*** The latest news from the USOC - April 27 ***

(Courtesy of United States Olympic Committee)

Salt Lake City, UT (My Sportsbook) - The following is a recap of events from the United States Olympic Committee.

Bowling: (April 20) Wichita State senior Anita Manns (Austin, Texas) and Fresno State sophomore P.J. Haggerty (Weimar, Calif.) were named Most Valuable Players for the 2004-05 collegiate bowling season by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association. (April 20) Heidi Beaver (Mifflinburg, Pa.) bowled much better than she expected. She rolled an all-events total of 1,872 to take over first place in the classic division (average 190 and over) at the Women's International Bowling Congress Championship Tournament. (April 21) The Bowling Writers Association of America selected P.J. Haggerty and Anita Manns as the 2005 male and female collegiate bowlers of the year. (April 21) The University of Kansas, the defending men's champion, and the Wichita State women's team each earned No. 1 seeds for match play after the qualifying round at the 2005 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships at The Cherry Bowl in Rockford, Ill. (April 22) Lil Martindale (Longmont, Colo.) felt the pressure and had an answer for it at the WIBC Tournament. Martindale threw a string of strikes over her final frames to move into first place in the singles competition of Division 1 (average 170 thru 189). The retired beauty shop owner had games of 233, 222 and 234 for a 689 series. (April 22) Pikeville College, the defending women's champion, and top-ranked Wichita State both went undefeated in match play to advance to the semifinals of the 2005 Intercollegiate Championships. (April 23) Junior Caroline Lagrange, the reigning Canadian national amateur champion, struck on all four of her attempts as Wichita State turned back West Texas A&M, 2-0, in the best-of-three Baker games women's final at the 2005 Intercollegiate Championships. (April 23) Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Mo., defeated Fresno State, 2-0, in the men's final at the 2005 Intercollegiate Championships. (April 23) Thousands of Women's International Bowling Congress members attended the first day of the WIBC's final convention at the Tulsa Convention Center. The meeting's attendance was one of the highest in recent years. During the Meet for the Cure session, WIBC leaders presented $810,000 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This total is the highest raised since the program's inception in 2000. (April 24) The WIBC flag was retired in front of thousands of attendees at the conclusion of the final WIBC Convention in Tulsa, Okla. The historic flag, with its red, blue, yellow and purple stripes, was donated to the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Mo. For more information, log on to www.bowl.com.

Canoe/Kayak: (April 25) USA Canoe/Kayak has hired Nathan Luce (Toronto, Ontario) as its National Sprint Team Coach. Luce will be based in San Diego, Calif. and supervise the development of the Flatwater Sprint Team. For more information, log on to www.usack.org.

Curling: (April 21) The 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling will be featured on CSTV through a joint effort by the network, the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Curling. The Women's Trials will be featured on May 8 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) and the Men's Trials will air May 22 (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) as special installments of the U.S. Olympic Pursuit original series. (April 26) The U.S. Olympic Committee Team Selection Working Group has approved the following U.S. Curling Association staff for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games: Jack McNelly (Colorado Springs, Colo.) as team leader; Neil Doese (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) as women's team coach; Bob Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.) as men's team coach; and Athlete Development Director Ed Lukowich and Assistant Athlete Development Director Rob Meakin as additional athlete support personnel. For more information, log on to www.usacurl.org.

Cycling: (April 25) The U.S. National Team successfully kicked off the 2005 Pan American Championships as Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho) and Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif.) placed first and second, respectively, in the elite women's time trial. For more information, log on to www.usacycling.org.

Diving: (April 25) Following a four-year hiatus, the Speedo/FINA Diving Grand Prix, presented by The Herald, returns to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 12-15, for four exciting days of international competition. The Grand Prix is the sole U.S. leg on the 10-country FINA (Federation Internationale de Natation) world tour. For more information, log on to www.usdiving.org.

Equestrian: (April 20) Team USA came through with a silver-medal performance at the 2005 Pan American Senior Team Championships in Pinamar, Argentina. (April 21) The University of South Carolina equestrian team won the Hunt Seat division to clinch its first national title in varsity equestrian. The University of Georgia, which entered as the two-time defending champion, finished second, followed by Texas A&M and Oklahoma State University. (April 21) The 2005 version of the FEI World Cup Finals kicked off with the Las Vegas Jump Gambler's Choice competition. (April 21) During the Rolex Kentucky Three- Day Event presented by Farnam, Dr. Ellen Singer, a well-respected veterinarian out of the University of Liverpool, England, will present the results of her recent comparative study of the effects of the two competitive three-day formats: the long format (with Phases A, B, C and D) and the short format (Phase D only). Dr. Singer has considerable experience in the area of equine welfare research, and will be joined in her presentation by FEI and USEF veterinarian Dr. Catherine Kohn (Columbus, Ohio). (April 21) The United States Dressage Federation announced a new educational opportunity, made possible with funding support from The Dressage Foundation. The Continuing Education Program for judges and USDF "L" graduates, developed by the USDF Judges Committee, has been designed to meet the growing need for continuing education. The goal of this program is to provide for, and continually improve, the training of individuals currently licensed as judges and those aspiring to become licensed. (April 21) HorseTV Media Group, Inc. announced that it has set an early fall date for the launch of the only 24-hour television network dedicated to equestrian sports and lifestyles. (April 21) Santa Fe will host the second annual New Mexico Grand Prix, May 28-29. (April 21) U.S. eventing legend Jim Wofford will be on hand at the United States Eventing Association booth to sign the newly reprinted copies of his book, "Training the Three-Day Event Horse and Rider." The signing will take place at noon on April 29 at the Kentucky Three-Day Event. (April 21) The Hampton Classic Horse Show, one of the nation's premier show jumping competitions, returns to Bridgehampton, Long Island, N.Y., for its 30th year with an exciting lineup of social events and equestrian competitions. The Hampton Classic Horse Show begins Aug. 28 and culminates with the excitement of the $100,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix on Sept. 4. (April 21) The American Horse Council's 2005 Horse Industry Directory is now available for purchase. This must-have publication includes listings, both national and international, covering every segment of the equine industry. (April 21) The wildly popular Debbie McDonald (Hailey, Idaho) and Brentina were the top-placing American team during the first leg of the 2005 FEI World Cup Dressage Final with a third-place finish. Robert Dover (Watermill, N.Y.) and FBW Kennedy finished fourth. (April 22) Kimberly Frey (Hume, Va.) and Marlou finished fourth at the first round of the FEI Budweiser Show Jumping World Cup Final in Las Vegas, Nev. (April 22) Michael Spooner (Glendale, Calif.), on Hilton Flight, turned in the top American performance at the FEI Budweiser Show Jumping World Cup Final II, finishing 10th. (April 22) Debbie McDonald and Robert Dover had third- and fourth-place showings, respectively, at the 2005 FEI World Cup Dressage Final. For more information, log on to www.usef.org.

Hockey: (April 20) Forward Yan Stastny (St. Louis, Mo.), who has spent the last two seasons (2003-05) playing for Neurnberg of the German Elite League, was added to the U.S. Men's National Team roster. Stastny's addition completes the 23-player squad that will represent the United States at the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Innsbruck and Vienna, Austria, April 30-May 15. (April 20) The U.S. Men's National Team outshot the Canadian Men's National Team, 33-32, but dropped a 3-1 decision in an exhibition game before 8,471 fans at the Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (April 22) Mark Parrish (Edina, Minn.) put one high over the shoulder of goaltender Roberto Luongo with :05 left in regulation to lift the Men's National Team to a dramatic 5-4 win over Canada in Quebec City, giving the U.S. a split in its two-game exhibition series with Canada in a tune-up for the upcoming IIHF World Championship. (April 24) The U.S. National Under-18 Team topped Canada, 5-1, to win the gold medal at the 2005 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Plzen, Czech Republic. Jeff Frazee (Burnsville, Minn.) made 48 saves in net for Team USA, while Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis.) recorded four points (2-2) to lead the United States to its third medal in four years. (April 26) All 56 games of the IIHF World Championship will be broadcast live via webcast on a pay-per-view basis at MediaZone.com. (April 26) CSTV will broadcast the gold-medal game of the 2005 IIHF Women's World Championship May 1 at 9 p.m. EDT. It will be the first time that the game between the U.S. and Canada, which was played on April 9 in Linkoping, Sweden, will be available to a U.S. audience. For more information, log on to www.usahockey.com.

Judo: (April 22) The first day of the 2005 USA Judo National Championships and World Team Trials was highlighted by two best-of-three fight-offs to determine who would make the squad for the World Championships in Cairo, Egypt. In the men's 90kg division, Dariusz Mikolajczak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) won the National Championship and a fight-off against Shintaro Higashi (Scarsdale, N.Y.), the tournament's No. 1 seed, to make the World Team. In women's +78 kg, Heidi Moore (Denver, Colo.) won the National Championship, but lost a best-of- three to Garlyn Celestin (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Celestin was named to the World squad. (April 23) The National Championships and World Team Trials concluded with one more two-out-of-three showdown to determine who would represent the U.S. in the men's 73kg division. Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif.) won the National Championship over top-seeded Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo.), but Reser won the fight-off to make the World Team. (April 26) José H. Rodríguez (Tampa, Fla.) has taken the reins as the Executive Director of USA Judo following the retirement of Bill Rosenberg. Rodríguez was most recently the Managing Director and Business Development Director for the Office of the Americas, part of the World Olympians Association. For more information, log on to www.usjudo.org.

Luge: (April 25) The doubles luge team of Mark Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich.) and Brian Martin (Palo Alto, Calif.) headline a list of eight athletes named to USA Luge's 2005 national team roster. For more information, log on to www.usaluge.org.

Rowing: (April 20) Harvard University moved up to No. 1 in the U.S. Rowing Men's Varsity Eight Collegiate Coaches Poll. Harvard garnered eight of 16 first-place votes to earn the top position. For the fourth week in a row, Princeton University claimed the top spot in the women's Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll. Western Washington University and Ithaca College topped the Division II and Division III polls, respectively. For more information, log on to www.usrowing.org.

Skeleton: (April 20) The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation announced that Goodwin, Slugg & Campbell and Rival Films are each sponsoring one athlete in the "My Story" short films collection. The entire collection is viewable online at gforcefilms.tv or www.usbsf.com. Goodwin, Slugg & Campbell, the official legal firm of the USBSF, has agreed to sponsor 2006 Skeleton Olympic hopeful Eric Bernotas (Avondale, Pa.). Rival Films, the producers of the collection, are sponsoring 2004-2005 Overall Skeleton World Cup Champion Noelle Pikus-Pace (Orem, Utah). (April 21) The USBSF and Rival Films announced the debut of Noelle Pikus-Pace's short film, which is now viewable. For more information, log on to www.usbsf.com.

Snowboarding: (April 22) Eight Americans - four women, four men - participated in SBX with Abe Greenspan (Glenbrook, Nev.), David Manthei (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Robert Minghini (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) making the finals at the Snowboard Junior World Championships in Zermatt, Switzerland. (April 24) Americans grabbed two podiums at the Junior World Championships with silver medals for Louie Vito (Bellefontaine, Ohio) and Clair Bidez (Minturn, Colo.) in the halfpipe contest. For more information, log on to www.ussnowboarding.org.

Soccer: (April 20) Former U.S. internationals Marcelo Balboa (Cerritos, Calif.), John Harkes (Kearny, N.J.) and Tab Ramos (Kearny, N.J.) were elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, all gaining entry in their first year on the ballot. The trio of World Cup veterans will formally be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony Aug. 29 in Oneonta, N.Y. (April 25) U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley's (Fort Wayne, Ind.) dream debut campaign continued as PSV Eindhoven captured its 18th league title with a 3-0 win against Vitesse. Beasley now has 12 goals in all competitions in his inaugural season in Holland, and will be featured in the April 28 edition of USA Today. (April 25) U.S. international midfielder Eddie Lewis (Cerritos, Calif.) underwent surgery to remove his appendix, effectively ending his season for Preston North End. The winger has netted two goals in three final-round World Cup qualifiers, including the game-winner against Trinidad on Feb. 9 and the USA's lone goal against Mexico on March 27 in Mexico City. (April 25) Tickets sales for the U.S. Men's National Team's May 28 friendly against England have surpassed the 30,000 mark after going on sale to the general public on March 31. (April 25) Tickets are now on sale for the U.S. Men's National Team World Cup qualifying encounter with Costa Rica on June 4 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. (April 25) FIFA President Sepp Blatter has named 15 women to a list of FIFA Ambassadors for Women's Football. The list, containing some of the greatest names in women's soccer history, includes three U.S. legends in Michelle Akers (Orlando, Fla.), Julie Foudy (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Mia Hamm (Chapel Hill, N.C.). (April 25) U.S. Women's National Team captain Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), playing in Sweden for KIF Orebro for the months of April and May, scored her first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Goteborg. (April 25) The U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team's weeklong camp kicked off at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The U-18s will play two matches, facing the Chivas USA reserve team and the Southern California SeaHorses of the Premier Development League. (April 25) The U.S. Under-17 '88 Men's National Team defeated Canada, 2-0, in Sunrise, Fla., increasing its unbeaten CONCACAF streak to 17 games. (April 25) The U.S. Under-17 '89 Men's National Team arrived in Northern Ireland to compete in the 2005 Ballymena International Tournament. (April 25) The U.S. U-16 Women's National Team completed a short, five-day training camp at the Home Depot Center, playing two matches during the camp, a 4-2 victory against the U.S. U-15 Girl's Developmental Team and a 2-2 tie with the U-18 Southern California Blues girl's club. (April 25) With a month-and-a-half before the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team kicks off the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland, the U.S. defeated the Seattle Sounders, 4-1, in a preparation match on the University of Washington campus. For more information, log on to www.ussoccer.com.

Taekwondo: (April 22) An Ohio United States District Court denied a temporary restraining order in a suit brought by the Ohio Taekwondo Association against USA Taekwondo and the U.S. Olympic Committee. In its ruling, the Court found that "granting plaintiff's [OTA'S] request would throw the sport of taekwondo into a state of disarray and would result in harm to taekwondo athletes throughout the United States." For more information, log on to www.ustu.org.

Table Tennis: (April 21) The Volkswagen 48th World Table Tennis Championships will take place in Shanghai, China, April 30-May 6. For more information, log on to www.usatt.org.

Track and Field: (April 22) As part of a multi-year sponsorship agreement, Adidas has become the title sponsor of the meet formerly known as the The Home Depot Center Invitational. The 2005 Adidas Track Classic will take place in Carson, Calif. on May 22, and will be televised on ESPN. (April 25) Team USA will take on the Olympic gold-medal 4x100m men's and women's relay teams from Great Britain and Jamaica in USA vs. The World at the 111th running of the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. April 30. Some of the biggest names in U.S. sprinting, including Justin Gatlin (Raleigh, N.C.), Lauryn Williams (Rochester, Pa.), Shawn Crawford (Raleigh, N.C.) and Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, Calif.), will compete in the sixth edition of USA vs. The World, as well as international stars such as Mark Lewis-Francis and Jason Gardener, both of Great Britain. (April 25) The 2005 Freihofer's Run for Women will once again host the USA Women's Masters 5K Championship. In addition, the day's festivities will also include the 17th annual Freihofer's Community Walk - a fundraiser that has collected more than $1 million for area non-profit organizations since its inception. (April 25) All masters USATF members are invited to participate in the XVI World Masters Athletics Championships, Aug. 22-Sept. 3 in San Sebastian, Spain, as a member of the USA team. (April 25) For the second year the ING New York City Marathon will offer a sub-elite seeding program for both men and women. The approximate standards for gaining a spot in the program are 2:20-2:30 finish times for the men and 2:50-3:00 for the women. (April 25) Muna Lee (Baton Rouge, La.) and Dominique Arnold (North Hills, Calif.) were named the Most Outstanding Performers of the meet in winning their respective events during the GOLD ZONE portion of the 78th Kansas Relays at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan. (April 25) World renowned field events coach Randy Huntington has been hired at Michigan State University to coach MSU's throwers, jumpers and multi-event competitors. (April 26) Olympic gold medalists Jon Drummond (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Moushaumi Robinson (Cary, N.C.) will speak to kids at the Hank Gathers Community Center in Philadelphia, Pa. on April 28 as part of USA Track & Field's new "Be A Champion" program. The duo will address healthy lifestyles, keeping active and living with integrity. (April 26) Team USA's men's and women's 4x400m relay teams, the defending world and Olympic champions, will look to add to their remarkable legacy at USA vs. The World at the 111th running of the Penn Relays. 2004 U.S. Olympic relay gold medalists slated to compete include Otis Harris (Columbia, S.C.), Derrick Brew (Springs, Texas), Andrew Rock (Stratford, Wis.), Monique Hennagan (Stockbridge, Ga.), Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas), Moushaumi Robinson and DeeDee Trotter (Decatur, Ga.). (April 26) Chaunte Howard (Riverside, Calif.) has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after she set a world leading mark in the women's high jump at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Tallahassee, Fla. For more information, log on www.usatf.org.

Triathlon: (April 26) U.S. elite triathletes Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) and Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.) were as hot as the weather as they finished first and second, respectively, at the International Triathlon Union World Cup race in Mazatlan, Mexico. Meanwhile, in the women's race, U.S. elite triathlete Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.), who had announced her retirement from the sport after the Olympic Games in Athens, came out of retirement to finish sixth behind U.S. teammate Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.), who was fifth. For more information, log on to www.usatriathlon.org.

Volleyball: (April 26) The second stop on the 2005 AVP Nissan Series looked a lot like the first as the two winning teams from the first event in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., repeated their success at Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, Ariz. Top-seeded Misty May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) won their second-straight AVP tournament to start the year when they outlasted Rachel Wacholder (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) in three grueling sets, 20-22, 21-18, 15-13. On the men's side, the new pairing of Jake Gibb (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hawaii) had a much easier time earning their second-consecutive AVP victory together than they did winning their first in Florida, sweeping Dax Holdren (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Jeff Nygaard (Madison, Wis.) for the second-straight tournament, 21-19, 21-16. For more information, log on to www.usavolleyball.org.

Water Polo: (April 22) P.A.C.E. (Programs for Athletes and Coaches Education), the most popular series of water polo camps and clinics in the country, is taking registrations for this year's 2nd Annual P.A.C.E. Summer Camp. (April 25) The USA Water Polo Premier League, which features the best male water polo players in the country, will close out its regular season April 29-May 1 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. For more information, log on to www.usawaterpolo.com.

Water Skiing: (April 25) The U.S. Junior and Senior Barefoot Water Ski Teams each earned silver medals at the 2005 Junior and Senior Barefoot Water Ski World Championships in Pretoria, South Africa. For more information, log on to www.usawaterski.org.

Wrestling: (April 21) USA Wrestling named Patricia Miranda (New Haven, Conn.) as its 2004 Woman of the Year. Miranda won a bronze medal at 48 kg/105.5 pounds, one of two U.S. women wrestlers to capture a medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. (April 22) Nancy Schultz, the founder and president of the Dave Schultz Wrestling Foundation, has announced that the Senior-level national program of the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club will not continue after the end of the 2004-05 USA Wrestling international season. (April 22) USA Wrestling honored Jeff Levitetz (Boca Raton, Fla.) as its 2004 Man of the Year. Levitetz served as team leader of the U.S. Olympic Team for Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2004 Olympic Games. (April 22) USA Wrestling has announced the five-member pre-seed committees in all three Olympic wrestling styles for the U.S. National Championships, which will be contested in Las Vegas, Nev., April 29-30. (April 23) Tricia Saunders (Phoenix, Ariz.) was named 2004 Women's Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling. Saunders became the first woman to serve as a coach for a U.S. Olympic team in wrestling. (April 25) Bobby Douglas (Ames, Iowa) was named 2004 Freestyle Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling. Douglas was an Olympic coach for the U.S. Olympic Women's Wrestling Team, as well as for Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson (Ames, Iowa). (April 25) A total of 23 of the finest PSAL wrestlers from New York City, along with their coaches, will join PSAL Commissioner/Team Leader Larry Cantor in participating in the upcoming USA Wrestling Western Junior Regional Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. April 26-29. The PSAL program has had wrestlers participating in off- season training and competitions provided through the Metropolitan Wrestling Association's "Beat the Streets Program". (April 26) Sara McMann (Lock Haven, Pa.) was named the 2004 Women's Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. McMann won the Olympic silver medal in women's freestyle wrestling at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. (April 26) The Sunkist Kids National Training Program at West Virginia University announced the first three athletes to join its unique program in which elite wrestlers will train for the Olympic Games while working for a major corporation, Mylan Laboratories. The wrestlers who will join the new program are Greg Jones (Slicksville, Pa.), Scott Owen (DeKalb, Ill.) and Kellan Fluckiger (Tempe, Ariz.). (April 26) USA Wrestling has finalized its lineup for the men's freestyle team at the 2005 Pan Am Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala, April 28-30. The team will include four NCAA All-Americans from 2005, including NCAA finalists Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Cole Konrad (Freedom, Wis.) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. (April 26) The pre-seeds have been announced for the 2005 U.S. Senior Nationals in Las Vegas. (April 26) USA Wrestling chose Rulon Gardner (Wellsville, Utah) as the 2004 Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year. This is the fourth time Gardner has won the award (1997, 2000, 2001, 2004). For more information, log on to www.themat.com.