SOCCER
Costa Rica routs U.S.
The United States put itself in a deep hole in World Cup qualifying with one of its worst performances in decades. Taking advantage of defensive mistakes, Costa Rica routed the U.S. 4-0 Tuesday night in San Jose, Costa Rica, to drop the Americans to 0-2 for the first time in the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region. Johan Venegas scored in the 43rd minute, Cristian Bolanos doubled the lead in the 69th and second-half substitute Joel Campbell beat beleaguered goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 74th and 77th minutes in the worst margin of defeat for the U.S. in a qualifier since a 5-1 defeat at Mexico in November 1980. Combined with Friday's 2-1 loss to Mexico at Columbus, Ohio, the U.S. finds itself in a quick deficit in the hexagonal, which resumes in March.
TENNIS
Djokovic advances
Novak Djokovic edged a bit closer to the year-end No. 1 ranking, beating Milos Raonic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) Tuesday to qualify for the semifinals of the ATP finals in London. Djokovic is 2-0 at the season-ending tournament, and will retake the top ranking from Andy Murray if he does better this week. Murray is 1-0 so far, and plays his second match today against Kei Nishikori. In the early match, Dominic Thiem went through another second-set letdown before putting things right to give himself a chance to advance. The eighth-seeded Austrian, who is making his debut at the season-ending tournament, held on to beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, making him 1-1 in the round robin. Monfils is still recovering from a rib injury that forced him out of the Paris Masters at the end of last month. Because of his injury, Monfils said he may pull out of his final match against Djokovic.
FOOTBALL
Davis signs $5M deal
Butch Davis (Arkansas Razorbacks), the new head football coach at Florida International, will receive a five-year contract worth about $1 million annually in a deal that was finalized Tuesday, his first day on the job. He hasn't seen his new team play yet and said he is leaning against going to either of the Panthers' final two games this season, choosing for now to spend the majority of his time getting a staff together and preparing to start culling South Florida's super-fertile recruiting ground once again. Davis spent six seasons as Miami's coach from 1995 through 2000, leaving for the Cleveland Browns -- and stepping away from a Hurricanes team that dominated its way to the 2001 national championship under Larry Coker. Davis also coached for four seasons at North Carolina, getting fired just before the team opened practice for the 2011 season while the school dealt with allegations of improper benefits and academic misconduct. Davis was never implicated in that NCAA investigation. ESPN, which has employed Davis as an analyst, said he told them he was leaving the network immediately.
Romo's job statement
Tony Romo said Dak Prescott has "earned the right" to take his job as starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. In a five-minute prepared statement Tuesday at team headquarters in Frisco, Texas, a solemn Romo described the difficulty of dealing with the news of the latest back injury to sideline him, and the 36-year-old reflected on his early days as an unheralded free agent trying to earn a job. Romo quickly left the brief news conference after saying he wouldn't take questions following his statement. With Prescott leading the way, the Cowboys (8-1) have the best record in the NFL after tying a franchise season record with eight consecutive victories. Romo broke a bone in his back in a preseason game. Romo is expected to be Prescott's backup Sunday at home against Baltimore (5-4).
Goff to start for Rams
Quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, will start for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the team announced Tuesday. It will be the first game action this season for Goff, who has been the No. 2 quarterback behind Case Keenum for eight of the Rams' nine games. The Rams ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the New York Jets on Sunday, improving their record to 4-5. But the Rams have scored only two touchdowns in their last three games. Keenum has passed for nine touchdowns, with 11 interceptions.
BASEBALL
Classic schedule set
The United States will open its World Baseball Classic schedule against Colombia on March 10, play the defending champion Dominican Republic the following day and close Group C of the first round against Canada on March 12. Major League Baseball and the players' association announced the schedule Tuesday. The Americans' first-round games will be in Miami. Israel, the Netherlands, South Korea and Taiwan will play Group A games in Seoul from March 6-10, and Australia, China, Cuba and Japan will play Group B in Tokyo from March 7-11. Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will play Group D in Guadalajara from March 9-12. The top two nations in each group advance to the second round, to be played in Tokyo from March 12-15 and San Diego from March 14-19. Dodger Stadium will host semifinals on March 20 and 21.
OLYMPICS
Felix raises Trump issue in Olympic bid speech
DOHA, Qatar — American sprinter Allyson Felix told Olympic officials on Tuesday they should not be worried by Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president when they consider Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Summer Games.
Felix was the key speaker for Los Angeles as the bid team made its first public presentation to a key meeting of national Olympic committee officials from around the world. Paris and Budapest, Hungary, are the two other candidates.
The presentations came a week after Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election. Trump’s comments during the divisive campaign about Muslims and Mexicans and his foreign policy plans could antagonize some of the IOC’s 98 members, who represent a wide range of countries and cultural and religious backgrounds.
Felix, who is black, was born in Los Angeles and who won six Olympic gold medals and three silvers, was selected by the California city’s bid team to publicly address those concerns in remarks to the general Assembly of National Olympic Committees.
“We just finished our presidential election, and some of you may question America’s commitment to its founding principles,” Felix said. “I have one message for you: Please don’t doubt us. America’s diversity is our greatest strength.”
Felix said America “needs the games to help make our nation better, now more than ever.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat who was a prominent Clinton supporter, also took up the theme in his remarks to the delegates, saying his city can deliver “transformative” games.
“I see an America that remains actively engaged in the world,” he said. “I see an America that is outward-looking, ready to play its role alongside the community of nations to address our world’s most pressing challenges.”
Los Angeles, which hosted the games in 1932 and 1984, is seeking to bring the Summer Olympics to the U.S. for the first time since Atlanta held them in 1996. New York and Chicago failed in bids for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, respectively.
Budapest and Paris were also making presentations to the assembly on Tuesday.
Sports on 11/16/2016