BASEBALL
2 Royals have chickenpox
Kansas City Royals All-Star pitcher Kelvin Herrera and right fielder Alex Rios have been diagnosed with chickenpox, raising concerns that others on the AL Central-leading team may have been exposed. Team officials said Tuesday that Herrera and Rios will likely miss a couple weeks as the season wraps up. Both players were sent home from Tampa Bay after experiencing symptoms over the weekend. The Royals have reached out to players, coaches and their families to determine whether anyone else has had chickenpox or may be at risk. The disease is highly contagious, spread through the air via coughing or sneezing and sometimes by touching. It causes a blister-like rash, fever and tiredness. It can be serious for people with weakened immune systems, and is generally more serious for adults than children.
• Randy Flores said the St. Louis Cardinals surprised him when they asked if he'd be interested in being their new scouting director. General Manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday that the 40-year-old former lefty and member of St. Louis' 2006 World Series championship team impressed the team with his post-baseball pursuits. Mozeliak said the hire late last week was unrelated to the FBI investigation of hacking in the organization of the Houston Astros' database. The team is also conducting an internal investigation that Mozeliak said was ongoing. "It's really quite independent," Mozeliak said. "Clearly, we needed to bring somebody in and get some leadership on that side that was missing; we needed to move forward on that." Flores replaces Chris Correa, who was fired in mid-June after admitting he had gained access to the Astros' database. Jared Odom, who had been interim scouting director since the firing, was not interviewed for the post.
• With Mark Teixeira "not getting any better," in General Manager Brian Cashman's words, the New York Yankees sent the first baseman back to New York on Monday morning for additional tests on his troublesome right leg. "We're just going to run through all the tests again to make sure nothing more is going on," Cashman said. "Because he's not getting any better." Teixeira left the Aug. 17 game against the Twins after fouling a ball off his right knee area. An X-ray, CT scan and MRI showed a severe bone bruise but not a fracture. The initial diagnosis, however, was for Teixeira to be out no more than seven to 10 days, a time frame that has come and gone. Although he started the Aug. 25 game and pinch hit Aug. 26, he still is unable to put significant pressure on the leg. Cashman said, "I have been told nothing that would lead me to believe" that Teixeira -- who leads the Yankees with 31 home runs and is second with 79 RBI -- will miss the rest of the season. Cashman wouldn't use the word "concerned" yet, either.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired outfielder Chris Heisey from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations in a minor league deal. Heisey started the season with the Dodgers, appearing in 17 games for Los Angeles before being designated for assignment on July 30. Heisey, 30, combined to hit .218 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI in 80 games with the Dodgers' Class AAA Oklahoma City affiliate and Toronto's Class AAA Buffalo. In six big league seasons, Heisey has a .246 batting average with 50 home runs and 147 RBI in 560 games for the Reds and Dodgers, while appearing at all three outfield positions. The deal was announced Tuesday.
• The Washington Nationals have activated second baseman Dan Uggla from the 15-day disabled list. Uggla, 35, missed 22 games with back spasms and played seven games on a rehab assignment, batting .217 (5 for 23) with a home run and six RBI. Uggla is batting .191 with a home run and 14 RBI this season. The Nationals also purchased the contract of catcher Pedro Severino from Class AA Harrisburg and recalled left-hander Sammy Solis from Class AAA Syracuse before Tuesday night's game at St. Louis.
HORSE RACING
All bets off in Texas
The Texas Racing Commission has suspended operations -- meaning horse and dog racing tracks cannot take bets -- amid legislative funding squabbles. There was no answer at commission offices Tuesday, but officials had previously suggested any suspension would be temporary. In a statement, Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie said the commission had ceased operations. The park added that it was closing racing and simulcast operations "until further notice." Commissioners recently voted to let tracks install "historical racing" terminals, allowing betting on already-run races stripped of identifying information. State lawmakers opposed to the move threatened to withhold funding in response. Money for the commission is available but must be appropriated by House and Senate members of the Legislative Budget Board. Negotiations failed to reach an agreement Monday, but may resume.
• The second-place finish of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah at the Travers Stakes was watched by 3.4 million viewers on NBC. The network announced the numbers Tuesday. American Pharoah was beaten by 16-1 long shot Keen Ice by three-quarters of a length on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. It was the most-watched Travers Stakes in the last 20 years, with 2.0 million viewers during the full telecast. It had 3.4 million viewers on ABC when Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner Thunder Gulch won the event on Aug. 19, 1995.
BASKETBALL
Argentina tops Canada
Luis Scola had 35 points and 13 rebounds, and Argentina beat Canada 94-87 on Tuesday in the men's Olympic qualifying tournament in Mexico City. Scola, a 35-year-old NBA veteran who just signed with Toronto, was 13 for 26 from the field. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 20 points, and Andres Nocioni finished with 15. Argentina improved to 2-0 in Group B. Venezuela (1-0) is second, followed by Puerto Rico (0-1), Canada (0-1) and Cuba (0-1). The top two teams in the tournament qualify for Rio 2016. Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins each scored 13 points for a Canadian team that features nine NBA players and is one of the favorites to qualify for their first Olympics since Sydney 2000. Earlier in a Group A game, Michael Hicks scored 21 points to help Panama beat Uruguay 78-71 for its first victory of the tournament. Panama (1-0) is tied with Mexico (1-0) in their sector. The Mexicans got the day off Tuesday. Uruguay (1-1) is third, while Brazil (0-1) and the Dominican Republic (0-1) will face each other later on.
OLYMPICS
LA new candidate for 2024 Olympics
LOS ANGELES — Eight months after finishing as the runner-up to Boston, Los Angeles has officially been chosen as the U.S. candidate for the 2024 Olympics, city officials announced Tuesday.
After a week of delays over concerns about the potential costs to taxpayers, the City Council voted unanimously, 15-0, to allow Mayor Eric Garcetti to sign an agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee over bidding for the games. Soon after, the mayor and the USOC announced that an agreement to make Los Angeles the official bidder was in place.
Los Angeles is throwing itself into a contest — along with Paris; Rome; Budapest, Hungary; and Hamburg, Germany — that some cities have grown increasingly hesitant to enter in recent years, as the financial pitfalls of hosting the games have become more apparent.
Boston, the USOC’s original choice to bid for the 2024 Games, backed out earlier this year, when concerns about costs the city might incur eroded public support.
In announcing the bid, Garcetti said that Los Angeles would face few of the financial challenges that have troubled other hosts, citing the city’s history of hosting successfully twice before, in 1932 and 1984, and the infrastructure that is already in place.
Casey Wasserman, one of the chairmen of the bid committee, said that 85 percent of the venues that would be used for the games already existed. “L.A. was built to host the Olympic Games,” he said. “As a global sports destination, we can put on an exciting games with substantially reduced costs and risks.”
Scott Blackmun, chief executive of the USOC, also stressed how well Los Angeles’ bid fit with the International Olympic Committee’s 2020 Agenda, which stresses sustainable development and as little building as necessary for the host cities.
“The Olympic movement is clearly at a turning point,” he said. “We believe in the vision of L.A. We believe this city can produce a new kind of games.”
Sports on 09/02/2015