MLB

Bonds’ conviction thrown out by federal appeals court

SAN FRANCISCO – Barry Bonds’ obstruction of justice conviction was reversed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled his meandering answer before a grand jury in 2003 was not material to the government’s investigation into steroids distribution.

Mixed Martial Arts

Silva trying to enter the Olympic taekwondo ring

SAO PAULO – Mixed martial arts fighter Anderson Silva said he will fight for a spot in the Brazilian taekwondo team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The announcement was made Wednesday after a meeting with Brazilian taekwondo officials.

Considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, Silva said he is “trying to give back to the sport” in which he began his career.

Taekwondo confederation president Carlos Fernandes said it will be an “honor for our sport to welcome an athlete of this importance,” but made it clear that Silva will have to fight his way into the Olympics and won’t be helped because of his UFC stardom.

Silva is a taekwondo ambassador and a black belt in the sport.

NBA

Thunder move on from Brooks after playoff miss

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder fired head coach Scott Brooks.

The team made the announcement Wednesday.

Brooks coached the Thunder for seven seasons. Starting in 2010-11, he led the team to the Western Conference Finals three out of four years, and the Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012. The Thunder failed to make the playoffs this past season, as injuries limited them to a 45-37 finish.

Brooks was 338-207 with the Thunder and was the 2009-10 NBA Coach of the Year.

NFL

Study: 2015 Super Bowl ads less gender offensive

A diversity study revealed that while Super Bowl XLIX commercials were more sensitive and less gender offensive than in past years, women and people of color remain vastly underrepresented among the creative directors producing those advertisements.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida released a study Wednesday showing the advertising industry’s continuing disparity in hiring practices in terms of race and gender.

The study found of the 42 Super Bowl ads in 2015 for which data was available, only three – or 7 percent – featured exclusively a person of color as the lead creative director.

By contrast, 86 percent featured exclusively a white creative director and 7 percent featured both a white person and a person of color as creative directors.

Soccer

No red or blue in women’s home World Cup uniforms

BEAVERTON, Ore. – Nike unveiled black and white home uniforms for the U.S. Women’s World Cup team.

There’s no prevalent red, white and blue in the home kits – save for a small blue patch surrounding 13 white stars on the inside back neckline. The jerseys are white with boxy black numbers and letters, to go with neon yellow socks that give way to electric blue cleats.

U.S. Soccer’s normally red, white and blue crest, along with the two stars signifying the team’s two previous World Cup titles, also is black and white.

Photos of the jerseys leaked about a month ago, and already there was a commotion over the color scheme. Some compared them to Nike’s kits for New Zealand, which are also black and white.

Associated Press