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Swimmer Phelps Gets Into Beijing Almost Unnoticed

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 5, 2008

BEIJING - Michael Phelps sneaked into Beijing almost unnoticed. He's unlikely to go out that way.

The probable star of the Beijing Olympics avoided hundreds of fans, photographers and reporters Monday by taking a side door out to a waiting bus while his teammates pushed luggage trolleys through the arrival gate at Beijing's new Terminal 3, a sprawling addition to the city's airport.

Phelps, who's grown a mustache while training in Singapore, eventually was spotted - in a window seat on the team bus - by dozens of reporters and photographers. He ignored most of the cameras, glancing in their direction a few times as he adjusted the fit of his baseball cap.

One young Chinese girl said she had waited five hours hoping to get an autograph. She also carried an envelope in her hand, addressed in imperfect English: "To Michael Phelps you have to look at." Asked why she wanted to see Phelps, a friend standing nearby answered for her.

"Because she thinks he's handsome."

Hessman Homers Twice As U.S. Routs Canada 17-5

DURHAM, N.C. - Mike Hessman hit two of the United States' four home runs Monday night, and the Americans capped their stateside preparations for Beijing by scoring nine runs in the fifth inning of a 17-5 exhibition rout of Canada in a game shortened to seven innings.

Former University of Florida standout Matt LaPorta homered for the third time in the four-game series, and Terry Tiffee drove in three runs and also connected for the second straight game for the U.S., which scored in each inning and took the final three games of the four-game tuneup for the Olympics after it lost the opener in 10 innings.

This game was called after the seventh because of the 10-run rule in international play, but the teams scrimmaged for an additional, unofficial inning to squeeze in some extra work before leaving the continent.

U.S. Women's Basketball Team Dominates Hammon, Russia

HAINING, China - Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and the United States pulled away in the second half, beating the Russians 93-58 Monday night in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament.

In a much-hyped matchup against her native country, Becky Hammon scored 10 points, but her adopted team was no match for the Americans. This was the first meeting between the U.S. and Russia since the Russians beat the Americans in the 2006 world championship semifinals.

Sylvia Fowles and the U.S. team came out focused and showed flashes of the dominance that has helped them win three straight Olympic gold medals. A South Dakota native, Hammon competes for a Russian club team during the winter and became a naturalized citizen there. Since she hadn't played for the United States in any major FIBA-sanctioned international events, she was allowed to compete for Russia in the Olympics, which begin Friday.

Fowles added 15 for the USA, and Tatiana Shchegoleva led Russia with 14 points.

Up next for the United States is rival Australia in what could be a preview of the Olympic gold-medal game.

YouTube Will Stream Games To 77 Territories

The Olympics are coming to YouTube.

The Olympic content will reach 77 territories where digital rights have not been sold, or have been acquired on a non-exclusive basis, the International Olympic Committee said Monday. The IOC did not release financial details of the deal.

The package from Beijing will include highlights, news and daily clips of the competitions and will be directed primarily to Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Internet users outside the 77 territories will be blocked from seeing the clips through a technology called "geo-blocking."

Recovering Radcliffe Plans To Run Marathon

MACAU - Paula Radcliffe intends to run the marathon at the Beijing Olympics "unless my leg break down."

The world-record holder from Britain has been trying to overcome a stress fracture in her left thigh in time to compete in her fourth straight Olympics.

"I'm racing unless my leg breaks down," said the 34-year-old Radcliffe, who joined her teammates at their training base in Macau on Monday.

Radcliffe dropped out of the marathon at the 2004 Athens Games, but she won the world championship title in the event a year later in Helsinki, Finland.

In February, Radcliffe won the Laureus award for World Comeback of the Year for winning the New York Marathon after two years away from competition following childbirth.

She set the world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 25 seconds at the London Marathon in 2003. She also won the London race in 2002 and '05.

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