, Doug Logan presided over the start of youth program Project 40. Now with USA Track and Field, he is overseeing the berth of Project 30. Scaling back?

And in more track and field/MLS news, Lolo Jones is bidding to be the funniest Olympic athlete on Twitter.

Soccer: Soccernet’s scoreboard for Wednesday reads “No matches on this date.” That just means Soccernet doesn’t get scores for the U.S. Open Cup or WPS All-Star Game (7:30 p.m. ET, FSC). This game never, ever stops.

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