Pan Am Games Close
The 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto closed, after 20 days of successful competition. (The ParaPan Games start on August 7th.) Generally well-received, the Games proved a boon for hosts Canada, who compiled their best-ever showing after sending their "A" team across many events, ending with 217 medals overall (78 gold) for second-place on the table behind the U.S.' 265. Particular highlights for the hosts in the final week came from athletics, where they secured 11 golds, including Andre de Grasse's double sprint gold and Shawnacy Barber's win in the pole vault. Glad to see the success of the Games, and now onto Lima for 2019!

Now That That's Over...
And buoyed by the success of the Pan Ams, Toronto now looks to bid for the 2024 Olympics. This would be the city's sixth attempt, most recently for 2008. 2024 would be a tough competition, with Boston, Hamburg, Rome, Budapest already in - and the usual public concerns creeping up in Toronto. But the city can throw a large multi-sport...

Chris Froome Wins the Tour de France
First taking the leader's yellow jersey on the third stage of 21, Chris Froome of Great Britain won his second Tour with a 72 second lead over rising star Colombian Nairo Quintana, who won the Young Riders Classification white jersey as consolation. Meanwhile, Froome's win made him the first Briton to win the race twice. (Granted, he is only the second Briton ever to win it anyway). And, he won the Mountains Classification polka dot jersey as well.

Team USA Wins FIBA Women's U-19 Worlds
The U.S. completed a 7-0 run at the Under-19 World Championships for women in Chekhov, defeating the hosts Russians in the title game. Despite a close fight for the gold in the 78-70 final, the U.S. won their sixth straight title. With the bronze medal, Australia completed a familiar podium in women's basketball, cementing their usual stay at the top of the rankings for the next few years.

And Also the Volleyball Grand Prix
Team USA also picked up the championship in the 2015 FIVB Grand Prix for women's volleyball, going 5-0 in the Group 1 finals in Omaha. Russia and Brazil, the 2014 champion, rounded out the top three. Japan, the second-place finishers last year, finished last and sixth this time, after China and Italy in the fourth and fifth positions.

Mexico Reclaims the Gold Cup Title
After a contentious semifinal round that saw them advance controversially against Panama, Mexico then beat surprising Jamaica 3-1 to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time since 2011. Defending champions United States fell spectacularly against the Jamaicans in the semifinals and then to Panama in the third place match. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann will need to regroup quick, and in time for a deciding match on October 9th versus Mexico now to decide the region's representative to the Confederations Cup in 2017.

Gender Equality Wins at the World Aquatics Champs
The World Aquatics Championships opened in Kazan this weekend, and the annual competition started rather uneventfully with Chinese wins in diving and Russian wins in syncro over the first three days. But one definite highlight was USA's Bill May winning a gold medal in the first-ever world championship for mixed-duets in synchronized swimming. He had been the standard-bearer for male inclusion in the sport since the 1990's, and, partnering with Christina Jones, won the inaugural mixed event over the home favorite Russian pair. Although initial discomfort was voiced at the mixed inclusion, and only six teams entered, it's a good first step in balancing the sport and offering additional opportunity. Congrats, Bill!

New Tokyo 2020 Logo
Tokyo 2020 unveiled their official logo, marking the five-year countdown to the Games. With the iconic Japanese red circle included to "represent the power of every beating heart", the logo also features upended quotations to represent equality. (Say again??) Well, it looks sophisticated and classy, but I don't get it...

BMX Worlds End
The BMX Worlds ended in Zolder, Belgium this weekend, with two new world champions crowned in the elite divisions. First, Venezuela's Stefany Hernandez won the women's elite over Australian Caroline Buchanan and Dane Simone Christensen, to continue a South American strength in the sport after Mariana Pajon's Olympic victory for Colombia. Then, the Netherlands' Niek Kimmann won gold in the men's competition, leading a Dutch 1-2, with Jelle van Gorkom taking second. Swiss David Graf finished third. Kimmann is certainly a star on the rise - he was the 2014 World Junior Champion, and now Senior Champion in his first attempt.

Special Olympics Open
The Special Olympics World Games opened in Los Angeles this weekend, featuring over 6,500 athletes from 165 countries in 25 different sports. Those numbers make these Games the largest sports event in 2015 - and better yet, all the events are free for the public.

A New 1500 World Record
One of the more suspicious world records in women's track - the 1500 meter mark of Qu Yunxia's 3:50.46 from 1993 has been beaten finally. Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba set a new mark of 3:50.07 at the Herculis IAAF Diamond League Meeting this week, and further cemented her star stature. And with good reason even before this race; she's the sister of Olympic medalists Tirunesh and Ejegayehu, and likely the future of Ethiopian success at Rio 2016. Almost as remarkable as her specific achievement here, was the overall fast pace led by rabbit and 800 meter specialist Chanelle Price, with the top six finishers under four minutes. Of special note was Shannon Rowbury in third with 3:56.29, to break the North American record, also long held  - and some would say also suspiciously - by Mary Slaney for 32 years. In that feat, she beat the person heralded as the next U.S. star, and who many expected to take Slaney's record, Jenny Simpson, who finished fourth - and just .01 off Slaney's record. On a night that the men's 1500 record almost fell as well, fans sure were treated to a string reminder of the excitement of track!

Lance Armstrong Returns to the Tour
Not exactly a welcome return, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong reappeared at the Tour de France...well, sort of...Appearing at a nearby leukemia charity race timed with the start of, but not affiliated with, the Tour. Armstrong ruffled the feathers of many who would rather he disappeared. But on the other hand, if he can still draw some attention. maybe it can be used for good. Meanwhile, some things stay the same - French media on the warpath against suspected cheats. This time the focus is on Team Sky and Tour leader Chris Froome. Despite having urine thrown at him in an apparent protest, he's still in standing to win the general classification. Six more stages to go....

Russia Increases Fencing Dominance
At last year's World Fencing Championships in Kazan, Russia tied Italy for the top overall spot, with eight overall medals each. With this year's Championships set in Russia as well, the stage was set for continued home-grown success, and the hosts Russians dominated, winning nine overall to Italy's five in second place. Next stage for the budding rivalry...next year's Europeans and then Rio 2016.

Spain Returning to Football Wins
The UEFA U-19 Championship ended with Spain on top, winning their seventh overall title with a 2-0 win over Russia. Here's hoping some of that talent filters up into the senior side for the next few years to keep them competitive. And with Spain's women's U-19 team leading the charge to the final stages in their tournament, perhaps a resurgence of la furia roja is around the corner all around.

Gold Cup Quarterfinals
Meanwhile, the premier senior soccer event in CONCACAF, the Gold Cup, completed its quarterfinals. Moving on to the semis are the U.S. to face Jamaica, and Panama vs Mexico later this week. Should the U.S. win the title, they will earn qualification to the 2017 Confederation Cup. (Otherwise, a playoff will be held)

Thiago Pereira Stars in Pan Am's First Week
The first week of the Pan American Games is over, and the USA has taken over the medal count as expected, with a mid-Games total of 160 to Canada's 142. The real individual star so far may be Brazil's Thiago Pereira, who became the all-time medalist in Pan Am history with 23 medals across five editions since 2003. In 2015, he goes home with five medals, including three golds. Next up for the Olympic medalist will be the worlds later this month, and then a likely hugely expectant lead-up to the Rio Games. And next up for the Pan Am's? Track and field, taekwondo, cycling, and racquetball take the spotlight from swimming, gymnastics, and weightlifting to close out the week along with the majority of team sports seeing their competition runs end.

Tokyo 2020 Stadium Starts from Scratch
After a much-maligned original design, Tokyo 2020 organizers have scrapped the main Olympic stadium plan and are starting anew with a search for a replacement. The original, designed by Zaha Hadid, and most recently expected to cost over $2 billion, was never a choice for the people - who loudly decried it as a future 'white elephant'. Now, with six years to go, a new stadium plan is being called for. Doesn't sound like much time...

Pacific Games End
The Pacific Games ended this weekend, with the host Papua New Guineans taking the overall medal title, with 217. In second, New Caledonia ended with 165. Makes sense...PNG had almost twice as many competitors across all events, with a whopping 625. I'll look forward to seeing the first Olympics medal from PNG at some point....hopefully?

As Do the Summer University Games
And, as typical, the host country put on a string showing, with the South Koreans coming in second overall with 108 medals to Russia's 122. Fittingly, in one of the last medal events of the Games, Korea's women's handball team lost the gold to Russia, 36-38. In the real final event, the U.S. defeated Germany in the men's basketball final, 84-77.

Davis Cup Quarterfinals
With Wimbledon over, the traditional down week of tennis allows for Davis Cup action to continue, and it did - with quarterfinals running to set up the semis in September. In the highlight matchup, Great Britain outlasted France 3-1, with Andy Murray earning all three wins: singles over Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and with brother Jamie in doubles. Next up will be Australia in the semis in Britain, and the other semi will feature Argentina vs Belgium. My money is on Murray to take the title in the end...

Portugal Wins First Beach Soccer Title
In a crowd-pleasing final match, the host Portuguese won the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, with a 5-3 win over upstart Tahiti. (Tahiti!) This was the 18th version of the Beach World Cup, and Portugal's first title, despite three previous second-places and five third-places.

And France Wins First Volleyball Title
The FIVB Volleyball World League finally ended this weekend, after competition that had started in mid-May, with 13th-ranked France winning a surprise title over sixth-ranked Serbia in two sets. The previous best for the team was second in 2006, and in this run, they lost only once in the tournament. For third place, the U.S. defeated world champions Poland.

Track Youths Take Center Stage
The IAAF's World Youth Championships took place this week in Cali, with standout performances from youth-aged competitors across all events. Perhaps the stars of the event were in the sprints - both girls and boys provided double gold-medalists. The U.S.' Candace Hill won the 100 and 200, both in Championship record times, and continued her rise to track stardom. Meanwhile, Japan's Abdul Hakim Sani Brown won the men's double, and along with last year's World Junior Championships bronze medalist Yoshihide Kiryu, certainly provides Japan with a bright sprint future.

Earlier this summer in June at FIFA's U-20 World Cup, Fiji provided what a lot of people thought was a historic upset: a 3-0 win over favored Honduras in their second group stage match. Though they had lost their first match (1-8) to Germany, this one win had for the moment not only captured football's attention, but also given them a moment's thought that they could reach the next round. That was special, especially as they were actually lucky to be at the tournament at all. As Australia plays its international football as part of Asia, New Zealand has usually been seen the dominant force, and the rest of the region as falling short in quality. With the balance of power and competitiveness in the sport more prevalent in Europe and other regions, Oceania has usually drawn the short-end of the space allotments in international tournament draws. But as the host nation, New Zealand earned an automatic berth, which meant that in this year, the lucky Oceania Football Confederation was granted a rare second allotment. Fiji won that spot after defeating the remainder of Oceania's field in qualifying. And, they certainly took advantage, playing competitively and spiritedly during their time, although losing the third match to Uzbekistan 0-3 and bowing out.

But they helped proved a point; that Oceania football is more competitive than what many may have thought. And, that New Zealand isn't necessarily always the top player in the region. In fact, signs have been there. New Zealand's 2-4 loss against Vanuatu in the 2004 OFC Nations Cup prevented them from making the final round, and they eventually finished third behind Australia and the Solomon Islands. In 2012, New Caledonia shocked the New Zealanders in the semifinal, 2-0, in a tournament Tahiti eventually won. Oceania's members may not strike fear elsewhere on the globe, but their internal rivalry and skill seems to increasing. While New Zealand's senior team is ranked 136th globally, the rest of the region is fairly close together - between New Caledonia at 167 and Fiji at 199 are five other federation sides. Granted, this may represent the bottom of the FIFA rankings barrel, but does indicate close intra-federation rivalries.

Which brings us back to Fiji and that U-20 side. Many of those players who scored that historic victory in New Zealand came back to the team for the Pacific Games U-23 tournament, doubling as the Olympic qualifying event for Oceania. Again, New Zealand entered as the heavy favorite, but in a shocking and confusing disqualification, were ruled out. With the door opened, Fiji emerged as the titleist over Vanuatu. And so, Fiji finds itself with a ticket to Rio 2016 and the Olympics. Who knows - might Fiji have scored in upset over New Zealand in the final? Maybe...they've won international big moment games before. Just look back to June, and ironically, in New Zealand. And, just as in that U-20 run with having a little luck in getting entry, they perhaps had a little luck in getting entry to Rio with the disqualification. But here's hoping they take advantage of the moment again, and score a goal or two - or a win. Fiji is on board now in world football. Let's enjoy that.
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Team USA Gets Ticker Taped
The FIFA Women's World Cup champion USA team was bestowed the honor of a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan this week. It's an honor that hasn't been given to a specific women's sports team before, although women have been cheered with the ceremony in the past, whether Amelia Earhart, or the collective members of the US Olympic Teams. As in past successes (1999 World Cup, the last three Olympics), let's hope this team has some role power in making some women's sports popularity stick.

Beach Soccer World Cup Starts
Meanwhile, FIFA turned its attention to the Beach Soccer World Cup, which started this week in Portugal. Group stage for the competition will finish over the next two days; in the sixteen-team tournament, so far Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Russia, and Tahiti (!) are 2-0 and leading the tables toward the next round.

UEFA Has Another Tournament
'tis the season for football, indeed. After holding the men's U-21 tournament (Sweden won), the men's U-17 tournament (France won), and the women's U-17 (Spain), UEFA now has the men's U-19 event happening in Greece, with the group stage at its end as well tomorrow. Greece and France have already qualified for the semi's, while from the other group, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany all have opportunity to move on. And, oh...the women's U-19 is starting soon, too...

And...More Football in the Gold Cup
The premier tournament for the men's teams in North and Central America's, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) kicked off this week also. In the twelve-nation event, the United States and Trinidad & Tobago are the only two-win teams, with the group stage continuing into this week. The tournament winner earns the region's spot to the 2017 Confederations Cup.

The Pan American Games Start
Amidst some reports that the Games are not excitedly received, the Pan American Games opened in Toronto this week. Touted as a much needed exposure and experience for regional pan-American athletes in a multi-sport event ahead of the Olympics, the Pan Ams also carry Olympic qualifying opportunities in multiple sports, such as triathlon, field hockey, diving, and more. Let's hope the enthusiasm grows there. As Canada tops the medal table at the close of the first weekend, perhaps the hometown fever will catch.

The Pacific Games Continue...with a Big Controversy
Meanwhile, The Pacific Games continue in Papua New Guinea after their start last weekend. Usually, the Games fly under the radar with big powers Australia and New Zealand not fully participating at full strength across all sports. However, the football tournament, which doubles as the region's Olympic qualifying event, earned widespread attention as heavy favorites New Zealand (Australia plays football in Asia) were ruled ineligible after their semifinal win over Vanuatu, due to fielding an illegal player, South African-born Deklan Wynne. So...the Olympic tournament will feature Fiji, winners over Vanuatu in the revised final. That's great for the regional exposure of spreading some wealth around, but probably bad for the Olympic tournament without the higher quality New Zealand. Rules being argued in these situations, just what legality of the disqualification is under dispute - was Wynne ineligible in FIFA or IOC rules, and how is a continuing argument. But not sure what matter it is at this point. Here's to Fiji!

A Budapest Olympics?
Hungary and Budapest officially announced their candidacy for the 2024 Games this week. While one of the most successful Summer Olympic nations, Hungary has never hosted before - and at this point likely presents a more optimistic support outlook than bid competitors Boston and Hamburg.

European Triathlon Championships Held
Geneva hosted the annual triathlon championships over this weekend, with David Hauss winning his first title after taking bronze in 2010. This is France's 5th overall title since 1985. On the women's side, Switzerland's Nicola Spirig defended her title, for her fifth overall gold. Swig already qualified for the Olympics, where she is the defending titleist there, through her victory at the European Games earlier this summer.

Wimbledon Fireworks
Another two weeks of great tennis over, and two already-great champions remained standing. On the women's side, Serena Williams won the title over newcomer Garbine Muguruza of Spain , and earned the 'Serena Slam' for the second time, holding all four Grand Slam titles at one point. Onto the US Open next, where she is in prime position to win the true Grand Slam, holding all titles through one season. And on the men's side, Novak Djokovic won over a rejuvenated Roger Federer, in a tight four-set match. And in a bid for old-timers, Martina Hingis made a splash, winning the women's doubles and the mixed doubles (both with veteran Indian partners!). Good to see her name back up in lights!

Sailing Laser Worlds Continue
Nick Thompson of Great Britain won the Laser World Championships in sailing this weekend, after leading the field into the final race. Philip Buhl of Germany moved up from fifth to second in that final race, with a victory there. By virtue of their third and fourth place finishes, respectively, in the 2014 Worlds, they are qualified for Rio already. Competition in Kingston continues with the Master events this week, followed by a youth event later in the summer.

Nacra 17 Worlds End
Also in sailing, the Nacra 17 World Championships ended this week in Aarhus, with France's Billy Besson and Marie Riou winning their third straight title. The pair won Olympic qualification with their won last year.

Summer Universiade Set to End
With just two more days left in the World University Games, the host South Koreans have made a strong showing, second in the medal count with 102 overall medals to Russia's 115. To close out the week, the Koreans did make a strong show, though, in the traditionally Russian strong suit of rhythmic gymnastics, with Yeon-Jae Son winning the title, adding to her list of firsts for a Korean in the sport.