Reuters Sports News Summary

08/05/2016 3:57

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Party time in Rio after rollercoaster run-up to the Games

With a little bit of chaos and a last-minute sprint on preparations, Rio de Janeiro was ready on Friday to revel in a moment seven years in the making: the opening of the Olympic Games. At an evening ceremony in the famed Maracana soccer stadium, Brazil will declare open the 31st Summer Olympic Games and the first ever in South America. They will run until Aug. 21.

On tight budget, opening ceremony adopts 'MacGyver' approach

Pulling together an Olympics opening ceremony in the midst of a deep recession required what Brazil's organizers called "MacGyverism" and a lot of bargain hunting at a popular Rio bazaar. The three Brazilian filmmakers and creative minds behind Friday's ceremony to open South America's first Olympic Games, said they drew on their country's rich tradition of stretching a little cash a long way.

Basketball : U.S. 'B Team' kills opponents with kindness

If living up to the adage, "if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all," was an Olympic event the United States men's basketball team would be standing atop the Rio Games podium on Thursday. Plenty of platitudes and praise were being handed out but no medals: those will be awarded on the final day of the Rio Olympics on Aug. 21 when U.S. players are expected, as they have at 14-of-17 Summer Games, to bring home the gold.

Exclusive : CAS partially upholds Olympic appeal of Russian swimmer Efimova

Four-times breaststroke world champion Yulia Efimova was handed an Olympic lifeline on Thursday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld her appeal against a Games ban. Efimova had been disqualified from competing by swimming governing body FINA between October, 2013 and February, 2015 after testing positive for traces of the anabolic steroid DHEA.

Olympics: Only Biles can beat Biles in Rio

There is only one person who appears capable of beating gymnast Simone Biles at the Rio Olympics -- Simone Biles. With an abundance of talent and flair oozing out of every pore of her tiny 1.45 meter frame, she has shown over the past three years as she has piled up numerous records that she has no equal in the sport.

Russia says 271-strong team will be cleanest at Rio

Russia will be represented in most sports at the Rio Olympics, with 271 of its sportsmen and women cleared to participate ahead of the opening ceremony, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) head Alexander Zhukov said on Thursday. Russian boxers, judokas and shooters were among those given last-minute approval by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the aftermath of a doping scandal which has tarnished Russia's reputation as a sporting superpower and threatened to split the Olympic movement.

Sports tribunal opens Rio's doors to more Russian dopers

A global sporting tribunal opened the door wider to Russian participation at the Rio Olympic Games on Thursday, ruling that an Olympic ban on two Russian rowers and a swimmer with histories of doping was unenforceable. The decision, on the eve of the opening ceremony, could invite a dozen more appeals against the ban from Russian competitors, according to the tribunal's chief, and underlines Russian arguments that the ban lacks legal justification.

Muscle pains could keep Pele from lighting Rio cauldron

Pele's doctors have given him the go ahead to light the Olympic cauldron on Friday, but muscle pains may bar the Brazilian soccer great from the torch ceremony that opens the Rio de Janeiro Games. The 75-year-old triple World Cup winner had hip surgery in December and needs a walking stick to get around.

Rio Games preparation chaos hopefully a one-off event : IOC

The troubled preparations for the Rio Olympics proved that the model for the Games could withstand the toughest challenges but the IOC hoped it would not have to face such a stress test again, president Thomas Bach said on Thursday. Speaking on the eve of the opening ceremony, Bach said organizers and the International Olympic Committee had braved and survived Brazil's economic meltdown and political turmoil.

Westbrook stays with Oklahoma City after Durant bolts town

Five-times All-Star guard Russell Westbrook has signed a contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA team said on Thursday. The news is a consolation for the franchise, coming nearly one month after Westbrook's fellow All-Star Kevin Durant left for the Golden State Warriors.

08/05/2016 3:57