Hamm recovered
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Paul Hamm is going to the Olympics again, thanks to a performance that ended any doubt about whether his broken hand has healed and made it easy for the gymnastics selection committee to give its OK.
Eight weeks after breaking his hand, Hamm needed to show competitive readiness Saturday at the last intrasquad meet before the U.S. team leaves for China.
He did that during a two-hour meet at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. After a short meeting, the men’s selection committee confirmed the defending Olympic champion would be on the team.
Favre remains silent
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Brett Favre is sticking to the script, declining to address his public rift with the Green Bay Packers in an appearance at Lambeau Field on Saturday.
Favre called Green Bay “a special place” while praising former teammate Frank Winters in a news conference before the Packers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony banquet. After speaking for just over three minutes, Favre walked off the stage and ducked out a side door without taking questions.
Favre retired in early March, but has been having second thoughts. He has asked to be released from his Packers contract, a request the team has no plans to grant.
Astro’s ace injured
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained hip and a herniated disk in his back.
Oswalt (7-8, 4.56 ERA) underwent an MRI exam on Saturday that confirmed a strained left hip abductor and also revealed the disk problem. But manager Cecil Cooper said Oswalt should be ready to start again on July 28 for the opener of a three-game series with Cincinnati.
“It just got to the point where he couldn’t really throw off a mound,” Cooper said. “We’re going to try to get him on the mound a couple of times before his start.”
Divers lose appeal
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Laura Wilkinson and her diving partner Jessica Livingston lost their appeal Saturday to compete in 10-meter synchronized platform diving at the Beijing Olympics.
An arbitrator ruled to keep 15-year-olds Haley Ishimatsu and Mary Beth Dunnichay as the synchro platform team for next month’s games.
Wilkinson and Livingston had filed a complaint against USA Diving and the U.S. Olympic Committee asking to be placed on the team or have another competition to see if they or Ishimatsu and Dunnichay should compete in Beijing.
Details of Friday’s confidential American Arbitration Association hearing were not disclosed, although USA Diving called the decision “a strong ruling.”
