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News Recap: Week Ending June 28 2015

6/28/2015

Kosovo Wins Its First International Medal
Congratulations to Kosovo, which won its first medal in a major Games, with Nora Gjakova's bronze in the women's 57kg judo. The nascent independent nation was granted Olympic recognition by the IOC in December, and entered the 2015 European Games with as its debut. Aside from Gjakova, Kosovo also boasts Majlinda Kelmendi, the two-time world champion in judo's 52kg division as their best hope for a medal at Rio. Kelmendi is injured and not competing in Baku, but did carry her nation's flag at the opening ceremonies.

A Lone Argentinean Gold
Argentina's Nicolas Cordoba won the lone gold not won by either Brazil or host Colombia at the 2015 South American Gymnastics Championships in Cali, with his victory in the high bar at the start of the week, and to close out the competition. Brazil did end the Championships with 18 medals overall to top the table, including a sweep of all of the women's golds, including the team and all individual events.

Paris Opens 2024 Bid
Paris officially announced its candidacy for the 2024 Summer Games, joining the race against Boston, Hamburg, and Rome. The city hosted the Olympics in 1924, but lost out on bids in 1992, 2008, and 2012 when it was considered the frontrunner. Fourth time might be a charm.

And In Other Bid News
China announced this week an investigation on charges of corruption against Xiao Tian, the vice chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee. This comes weeks ahead of the IOC vote on the site for the 2022 Winter Games, for which Beijing is one of the two candidates. While some argue that such public attempts to root our corruption - real or not - may enhance an improving an image of transparency for the nation, it also could cast a pall over an Olympic decision for IOC members tired of palls.

And In Even More Other Bid News
Rome 2024 won official city council support this week, after being called a potential 'MafiaCapitale' by leading opponents of the bid. The council vote, largely ceremonial anyway, was 38-6 in favor of the bid proceeding.

And Even Tokyo 2020 Has Controversy
Not to be left out of the controversy mix, Tokyo 2020 finds itself in a home-grown image problem of its own. (What Olympics would it be if it didn't have one?) The much argued-about new Olympic stadium seems to be a go, after governmental reassurances this week. White elephant? Turtle? Yep...

Asian Fencing Championships Start
The 2015 Asian Fencing Championships in Singapore started on Thursday with an upset, as Korea's Olympic champion Kim Ji-Yeon lost in the women's sabre semifinals to China Shen Chen. Competition continues through the 30th. China also won the men's epee with Jiao Yunlong to sweep the first day.

Sprint Track National Championships Drama
These would be quiet weeks in athletics, without many international track and field events - if it weren't for the various national championships held in advance, and as trials for, the upcoming World Championships. And, as typical, the Jamaican and U.S. sprint competitions are creating lots of buzz. Usain Bolt (with byes anyway into the Worlds) drops out of the Jamaican trials. Yohan Blake doesn't make it out of the semifinals, while Asafa Powell posts the third-fastest time this year in the 100. Meanwhile, Tyson Gay made an emphatic champion's return on the U.S. side, just beating new sensation Trayvon Brommell. And, on the women's side, former world champion Carmelita Jeter failed to make the 100 meter team, which will be comprised of newer faces Tori Bowie, English Gardner, and Jasmine Todd. And then, stalwart Sanya Richards-Ross failed as well to make even the final of the 400, and world best so far this season Francena McCorory didn't make the individual cut in the event, which was eventually won by Allyson Felix (she's running the 400!). Lots of new faces and lots of eager competition...the Beijing Worlds will be exciting! (p.s., man, the U.S. is deep)

World Hockey League Semifinals Set
The quarterfinals of the FIH's World Hockey League Semifinals are set, for both the men's and women's tournaments in Antwerp. On the men's side, Australia and surprising Belgium lead the way, with upstart Malaysia also in the mix. For the women, the Netherlands and New Zealand were the group winners to lead the next round. A lot is on the line in these next games, as all semifinalists qualify for the Hockey League Finals at the end of the year, and the top three for both men and women qualify for the Olympics.

European Games End
The inaugural European Games ended in Baku this weekend, on a mixed note overall. To be fair, a major new multi-sport event in an already-crowded sports calendar was sure to be tough to draw in top-flight senior competition. With the FINA Worlds next month, swimming was limited to a junior-level event. Track and field was the bottom-rung of the European team event. On the other hand, judo doubled as the European Championships (France winning both men's and women's team events). Overall, competition was smooth and, well, competitive. Russia ended the two weeks on top of the medal table - by far, with 164 medals, far out-pacing second place Germany's 66. Host Azerbaijan ended in third, with 56. Those medal totals alone should alert to the not fair comparison to widespread elite competition. But, baby steps. Then again, the 2019 Games - only four years away - are not scheduled in any host city yet after the Netherlands withdrew. (My guess is Russia stepping in...)

New UCI Logo
The Union Cycliste Internationale has re-branded with a new logo, which aims to "strengthen the UCI's identity and to increase its visibility across all applications." Is it me, or is this not really a big change?

Europe's U-21 Football Moves to the Final
The new champion of men's U-21 football in Europe is about to be crowned, as the semifinals were completed to close out this week. Portugal and Sweden will meet each other in the final on the 30th, after taking out Germany (5-0!) and Denmark, respectively. Rivalries between the four will be renewed at Rio 2016 as all four qualified for the Olympic U-23 tournament with their semifinal placements. Defending U-21 champions Spain surprisingly failed to qualify for this year's tournament.

And the FIFA Women's World Cup Moves to the Semifinals
Elsewhere in football, the women completed the quarterfinals to set up a couple of intriguing semifinals this week. An improving U.S. team will take on Germany, and defending champion Japan will meet surprise England. The match of the tournament saw Germany heartbreakingly (if you're a French fan) take out France in the quarters over penalty shootout, while England eliminated hometown Canadians, who had strong hopes of making it to the finals. Now that England is in the semis, and possibly can be the top European team...again, how wrong is it that they can not represent the U.K. at the Olympics. The sport needs their participation in qualifying.

As Does UEFA's Women's U-17
The future World Cup stars from Europe shined this week, as the women's football championship for U-17 moved into the semifinal phase. Both finalists from last year - champions Germany and runners-up Spain are in the running again, and will face Switzerland and France, respectively on July 1.

Mountain Bike Marathon Worlds
Getting back to UCI, the Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships were held this week in Val Gardena, Italy. (I can't imagine anything sounding more grueling on a bike) The men's podium had a familiar look: gold medalist Alban Lakata of Austria previously won in 2010, and has three second-place finishes, including last year. This year's silver medalist, Christoph Sauser of Switzerland has a 3-1-2 medal record before 2015. And bronze medalist Leonardo Paez of Colombia has a previous silver and bronze. The women's side was just as routine: winner Gunn-Roita Dahle Flesja of Norway was the gold medalist five earlier tries; in second was Denmark's Annika Langvad, who won in 2011 and '12; and in third was Germany's Sabine Spitz, who has one win and five silvers to her credit. Congrats to all! (But let's get some fresh blood out there)

Serbia Tops Europe in Women's Basketball
The FIBA EuroBasket Women's tournament ended after three weeks of competition, with Serbia the champions for the first time, after a 76-68 victory over France. Defending champions Spain recovered from their semifinal defeat against the French to win the bronze, over Belarus. With the gold, Serbia also qualified for the Olympic tournament for the first time.

And Also in Water Polo
Serbia is having a great summer - winning the U-20 World Cup (men's soccer), the EuroBasket (women's basketball), and now the FINA Water Polo World League Super Final, the annual top league competition. Serbia defeated Croatia in the final, and in a confidence-builder for the Olympic hosts, Brazil won third place over the U.S.

The Road to Volleyball's Grand Prix Finals Begins
28 national teams have entered the annual premier league-style competition, with play beginning as Cuba defeated Australia 3-0 in the first match. Six teams will enter the final round, starting July 22 in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Beach Volleyball World Championships Begin
The FIVB Beach Volleyball Worlds began in The Hague this week, with wins by both of the top Dutch pairs; #10 seed Marleen van Iersel & Madelein Meppelink on the women's side, and #9 Reinder Nummerdor & Christiaan Varenhorst on the men's. Competition continues through the 5th.

A New U.S. Track League?
Citing the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland and the 2021 World Championships in Eugene as an inspiration, TrackTown USA announced a new track and field series to start in 2016. It's been tried before, but good luck!

The Island Games Start
Featuring 16 sports like archery, badminton, and swimming exclusively for island territories such as Greenland, Sark, and the Shetland Islands, the XVI Island Games began this weekend in Jersey. Since 1985, Jersey, Isle of Man and Guernsey have been the top powers. If ever there was a stage for Yns Mon or Gotland to make a mark...

As Does The World Police and Fire Games
The 2015 World Police and Fire Games opened in Fairfax, Virginia this week. Not familiar? Open to any active law enforcement or fire fighting professional throughout the world, the event usually attracts over 12,000 competitors from around the world, in 61 sports. That's a lot...and second only to the Olympics in number of participation. And even better...all events are free.

And the U-19 Basketball Championship
The FIBA Men's U-19 Basketball World Championship started in Heraklion, Greece, with 16 teams to compete through the week. In the first matches, the U.S., the defending champions, won, along with Croatia, Spain, and host Greece.

Why Tokyo 2020 Should Say No to Baseball

6/23/2015

As part of new leader Thomas Bach’s Olympic Agenda 2020 initiative, the International Olympic Committee has relaxed the rules for additional sports to be added to the official program on a quadrennial basis. This has proved exciting for the many sports federations long looking on the outside at the Games, after a frustratingly long period of official Olympic policy mandating a maximum 28 sport capacity.

Tokyo 2020 has thus announced that, after an initial application period earlier this week, that eight sports will be considered for new inclusion. After further deliberation and approval by the IOC, we’ll know next summer which sports make the cut. That could be one, or two, even all eight, or none at all. Topping the headlines, especially in the U.S., is the combined single bid of baseball (men) and softball (women). Their inclusion would mark a return for both: baseball was once an official Olympic sport, from 1992 through 2008, as was softball, from 1996 to 2008. Their position as former official sports is generally accepted as helping their case, as organizers have shown able to fit and execute a tournament within the confines of the Games, and they have a track record of contextual audience and television support. Further, Japan has a strong link to both events, having won three team medals in each, including sitting as the defending champions in softball from 2008. Likely, the prospect of adding to their medal total in either event incentivizes Japan to push their candidacy.

But baseball itself isn’t particularly excited, nor had it been in the past. While soccer’s governing body, FIFA, expects players to be made available to national service throughout the year, Major League Baseball, its owners and leadership desperate to avoid a mid-season disruption, have never warmed to the idea of allowing its players to participate. Although, pros, notably only those not on 40-day rosters, were eventually allowed, MLB and the Players’ Union still rankled at the thought of Olympic-style drug protocol and teams were largely composed still of minor-leaguers. And recently, new MLB Commissioner Ron Manfred didn’t seem at all enthusiastic when asked about potential Olympic participation, and reiterated the season disruption as a main concern.

The National Hockey League has similarly voiced concerns for the Winter Olympics, but the comparison isn’t quite equal. NHL players have a stronger history of playing for national teams, with Olympic participation since 1920 and the World Championships being annual prize as well. Despite some regular posturing, the NHL, with its particularly large international mix of players, does recognize the promotional power and visibility for the sport the Games provide. It is the only true team sport in the Winter editions (no one seems eager to promote bandy anymore) and, as such, it receives significant airtime and attention amongst the more lesser known sports.

Compare that to Major League Baseball: not only have they proven lukewarm to the Olympics, but they have also created their own international tournament to manage themselves, the World Baseball Classic, which allows them the ability to stage a global event under their rules and their own timing outside of the regular season. That’s fair enough, as all sports have their own non-Olympic championships and tournaments. But most sports see the Games as a highlight in the calendar, and not a distraction. One struggles to see hardened MLB fans, and especially owners, appreciate a break in their schedule to participate in a Games where, very likely, basketball and track and gymnastics and beach volleyball regularly steal their spotlight. Perhaps players would endear themselves to the moment, as Roger Federer has taken to the Olympics, despite his many wins and validations in Grand Slams. But that’s an if.

In the meantime, take a look at squash. The sport has long been featured at the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, and the Pan American Games. It has routinely been a bridesmaid at Olympic inclusion votes, including narrowly missing success for 2012 and 2020. The sport is certainly global, with Egypt, Malaysia, France, England, Hong Kong, and Germany all represented across the current men’s and women’s top ten rankings. While baseball and softball can argue their own global-ness, without the U.S.’ top players, the event becomes second rate.

It’s refreshing to see enthusiasm for the Olympics. Squash has been asking for inclusion. As has softball, heartbreakingly so. When softball was removed from the schedule, likely due to an inevitable link with baseball, players and organizers were distraught at the negative impact the lack of Olympic attention would have on the sport, and they vowed to fight back for inclusion. Unfortunately for softball, baseball needs a women’s event in order to apply, and softball has decided that their best chance is to ride whatever coattails baseball can provide. It would be fairer and more interesting to see softball apply on its own individual merits, with both men’s and women’s events, and leave baseball to itself. That’s probably too large of an ask, though, as the gender disparity in baseball would become apparent, and their enthusiasm for the Games laid bare.

By the end of September, Tokyo 2020 organizers will officially recommend to the IOC a possible shortened list of official new sports. Baseball / softball, along with squash, karate, surfing, bowling, roller sports, sport climbing, and wushu all await word. Let’s hope that those sports that need the Games, and those that care, are rewarded.

Excluding the U.K. from Olympic Football is Bad for the Game

6/22/2015

The competition for 2016 Olympic football is in full swing for both men and women, with various global competitions, such as the current FIFA Women’s World Cup, serving as qualifying events. That certainly provides added incentive for the athletes, as they strive to excel today, and for the chance to do so next year. While the vast majority of nations competing now won’t get to Rio simply because they aren’t strong enough, they at least have the chance at qualification.

But not all teams are allowed the Olympic dream. Would-be Team Great Britain, despite representing the cradle of the sport’s start, finds itself on the outside once again. Old geo-political and sporting rivalries continue to deny their football stars the Olympic stage.

UEFA and FIFA both recognize England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as separate countries, which is in conflict with the International Olympic Committee, which only recognizes the United Kingdom as a single National Olympic Committee. In order to compete in the Olympics, U.K. athletes who otherwise would compete as Scottish or English must do so under the British flag. This isn’t an issue in other sports, even rugby or field hockey where the home nations also tend to compete separately in off-years. Yet it remains an issue in football due to the long-standing rivalry between the home nations, the intense passion for the sport, and their long independence within UEFA. The choice for Olympic participation in football comes down to Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish associations agreeing to either allowing an English team to represent the U.K., or all four associations agreeing to a blended team.

The latter was the solution in 2012, when the U.K. had the automatic right to enter teams in the London Games as Team Great Britain. Apparently the prospect of having a London-based football tournament without any U.K. athletes was too much, and such blended teams competed in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. And, they both made it to the quarterfinals. But that harmony was short-lived and quickly dead as soon as the Olympic flame went out. For this Games cycle, the old arguments came back: the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish claimed a fear of having their independence within football outside of the Olympics at risk, and refused to either allow England to represent the U.K., or to contribute to a combined team. Dare it be said, but perhaps a simple pettiness against the traditionally football-stronger England is at play as well. Regardless, earlier this year, England’s Football Association agreed to drop the issue.

Which brings us to today. The European teams earning trips to Rio will be decided at two current events, the FIFA Women’s World Cup (the top three European teams will make the women’s field) and the UEFA Men’s U-21 Championship (the top four to Rio). And, guess what? England is in prime position in both tournaments to make the cut. But if they do, and even if they win either tournament, the Olympics are out of their reach. And while bureaucrats and fierce home country fan loyalists back home may be content, the decision really simply affects the players and the larger sport growth. While it could be argued that an entertaining and competitive event could be had on the men’s side without Britain, the women’s tournament needs as many strong teams as possible. With England ranked #6 in the world, they would add a spark to the event in Rio in a women’s sport in dire need of as much firepower and athletic showmanship as possible to grow the game. What fun would it be to see dynamos Fran Kirby and Lucy Bronze on another global stage? And, no doubt they and their teammates would cherish the opportunity. In the meantime, it is unfair and unsporting. Perhaps the further they proceed in competition today, the more awkward this situation will be for their association representatives. So, this Olympic fan is rooting for England to go far. And for the Olympic opportunity to be open for all.

News Recap: Week Ending June 21 2015

6/21/2015

FIFA U-20 World Cup
Serbia won FIFA's U-20 World Cup in a thrilling 2-1 victory over 5-time champion Brazil. Goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic won the Golden Gloves trophy as the Serbs won their first title.

Russia on Top of European Team Athletics
Team Russia won its fourth title in the European Team Athletics Championships, with a tight victory over defending champions Germany. Russia won 5 events, led by Sergey Shubenkov's season lead in the 110m Hurdles and Darya Klishina's long jump championship record. Sweden, Finland and Norway finished as the bottom three, and are relegated to the lower First League for next year's competition. Replacing them in the 12-team Super League will be Czech Republic, Greece, and the Netherlands after finishing as the top three in the First League this year.

Bode Miller Un-Retiring?
Well, maybe...sort of...

Hamburg 2024 Goes to the Polls
In the spirit of such public referendums these days, Hamburg's 2024 Olympic bid efforts will go through the official hurdle of a public support vote to continue. Organizers say a 50% approval threshold will keep the bid on track to continue against Rome and (um) Boston.

North Africa Big Winners in African Fencing
Egypt and Tunisia came out on top of the overall medal table at the 2015 African Fencing Championships in Cairo, with 15 overall medals each. That included a sweep of all women's and individual and team events for the Tunisians. Egypt, meanwhile, swept the men's team events. Individual medals outside of North Africa athletes went to Senegal's Alexandre Bouzaid in men's epee (gold), and Benin's Yemi Apithy in men's sabre (silver) and Tamryn Carfoot in women's epee (bronze).

More Olympic Field Hockey Berths Filled
The first round of the women's World Hockey League Semifinals in Valencia ended this weekend, with Great Britain, China, and Germany earning the three Olympic berths on the line. Britain won the tournament, with a 2-1 win over China and Germany defeating Argentina for third place in penalties. The top three move on to December's World Hockey League Finals, in Rosario, Argentina. Next up is the second half of the Semifinals, in Antwerp, with another three Olympic berths at stake. New Zealand (12-0 over Poland), Netherlands (11-0, France), and Australia (9-0, Poland) are big winners in the first two days. The men, meanwhile, also start their second semifinal round in Antwerp as well, with Australia a 10-0 winner over France for the highlight win so far.

Kenya Tops in African Women's Volleyball Again
Defending champion Kenya won the Women's African Nations Championship for the ninth time this weekend, beating Algeria 3-0 in the final match. Cameroon finished third over Senegal in the eight-team tournament. Both Kenya and Algeria move on to the FIVB World Cup later this summer.

A New Rising Star to Watch
16-year old Candace Hill stirred some attention this week with a blistering 10.98 second mark in the 100meters at the Brooks PR Invitational this weekend. With that, she became the first high schooler to break 11 seconds in the event, and is now the new World Youth record holder. That time also would have been good enough for seventh place in the Olympics three years ago. Last time I remember a teenager making such commotion, it was Allyson Felix...

More UEFA Olympic Soccer Qualification Underway
The UEFA men's U-21 Championship started this week, with eight teams, including Serbia (recent winners of the U-20 World Cup) and host Czech Republic. The four semifinalists in this tournament will qualify their nations for the Olympic (U-23) competition next year. Reverting back to pre-2012 rules, England can not represent Great Britain, so their potential Olympic spot will be forfeit and will be re-assigned show they be a semifinalist.

And FIFA's Women's World Cup Moves to Knockout Stages
The Group Stage of the Women's World Cup in Canada ended, with perhaps the only major surprises this week being defending champion Japan only beating hapless Ecuador 1-0, and 53rd-ranked Cameroon moving on in second place in their group. To start the next round, though, the real action is here - #1 Germany beat #5 Sweden (and will face #3 France next), #10 Australia sent off #7 Brazil, and hosts #8 Canada emphatically dismissed #19 Switzerland. The quarterfinals begin on the 26th.

As Does the Copa America
The South American football championship ended its own Group Stage, with the quarterfinals starting on the 24th. Tournament non-South American invitees Jamaica and Mexico properly bowed out, yet recent continental stalwart Ecuador did as well, after a third place finish in Group A behind Chile and Bolivia. Meanwhile, think about this - either Peru or Bolivia will be in the final four after their quarterfinal match on the 25th.

Mo Farah Finally Responds
After much talk around him, double Olympic gold medalist - and national GBR hero - Mo Farah finally commented on the cheating hints surrounding him. After accusations earlier this month that his coach, famed Alberto Salazar, has provided drugs to his runners, including Farah's friend and training partner - and Olympic silver medalist - USA's Galen Rupp, a lot of attention has been thrown Farah's way. Describing the period as 'the two worst weeks of my life', he attempted to address the two missed drug tests brought up in the overall investigation...

South American Gymnastics Champions Crowned
Ahead of the Pan American Games starting next month, the South American Artistic Gymnastics Championships began this week in Santiago, Chile. Brazil and Colombia proved the early dominant powers - both winning 5 medals each across the first four days. Brazil won the women's team gold, with Daniele Hypolito and Leticia Costa going 1-2 in the women's all-around, while Colombia took the men's team, with Jorge Giraldo and Carlos Calvo 1-3 in the men's all-around.

USA Volleyball Wins Pan American Cup
Team USA won the women's Pan American Cup in volleyball, with a 3-0 win over the Dominican Republic. (Congrats!) This marks their fourth title, and matches Cuba for the most ever. The U.S. and the DR qualified for 2016's Grand Prix Group 1, and they will both prepare for the upcoming '15 Grand Prix series. (Volleyball sure is a busy calendar)

News Recap, Week Ending June 14 2015

6/14/2015

European Fencing Championships End
The European Fencing Championships ended on Thursday, with Italy on top of the medal table with 10 total. Russia followed with nine, then France with six. Individual highlights included three double gold medalists, representing those top three and all disciplines: Gauthier Grumier (FRA) in epee, Sofiya Velikaya (RUS) in sabre, and Elisa di Francisca (ITA) in foil.

And the African Fencing Championships Start
The 2015 Championships began this week in Cairo, with competition through the 16th. Through the first three days of competition, Egypt and Tunisia lead the medal table with 10 and 9 medals each across the individual events; Tunisia sweeping the women's titles

Women's World Cup Continues
FIFA's WWC completed it's first full week of matches, with the second round of group stage matches now complete. Co-favorites (right?) USA and Germany both had moments of question, with the defending Germans drawing with Norway and the U.S. tying with Sweden. On the other end of the spectrum, Ecuador suffered losses of 6-0 and 10-1 within six days. Buck up, Ecuador...you have to start somewhere, and the only way is up!

New Events Confirmed for the Winter Games
As expected, some new sport events are now officially added to the schedule for the Winter Games for 2018. To be competed in Pyeongchang will be curling mixed doubles (Go Hungary!), team skiing (sure, I guess), mass start speed skating (which I'm very curious about), and big air in snowboarding (which I'm not sure how different is from halfpipe or aerials, but I'll find out...). To make room within snowboarding, the sports is dropping the parallel slalom event. Vic Wild (RUS) and Julia Dujmovits (AUT) won that event in men's and women's competitions in Sochi, and will not be able to defend their titles. Assumedly the parallel giant slalom event will still be contested. To be fair, the (non-giant) event was only held once, in 2014, so not much legacy will be lost.

And, More Summer Sports?
Continuing the Bach era's reform and change, Tokyo 2020 is getting ready to exercise their right to add more sports to the Games. The catch - added sports should appeal to youth and represent some level of globalism. This week, final applications were due and 26 (!) sports submitted bids to become one of the one or two to be added. The favorite seems to be baseball / softball, in a revised joint bid as one sport that offers significant Japanese appeal. A long shot? Well...tug of war. I'm rooting for you still, squash!

Women's EuroBasket Begins
2013 champions Spain started their defense of their European title in women's basketball with the start of the 2015 EuroBasket, co-hosted by Hungary and Romania. Through almost the completion of the first round, Spain, Belarus, Montenegro and Serbia all are 3-0. In a good run for competitiveness, the only rout in the 20-team event so far has been a 71-40 defeat of Great Britain by Russia. The overall winner will book a place in the 2016 Olympic tournament.

Team USA Wins Rugby Qualification
At the conclusion of the NACRA Rugby Sevens Championships in Cary, North Carolina this weekend, the United States won qualification for the region to the Olympic tournament next year, in both men's and women's events. On the men's side, Canada and Mexico earned trips to the official Olympic Qualification tournament (date TBD) for another try at the Games. For the women, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago finished 2nd and 3rd to earn their Qualification Tournament spots.

Hosts Continue to Dominate the Southeast Asian Games
The 2015 SEA Games continued with an impressive showing by host Singapore and a 253 medal total to top the table so far with two more days left in competition, ahead of traditional power Thailand (235).

Copa America Begins
The most important South American football tournament started this week, with the 2015 Copa America in Chile. Defending champion Uruguay opened its campaign with a win against invitee Jamaica, with Argentina and Brazil also notching their game 1 wins.

USA Defends in Women's Water Polo
The FINA Women's Water Polo World League Super Final (um, a mouthful there) was held in Shanghai this week, and the USA successfully defended its title with an 8-7 win over Australia in the final match. The Netherlands defeated China 10-5 for third place.

New European Power - Azerbaijan?
With the new European Games starting this week in Baku, Azerbaijan have an opportunity to showcase sport and hosting in their country in the new multi-sport event. And, they're doing that, for sure, taking early lead of the medal table with 13 medals ahead of Turkey's 12 and Russia's 7 through the first four days. No, ahem, offense meant to the hosts, but a scoreline like that kinda sounds like a lot of Europe's top athletes aren't in the mix yet in the Games. I understand that, historically, World Championships and Olympic tended to be 'European Games' with regards to where success came from, and that with the increased globalization and parity around the world across many sports, that Europe may be looking for a bit of self-promotion, but it will probably take continued effort to coordinate a crowded sports calendar to emphasize the relevance of these Games. In the meantime, I'm all for more sports getting more attention, and more athletes getting a spotlight and experience they might not receive in larger Worlds or Olympics. Carry on!

And in Ridiculousness
So...you thought Sepp Blatter would go quietly?? The circus is still open for business.

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News Recap: Week Ending June 28 2015

Why Tokyo 2020 Should Say No to Baseball

Excluding the U.K. from Olympic Football is Bad for the Game

News Recap: Week Ending June 21 2015

News Recap, Week Ending June 14 2015

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