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2B Daily News – Wednesday, June 26, 2013 OLYMPICS NBA Anchorage considers 2026 bid ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's largest city began considering Tuesday whether to mount another bid for the Winter Olympics after narrowly losing efforts to host the 1992 and 1994 games. A 23-member exploratory committee, which includes four Alaska Olympians, met for the first time to delve into the finances and mechanics of pursuing the 2026 Winter Olympics. Among the members was crosscountry skier Holly Brooks, who texted into the meeting while training on a glacier. ''We still feel, in fact more confidently than ever, that Anchorage has the capability, the facilities and most of all, the spirit and the willingness to be the host city,'' Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan said at the meeting. After losing its first bid for the 1992 games to Albertville, France, Anchorage came in third for the '94 games, held in Lillehammer, Norway. The most recent Winter Olympics held in the U.S. were staged in Salt Lake City in 2002. RIVERS (Continued from page 1B) July. Paul is widely expected to stick with the Clippers, and Rivers' arrival might cinch the deal. With Boston likely to spend the next few years revamping, Rivers seized the chance to take over one of the league's most compelling young teams. He was eagerly pursued by the Clippers, who are coming off the best regular season in franchise history with a roster built around Blake Griffin and Paul. ''He felt like it was time for a change,'' Ainge said. ''He felt like we all needed a change. That was his rationalization or justification for going to the Clippers, that this was better for everybody. I don't think there should be any resentment. I know how Boston fans are. This may be a win-win for everybody.'' The 51-year-old Rivers replaces Vinny Del Negro, who wasn't re-signed after the Clippers won a franchise-record 56 games and TENNIS (Continued from page 1B) Sharapova) and an offthe-cuff remark about a widely publicized rape case in the U.S. that was perceived by some as criticizing the victim. ''It hasn't been a distraction,'' Williams insisted. ''I'm just here to focus on the tennis.'' All in all, by easily winning her first match since winning the French Open on June 8, she helped restore order at Wimbledon 24 hours after a chaotic Day 1 that included the only firstround Grand Slam loss of 12-time major champion Rafael Nadal's career and a scary-looking, kneetwisting tumble by twotime Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka during her win. The highest-seeded player to depart Tuesday was No. 10 Maria Kirilenko, beaten 6-3, 6-4 by teenager Laura Robson, the first British woman to beat a top-10 player at Wimbledon in 15 years. Of the 10 local players who entered the tournament, Robson and reigning U.S. Open champion Andy Murray, last year's runner-up at the All England Club, are the only two left. ''It's hard for all the British players to come in here and, you know, lose first round,'' said Robson, who beat Kim Clijsters at the 2012 U.S. Open in the last match of the four-time major champion's career, ''because you just feel To lend credence to a possible bid for the 2026 games, committee member and two-time U.S. Olympic cross country skier James Southam announced that Anchorage will host the U.S. National Cross Country Championships and SuperTour Finals in March. Southam said it would be ''just amazing'' to hold the Olympics in his hometown. ''When you host these kinds of national events, it really just increases our resume, our capacity to put in this bid for the 2026 Olympics,'' Mayor Sullivan added. Venues are the biggest challenge for Anchorage or any city seeking to host the Olympics, since the facilities must be built to host more spectators than they would for local events. ''How do you pay for it, and what do you do with it once the games are over?'' Sullivan said. He believes Anchorage has the other logistics covered: It's already an international city for travelers, has thousands of hotel rooms, and — possibly its most important quality — is well situated for prime-time TV audiences. Morning competitions could be shown live during prime time in Europe, and late afternoon events would be live during prime time in the eastern and central U.S. Anchorage's bid for the previous games did not rely on any public financing. Sullivan said that's the current goal as well, with the hope that television revenue, merchandising and private contributions from corporations would cover the costs. Since the prior bids, Anchorage, like a lot of other cities, has seen some challenging economic times. ''But I think we're back on the right track,'' he said. ''And you're talking about games in 2026, so it's 13 years from now. You'd like to think we'll be even better positioned than we are today.'' Sullivan wants the committee to complete its work looking at finances, venues, housing and transportation within eight months. The United States Olympic Committee will have the final say on whether it seeks to back an American city for the games. Sullivan said that decision will likely come in 2015. their first Pacific Division title last season. Los Angeles' first-round playoff loss to Memphis likely cost Del Negro, who went 128-102 over three years and became the only Clippers coach to post consecutive winning seasons in 35 years. Rivers' new deal is expected to be similar to the three years and $21 million that remained on his contract with the Celtics. Boston was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by New York last month, and Rivers gradually became more interested in the Clippers' vacancy than the Celtics' rebuilding process. The negotiations for Rivers proceeded deliberately and abruptly over the past two weeks, with several potential moves discussed by the franchises. Ainge would have welcomed Rivers back to the Boston bench, but Rivers apparently saw the Clippers as a golden opportunity. ''Sometimes you've got to let your good people go to pursue what they need to pursue to make them- selves happy,'' Celtics President Rich Gotham said. ''While it's tough to see Doc go, I think we feel good about what he did here. We will be lucky to find as good a coach as Doc was.'' Los Angeles also spoke to Boston about acquiring star forward Kevin Garnett in another element of the trade involving Rivers, but NBA Commissioner David Stern won't allow teams to trade active players for a coach. It's unclear whether the teams could swing a future deal to reunite Rivers with Garnett or Southern California native Paul Pierce, who is due to make $15.3 million next season. Rivers played one season for the Clippers in 1991-92 during his 13year NBA career, and they made the playoffs that season for the first time since the former Buffalo Braves moved to the West Coast in 1978. Los Angeles has made only five playoff appearances and won just two rounds since that season. But the Clippers are coming off the best twoseason stretch in club his- tory, and Rivers' arrival further alters the franchise's decades-long reputation. Rivers will be an intriguing match with the high-flying Clippers and their Lob City acrobatics, but his coaching pedigree and leadership skills will provide him with immediate credibility in his new locker room. Rivers' Boston teams played at a more deliberate pace than last season's Clippers often used last season, but the veteran coach is likely to adapt his offensive plans to fit the Clippers' talent. Rivers' impact on Los Angeles could be felt most on defense, where the Clippers often struggled last season despite their lofty record. After his playing career ended in 1996, Rivers went into broadcasting before serving as the Orlando Magic's head coach for just over four seasons from 1999-2003, going 171-168 and winning an NBA coach of the year award. He is one of four active NBA coaches who have won a championship. extra disappointed.'' Other women winning easily included No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 runner-up to Williams; 2011 French Open champion Li Na; and No. 7 Angelique Kerber, who eliminated Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the U.S. 6-3, 6-4. Nadal's straight-set loss to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis was still a main topic of conversation, and top-seeded Novak Djokovic called it a reminder that ''you cannot take anything or anybody for granted.'' ''To be honest, I was expecting him to be a bit rusty on the court,'' Djokovic said. ''In the opening rounds, obviously, it's very dangerous for top players who haven't been playing on grass. ... On the other side of the net is somebody that is lower ranked, he has nothing to lose, so he's going for his shots.'' As Djokovic dispatched 34th-ranked Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, the only real hitch was when he slipped to the Centre Court grass. No. 4 David Ferrer, who reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open but lost to Nadal, took two falls and said he felt a ''little bit of pain'' in his left ankle during a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over 101st-ranked Martin Alund of Argentina. Sam Querrey, an American seeded 21st, lost 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 to 59th-ranked Australian Bernard Tomic in a match most noteworthy for what was said afterward. Tomic ripped the ATP for barring his father, who is also his coach, from attending tournaments for 12 months because of pending assault charges and said he'll ask Wimbledon to let Dad attend his next match. Querrey, meanwhile, was miffed that Tomic got a chance to collect himself while being checked by trainers after saying he felt lightheaded in the fourth set. ''I knew he was kind of dizzy, but let's go; it's a physical game,'' Querrey said. ''That's part of it. If you're dizzy or hurt, you've got to play through it. You can't just take breaks. That's not why I lost. But I felt I had some momentum there and that leveled the playing field for the fifth set.'' It's been difficult for any opponent to things close against Williams lately, even if she claimed Tuesday, ''I never feel invincible.'' Her practice-makesperfect pledge might give future opponents pause, starting with Caroline Garcia, who will face Williams in the second round for the second Grand Slam tournament in a row. After losing to Williams 6-1, 6-2 at the French Open last month, Garcia made these observations: ''I need to work on my game to pose more problems for her next time'' and ''She hits hard.'' You don't say. Dealing with serves that came in at up to 121 mph (195 kph) — that readout on the speed clock prompted murmuring among impressed spectators — Minella managed to put only half of her returns in play. ''When I stood right in front of her, I looked at her and not at the ball at the beginning. Because it's just unreal; because I've never played against this type of player. It's a lot of stuff you have to deal with,'' Minella said. ''The strength and the heavy spin of her serve is definitely better than anyone else, I would say,'' Minella added. ''It is different from what I've seen. But it's also because it's too good. ... Many other players wouldn't reach the ball today.'' MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE Portland Salt Lake FC Dallas Galaxy Vancouver Seattle Colorado QUAKES Chivas USA W 7 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 3 L 1 5 3 6 5 5 7 7 10 T 9 3 5 3 4 3 5 6 2 Pts 30 30 29 24 22 21 20 18 11 GF 28 26 25 23 25 19 17 15 14 GA 16 16 20 18 24 17 19 25 30 EASTERN CONFERENCE Montreal Philadelphia New York Kansas City Houston Columbus N. England Chicago Toronto FC D.C. W 9 7 7 6 6 5 5 5 2 2 L 3 5 6 5 5 6 5 7 7 11 T 2 4 4 5 5 5 5 3 6 3 Pts 29 25 25 23 23 20 20 18 12 9 GF 24 25 23 20 19 19 18 15 14 8 GA 17 24 22 15 16 18 13 21 20 26 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Saturday's games Los Angeles at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC, 10 a.m. FC Dallas at Philadelphia, 2:30 p.m. Colorado at Montreal, 4 p.m. Vancouver at D.C. United, 4 p.m. Columbus at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. New England at Chivas USA, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's game Houston at New York, 11 a.m. Shaw gets his shot with Nuggets DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets officially introduced Brian Shaw as their head coach on Tuesday. Shaw steps in for George Karl, the NBA Coach of the Year who was ousted after the team won a franchise-record 57 games, only to be bounced from the first round of the playoffs for the fourth straight season. A longtime assistant, Shaw finally gets his chance to coach an NBA team. He's been mentored by the likes of Phil Jackson and was the associate head coach for Indiana during the season that just ended, when the Pacers made it to the Eastern Conference finals before being eliminated by LeBron James and the Miami Heat in seven games. A first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics in 1988, Shaw played for eight teams in his 14 NBA seasons. He captured three championships as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers and two more titles with L.A. as an assistant under Jackson. The 47-year-old Shaw has been interviewed for quite a few head coaching vacancies over the years only to be passed up — until Monday. Shaw beat out Lionel Hollins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach. This may have played a part in the decision: With the Pacers, Shaw played an integral part in developing young players such as Paul George. The Nuggets are youthful, boasting the third-youngest team in the league last season. It's been a tumultuous offseason for the Nuggets since a first-round loss to the Golden State Warriors. First, general manager Masai Ujiri — the league's Executive of the Year — bolted from Denver to become the GM of the Toronto Raptors. On the heels of that, Denver severed ties with Karl after he led the Nuggets to nine straight playoff appearances and a 423-257 mark in the regular season. His biggest issue was the opening round, with his teams losing eight times in those nine appearances. Under Karl, the Nuggets were an up-tempo team that liked to wear out opponents, especially in the thin air of the Mile High City, where they went an NBAbest 38-3 at home in 2012-13. Although Shaw has been heavily influenced by the teachings of Jackson and his triangle offense, Shaw has said he won't use that type of system with the Nuggets. Pacers coach Frank Vogel is certainly a big Shaw fan, saying after the season ended when his assistant's name kept surfacing for openings, ''I do have the anticipation that we will have to replace him and if we don't, then there are some poor decisions being made out there because I believe he'll be one of the great coaches in this league.'' With a coach now on board, the top priorities for Connelly & Co. will be the draft later this week and locking up Andre Iguodala, the team's top perimeter defender who decided to opt out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. Iguodala could return to Denver on a five-year deal while the most he could get elsewhere is a four-year contract. Still, for a brief moment, Minella appeared to be getting into the match. A doublefault by Williams handed over a break that gave Minella a 2-0 lead in the second set. Serving at 4030 in the next game, Minella was a point from a 3-0 edge. That's when Williams got her act together, producing a cross-court backhand winner to get to deuce while taking 15 of 18 points to go ahead 4-2. ''In these moments,'' Minella observed, ''she can raise her level.'' MLB MLB National League Arizona San Diego Colorado GIANTS Dodgers East Division American League West Division West Division W 41 39 39 38 33 L 35 38 39 38 42 Pct .539 .506 .500 .500 .440 GB — 2.5 3 3 7.5 Texas A'S Angels Seattle Houston East Division W 44 44 34 34 29 L 33 34 43 43 48 Pct .571 .564 .442 .442 .377 GB — .5 10 10 15 W L Pct GB Atlanta 45 33 .577 — Washington 38 38 .500 6 Philadelphia 36 41 .468 8.5 New York 30 43 .411 12.5 Miami 26 50 .342 18 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 47 29 .618 — Pittsburgh 46 30 .605 1 Cincinnati 45 32 .584 2.5 Chicago 31 43 .419 15 Milwaukee 31 43 .419 15 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Washington 7, Arizona 5 Boston 11, Colorado 4 Miami 4, Minnesota 2 Atlanta 4, Kansas City 3 Chicago White Sox 5, N.Y. Mets 4 Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, late St. Louis at Houston, late Cincinnati at Oakland, late Philadelphia at San Diego, late Pittsburgh at Seattle, late San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers, late W L Pct GB Boston 46 33 .582 — New York 42 34 .553 2.5 Baltimore 43 35 .551 2.5 Tampa Bay 41 37 .526 4.5 Toronto 38 38 .500 6.5 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 42 33 .560 — Cleveland 39 37 .513 3.5 Kansas City 35 39 .473 6.5 Minnesota 34 39 .466 7 Chicago 32 42 .432 9.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Baltimore 6, Cleveland 3 N.Y. Yankees 4, Texas 3 L.A. Angels 14, Detroit 8 Boston 11, Colorado 4 Miami 4, Minnesota 2 Tampa Bay 5, Toronto 1 Atlanta 4, Kansas City 3 Chicago White Sox 5, N.Y. Mets 4 St. Louis at Houston, late Cincinnati at Oakland, late Pittsburgh at Seattle, late Today's games Minnesota (Diamond 5-6) at Miami (Koehler 1-5), 9:40 a.m. Cincinnati (H.Bailey 4-5) at Oakland (Griffin 5-6), 12:35 p.m. Pittsburgh (Cole 3-0) at Seattle (F.Hernandez 8-4), 12:40 p.m. Colorado (Oswalt 0-1) at Boston (Lackey 4-5), 1:05 p.m. Arizona (Miley 4-6) at Washington (Zimmermann 10-3), 4:05 p.m. Atlanta (Minor 8-3) at Kansas City (Mendoza 2-4), 5:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Feldman 6-6) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 6-6), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Marcum 0-9) at Chicago White Sox (Joh.Danks 1-4), 5:10 p.m. St. Louis (Lynn 10-1) at Houston (Bedard 2-3), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 2-11) at San Diego (Undecided), 7:10 p.m. San Francisco (Lincecum 4-7) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 5-5), 7:10 p.m. Today's games Toronto (Dickey 6-8) at Tampa Bay (Ro.Hernandez 4-8), 9:10 a.m. Minnesota (Diamond 5-6) at Miami (Koehler 1-5), 9:40 a.m. Cincinnati (H.Bailey 4-5) at Oakland (Griffin 5-6), 12:35 p.m. Pittsburgh (Cole 3-0) at Seattle (F.Hernandez 8-4), 12:40 p.m. Colorado (Oswalt 0-1) at Boston (Lackey 4-5), 1:05 p.m. Cleveland (Kazmir 4-4) at Baltimore (Hammel 7-4), 4:05 p.m. Texas (Grimm 6-5) at N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 5-5), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Hanson 4-2) at Detroit (J.Alvarez 1-0), 4:08 p.m. Atlanta (Minor 8-3) at Kansas City (Mendoza 2-4), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Marcum 0-9) at Chicago White Sox (Joh.Danks 1-4), 5:10 p.m. St. Louis (Lynn 10-1) at Houston (Bedard 2-3), 5:10 p.m. Thursday's games Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m. Arizona at Washington, 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Colorado, 3:10 p.m. Philadelphia at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 10:05 a.m. L.A. Angels at Detroit, 10:08 a.m. Cleveland at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Toronto at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m.