Potpourri: Baseball, Russia and the Special Olympics 17 March 2017 C Olympic-sport commentary, coverage and results Potpourri: Baseball, Russia and the Special Olympics Lane One Headliners

Friday, 17 March 2017 C Olympic-sport commentary, coverage and results

Potpourri: Baseball, Russiaand the Special Olympics

Lane One

Headliners

1. Freestyle: Strong U.S. showing: eight medals and counting at Worlds 42. Baseball: Japan and Netherlands await survivors of San Diego 63. Alpine Skiing: Shiffren ready to celebrate first World Cup overall title 8

Panorama

Biathlon: Will Bailey & Dunklee end the World Cup season in the top 10? 9Curling: Nina Roth leads U.S. into Women’s World Championships 9Cycling: Quintana’s mountain surge wins Tirreno-Adriatico 11Fencing: Major test in Foil at Grand Prix in Long Beach 12Gymnastics: Second FIG World Cup lands in Stuttgart 13Karate: Premier League in Rotterdam for Lotto Dutch Open 13Nordic Skiing: Cross Country and Nordic Combined World Cup close 14Shooting: Casey Cogdell and Kim Rhode on the line in Acapulco 16Taekwondo: Olympic gold medalist Steve Lopez headlines U.S. Team Trials 16Weightlifting: Rio star Sarah Robles heads U.S. American Open series in Reno 17Wrestling: Russia takes a stranglehold on Greco-Roman World Cup 18

Agenda: Competition Calendar 19About: About The Sports Examiner 21

C For our updated 2017 int’l sports calendar, click here C To subscribe, click here C

New World Cup champion tobe: U.S.’s Mikaela Shiffrin!

Mcrae Williams: NextU.S. Freestyle medalist?

Joe Girardi has the future of theWorld Baseball Classic right

Friday,

17 March 2017

C Lane One C

Baseball, Russia and theSpecial Olympics

Three important events are all in the news this week, but not for thesame reasons.

The World Baseball Classic is heading toward the semifinals at DodgerStadium in Los Angeles, with Japan (3-0) and the Netherlands (2-1)advancing from Tokyo and four teams are battling in San Diego.

As it has each spring that it has been held, the talk is about how thetournament could be made better and more impactful. And especiallyhow the top U.S. players could be more involved.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, one of the nation’s bestbaseball writers, has the right idea:

“In WBC years — once every four years — cancel the All-Star game and play the tournamentfinals during what would be All-Star week. Make it a final four, or a final eight, with unlimitedroster substitutions from previous rounds, which would continue to be held in the fall orspring.

“That means [Clayton] Kershaw or [Mike] Trout could play in July, when no one is concernedabout the slow build toward the regular season and pitchers could extend themselves.”

Media suggestions of this type have been around since the first tournament in 2006. But now thereare other voices who see the value of the tournament in a more “primetime” placement. Like NewYork Yankees manager Joe Girardi:

"What I've always hoped was this would be the first round this week, the next round would benext week. Play three less games during the course of the season or you start the season threedays earlier.

“Play (the semifinals and finals) in one city that has two ballparks. ... Play (the semifinals)Tuesday of the All-Star break, the finals Wednesday, workout day is Thursday for the All-Stargame, the (All-Star Game) is on Friday. You have Saturday and Sunday off. You (re-)start theseason again on Monday.

"Obviously there's value to the WBC. They're sold out in Miami (for this week's games). There'sexcitement. It's on TV. They're value to it. Can we make it work? There would be a lot of valueto it in the summer.”

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He’s right about that. Watching this tournament and the excitement and anxiety it creates at a timewhen games are otherwise just exhibitions makes it an irresistible – financially – draw for mid-summer exposure. As an expansion of the Midsummer Classic? Yes, please.

¶

Russia compounded the cost-of-games crisis this week with the reporting of a change in the overallprice of staging the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Associated Press reported:

“Russia has increased government spending on the 2018 World Cup by 19.1 billion rubles($325 million) without explanation. ... Total spending rises to 638.8 billion rubles ($10.8billion), with all of the increase coming from federal budget funds, which now make up almost55 percent of total spending.”

Coming just three years after the total investment in renovating Sochi to host the Olympic WinterGames and as a more modern resort, sports and conference center was reported to cost $51 billion ormore, demonstrates that the rush to spend on sports hasn’t slowed much in Russia ... and willcontinue to scare other potential hosts.

In contrast, the cost of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa was just more than $3 billion – $1.1 billionon stadiums, $1.3 billion on transportation infrastructure and $392 million on ports of entry – beforeBrazil lost its collective mind and spent about $15 billion on the World Cup, after pre-tournamentestimates only went as high as $11.6 billion.

Don’t sell the Russians short, however. With more than a year to go, the total could rise again.

¶

The Opening Ceremony of the 2017 Special Olympic World Winter Games is Saturday, 18 March, inAustria, to be televised in the U.S. on ABC from 2-5 p.m. Eastern time.

The competitions have already started and will continue through 25 March in Graz, Schladming andRamsau, with highlights to be shown on ESPN and ABC in the U.S. About 2,700 athletes from 107countries will compete in nine sports.

Although increasingly better known, the Special Olympics could use a closer relationship with theInternational Olympic Committee, as has benefitted the International Paralympic Committee. Not tosay that a winning Olympic bid city should have to put on the Special Olympics World Games too, buta closer association with the IOC – which already recognizes Special Olympics as the worldwiderepresentative of athletes who are intellectually challenged – would raise the profile of anorganization which has a good grip on working with organizing committees to keep costs in check. Its2015 World Games in Los Angeles cost $50 million, not $50 billion. That’s value.

Rich PerelmanEditor

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17 March 2017

C Headliners C

FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships:Sierra Nevada (ESP) ~ 07-19 March 2017.

| In an important measure of U.S. potential for nextyear’s Olympic Winter Games, American freestylers andsnowboarders have earned an impressive eight medalsthrough the first 10 days of the FIS WorldChampionships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

There are still three days and six events left, but the U.S.honor roll already includes:

Men (4):C Freestyle Aerials: Gold Jon LillisC Freestyle Dual Moguls: Silver Brad Wilson

C Snowboard Slopestyle: Bronze Chris CorningC Snowboardcross Team: Gold Hagen Kearney/Nick Baumgartner

Women (4):C Freestyle Aerials: Gold Ashley CaldwellC Freestyle Dual Moguls: Bronze Jaelin KaufC Snowboardcross: Gold Lindsey JacobellisC Snowboardcross Team: Bronze Lindsey Jacobells/Faye Gulini

The first-ever World Championships in Team Snowboardcross saw the U.S. score gold and bronze,with Hagen Kearney and Nick Baumgartner teaming up to win the men’s division. “This feelsawesome,” said Baumagrtner, who was fourth in the individual event earlier, “and it's just cool that wewaited until the finals of the team event to both have our best runs on this course. So, if they wantedto take the win, it was gonna mean us making a mistake, and unfortunately for them we didn't do thattoday.

“It's absolutely a redemption for yesterday. You always wanna be on the podium, but yesterday thosethree guys, one-two-three, they were the best. I always told Hagen, 'As soon as we team up together,we’ll win.' This is our first time teaming together, and we won!”

The upcoming schedule of event finals:

1.Freestyle Skiing & Snowboard:

Strong U.S. showing: eight medals and counting

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17 March: Friday Snowboard: C Men’s Big AirC Women’s Big Air

18 March: Saturday Freestyle C Men’s HalfpipeC Women’s HalfpipeC Men’s Ski CrossC Women’s Ski Cross

19 March: Sunday Freestyle C Men’s SlopestyleC Women’s Slopestyle

The U.S. has Chris Corning and Lyon Farrell qualified to the final of the Men’s Freestyle Big Aircompetition and Jessika Jenson in the semifinals on the women’s side.

The Freestyle Halfpipe contingent includes current-season World Cup medalists Aaron Blunck (2)and Gus Kenworthy (1) for the men and Annalisa Drew (1), Maddie Bowman (1) and DevinLogan (2) for the women.

The Slopestyle entries are also strong: Mcrae Williams (2 – World Cup seasonal champ!) andKenworthy (1) for men and Maggie Voisin (1 – gold at Mammoth Mountain) for the women.

The World Championships is being televised either online or on cable by NBC, onwww.NBCsports.com/live or Universal HD cable. Please check the listings at the NBC Sports site forup-to-date information. Summaries of the World Champs finals so far:

FIS World Freestyle Championships: Sierra Nevada (ESP)~ 07-19 March 2017. (Full results here):

MEN:Aerials/Super Final: 1. Jonathan Lillis (USA), 125.79; 2.

Guangpi Qi (CHN), 120.36; 3. David Morris (AUS), 114.93;4. Zongyang Jia (CHN), 99.56; 5. Stanislau Hladchenko(BLR), 95.58; 6. Olivier Rochon (CAN), 85..52.

Moguls/Final: 1. Ikuma Horishima (JPN), 88.54; 2.Benjamin Cavet (FRA), 87.11; 3. Mikael Kingsbury (CAN),82.85; 4. Marco Tade (SUI), 82.64; 5. Brad Wilson (USA),80.56; 6. Anthony Benna (FRA), 80.11.

Dual Moguls: Big Final – 1. Horishima (JPN); 2. Wilson(USA); Small Final – 3. Tade (SUI); 4. Sacha Theocaris(FRA); Quarterfinalists – 5. Dmitriy Reiherd (KAZ); 6.Andrey Makhnev (RUS); 7. Tom Rowley (USA); 8. EgorAnufriev (RUS).

WOMEN:Aerials/Super Final: 1. Ashley Caldwell (USA), 109.29;

2. Danielle Scott (AUS), 94.47; 3. Mengtao Xu (CHN),91.65; 4. Kiley McKinnon (USA), 90.94; 5. Madison Olsen

(USA), 70.98; 6. Xin Zhang (CHN), 62.39.Moguls/Final: 1. Britteny Cox (AUS), 83.63; 2. Perrine

Laffont (FRA), 82.51; 3. Justine Dufour-Lapointe (FRA),80.74; 4. Marika Pertakhiya (RUS), 77.54; 5. HedvigWessel (NOR), 77.45; 6. Regina Rakhimova (RUS), 75.77.

Dual Moguls: Big Final – 1. Laffont (FRA); 2. YuliaGalysheva RUS); Small Final – 3. Jaelin Kauf (USA); 4.Jee-Woo Seo (KOR). Quarterfinalists – 5. Pertakhiya(RUS); 6. Deborah Scanzio (SIU); 7. Cox (AUS); 8. KeatonMcCargo (USA).

FIS World Snowboard Championships: Sierra Nevada(ESP) ~ 09-17 March 2017. (Full results here):

MEN:Halfpipe: 1. Scotty James (AUS), 97.50; 2. Iouri

Podladtchikov (SUI), 93.25; 3. Patrick Burgener (SUI),90.50; 4. Taku Hiraoka (JPN), 90.00; 5. Yiwei Zhang(CHN), 85.00; 6. Markus Malin (FIN), 82.00; 7. DavidHabluetzel (SUI), 79.50; 8. Louie Vito (USA), 78.75; 9.Ryan Wachendorfer (USA), 57.50; 10. Jan Scherrer (SUI),41.75.

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Parallel Giant Slalom/Big Final: 1. AndreasPromenegger (AUT); 2. Benjamin Karl (AUT); Small Final:3. Nevin Galmarini (SUI); 4. Radoslav Yankov (BUL).

Parallel Slalom/Big Final: 1. Andreas Promenegger(AUT); 2. Benjamin Karl (AUT); Small Final: 3. AndreySobolev (RUS); 4. Nevin Galmarini (SUI).

Slopestyle: 1. Seppe Smits (BEL), 91.40; 2. NicolasHuber (SUI), 83.25; 3. Chris Corning (USA), 82.50; 4.Sebbe de Buck (BEL), 81.20; 5. Ville Paumola (FIN), 77.50;6. Niklas Mattsson (SWE), 74.85; 7. Carlos Garcia Knight(NZL), 74.40; 8. Tiarn Collins (NZL), 71.75; 9. MansHedberg (SWE), 69.70; 10. Dylan Thomas (USA), 68.60.

Snowboardcross/Big Final: 1. Pierre Vaultier (FRA); 2.Lucas Eguibar (ESP); 3. Alex Pullin (AUS); 4. NickBaumgartner (USA); 5. Duncan Campbell (NZL); 6. AdamLambert (AUS).

Team Snowboardcross./Big Final: 1. HagenKearney/Nick Baumgartner (USA); 2. ReginoHernandez/Lucas Eguibar (ESP); 3. Kevin Hill/ChrisRobanske (CAN); 4. Alessandro Hammerle/MarkusSchairer (AUT).

WOMEN:Halfpipe: 1. Xuetong Cai (CHN), 90.75; 2. Haruna

Matsumoto (JPN), 84.75; 3. Clemence Grimal (FRA),79.00; 4. Hikaru Oe (JPN), 77.00; 5. Arielle Gold (USA),74.25; 6. Maddie Mastro (USA), 70.00.

Parallel Giant Slalom/Big Final: 1. Ester Ledecka(CZE); 2. Patrizia Kummer (AUT); Small Final: 3. EkaterinaTudegesheva (RUS); 4. Ramona Theresla Hofmeister(GER).

Parallel Slalom/Big Final: 1. Daniela Ulbing (AUT); 2.Ester Ledecka (CZE); Small Final: 3. Alena Zavarzina(RUS); 4. Cheyenne Loch (GER).

Slopestyle: 1. Laurie Blouin (CAN), 78.00; 2. ZoiSadowski Synnott (NZL), 77.50; 3. Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN),77.40; 4. Karly Shorr (USA), 68.15; 5. Isabel Derungs(SUI), 66.80; 6. Jessika Jenson (USA), 63.00; 7. BrookeVoigt (CAN), 46.15; 8. Yuka Fujimori (JPN), 32.95.

Snowboardcross/Big Final: 1. Lindsey Jacobellis (USA);2. Chloe Trespeuch (FRA); 3. Michela Moioli (ITA); 4.Alexandra Jekova (BUL); 5. Manon Petit (FRA); 6. RaffaellaBrutto (ITA).

Team Snowboardcross/Big Final: 1. Nelly MoenneLoccoz/Chloe Trespeuch (FRA); 2. Manon Petit/CharlotteBankes (FRA); 3. Lindsey Jacobells/Faye Gulini (USA); 4.Rafaella Brutto/Michela Moioli (ITA).

World Baseball Classic:San Diego (USA) ~ 06-22 March 2017

| A tense second round in Japan produced the same two teams as in2013 to appear in the semi-finals: Japan and the Netherlands.

The Japanese won the group with a 3-0 record and are 6-0 in thetournament. They conquered the Netherlands in a tense 8-6 game in thefirst game for each and then outscored Cuba, 8-5, and Israel, 8-3. TheNetherlands won its crucial rematch with Israel from Pool A play in a 12-2 rout and retired the surprise team of the tournament.

In San Diego, Puerto Rico (4-0) continued its hot play with a 3-1 winover the Dominican Republic, ending the latter’s streak of 11 straightWBC wins across the 2013 and 2017 tournaments. The U.S. came from

2.World Baseball Classic:

Japan and Netherlands await survivors of San Diego

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behind in the late innings to defeat Venezuela, 4-2, thanks to home runs from Eric Hosmer andAdam Jones.

The San Diego pool will continue through Saturday, with the semifinals at Dodger Stadium in LosAngeles on March 20 and 21 and the final on March 22:

C March 20: Monday Netherlands @ Pool F winner 9 p.m. Eastern timeC March 21: Tuesday Pool F runner-up @ Japan 9 p.m. Eastern timeC March 22: Wednesday Championship 9 p.m. Eastern time

The tournament is being televised on MLB Network in English and ESPN Deportes in Spanish. Thetournament summary so far:

World Baseball Classic IV: Japan/Mexico/SouthKorea/United States ~ 06-22 March 2017. (Full resultshere):

FIRST ROUND:

Pool A/Seoul (KOR): Mar. 06: Israel 2, Korea 1 (10 inn.)Mar. 07: Israel 15, Chinese Taipei 7Mar. 07: Netherlands 5, Korea 0Mar. 08: Netherlands 6, Chinese Taipei 5Mar. 09: Korea 11, Chinese Taipei 8Mar. 09: Israel 4, Netherlands 2 (Israel and Netherlands advance)

Pool B/Tokyo (JPN):Mar. 07: Japan 11, Cuba 6Mar. 08: Cuba 6, China 0Mar. 08: Japan 4, Australia 1Mar. 09: Australia 11, China 0Mar. 10: Cuba 4, Australia 3Mar. 10: Japan 7, China 1(Japan and Cuba advance)

Pool C/Miami (USA):Mar. 09: Dominican Rep. 9, Canada 2Mar. 10: United States 3, Colombia 2 (10 inn.)Mar. 11: Colombia 4, Canada 1Mar. 11: Dominican Rep. 7, United States 5Mar. 12: Dominican Rep. 10, Colombia 3 (11 inn.)Mar. 12: United States 8, Canada 0(Dom. Rep. and United States advance)

Pool D/Jalisco (MEX):Mar. 09: Italy 10, Mexico 9Mar. 10: Puerto Rico 11, Venezuela 0 (7 inn.)Mar. 11: Venezuela 11, Italy 10 (10 inn.)Mar. 11: Puerto Rico 9, Mexico 4Mar. 12: Puerto Rico 9, Italy 3Mar. 12: Mexico 11, Venezuela 9Mar. 13: Playoff: Venezuela 4, Italy 3(Puerto Rico and Venezuela advance)

SECOND ROUND:

Pool E/Tokyo (JPN):Mar. 12: Israel 4, Cuba 1Mar. 12: Japan 8, Netherlands 6Mar. 13: Netherlands 12, Israel 2Mar. 14: Japan 8, Cuba 5Mar. 15: Netherlands14, Cuba 1Mar. 15: Japan 8, Israel 3(Japan and Netherlands advance)

Pool F/San Diego (USA):Mar. 14: Puerto Rico 3, Dom. Rep. 1Mar. 15: United States 4, Venezuela 2Mar. 16: Dom. Rep. 3, Venezuela 0Mar. 17: United States @ Puerto RicoMar. 18: Puerto Rico @ VenezuelaMar. 18: United States @ Dom. Rep.

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Audi Alpine Skiing World Cup Final:Aspen, Colorado (USA) ~ 13-19 March 2017.

| Almost, not quite.

Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. is within a couple of points ofclinching her first overall World Cup title and is heavily favored todo so when the Giant Slalom and Slalom events are contested onSaturday and Sunday to complete the Alpine World Cup season.

In the World Cup Final in Aspen this week, Slovenian star IlkaStuhec won the Downhill over Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. and wassecond in the Super-G to Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather for 180points, closing the gap with Shiffrin to 1,523-1,325.

Scoring this week offers 100-80-60-50-45 as normal for places 1-5, but continues only to 15th place(instead of 30th), with 16 points awarded. So, hypothetically, even if Stuhec were to win both theGiant Slalom and Slalom (she is qualified to compete, but not likely to race), Shiffren would only haveto place 15th or better in one of the races.

So let’s agree that it’s over and after celebrating her 22nd birthday on 13 March, Shiffrin will get aspecial crystal globe to go with her fourth straight trophy for winning the seasonal Slalom title. She’salso within striking distance (barely) of France’s Tessa Worley in the seasonal Giant Slalom points,trailing 640-560. So Shiffrin would have to win and have Worley finish 13th or worse to tie or win.Stranger things have happened, as Vonn missed a gate and crashed in the Super-G: “I think I justreleased the ski a little bit too early, and then once I realized that I didn’t have enough direction, Itried to really hammer on it. But I didn’t really have the strength or power to make it back. I almosthad it, but I didn’t.”

Shiffrin just about has her first overall World Cup title, joining Vonn (4) and Tamara McKinney (1) asAmerican winners. It’s likely not her last. World Cup Final summaries so far:

FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Final: Aspen, Colorado (USA)~ 13-19 March 2017. (Full results here):

Men’s Downhill: 1. Dominik Paris (ITA), 1:33.07; 2.Peter Fill (ITA), 1:33.15; 3. Carlo Janka (SUI), 1:33.25; 4.Manuel Osborne-Paradis (CAN), 1:33.32; 5. Adrien Theaux(FRA), 1:33.32. Also: 17. Travis Ganong (USA), 1:34.37; ...

21. Sam Morse (USA), 1:35.21.Men’s Super-G: 1. Hannes Reichelt (AUT), 1:08.22; 2.

Paris (ITA), 1:08.33; 3. tie, Mauro Caviezel (SUI) andAlexander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) 1:08.55; 5. tie, Theaux(FRA) and Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), 1:08.75. Also: 8.Ganong (USA), 1:08.82; ... 17. Andrew Weinbrecht (USA),1:11.63.

3.Alpine Skiing:

Shiffren ready to celebrate first World Cup overall title

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17 March 2017

Biathlon

Curling

Women’s Downhill: 1. Ilka Stuhec (SLO), 1:36.95; 2.Lindsey Vonn (USA), 1:37.61; 3. Sofia Goggia (ITA),1:37.98; 4. Tina Weirather (LIE), 1:38.66; 5. Laurenne Ross(USA), 1:38.68. Also: Jacqueline Wiles (USA), 1:40.10.; ...16. Stacey Cook (USA), 1:40:27; ... 19. Alice Merryweather

(USA), 1:41.22; ... dnf: Breezy Johnson (USA).Women’s Super-G: 1. Weirather (LIE), 1:11.66; 2.

Stuhec (SLO), 1:12.01; 3. Federica Brignone (ITA), 1:12.02;4. Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT), 1:12.40; 5. Elisabeth Goergl(AUT), 1:13.00. DNF: Vonn (USA), Ross (USA).

C Panorama C

| The BMW Biathlon World Cup season comes to a close this week inOslo with Sprint, Pursuit and Mass Start races, with U.S. stars LowellBailey and Susan Dunklee looking to finish in the overall top 10:

C Bailey is eight in the men’s overall standings (597), but there are ahalf-dozen behind him who could mathematically pass him basedon the results of all three races. However, an amazing weekendcould vault Bailey as high as third, currently Johannes Boe ofNorway, at 700 points. Not likely, but possible.

Martin Fourcade of France has already wrapped up theseasonal title (1,228 points), way ahead of Russia’s AntonShipulin (805) and Boe. It’s his sixth consecutive seasonal WorldCup title.

C Dunklee is 10th among the women (535), 43 points ahead of 11th-place Eva Puskarcikova(CZE), although with three races on tap, there are about a dozen women who couldtheoretically challenge for the seasonal top 10. Dunklee could finish as high as seventh, asFranziska Hildebrand (GER) is 42 points ahead (577).

The seasonal title is just about wrapped up for Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (1,137) withonly defending champion Gabriela Koukalova (CZE, 970) in any position to challenge her.

To watch some or all of the races from Holmenkollen Stadium, check out the IBU Web site.

| Skip Nina Roth will lead the U.S. entry in the CPT Women’s World Curling Championships inBeijing (CHN), with the American squad looking for its first medal in the event since 2006.

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Twelve teams have qualified for the Worlds and a full round-robin willbe played to qualify teams – one per country – for the four-teamplayoffs. However, the 2017 World Championships will also serve as aqualifier for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games with the top seven teamsin the qualifying point standings clinching a place in Korea next year.The U.S. currently stands sixth with seven points, two ahead ofDenmark. Points from the Worlds will be distributed by place: 14-12-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 from first through 12th.

The U.S. schedule by day:

C March 18: vs. Scotland and SwedenC March 19: vs. Czech RepublicC March 20: vs. Canada and ItalyC March 21: vs. Denmark and ChinaC March 22: vs. Germany and RussiaC March 23: vs. Switzerland and Korea

Swiss teams have won the last three world titles and four of the last five; Skip Alina Paetz helmedthe 2015 team that won in Sapporo (JPN). Japan was runner-up, with Canada third and Russiafourth.

Roth’s squad will include Tabitha Peterson (Vice-Skip), Aileen Geving, Rebecca Hamiltonand alternate Cory Christensen, and is coached by Ann Swisshelm. Roth competed previously inthe 2010 World Championships as a Vice-Skip; Peterson, Geving and Hamilton all have prior WorldChamps experience.

The round-robin schedule will be played from 18-23 March, with the playoffs from 24-26 March. Thetournament will be extensively covered by NBCSN, Universal HD and online: the details are here.

| The Aberdeen International Curling Championship is on in Scotland, with U.S. champion (and2006 bronze medalist) John Shuster’s squad contending for a spot in the playoff quarterfinals.

Team Shuster slid past an Italian team skipped by Joel Retornaz, 9-4, in the first round and thenedged Marc Pfister (SUI) in round two, 7-5. Next up, on Friday, is Canada’s Mike McEwen,currently fourth on the World Curling Order of Merit list (770.710 points). Shuster stands 16th on theOrder of Merit at present (406.257).

If Shuster is able to get by McEwen, his last obstacle to the playoff round might be Scotland’s KyleSmith, currently 14th on the points list at 412.249. That match would be on Saturday morning.

You can follow the progress of the tournament here.

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17 March 2017

Cycling

| The conventional wisdom is that stage races like Italy’s Tirreno-Adriatico areusually won by the rider who conquers the most mountainous, pain-inductingstage.

The conventioneer were right this time, as Nairo Quintana (COL) won themisery-filled fourth stage – with an uphill, mountain finish – and won hissecond overall title in the race, having won previously in 2015.

Australia’s Rohan Dennis was second after the first two stages and ledeveryone after Stage 3, but relinquished the lead to Quintana after the climbingstage. He dropped as low as fifth, but used his sprinter’s skills to win the final-day stage and claim second place overall for the race. Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Tirreno-Adriatico (ITA) ~ 08-14 March2017. (Full results here):

Stage 1 (22.7 km; flat): 1. Damiano Caruso (ITA),23:21; 2. Rohan Dennis (AUS), 23:21; 3. Greg vanAvermaet (BEL), 23:21; 4. Stefan Kung (SUI), 23:21; 5.Daniel Oss (ITA), 23:21; Also: 6. Tejay van Garderen(USA), 23:21.

Stage 2 (229 km: hilly): 1. Geraint Thomas (GBR),5:51:44; 2. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 5:51:53; 3. Peter Sagan(SVK), 5:51:53; 4. Van Avermaet (BEL), 5:51:53; 5.Francesco Gavazzi (ITA), 5:51:53.

Stage 3 (204 km: hilly): 1. Sagan (SVK), 4:51:59; 2. EliaViviani (ITA), 4:51:59; 3. Jurgen Roelandts (BEL), 4:51:59;4. Sacha Modolo (ITA), 4:51:59; 5. Luka Mezgec(SLO),.4:51:59. Also: 47. Van Garderen (USA), 4:51:59.

Stage 4 (187 km; mountain finish): 1. Nairo Quintana(COL), 5:27:22; 2. Thomas (GBR), 5:27:40; 3. Adam Yates(GBR), 5:27:46; 4. Rigiberto Uran (COL), 5:27:46; 5. Spilak(SLO), 5:27:51. Also: 29. Van Garderen (USA), 5:29:41.

Stage 5 (210 km; hilly): 1. Sagan (SVK), 5:00:05;

2. Thibaut Pinot (FRA), 5:00:05; 3. Primoz Roglic (SLO),5:00:05; 4. Thomas (GBR), 5:00:05; 5. Bauke Mollema(NED), 5:00:05.

Stage 6 (168 km: downhill): 1. Fernando Gaviria (COL),4:09:31; 2. Sagan (SVK), 4:09:31; 3. Jasper Stuyven (BEL),4:09:31; 4. Matteo Trentin (ITA), 4:09:31; 5. JensDebusschere (BEL), 4:09:31. Also: 49. Van Garderen(USA), 4:09:37.

Stage 7 (10.05 km: flat): 1. Dennis (AUS), 11:18.26; 2.Jos van Emden (NED), 11:21.17; 3. Michael Hepburn(AUS), 11:21.31; 4. Stephan Cummings (GBR), 11:26.50;5. Roglic (SLO), 11:29.43. Also: 43. Van Garderen (USA),11:57.17.

Final Standings: 1. Nairo Quintana (COL), 25:56:27; 2.Rohan Dennis (AUS), 25:56:52; 3. Thibaut Pinot (FRA),25:57:03; 4. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 25:57:12; 5. GeraintThomas (GBR), 25:57:25; 6. Tom Dumoulin (NED),25:57:28; 7. Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP), 25:57:45; 8.Rigoberto Uran (COL), 25:58.03; 9. Baukke Mollema(NED), 25:58:05; 10. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA), 25:58:26.Also: 21. Tejay van Garderen (USA), 26:00.07.

| The ancient Milan-San Remo race, first held in 1907, heralds the start of the Spring cycling seasonand is one of the top races for sprinters.

This year’s course is 291 km (~ 181 miles) begins in Milan at an altitude of 110 m (~ 361 feet) and risesmidway through the course to 532 meters (~ 1,745 feet), but comes back down quickly and has onlytwo modest rises at the end.

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Fencing

Defending champion Arnaud Demare (FRA) is ready to go, but no one has won this race inconsecutive years since Germany’s Erik Zabel in 2000-01, his fourth win in five years. Recentchampions including John Degenkolb (GER, 2015), Alexander Kristoff (NOR, 2014) andSimon Gerrans (AUS, 2012) are entered, along with earlier winners Mark Cavendish (GBR,2006) and Filippo Pozzato (ITA, 2009).

The cycling sharpies are rhapsodic over Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, who won two stages in the Tirreno-Adriatico and Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria, who outlasted Sagan in the 168 km Stage 6 of thatrace. Based on recent results, Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet (BEL), France’s JulienAlaphilippe and Australian Caleb Ewan should be marked for attention.

Said Sagan, “Thinking too much about cycling is one of the least problems I have. I don't feel that kindof pressure anymore. I have to be a favourite for every race, so after seven years I'm used to it. I'm justhappy to have such a special moment. I can only hope it lasts as long as possible.”

This is the first of the so-called Monuments races, all founded prior to World War II, which havespecial importance in the cycling world and are highly prized.

| One of the important Foil tournaments of the season isunfolding in Long Beach, California in the second of threeGrand Prix tournaments, the Absolute Fencing Gear FoilGrand Prix.

Individual competition for men and women will be held on17-18 March at the Long Beach Convention Center, also thevenue for the 1984 Olympic Games fencing events. It’sgoing to be a star-studded tournament as 14 of the top 15-

ranked men in the world have entered, as well as eight of the top-10 women:

Men:C 1. Alexander Massialas (USA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalistC 2. Timur Safin (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalistC 3. Daniele Garozzo (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic gold medalistC 4. Giorgio Avola (ITA)C 5. Alaaedin Abouelkassem (EGY) ~ 2012 Olympic silver medalistC 6. Richard Kruse (GBR)C 7. Race Imboden (USA)C 8. Erwan Le Pechoux (FRA)C 9. Alessio Foconi (ITA) ~ Grand Prix I winner (Turin in December)C 10. Andrea Cassara (ITA)

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Gymnastics

Karate

American stars Miles Chamley-Watson (11th, 2013 World Champion) and Gerek Meinhardt(16th) are also in the field.

Women:C 1. Ariana Errigo (ITA) ~ 2012 Olympic silver medalistC 2. Lee Kiefer (USA) ~ Grand Prix I winner (Turin in December)C 3. Inna Deriglazova (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic gold medalist C 4. Ysoara Thibus (FRA)C 5. Nicole Ross (USA) ~ Grand Prix I runner-up (Turin in December)C 8. Hyunhee Nam (KOR) ~ 2008 Olympic silver medalistC 9. Astrid Guyart (FRA)C 10. Eleanor Harvey (CAN)

The FIE will live-stream parts of the competition and you can see it here.

| The FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup circuit continues with theEnBW DTB-Pokal Team Challenge in Stuttgart (GER). Team All-Around competitions will be held for men and women; among thenotable entries:

Men:C Allan Bower (USA) ~ 2017 U.S. Winter Cup All-Around and

Pommel Horse bronze medalistC Kazuma Kaya (JPN) ~ 2015 World Championships Team gold

medalistC Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) ~ 2016 Olympic Games All-Around silver

medalist and defending champion in this meet!Women:

C Angelina Melnikova (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic Games Team silver medalistC Morgan Hurd (USA) ~ Fifth in the 2016 U.S. Junior Championships All-Around

The top four teams in each gender will receive prize money of €3,000-2,000-1,500-1,000.

| More than 1,000 of the top karate athletes are gathered in Rotterdam (NED) for the second Karate1Premier League meeting of the season, locally known as the Lotto Dutch Open, with six worldchampions set to compete, along with a host of World Championships medal winners from 2016. Thecompeting World medal winners in Kata and each Kumite weight class (with their 2016 finish):

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Nordic Skiing

Men:C Kata: Damian Quintero (ESP, silver) Ilja Smorguner (GER, bronze)C -60 kg: Geoffrey Berens (NED, silver) Sofiane Agoudjil (FRA, bronze)C -67 kg: Yves Martial Tadissi (HUN, silver) Andres Madera (VEN, bronze)

Steven Dacosta (FRA, bronze)C -75 kg: Omar Abdel Rahman (EGY, silver)C -84 kg: Ryutaro Araga (JPN, champion)C +84 kg: Achraf Ouchen (MAR, silver) Herolind Nishevci (KOS, bronze)

Andjelo Kvesic (CRO, bronze)Women:

C Kata: Kiyou Shimizu (JPN, champion) Sandra Sanchez (ESP, silver)C -50 kg: Alexandria Recchia (FRA, champion) Bettina Plank (AUT, bronze)C -55 kg: Emelie Thouy (FRA, champion) Valeria Kumizaki (BRA, silver)C -61 kg: Lucie Ignace (FRA, silver) Ingrida Suchankova (SVK, bronze)C -68 kg: Alisa Buchinger (AUT, champion) Katrine Pedersen (DEN, silver)C +68 kg: Ayumi Uekusa (JPN, champion) Dominika Tatarova (SVK, silver)

Prize money for this tournament includes €500-300-100 for the top three in each individual categoryand €600-400-200 for the Kata team categories, and a bonus of €1,000 for the Grand Winners.

For a live stream of the final matches, please click here.

| The Nordic season is almost at an end, with the final Cross Countryand Nordic Combined events, with the ski jumpers continuing for onemore week.

C Cross Country:

The final set of competitions is in Quebec City, Quebec (CAN) for aFreestyle Sprint on Friday, Classical Mass Start event (10 km forwomen, 15 km for men) on Saturday and a Freestyle Pursuit (10 km/15km) on Sunday.

There isn’t much drama in the overall World Cup race, with MartinJohnsrud Sundby (NOR) have clinched the men’s title (1,626 points), ahead of Sergey Ustiugov(RUS, 1,176) and Alex Harvey (CAN, 844). The top American is Simi Hamilton in 37th (160).

About the same for the women, with Heidi Weng of Norway at 1,746 points and Finland’s KristaParmakoski at 1,446; mathematically alive, but that’s all. Norse skiers have four of the top sevenplaces in the overall points table, with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg third at 1,352 and MaritBjoergen – who won four World Championship gold medals – fifth with 975.

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17 March 2017

Jessica Diggins of the U.S. has had an excellent season and barring a melt-down (ha!) thisweekend, will finish fifth (currently 832 points). Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. ranks 18th (340) andLiz Stephan is 24th (275).

C Nordic Combined:

A Deutschland Uber Alles season suddenly got turned on its head when Japan’s Akito Watabe wontwo competitions in a row and pushed superstars Eric Frenzel and World Champion JohannesRyzdek off the top step of the podium.

But in Trondheim on Wednesday, Frenzel led a German sweep with Rydzek and Fabien Riessletrailing and Watabe fourth. It’s his eighth win of the year, tying him with Rydzek for seasonal honors.

This weekend in Schonach (GER), two competitions will be held, both with jumping off a 106 m hilland 10 km of cross country on Saturday and 15 km on Sunday.

The seasonal race is too close to call. Frenzel leads, 1,534-1,520 and so his streak of four straightWorld Cup title is on the line. If Rydzek should win, it would be his first seasonal crown.

Riessle is third (1,049) and Watabe fourth (976); the top American is Bryan Fletcher in 35th, with107 points.

C Ski Jumping:

The women’s World Cup season has been completed, but the men are continuing through 26 March.

But the “large hills” have given way to the giant ski-flying hills of 225 m in Vikersund (NOR) thisweekend and the seasonal finale in Planica (SLO) next week.

Thursday’s competition in Trondheim (NOR) saw Austria’s double World Champion Stefan Kraftpad his lead in the overall World Cup to 86 over Poland’s double 2014 Olympic champion KamilStoch (POL), so the seasonal title is still on the line.

Kraft has won six of the last 12 competitions, where Stoch has only finished in the top three four timesin the same span. Although unlikely, Norway’s Daniel Andre Tande (1,181) also has an outside shotat the World Cup title. The top American on the circuit is Kevin Bickner, 44th with 34 points.

Summaries from this week’s events:

Viessmann Nordic Combined World Cup: Trondheim (NOR)~ 15 March 2017. (Full results here):

Gundersen (HS 140 m + 10.0 km): 1. Eric Frenzel(GER), 25:10.9; 2. Johannes Rydzek (GER), 25:30.1;

3. Fabian Riessle (GER), 25:33.1; 4. Akito Watabe (JPN),25:33.6; 5. Mario Seidl (AUT), 25:42.3. Also: 35. BryanFletcher (USA), 28:19.3; ... 39. Taylor Fletcher (USA),28:37.0; ... 48. Ben Berend (USA), 29:58.4.

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Shooting

Taekwondo

Viessmann Ski Jumping World Cup: Trondheim (NOR) ~ 16March 2017. (Full results here):

Men’s Individual (HS 138 m): 1. Stefan Kraft (AUT),

302.0; 2. Andreas St. Jernen (NOR), 294.3; 3. AndreasWellinger (GER), 289.6; 4. Markus Eisenbichler (GER),288.7; 5. Kamil Stoch (POL), 285.1.

| The second World Cup of the ISSF season is in Acapulco (MEX) for the Shotgun set only, withcompetitions in Trap and Skeet for men and women and Double Trap for men only.

Not too many of the top names in the classes have made their way to Mexico, but 2015 Trap WorldChampionships bronze medalist Maxime Mottet of Belgium will highlight the men’s events.

The women’s competitions should be excellent, with five major-event medal winners on hand. In trap,Rio silver winner Natalie Rooney of New Zealand and bronze medalist Corey Cogdell of the U.S.will face off, along with 2015 World Champion Fatima Galvez of Spain.

In Skeet, two American stars will be favored: 2015 World Championships silver medalist CaitlinConnor and the astonishing Kim Rhode, winner of six medals in six Olympic Games, includinggold medals in 1996 (Double Trap), 2004 (Double Trap) and 2012 (Skeet). She won a bronze medal inSkeet in Rio last year. At 37, she only beginning the second half of her career!

The final matches will be streamed online on the ISSF Web site; for details, click here.

| Selection of the United States team for the 2017 WorldTaekwondo Championships comes this weekend as the USATaekwondo National Senior Team Trials are held in Ft. Worth,Texas.

Eight men and eight women – one per weight class – can beselected for the Worlds in Muju (KOR) in June. The top seeds:

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Weightlifting

Men:C -54 kg: Fin 1. Julio Quintanilla, Jr. ~ 2014 U.S. Team Trials winner

2. David Jung Woo Kim ~ 2016 National silver medalistC -58 kg: Fly 1. Isaac Weintraub ~ 2016 National Champion

2. Tyler Miyagishima ~ 2016 National silver medalistC -63 kg: Bantam 1. Sohwon Kim ~ 2016 U.S. Team Trials winner

2. Benjamin Snow ~ 2016 National ChampionC -68 kg: Feather 1. Jacob Grace ~ 2014-15 National Champion

2. Andrew Snow ~ 2016 National ChampionC -74 kg: Light 1. Thomas Rahimi ~ Pan American Championships silver medalist

2. Joseph Rodriguez ~ 2016 National ChampionC -80 kg: Welter 1. Steven Lopez ~ 2000-04 Olympic gold medalist; ‘08 bronze

2. Connor Wilson ~ 2015 National ChampionC -87 kg: Middle 1. Jensen Ishida ~ 2011 National Champion at -68 kg

2. Salim Oden ~ 2016 Pan Am Championships quarterfinalistC +87 kg: Heavy 1. Stephen Lambdin ~ 2011 Pan American Games bronze medalist

2. Zeph Putnam ~ 2016 National silver medalist

Women:C -46 kg: Fin 1. Alyxandra Lopez ~ 2016 National Champion

2. Jenna Slota, ~ 4th in 2016 National ChampionshipsC -49 kg: Fly 1. Charlotte Craig ~ 2007 World Championships bronze medalist

2. Monique Rodriguez ~ 2016 Pan Am Champs bronze medalistC -53 kg: Bantam 1. Aziza Chambers ~ World-ranked 28th

2. Rachel Meyer ~ World-ranked 135thC -57 kg: Feather 1. Ara White ~ 2016 U.S. Teams Trials winner

2. Abbey Ardiana ~ 2016 National ChampionC -62 kg: Light 1. Amanda Bluford ~ 2016 Pan Am Championships gold medalist

2. Karina Gomez ~ 2016 National ChampionC -67 kg: Welter 1. Paige McPherson ~ 2015 Pan American Games gold medalist

2. Amanda Gotschall ~ 2016 National ChampionC -73 kg: Middle 1. Madelynn Gorman-Shore ~ 2016 U.S. Team Trials winner

2. Cassie Berger ~ 2016 National ChampionC +73 kg: Heavy 1. Jackie Galloway ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist

2. Lynda Laurin ~ World-ranked 41st

To watch the Team Trials live, click here for the USA Tawkwondo Web site.

| The start of the 2017 Nike American Open Series is in Reno, Nevada with a full schedule of liftingset to commence on Friday, and continuing through Sunday.

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Wrestling

The headliner, of course, is three-time national champion Sarah Robles, who won a bronze medalat the 2016 Rio Games in the women’s heavyweight division. It was the first medal of any color for theU.S. in the sport since 2000 and only the third ever in women’s weightlifting.

The event is being streamed live on the USA Weightlifting Web site. To access the stream, schedulesand results, click here.

| The United World Wrestling Greco-Roman World Cup is underway inAbadan, Iran. The Iranians had won five of the last seven, but they willalmost certainly not be retaining the trophy this year.

Russia, a six-time champion since 1992, defeated Iran, 5-3, in the secondround of their pool matches to complete a 2-0 day and, if they can overcomeGermany, will advance to the championship final. Their likely opponent isAzerbaijan, also 2-0 in its group, with one Pool B match left against Ukraine.The Azerbaijanis were the 2015 World Cup winners.

The Russians needed a win from 130 kg Rio bronze medalist SergeySemenov in the last match to secure the win, and he edged Behnam

Mehdizadeh, 2-1 for a 5-3 final score. “We came to Iran to make up for last year’s defeat in theWorld Cup final,” said Russian coach Gogi Koguashvili. “The Iranian team was young butmotivated and all the matches were tough for us.” Summary of the tournament so far:

UWW Greco-Roman World Cup: Abadan (IRI) ~16-17March 2017.

Pool A: Germany, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia:Russia d. Kazakhstan, 8-0Iran d. Germany, 7-1Russia d. Iran, 5-3Germany d. Kazakhstan, 6-217 March: Russia vs. Germany17 March: Kazakhstan vs. Iran

Pool B: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkey, Ukraine:Azerbaijan d. Turkey, 5-3Ukraine d. Belarus, 6-2Azerbaijan d. Belarus, 5-3Turkey d. Ukraine, 5-317 March: Azerbaijan vs. Ukraine17 March: Turkey vs. Belarus

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Friday,

17 March 2017

Agenda:Competition Calendar

Highlights of the top-level (Championships ~ Grand Prix ~ World Cup ~ National Teams)competitions in Olympic sports for the coming weeks:

Sport Date(s) Type ~ Event Site

C 13-18 March 2017Baseball 06-22 Mar World Baseball Classic JPN & USABiathlon 13-19 Mar BMW World Cup 9 NOR OsloSki Jumping 14 Mar World Cup: M (HS 138) NOR LillehammerAlpine Ski 15-19 Mar World Cup Final: Men & Women USA AspenCurling 15-19 Mar Men's World Tour: Aberdeen Int'l SCO AberdeenFigure Skate 15-19 Mar ISU World Junior Championships TPE Taipei CityNordic Cmb 15 Mar World Cup: Gundersen HS 140/10 km NOR TrondheimCurling 16-19 Mar Men's World Tour: Princess Auto Elite 10 CAN Port Hawkesbury

Gymnastics 16-19 Mar World Cup (all-around) AZE BakuSki Jumping 16 Mar World Cup: M (HS 138) NOR TrondheimTaekwondo 16-18 Mar U.S. Senior National Team Trials USA Ft. WorthWeightlift 16-19 Mar American Open I USA RenoWrestling 16-17 Mar Men's Greco-Roman World Cup IRI TehranBeach Vllybl 17-19 Mar World Tour 2-star (women only) AUS SydneyFencing 17-19 Mar M&W Foil Grand Prix 2 USA Long BeachGymnastics 17-19 Mar World Cup (all-around) GER StuttgartKarate 17-19 Mar WKF Karate 1 Premier League 2 NED RotterdamShooting 17-27 Mar ISSF World Cup (shotgun) MEX AcapulcoSnowboard 17-19 Mar World Cup: M&W Parallel Slalom GER WinterbergCurling 18-26 Mar Women's World Championship CHN BeijingCycling 18 Mar MWT: Milano-San Remo ITA MilanNordic Cmb 18-19 Mar World Cup: Gundersen HS 106/10-15 km GER SchonachSki Jumping 18-19 Mar World Cup: M (HS 225) NOR Vikersund

C 19-25 March 2017Cycling 19 Mar WWT: Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comunedo Cittiglio ITA CittiglioCycling 20-26 Mar MWT: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya ESPCycling 22 Mar MWT: Dwars Door Vlaanderen BEL RoeselareGymnastics 22-25 Mar World Cup (all-around) QAT DohaMod. Pent. 22-26 Mar UIPM World Cup 2 EGY CairoEquestrian 23-26 Mar Dressage World Cup CDI-W AUS WerribeeBiathlon 24-26 Mar U.S. National Championships USA JerichoCycling 24 Mar MWT: Record Bank E3 Harelbeke BEL HarelbekeFencing 24-26 Mar W Sabre World Cup 4 CHN YangzhouFencing 24-26 Mar M&W Epee Grand Prix 2 HUN BudapestFootball 24 Mar World Cup qualifying: USA Men v. Honduras USA San Jose

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Freestyle 24-25 Mar World Cup: M&W Big Air NOR Myrkdalen-Voss

Ski Jumping 24-26 Mar World Cup: M (HS 225) SLO PlanicaSnowboard 24-25 Mar World Cup: M&W Slopestyle CZE Spindleruv Mlyn

Snowboard 24-26 Mar World Cup: M&W Snowboardcross SUI VeysonnazAlpine Ski 25-28 Mar U.S. Alpine National Championships USA SugarloafHockey 25 Mar-02 M World League Round 2 TTO Tacarigua

C 26 March-01 April 2017Athletics 26 Mar World Cross Country Championships UGA KampalaCycling 26 Mar MWT: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields BEL DeinzeCycling 26 Mar WWT: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields BEL DeinzeEquestrian 27 Mar-02 FEI World Cup Final USA OmahaBadminton 28-02 Mar Yonex Sunrise India Open IND New DelhiFootball 28 Mar World Cup qualifying: USA Men at Panama PAN Panama CityFigure Skate 29 Mar-02 ISU World Championships FIN HelsinkiGolf 30 Mar-02 W ANA Inspiration USA Rancho Mirage

Curling 31 Mar-02 Women's World Tour: Perth Invitational SCO PerthCycling 31 Mar-02 U.S. BMX National Championships USA Rock HillDiving 31 Mar-02 NVC Diving World Series 3 RUS KazanFencing 31 Mar-01 M&W Sabre Grand Prix 2 KOR SeoulFreestyle 31 Mar-01 U.S. Freestyle Championships: Moguls USA SteamboatIce Hockey 31 Mar-07 IIHF Women's World Championships USA PlymouthJudo 31 Mar-02 IJF World Tour 4: Grand Prix GEO TbilisiKarate 31 Mar-02 WKF Karate 1 Premier League 3 UAE DubaiCurling 01-09 Apr Ford Men's World Championships CAN EdmontonHockey 01-09 Apr W World League Round 2 CAN West Vancouver

Weightlift 01-09 Apr European Championships CRO Split

C 02-08 April 2017Cycling 02 Apr MWT: Ronde de Vlaanderen BEL BrugesCycling 02 Apr WWT: Ronde de Vlaanderen BEL BrugesCycling 03-08 Apr MWT: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco ESPWeightlift 03-10 Apr IWF World Youth Championships THA BangkokBadminton 04-09 Apr Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open MAS Kuala Lumpur

Synchro. 04-09 Apr U.S. National Championships USA Oro ValleyFencing 05-10 Apr FIE World Junior Championships BUL PlovdivFootball 06 Apr USA Women vs. Russia USA FriscoGolf 06-09 Apr M The Masters USA AugustaGymnastics 07-09 Apr Rhythmic World Cup 1 ITA PesaroJudo 07-09 Apr IJF World Tour 5: Grand Prix TUR AntalyaRugby 07-09 Apr Men's HSBC Sevens Series Rd 7 HKG Hong KongSport Climb 07-08 Apr World Cup: Bouldering SUI MeiringenGymnastics 08 Apr World Cup (all-around) GBR LondonTriathlon 08-09 Apr ITU World Series 2 AUS Gold Coast

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17 March 2017

About The Sports Examiner

The Sports Examiner was created to cover championship-level international sports – with a specialemphasis on those sports and events that are part of the Olympic/Winter Games programs. You canget it sent directly to your e-mail inbox by signing up at www.TheSportsExaminer.com.

These athletes deserve the comprehensive coverage given to a fairly small number of sports which arethe most popular in individual countries, such as baseball, basketball, football (several kinds), icehockey and others. Why not offer an all-in-one briefing, available online, which can provide fans witha 360-degree view of the top-level meets, matches and tournaments in world sport?

Although the Rio Games are a memory, sport does not stop. Tell your friends to join us for free byentering their e-mail address in the subscription form at www.TheSportsExaminer.com!

About the Author

Rich Perelman has been a bid developer, planner and/or operator of 20 multi-day, multi-venueevents, including five Olympic/Olympic Winter Games, in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In additionto nearly 100 books, event and statistical guides, he has written for the Los Angeles Times, Track &Field News, Universal Sports and many other publications. He is a longtime member of theAssociation of Track & Field Statisticians (ATFS), International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH)and the Track & Field Writers of America (TAFWA).

Archives

If you’re looking for previous issues, you can findthem here (scroll to the bottom of the page to theArchives header and pick the month you want toaccess). All editions are in PDF format of 1-5 MBeach and may be viewed or downloaded directlyto your device.

You can also sign up to receive The SportsExaminer by e-mail at TheSportsExaminer.com.

Codes and Symbols

It wouldn’t be sports without symbols, right?First and foremost, we use the InternationalOlympic Committee’s three-letter country codes;the complete list can be found here. Othercommon symbols:

dnf = did not finish kg = kilograms dns = did not start m = meters dsq = disqualified w = wind-aided HS = hill size in ski jumping (always in meters)

The Sports Examiner for 17 March 2017: Vol. 2, no. 28. Copyright 2017 by Perelman, Pioneer & Co.;All rights reserved.

The Sports Examiner is published by Perelman, Pioneer & Co.; Rich Perelman, editor. Subscriptionsare available by entering your name and e-mail address here. For more information, please visitwww.TheSportsExaminer.com.

Inquiries may be sent to [email protected] or by U.S. mail to Post Office Box 2368,Rancho Mirage, California 92270 USA.

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