Sports wire: U.S. falls 3-0 to France in Olympic men’s soccer opener

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Stunning goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Michael Olise helped France to a 3-0 victory over the United States in the Olympic men’s soccer tournament on Wednesday.

Loic Bade added the third with a late header to seal a win that had looked in doubt until former Arsenal striker Lacazette struck with a long range effort in the 61st minute in Marseille.

The host nation had to ride its luck against a U.S. team that saw a shot from Djordje Mihailovic hit the cross bar when the game was still goalless. Lacazette’s goal came almost immediately after.

On a wild opening day for Olympic soccer, Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in a game that was suspended for about two hours.

Thibodeau extended

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Thibodeau has agreed to a three-year contract extension after leading the New York Knicks to three postseason appearances in his four seasons.

The Knicks have made back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference semifinals and rewarded Thibodeau for turning around what had been one of the worst teams in the league before his arrival.

Thibodeau has twice been voted NBA Coach of the Year, including in 2020-21 after leading the Knicks to the playoffs in his first season. They went 50-32 last season, their best record since winning 54 games in 2012-13, and fell one game shy of reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.

Thibodeau was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics when they won the 2008 NBA title and with the U.S. Olympic team when it won a gold medal in 2016.

Yelich put on IL

CHICAGO (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers were bracing for the possibility that Christian Yelich misses significant time after placing the All-Star outfielder on the 10-day injured list Wednesday because of inflammation in his lower back.

Yelich is scheduled to see a spine specialist on Thursday to figure out his next steps, including whether he needs season-ending surgery.

Yelich’s back has been bothering him for weeks and worsened in recent days. The move to the injured list comes one day after he exited a game against the Chicago Cubs.

Yelich, 32, has enjoyed a resurgent season for the NL Central-leading Brewers. He earned his third All-Star Game appearance and leads the NL in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406). He also has 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 21 steals in 73 games.

Lamb not in camp

CeeDee Lamb is not reporting to training camp while he waits for a new contract, a person familiar with the All-Pro wide receiver’s decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Lamb skipped the Cowboys’ June minicamp, which started the day after Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson agreed to the richest non-quarterback contract in NFL history.

The Vikings’ star receiver is getting $110 million guaranteed in a four-year deal that pays $88 million up front and could be worth as much as $140 million.

Lamb and Jefferson were drafted in the first round in 2020, which means both are entering the final year of their rookie contracts.

Bowman to Oilers

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers hired Stan Bowman as general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations on Wednesday, making him the first former Chicago Blackhawks executive re-hired by an NHL team since the team’s 2010 sexual assault scandal came to light in recent years.

The league reinstated Bowman, coach Joel Quenneville and Al MacIsaac, who also worked in Chicago’s front office, earlier this month. Bowman resigned as Chicago’s GM in 2021 after an independent investigation found the organization mishandled the allegations made by player Kyle Beach that he was sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldridge.

Bowman, 51, ran the Blackhawks when they won the Stanley Cup in ’10, ‘13 and ’15. He takes over the Oilers following their trip to the final in which they lost to Florida in seven games.

Originally Published: July 24, 2024 at 7:28 p.m.