Korda sisters among Olympic golfers
Nelly Korda goes to the Olympics as the No. 1 women’s golfer in the world, and the Americans will have one extra player than they had in 2016.
The 60-player field for Tokyo was set Tuesday, although players for the men’s and women’s competitions will not be certified until next week.
Countries were allowed two players until the field was full, with a maximum of four provided they were among the top 15 in the women’s world ranking. South Korea, the powerhouse in women’s golf, again had all four, with Hyo-Joo Kim at No. 6 in the world getting the last spot.
Inbee Park easily made it back in her bid to win a second gold medal. The other medal winners from Rio de Janeiro, Lydia Ko of New Zealand (silver) and Shanshan Feng of China (bronze) also will be in Japan.
The Americans had only three players within the top 15 in the world for the 2016 Games. This time they will have four, including a pair of sisters. Korda, coming off her first major title in the Women’s PGA Championship, will be joined by older sister Jessica, who is No. 13 in the world.
The other Americans are Danielle Kang (No. 5) and Lexi Thompson (No. 9). Thompson is the only returning American in the Olympics.
Park and Sei Young Kim return to the Olympics for South Korea. HyoJoo Kim and Jin Young Ko, who had been No. 1 in the world until Korda replaced her last week, are newcomers.
England blanks Germany to advance to Euro 2020 quarters
Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane struck late goals as England reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship with a 2-0 win over rival Germany at Wembley Stadium.
It was England’s first knockout round tournament victory over Germany since the 1966 World Cup final and its first-ever knockout round win at the Euros inside 90 minutes.
The goals came after midfielder Jack Grealish entered in the 69th minute when the entire tempo and mood of the game changed.
Six minutes after Grealish came on he was involved in a flowing passing move which ended with left wingback Luke Shaw slipping the ball across the face of the goal for Sterling to slide in his third goal in four Euro 2020 games.
In the 86th minute, Grealish sent a cross from the left to captain Kane, who beat keeper Manuel Neuer with a stooping header for his first goal of the tournament.
England will play Ukraine in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Rome.
• Ukraine reached the round of 16 at Euro 2020 with the worst record of the advancing teams.
And now the quarterfinals, too. Ukraine eliminated previously unbeaten Sweden 2-1 in Glasgow, Scotland with a goal in stoppage time at the end of extra time. Substitute Artem Dovbyk stooped low to guide a header from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross past goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
Zinchenko had given Ukraine the lead in the 27th minute when he rifled in a low shot set up by a pass from Andriy Yarmolenko. Emil Forsberg’s deflected shot in the 43rd minute equalized for Sweden. It was his fourth goal of the tournament.
Tanya Snyder promoted to co-CEO of Washington
Dan Snyder’s wife Tanya was named co-CEO of the Washington Football Team, giving her bigger influence in the club that is currently in the midst of an independent investigation into workplace conduct the NFL is overseeing.
Tanya Snyder had been in charge of the organization’s philanthropic efforts since the Snyders took ownership of the team in 1999.
“Tanya is one of the most important figures in this organization, and that has only become more true over the last 18 months as her involvement has deepened,” Dan Snyder said.
“Behind the scenes, she has had a profound impact on the direction of the Washington Football Team. She was instrumental in our decision to evolve the brand and modernize our fan experience.”
The team hired lawyer Beth Wilkinson last summer to look into allegations of sexual harassment and other improper conduct within the organization. The league took over that investigation.
Promoting Tanya Snyder is the latest move to improve the culture with Washington after Ron Rivera took over as coach and Jason Wright was named team president.
“We are at a pivotal point in the history of this team as we work to become the gold standard of NFL franchises,” she said.
• The NFL will not hold a supplemental draft this year.
This will be the second straight offseason that the league hasn’t held the draft. It was called off last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The supplemental draft allows players who didn’t declare for that year’s draft to allow teams to select them.
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NFL is not obligated to hold a supplemental draft each year.
TCU men’s team placed on three years’ probation
The NCAA put the TCU men’s basketball program on three years’ probation and punished a former assistant coach it accused of accepting $6,000 from a business management company and lying to the school about it.
The school avoided scholarship reductions and limits on recruiting imposed on other programs in a federal corruption case that has ensnared several big-name schools. TCU was fined $5,000 and 1% of its men’s basketball budget.
TCU placed assistant Corey Barker on administrative leave in March 2019 after he was accused in court documents of accepting the money in a Las Vegas hotel room two years earlier.
The NCAA said Barker denied any knowledge or involvement in arrests in the federal case during an investigation by TCU. Barker twice declined to be interviewed by TCU officials not long before he was placed on leave.
Barker, who also denied involvement during the NCAA’s investigation, was given a five-year show-cause penalty, meaning a school that hires him during that period must prove he can perform athletic-related duties.