BASEBALL
WASHINGTON – A dream came true for one long-suffering Kansas City Royals fan in the White House when the reigning World Series champion team paid a visit.
President Barack Obama’s spokesman Josh Earnest is a Kansas City, Missouri, native and longtime Royals fan.
It’s been more than three decades since the team won the World Series and came to the White House.
Earnest grinned from ear to ear Thursday in anticipation.
He donned a pair of Royals socks for the occasion. For weeks, he’s been taking sips of water from a Royals mug during his daily briefings.
BOXING
DEER LAKE, Pa. – The son of NFL Hall of Fame coach John Madden bought Muhammad Ali’s former training camp in Pennsylvania.
The camp’s longtime owner, renowned martial arts instructor George Dillman, said he sold the rustic hilltop camp in Deer Lake to Mike Madden, with closing to take place Thursday afternoon.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
Madden, a real estate developer, plans to preserve the buildings and memorabilia, according to Dillman, who said his son will manage a bed and breakfast and continue to run martial arts camps at the site.
A representative for Madden didn’t immediately return a phone call.
OLYMPICS
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police arrested 10 people who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group on social media and discussed possible attacks during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, officials said Thursday.
Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said in the capital, Brasilia, that 10 suspects had been detained and two more were being sought. All are Brazilian, and one is a minor. The gender of the people was not given.
Police acted because the group discussed using weapons and guerrilla tactics to potentially launch an attack during the Olympics, which begin Aug. 5, Moraes said.
The arrests were made in 10 different states, including Sao Paulo and Parana in the southern part of the country, and it was not clear whether the suspects knew each other beyond their online contacts. Moraes said there were no specific targets for an attack.
Former World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey says a “clear-cut” decision is required: Russia should not be allowed to compete at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Fahey told The Associated Press on Thursday that Russia should “definitely not be going” to Rio and said the integrity of the 2016 Olympics and future games is in jeopardy.
The International Olympic Committee’s executive board will meet via teleconference Sunday to consider whether Russia, host of the Winter Games at Sochi in 2014, will compete at the Summer Games next month.
MADRID – The Spanish basketball federation says that center Marc Gasol will miss the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after failing to recover from a broken foot in time.
The federation says “Marc Gasol hasn’t passed the necessary medical tests” and will miss the games.
Gasol has not played since he broke his right foot in February while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Spain won silver medals in men’s basketball at the last two Olympics, losing the finals to the United States.
Associated Press
