Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - It took Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.) all of two days of shooting at the 50th ISSF Shooting World Championships in Munich to secure the first quota place for the U.S. for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
By virtue of his bronze medal performance in the Men's 50m Rifle Prone event, Emmons locked up the spot for the Americans, the first for the 2012 games.
"It's great to be the one who grabbed the first Olympic quota for America," said Emmons after the match. "Of course, I am not automatically qualified. The quota goes to the U.S. Shooting team, and all the American shooters are passing through a qualification system in order to decide who will go to the next Games," concluded Emmons, who has represented the USA at the Olympic Games since he started shooting internationally in 2001.
Emmons and teammates SGT Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wis.) and SFC Eric Uptagrafft (Firestone, Colo.) also won a second consecutive world championship in the Men's Prone event. The same trio topped the podium in 2006 at the World Shooting Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
BASEBALL: 14U National Team Perfect in Bronze Win
Joe DeMers (Martinez, Calif.), Adam Haseley (Windermere, Fla.) and Kiko Garcia (Chula Vista, Calif.) combined to throw a perfect game as the USA Baseball 14U National Team defeated Brazil, 6-0, to capture the bronze medal at the COPABE Pan Am 'A' 14U Championships Saturday, July 31, at Dennis Martinez Stadium in Managua, Nicaragua.
The perfect game is the second in Team USA 14U history, following Jimmy Wallace's in 2008 against Guatemala. It was also the fourth no-hitter in Team USA history, and the second in Nicaragua.
BASKETBALL: 2010 USA Basketball Men's World Championship Roster Trimmed To 15
Following four days of training and an intra-squad exhibition game held July 19-24 in Las Vegas, Nev., USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo announced the 15 players selected as finalists for the 2010 USA World Championship Team.
Named as finalists for the USA World Championship Team were: Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).
The squad will reassemble Aug. 9 in New York City to train from Aug. 10-16. The official 12-man USA roster that will compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship must be submitted to FIBA at the technical meeting that normally is held the day prior to the start of the competition which begins August 28 in Instanbul, Turkey.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Dalhausser, Rogers Win 500th Match as a Team
The U.S. beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) won its 500th match as a team on Saturday, July 31, in Klagenfurt, Austria at the FIVB World Tour A1 Grand Slam 10.
Dalhausser and Rogers, the tournament's top seeds, entered Austria with 497 match victories in both FIVB and AVP Tour competition. They won two out of three pool play matches and advanced directly to the second round where they beat 15th-ranked Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of Netherlands, 21-18, 21-19, for the milestone win.
Dalhausser and Rogers' overall match record is now 500-78. The duo boasts a record of 318-35 (.901) on the domestic AVP Tour and 182-43 (.809) on the international FIVB World Tour.
Rogers has also been elected as one of two player representatives for FIVB beach volleyball. He replaces Sascha Heyer of Switzerland and will hold the position until 2012.
BIATHLON: Board Names Max Cobb President and CEO
Max Cobb has been named President and CEO of US Biathlon. Cobb joined the US Biathlon Association in 1989. Under his leadership the U.S. Biathlon Team emerged as one of the top programs in the world this past winter when Tim Burke wore the yellow bib as the world's top ranked biathlete.
DIVING: Colten Young completes the sweep as USA Diving Junior National Championships wrap up; Ipsen and Cook pick up third title
Colten Young (Mission Viejo, Calif.) completed the sweep of the boys 11-and- under age group with a win on 1-meter Tuesday as the USA Diving Junior National Championships wrapped up.
Other individual winners Tuesday were Grayson Campbell (Vienna, Va.), Alison Maillard (Houston, Texas), and Nikki Watters (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Synchronized titles went to the teams of Michelle Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas) and Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas) and Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind.) and Dashiell Enos (Indianapolis, Ind.).
In his latest victory, Young scored 244.20 points to pick up the 1-meter title after winning platform and 3-meter championships earlier in the competition. Davis Flanders (Austin, Texas) won the silver, and Brad Weimer (Columbus, Ohio) took bronze.
The U.S. Elite Diving Academy won the overall team title. The boys team champion award went to G.C. Diving, and Trojan Diving won the girls title.
Kassidy Cook (The Woodlands, Texas) and Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif.) won their third titles, and Eszter Pryor (Columbus, Ohio) and David Dinsmore (New Albany, Ohio) won their second as the USA Diving Junior National Championships on Monday, July 26.
Ipsen paired with Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass.) to win the boys 14-18 3-meter synchro title, and Cook won the girls 3-meter synchro with Loren Figueroa (Kingwood, Texas). Both teams earned the right to represent the U.S. in the synchro events at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships in Tucson, Ariz., from September 1-6.
SHOOTING: Men's Prone repeats; Emmons secures first quota spot
With his bronze medal performance in the Men's 50m Rifle Prone event on Monday, August 2, Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.) became the first American to earn a quota spot for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Men's Prone contingency - both junior and open men - dominated with team medals at the 2010 ISSF World Shooting Championships Sunday, August 1. Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.), SGT Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wis.) and SFC Eric Uptagrafft (Firestone, Colo, were the golden stars of the event winning a second consecutive world championship in the Men's Prone event. The same trio topped the podium in 2006 at the World Shooting Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
The junior men's team of Ryan Dunham-Bender (Delta Junction, Alaska), Michael Seery (Toledo, Ohio), and Jimmie Cooper (Columbus, Ga.) began the competition with a large deficit in the first half, but came back in a big way as they missed one point in the last combined sixty shots. Their stellar performance earned another team medal - bronze - for the red, white, and blue.
Miranda Wilder (Diana, Texas) won the world title in Women's Junior Trap on Saturday, July 31 while Rachael Heiden (Clinton, Mich.) took bronze.
SKIING: Camerota Wins U.S. Combined Champs; Frenette and Van Double Up in Normal and Large Hill Divisions
Brett Camerota (Park City, Utah) finished in first place to win his first U.S. Combined Championship title in his hometown while Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) finished in second at the 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping Championships. In the Large Hill division Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) and Lindsey Van (Park City, Utah) were crowned champions. Frenette and Van also won the Normal Hill division earlier in the week.
SWIMMING: Olympians Back in the Pool at Nationals
The pool will be loaded with Olympians as Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.), Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif.), Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.), Amanda Beard (Tucson, Ariz.) and Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.) will all compete at the USA Swimming National Championships in Irvine, Calif. Other Olympians who will be competing include: Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.), Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.), Margaret Hoelzer (Huntsville, Ala.), Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.), Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) and Garrett Weber-Gale (Milwaukee, Wis.).
TRIATHLON: O'Donnell Takes Silver at Long Distance Worlds
Defending champion Timothy O'Donnell (Boulder, Colo.) captured the men's elite silver medal to lead Team USA Sunday, August 1, at the 2010 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. In women's elite action, Haley Cooper (Spokane, Wash.) and Lisa Ribes (Tucson, Ariz.) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, to give the U.S. a pair of top-10 finishers. Cooper logged a time of 7:56:55, less than two minutes ahead of Ribes' 7:58:20. Rachel Sears (Richmond, Calif.) was 15th in 9:33:23.
WATER POLO: USA Men Take Fourth Place at FINA World Cup
The USA Men's National Team claimed fourth place at the FINA World Cup following a 12-8 loss to Spain on the final day of play. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) scored two goals for Team USA against Spain as they concluded their major competition schedule for 2010.
In group play, Team USA defeated China 10-6 to open the Cup but was defeated by Croatia, 11-9, and Serbia, 17-9, to close out the group.
WRESTLING: U.S. Wins Four Medals at the Habibi & Movahed Cup; Byers Claims Gold in Poland.
The United States claimed four medals on the final day of the Habibi & Movahed Cup Wrestling Tournament in Qaemshahr, Iran on Sunday, August 1.
Capturing silver medals were Raymond Jordan (Tempe, Ariz.) at 84 kg/185 lbs. and Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Winning bronze medals were Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla.) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Trent Paulson (Ames, Iowa) at 74 kg/163 lbs.
Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) beat Olympic champion Khasan Baroev of Russia 1-0, 1-0, in the finals to claim the gold medal at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. at the respected Pytlasinski International Tournament on Saturday, July 31.
A 2008 Olympian, Byers has won a 2002 World gold medal, a 2009 World silver medal and a 2007 World bronze medal. Baroev was a 2004 Olympic champion, 2008 Olympic silver medalist and won a World title in 2006.
X-GAMES: White Takes Home Silver in Skateboard Vert
2010 Olympic gold medalist Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) took second in the Skateboard Vert at the X Games 16, July 30, in Los Angeles. Canadian Pierre-Luc Gagnon took home gold with a score of 93 to White's 85.
WEEKLY PREVIEW - AUGUST 2-8
CYCLING: More than 800 riders will compete at the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships in Louisville, Ky. Competition will take place August 3-8. Cyclists, age 30 and above, will duke it out for the more than 60 national titles on the line in the road race, criterium, and time trial events.
SWIMMING: The U.S. Swimming Nationals are set to take place August 3-7 in Irvine, Calif. More than 30 Olympians, including Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), are expected to compete. The meet serves as part of the selection for the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China. NBC will air competition on August 7 (4-6 p.m.) and 8 (4:30-6 p.m.).
TENNIS: The US Open Series National Playoffs will take place at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C. August 1-8
WATER SKIING: The 13th Junior Water Ski World Championships will take place August 5-8 in Brescia, Italy.
