Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Baseball-MLB players reject owner’s request for federal mediator
The Major League Baseball Players Association on Friday rejected team owners’ request for a federal mediator, saying that the best way to resolve the ongoing player lockout is for league representatives to return to the bargaining table. After another round of unsuccessful talks to resolve the labor dispute this week, owners made the request for a neutral third party to be added to the negotiations, a move that required approval from the players.
Olympics-Curling-Swedes beat Swiss, Australia still winless in mixed doubles
Sweden boosted their chances of advancing to the curling mixed doubles semi-finals with a 6-1 victory over Switzerland at the Beijing Winter Games on Saturday, while Norway remained in the hunt after an entertaining win over Australia. Swedish pair Oskar Eriksson and Almida de Val eased past Switzerland’s Martin Rios and Jenny Perret to climb to second in the standings in the round-robin phase.
Olympics-Snowboard-Gusts of bone-chilling wind makes for ‘gnarly’ runs, boarders say
Gusts of bone-chilling wind and hard, man-made snow have made it tough for athletes at the Beijing Olympics, with even veteran snowboarders complaining about the conditions on Saturday. The air temperature dropped to -20.4 degree Celsius (-4.72°F) at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou right before the start of Saturday’s slopestyle qualifiers for women, the bone-chilling wind leaving many volunteers with frozen eyelashes.
Olympics-Curling-With pressure off, US men’s team relishing title defence
The United States are among the men’s curling medal favourites at the Beijing Games but skip John Shuster says their stunning triumph in Pyeongchang four years ago means they are feeling less pressure in the quest to defend their Olympic title. Shuster won bronze in Turin in 2006 as lead on Pete Fenson’s rink before taking his “Team Rejects” to glory in Pyeongchang when they upset heavyweights Sweden and became the first U.S. team to win Olympic curling gold.
ATP roundup: Alexander Zverev rolls into semifinals at Montpellier
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany needed just 50 minutes to complete a 6-1, 6-0 victory over France’s Adrian Mannarino on Friday and reach the semifinals of the Open Sud de France at Montpellier. Zverev had an 8-0 edge in aces in the easy quarterfinal victory. He will next face Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, who knocked off Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in another quarterfinal match.
Olympics-Figure skating-American Bell defies age with help from ‘fairy godmother’ Rippon
American figure skating champion Mariah Bell is proof that a little bit of madness and “shameless belief” can go a long way in helping a late bloomer stay competitive in an event dominated by teenagers, according to proud coach Adam Rippon. The 25-year-old Bell will be her country’s oldest figure skater in 94 years to compete in an Olympic women’s singles when she takes to the ice in Beijing.
Soccer-CAS voids ban, fine against FIFA former interim chief Hayatou
Sport’s highest global court has upheld FIFA former interim president Issa Hayatou’s appeal against a one-year ban on him for violating the global soccer governing body’s ethics code. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found insufficient evidence to establish a violation by Hayatou, who was Confederation of African Football (CAF) president for 29 years until being voted out in 2017.
Big Air at the Beijing Olympics
Focus on snowboard and freeski Big Air at the 2022 Beijing Olympics: THE ABSOLUTE BASICS
Olympics-Opening ceremony ends with Uyghur skier lighting cauldron
The Beijing Winter Games opened on Friday night in a snow- and ice themed ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium that concluded with the cauldron lit by two young Chinese Olympians, one of them a member of China’s Uyghur minority. During a performance that went longer than scheduled on a frigid night in the Chinese capital, President Xi Jinping declared the opening of an Olympics whose preparations were beset by the pandemic and criticism over human rights in China.
Olympics-Snowboarding-Sadowski-Synnott eases into finals, Murase makes confident debut
New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott cruised into the finals of the women’s snowboard slopestyle qualifiers at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, putting down a smooth run in blustery weather, while Kokomo Murase of Japan made a confident debut. In a clean ride over a course designed with Great Wall motifs, Sadowski-Synnott earned a best score of 86.75 after she successfully landed the backside 900 off the final jump.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)