College Football
FORT COLLINS– Colorado State University officials say the school’s new $220 million stadium remains on time and on budget as crews have reached the halfway point of construction.
The Coloradoan reports that hundreds of construction workers, university officials and others gathered at the site of the new on-campus stadium Tuesday to celebrate its progress.
Construction had begun on the 41,000-capacity facility in September 2015, and the work is scheduled to be complete in time for the CSU Rams to kick off the 2017 football season.
CSU President Tony Frank says the facility will also include an alumni center and space for academic advising.
Fantasy Sports
ALBANY, N.Y. – Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new law Wednesday to allow the resumption of daily fantasy sports in New York.
The measure calls the popular online contests a “game of skill.” That legal definition resolves the central argument in a lawsuit brought against the country’s two top fantasy sports companies by the state attorney general. He had likened the online matches to illegal gambling operations based on chance.
The law requires the companies pay an annual fee of up to $50,000 with a 15 percent tax on their revenue. It also bars anyone younger than 18 from playing and prohibits college and high school sports.
NFL
ENGLEWOOD – Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was told that President Barack Obama commuted the life sentence of Thomas’ grandmother on Wednesday.
Thomas was given the news after practice and he called the impending release of Minnie Pearl Thomas “a blessing.” Thomas’ grandmother, who was serving a life sentence for a drug offense, is to be released on Dec. 1.
Last year, Obama commuted the sentence of Thomas’ mother, Katina Smith, who had been due to be released in 2017.
Olympics
RIO DE JANEIRO – Unlike the last four Olympics, Michael Phelps will be taking part in the opening ceremony for the Rio Games.
Phelps will be the bearer of the U.S. flag during the Friday night ceremony at Maracana Stadium, selected in a vote by all members of the American Olympic team.
The decision announced Wednesday makes Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, only the second swimmer to lead the U.S. delegation in the opening ceremony. Gary Hall was the first at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan scored a goal in each half as the U.S. women’s soccer team defeated New Zealand 2-0 in its debut at the Rio Games on Wednesday, getting off to a solid start in its attempt to win a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.
Lloyd put the Americans ahead with a header in the ninth minute and Morgan added to the lead with a low shot from inside the area less than a minute into the second half at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte.
The U.S. dominated from the start to earn the convincing victory and remain unbeaten in 2016, with 14 shutouts and only one draw in 16 games.
The revamped Americans next play France on Saturday, again at the Mineirao.
Associated Press
