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STEVENSENNE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady faces reporters before a practice in Massachusetts. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court rejected Brady's attempt to get a new hearing on his suspension. ByLarryNeumeisterand Jimmy Golen TheAssociatedPress NEW YORK Quarterback Tom Brady's last best chance to avoid serving a four-game "Deflategate" suspension to start the new sea- son was flatly rejected Wednesday by an appeals court. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a one-sentence rejection of re- quests by the National Football League Players Association and Tom Brady to reconsider an April decision that reinstated the sus- pension. "We are disappointed," the players association said in a statement. "The track record of this league office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken sys- tem that must be fixed." It added that it will review its options carefully. The NFL declined comment. The court's action left intact a 2-to-1 ruling by a three-judge panel that found NFL Commis- sioner Roger Goodell acted within his powers by upholding the sus- pension of the star quarterback for his role in a scheme to doctor footballs used in a January 2015 playoff game. The decision affirmed wide- ranging powers given to the commissioner by the NFL's col- lective bargaining agreement. It was a setback for organized labor groups arguing for due process in employee discipline. The players association and Brady had requested that the panel reconsider or that all the 2nd Circuit judges hear argu- ments and decide anew. Brady's remaining hope is to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "That is an extremely long shot," said Nellie Drew, a sports law professor at the University at Buffalo. She said the 2nd Cir- cuit acted correctly and that any changes to how the NFL handles arbitrations over player issues will have to be handled at the negoti- ating table. She predicted Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo NFL CourtrejectsBrady'sappeal Pats quarterback still faces suspension over 'Deflategate' scandal By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press MONTPELLIER, FRANCE Over the space of five days, Chris Froome's reputation has evolved from the most calculating of riders to a master tactician on the bike. First came his daring solo downhill attack and stage victory in Stage 8 in the Pyrenees. Then the British rider used the wind to his advantage and slipped into a four-man break- away Wednesday to gain more time on his direct rivals as he at- tempts to secure a third Tour de France title in four years. "This is bike racing at its best," Froome said. "I'm just enjoying my racing, attacking every op- portunity I can." World champion Peter Sagan won the windy 11th stage by easily edging Froome in a sprint finish. "For sure it was not a boring stage," Sagan said. "It was always dangerous wind." With crosswinds of 25 mph sweeping across the road, cyclists rode with their heads crouched down all day to reduce resistance. With 7.5 miles remaining in the mostly flat 101-mile leg from the medieval city of Carcassonne to Montpellier near the Mediterra- nean coast, Froome and Geraint Thomas, one of his top support TOUR DE FRANCE Froome's evolved to tactician on the bike By Ben Walker The Associated Press David Ortiz is set to get booed at Yankee Stadium, Chris Sale is ready to resume striking out Kris Bryant and the Kansas City Roy- als are facing a rugged road back to the playoffs. Now that the All-Star fun is fin- ished, a look at what's on deck as Major League Baseball makes the turn and heads home toward Oc- tober: PENNANT PUSH All eyes will be on Joe Maddon and his Cubs as they chase their first World Se- ries crown since 1908. They're in prime position so far — Jake Ar- rieta, Bryant and Co. hold the big- gest lead at the break, up seven games over St. Louis in the NL Central. The Cubs have never won a title while at Wrigley Field. All those past failures? "That's something we don't really discuss very of- ten," Arrieta said. Only one division race closer than five games: The AL East, with Baltimore up two on Boston and Toronto. Ortiz got a lot of love this week, but what Big Papi re- ally wants is one more swing in the postseason. The Red Sox be- gin the second half Friday night BASEBALL Second half: Playoff push, healing stars By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press TROON, SCOTLAND Jordan Spi- eth, going for the third leg of the career Grand Slam, spent more time talking about a golf course he will never see. The majority of his press con- ference was taken up with ques- tions about the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and why he chose not to play. Spieth knew that was coming. It was only when he was leaving the room that the 22-year-old Texan smiled and said to no one in particu- lar, "Do we have a tournament this week?" Finally, yes. Colin Montgomerie, who lived across the street from Royal Troon when his father was the club secretary, hits the first tee shot when the British Open be- gins on Thursday. That should put to rest three days of con- sternation about another tour- nament — the Olympics — that doesn't have nearly the history or the tradition of golf's oldest championship. The International Golf Feder- ation, run by former R&A chief Peter Dawson, took over Open week on Monday to announce that Olympic qualifying had ended and that Spieth (along with Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and 16 other men) was not playing. The next day, Spieth stood by his decision ("health concerns") and said his goal would be to get to the Tokyo Games in 2020, as- suming the men are still in the games. McIlroy followed him into the room and blasted golf officials who for the last seven years have preached the Olym- pics as an opportunity to grow the game. "I didn't get into golf to grow the game," McIlroy said. "I got into golf to win championships, and win major championships." Even on Wednesday, the day before the 145th Open began, another press conference was held with the IGF backdrop to announce Britain's golf team. Claret jug, anyone? Spieth let it slip through his fingers last year at St. Andrews going for his third straight ma- jor, and he wound up holding it later that evening — but only be- cause he was with Zach John- son, the champion golfer of the year, when it was over. "I crave to have that trophy in my possession at some point," Spieth said. "And to reach a third leg of the Grand Slam this week would be a fantastic achievement." History is on his side, even if it's more of a coincidence. The last six British Open champions at Royal Troon dating to 1950 are Americans, and it didn't es- cape Spieth when he looked at photos of the winners in the clubhouse. The last two winners, Todd Hamilton and Justin Leon- ard, lived in Dallas. Spieth arrived on the week- end and already saw the unpre- dictable nature of these Ayrshire links off the Irish Sea. The wind was into his face on Saturday and Sunday on the eas- ieropeningholes,andtheprevail- ing wind at his back returned the followingthreedays.RoyalTroon is clearly a tale of two nines. The front nine typically is downwind and doesn't have a par 4 longer than 422 yards. The back nine turns into the wind and doesn't have a par 4 that his shorter than 430 yards. The common denominator? Bunkers dot the landscape on both sides, along with thick, prickly gorse bushes more prev- alent at the turn. Fairway bun- kers effectively are a half-shot penalty, possibly a full shot or more if the ball rolls up against the vetted faces. "We looked at the holes, and on paper it looked relatively simple," Masters champion Danny Willett said. "But you start knocking it in a couple of the bunkers, up near the faces, the bunker design is a little bit sneaky." The closing holes into the wind can be a three-club differ- ence. "You can see when it's flat- tened out, you can have a go at the golf course," he said. BRITISH OPEN OLYMPICS FINALLY GIVE WAY TO OPEN Players concerned with winning major titles, not medals in Rio de Janeiro Spieth of the United States plays out of a sand trap on the 18th green during a practice round ahead of the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, on Wednesday. PHOTOS BY PETER MORRISON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jordan Spieth plays out of a sand trap on the 18th green during a practice round ahead of the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, on Wednesday. The British Open starts Thursday. BRADY PAGE 4 BASEBALL PAGE 4 CYCLING PAGE 4 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, July 14, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1