Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday, August 19

08/19/2016 14:34

August 19 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday:

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For any coverage questions, please contact us.general-news@thomsonreuters.com

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RIO OLYMPIC

Aboard AA990: A curtain comes down on U.S. swimmers' gold medal glory

ABOARD FLIGHT AA990 - Standing on a podium in Rio last week with gold medals draped around their necks, swimmers Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were the pride of America as they sang along to the "Star Spangled Banner." On Friday, both swimmers arrived back on American soil aboard Flight AA990 to Miami, a curtain draped around them with a "Do not disturb" label on it, an attempt by airline staff to shield them from a controversy that has embarrassed Team USA and engulfed the Rio Games. (OLYMPICS-RIO/LOCHTE-FLIGHT (EXCLUSIVE, PIX, TV), moved at 1:33 p.m., by Cassandra Garrison, 548 words)

Lochte apologizes, teammate pays fine for lying to Brazil police

MIAMI/RIO DE JANEIRO - U.S. Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte issued an apology on Friday and his teammate Jimmy Feigen agreed to pay 35,000 reais ($11,000) to a charity after Brazilian police said they lied about being robbed at gunpoint. (OLYMPICS-RIO/LOCHTE (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved at 12:06 p.m., by Cassandra Garrison and Caroline Stauffer, 850 words) See also: Ryan Lochte dubbed "Ugly American" as Rio robbery tale collapses (OLYMPICS-RIO/LOCHTE-REACTION (PIX, TV), moved at 12:56 p.m., by Jill Serjeant, 517 words)

U.S. women seek sixth gold with a win over Spain

RIO DE JANEIRO - The United States women's basketball team will be out to prove their credentials as one of the Olympics' great sports dynasties on Saturday when they take on Spain in the gold-medal final. (OLYMPICS-RIO-BASKETBALL/ (PREVIEW, PIX), moved at 12:51 p.m., by Steve Keating, 388 words)

Lin misses out on Olympic hat-trick

RIO DE JANEIRO - It wasn't quite the slam dunk finish Lin Dan wanted for his career, but after his remarkable eight-year Olympic reign was ended by Malaysian top seed Lee Chong Wei in the Rio semi-finals, the Chinese great was simply "relieved." (OLYMPICS-RIO-BADMINTON-M-SINGLES/CHINA-LIN, moved at 11:54 a.m., by Pritha Sarkar, 286 words) See also: OLYMPICS-RIO-BADMINTON-M-DOUBLES/ (PIX), moved at 1:22 p.m., by Ian Ransom, 128 words

Soccer great Pele to play no role at closing ceremony

RIO DE JANEIRO - Pele will not appear at the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, organizers said on Friday, meaning Brazil's most famous sportsman has played no formal part in the Games. (OLYMPICS-RIO/PELE (TV), moved at 11:43 a.m., by Karolos Grohmann, 225 words)

Russia's prayer is answered with fifth team gold

RIO DE JANEIRO - Their eight pairs of lean legs batting out of the water in the form of praying hands, Russia's synchronized swimming team swept to their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal on Friday. (OLYMPICS-RIO-SYNCHRONISED-TEAMS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved at 1:26 p.m., by Alexandra Ulmer, 350 words)

Rio Paralympics to cut costs amid cash crunch, but says Games to go ahead

RIO DE JANEIRO - The Rio de Janeiro Paralympics will cut costs as ticket sales languish and organizers struggle for cash, but the Games will go ahead with all 22 sports as planned, the president of the International Paralympic Committee said on Friday. (OLYMPICS-RIO/PARALYMPICS (TV), moved at 1:17 p.m., by Karolos Grohmann, 324 words)

Doping suspension casts shadow on canoe racers

RIO DE JANEIRO - The suspension of canoe sprinter Serghei Tarnovschi, Moldova's first medal winner of the Rio Games, for failing a drugs test has disappointed fellow competitors who are alarmed by the frequency of doping cases in the sport. (OLYMPICS-RIO-CANOESPRINT/DOPING, moved at 1:43 p.m., by Amy Tennery, 421 words)

Polish athlete puts Olympic medal up for sale to help boy with cancer

WARSAW - Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski has put up for sale the silver medal he won at the Rio Olympics to help raise funds for a boy with a rare cancer, the athlete said on Friday. (OLYMPICS-RIO/POLAND-MALACHOWSKI (PIX), moved at 1:21 p.m., 222 words)

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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Giants' Beckham ready to hush detractors

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - On the field, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. might be all about flash and dash, but the third-year receiver wants people to know that he's just as devoted to perfecting his craft as anyone in the league. (FBN-GIANTS-BECKHAM-NEWS, moved, by Patti Traina, The Sports Xchange, 435 words) ALSO: Giants stand by suspended K Brown (FBN-GIANTS-BROWN-NEWS, moved, 311 words, by Patti Traina, The Sports Xchange) and Cruz itching to return to field (FBN-GIANTS-CRUZ-NEWS, moved, 349 words, by Patti Traina, The Sports Xchange)

Bengals lose OT Fisher to ankle injury

CINCINNATI - Stop me if you've heard this one before: A Cincinnati Bengals player is hurt. That summertime theme added another name, offensive tackle Jake Fisher. (FBN-BENGALS-FISHER-NEWS, moved, by Jeff Wallner, The Sports Xchange, 399 words)

Jaguars' line takes shape

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville Jaguars are getting closer to working with what should be their permanent offensive line for the 2016 season. (FBN-JAGUARS-OFFENSIVELINE-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 439 words)

NFL notebook

News and notes from around the NFL. (FBN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m., The Sports Xchange, 400 words)

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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

MLB clears Howard, Zimmerman in PED probe

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman were cleared of wrongdoing in Major League Baseball's investigation into their possible use of performance-enhancing drugs, prompted by an Al Jazeera report. (BBO-PHILLIES-NATIONALS-PEDPROBE-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 510 words)

MLB notebook

News and notes from spring training. (BBO-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words)

MLB roundup

Capsule recaps of all games on today's schedule. Will move as updated throughout the evening. (BBO-ROUNDUP, expect first version by 7 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words)

The Sports Xchange covers all MLB games (all times ET)

Miami at Pittsburgh 7:05 p.m.

St. Louis at Philadelphia 7:05 p.m.

Houston at Baltimore 7:05 p.m.

Texas at Tampa Bay 7:10 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers at Cincinnati 7:10 p.m.

Toronto at Cleveland 7:10 p.m.

Boston at Detroit 7:10 p.m.

Washington at Atlanta 7:35 p.m.

Oakland at Chi. White Sox 8:10 p.m.

Minnesota at Kansas City 8:15 p.m.

Chi. Cubs at Colorado 8:40 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at L.A. Angels 10:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Seattle 10:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at San Francisco 10:15 p.m.

Arizona at San Diego 10:40 p.m.

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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

New Orleans replaces Charlotte for 2017 All-Star Game

The NBA has chosen New Orleans to replace Charlotte for the 2017 All-Star Game. (BKN-PELICANS-NEWS-ALLSTARGAME, moved, The Sports Xchange, 415 words)

NBA notebook

News and notes from around the NBA. (BKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 7 p.m., The Sports Xchange, 375 words)

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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

NHL notebook

News and notes from around the league. (HKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 8 p.m., The Sports Xchange, 400 words)

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GOLF

Si Woo Kim wows with 60, leads Wyndham Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Si Woo Kim flirted with a sub-60 round before settling for a course-record 10-under-par 60 when his final birdie attempt failed to fall on Friday in the second round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club. (GLF-PGA-WYNDHAM-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU, expect bulletin by 2:15 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, will be led)

Cabrera-Bello, Na set pace in Greensboro

Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello and American Kevin Na share the lead on seven-under 63 heading into the second round of the PGA Tour event in Greensboro. (GOLF-PGA/, moving shortly, 350 words)

Briton Evans setting the pace

PRAGUE - Unheralded Briton Ryan Evans takes a one-stroke lead into the second round, the penultimate points-counting event before the European Ryder Cup team is determined. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, expect by 3:30 p.m., 300 words)

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AUTO

IndyCar drivers return to Pocono with Wilson, Clauson in their hearts

LONG POND, Pa. - It figures to be emotional for the Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend at Pocono Raceway. (CAR-IRL-PREVIEW, moving shortly, The Sports Xchange, by Jonathan Ingram, 722 words)

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Nebraska WR coach suspended, to miss four games

Nebraska wide receivers coach Keith Williams was suspended on Friday and will miss the Cornhuskers' first four games of the season after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. (FBC-NEBRASKA-NEWS-WRCOACH, moved, The Sports Xchange, 322 words)

Florida names Del Rio starter

Coach Jim McElwain made the anticipated announcement later than expected, but transfer Luke Del Rio is the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators. (FBC-FLORIDA-NEWS-DELRIO, moved, The Sports Xchange, 345 words)

08/19/2016 14:34