*** The latest news from the USOC - November 30 ***

(Courtesy of United States Olympic Committee)

Salt Lake City, UT (My Sportsbook) - The following is a recap of events from the United States Olympic Committee.

Archery: (Nov. 28) Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) and Jamie Van Natta (Toledo, Ohio) each took home a gold medal in the compound division at the 2005 Face 2 Face Archery in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For more information, log on to www.usarchery.org.

Baseball: (Nov. 28) USA Baseball announced that the USA Junior National Team's collectible baseball cards will be available beginning Dec. 27. For more information, log on to www.usabaseball.com.

Basketball: (Nov. 28) The Men's National Team Program Managing Director Jerry Colangelo announced that Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, Phoenix Suns head mentor Mike D'Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan were named as assistant coaches to the Men's Senior National Team program for 2006-2008. (Nov. 30) Duke University's Shelden Williams (Forest Park, Okla.), who helped lead the 2005 USA World University Games Team to a gold medal and a perfect 8-0 record, was selected as the 2005 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. For more information, log on to www.usabasketball.com.

Biathlon: (Nov. 26) Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.) returned to competition after two years of collegiate skiing and turned in one of the best performances of his career with 9 of 10 shooting, finishing 40th in the season-opening men's 10K sprint at the Ostersund World Cup in Sweden. Bailey picked up a new personal best World Cup result the following day finishing 29th in the men's 12.5K pursuit. (Nov. 29) The U.S. relay team of Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, Alaska), Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.) and Walt Shepard (Yarmouth, Maine) finished 18th in the final competition at the Ostersund World Cup. For more information, log on to www.usbiathlon.org.

Bobsled: (Nov. 23) The team of Stephan Bosch (Park City, Utah) and Tim O'Mara (Salt Lake City, Utah) were the top U.S. finishers, placing fourth, after switching venues to Calgary, Canada for the final stop on the FIBT AIT America's Cup two-man tour. (Nov. 24) In the final two-man race in Calgary, the duo of John Napier (Schenectady, N.Y.) and J.P. Davies (Lincoln, Neb.) took the silver and the overall title. Stephan Bosch and Tim O'Mara captured the bronze. (Nov. 26) At the final stop on the America's Cup four-man circuit, the team of John Napier, Ben Fogel (Nevada City, Calif.), T.J. Burns (Blue Bell, Pa.) and J.P. Davies dominated the competition and won the gold in race five. Only .64 seconds behind Napier's squad was the team of Stephan Bosch, Rob Peterson (Taylorsville, Utah), Tim O'Mara and Jeremy White (Salt Lake City, Utah), who placed second. (Nov. 23) The SPEED Channel will air 28 FIBT bobsled and skeleton races this winter for the third-straight year. For more information, log on to www.usbsf.com.

Bowling: (Nov. 29) The United States Bowling Congress introduced its second in a series of collectible bears to celebrate the memory of the late bowling legend, Earl Anthony, and raise money for the USBC Earl Anthony Memorial Scholarship Fund. For more information, log on to www.bowl.com.

Boxing: (Nov. 29) The top amateur boxers from the United States and Azerbaijan will compete in an Olympic-style boxing dual Dec. 3 in Harvey, Ill. For more information, log on to www.usaboxing.org.

Field Hockey: (Nov. 26) USA Field Hockey crowned 27 high school-age group division champions, including seven from the state of Pennsylvania, at the annual National Hockey Festival in Wellington, Fla. (Nov. 27) Holland Tunnel, a team of current and former U.S. National Team members and college coaches, captured a record 10th women's open division title and the Big Apple Flickers out of New York won the mixed division at the conclusion of the National Hockey Festival. For more information, log on to www.usfieldhockey.com.

Figure Skating: (Nov. 23) Ice dancing pair Tanith Belbin (Kirkland, Quebec, Canada) and Ben Agosto (Chicago, Ill.) announced their withdrawal from the 2005 NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan due to an injury sustained by Agosto. (Nov. 28) U.S. skaters won five of the 12 available medals at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Meryl Davis (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Charlie White (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) earned silver in ice dancing, Austin Kanallakan (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) and Geoffry Varner (Rising Sun, Md.) finished second and third in men's, respectively, and two U.S. teams won medals in pairs - Julia Vlassov (Manchester, N.H.) and Drew Meekins (Wellesley, Mass.) claimed silver, and Mariel Miller (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Rockne Brubaker (Algonquin, Ill.) captured bronze. (Nov. 28) The 2006 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships will take place Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Westminster, Colo. (Nov. 28) U.S. Figure Skating and MediaZone announced that the British National Championships Nov. 29-Dec. 3 at iceSheffield will be webcast live on The Figure Skating Channel. For more information, log on to www.usfigureskating.org.

Gymnastics: (Nov. 27) Nastia Liukin (Plano, Texas) and Alicia Sacramone (Winchester, Mass.) won world titles in the balance beam and the floor exercise, respectively, on the final day of competition at the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The U.S. women captured a total of nine medals (four gold, four silver and one bronze), the country's best performance ever at the event. Liukin led the squad's medal collection with two gold (uneven bars and balance beam) and two silver medals (all-around and floor exercise), followed by Chellsie Memmel (West Allis, Wis.) with one gold (all- around) and two silver (uneven bars and beam). Sacramone claimed one gold (floor) and one bronze (vault). On the men's side, Todd Thornton (Pearland, Texas) and Jason Gatson (Mesa, Ariz.) competed in the final rounds for the all-around (20th) and parallel bars (seventh), respectively. For more information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org.

Hockey: (Nov. 27) Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal and Chanda Gunn (Huntington Beach, Calif.) denied all four shots in the shootout as the U.S. Women's National Team defeated Canada, 2-1, in the fourth game of the Hilton Family Skate to 2006 Tour in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, log on to www.usahockey.com.

Judo: (Nov. 26) Athletes from USA Judo national training sites swept seven of the senior finals and claimed 12 medals overall, including 17-year-old Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla.) who earned his second senior title of the year and was named Outstanding Senior Athlete at the Dallas Invitational in Grapevine, Texas. Daniel McCormick (Arlington, Texas) and Taylor Takata (Brownsville, Texas) also won gold medals in their respective divisions. On the women's side, Nicole Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas) defeated each of her opponents by ippon to win gold. Thirty-eight-year-old Terrie Norman (Burleson, Texas) claimed titles in both the senior and master's divisions and Danieska Carrion (Brownsville, Texas) defeated Tessa Plana (Dallas, Texas) to secure the title. (Nov. 26) Valerie Gotay (Temecula, Calif.) and Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) headline the 22-member U.S. squad that will compete at the British Open Dec. 3-4 in West Sussex, United Kingdom. (Nov. 29) Ronda Rousey (Santa Monica, Calif.) won her third-consecutive junior title at the Ontario Open in Mississauga, Ontario. Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y.) defeated each of four opponents by ippon to win gold and Yu Ko Sin (Scotia, N.Y.) was the third American to win a title at the event. For more information, log on to www.usjudo.org.

Luge: (Nov. 25) Tony Benshoof (White Bear Lake, Minn.) did not make it out of the opening round and finished fifth overall while fellow teammate Ashley Hayden (Westborough, Mass.) crashed in her opening-heat match-up but was not hurt at the Challenge Cup stop in Altenberg, Germany. (Nov. 26) Tony Benshoof captured silver, his 22nd-career international medal, and became the USBSF's most decorated singles slider during the men's singles World Cup race in Altenberg. (Nov. 27) Mark Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich.) and Brian Martin (Palo Alto, Calif.) finished 10th after posting a total time of 1:25.552, while their teammates, Preston Griffall (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Dan Joye (Carmel, N.Y.), slid to a two-heat time of 1:26.414 on their way to a 13th-place finish. Fellow teammates Christian Niccum (Woodinville, Wash.) and Patrick Quinn (Lombard, Ill.) missed their second straight race as Niccum continues to recover from an earlier concussion while training. For more information, log on to www.usaluge.org.

Sailing: (Nov. 29) US Sailing, together with Vanguard Sailboats, are sending a team of youth sailors to represent the USA at the Laser Radial Youth World Championship Dec. 10-17 in Fortaleza, Brazil. For more information, log on to www.ussailing.org.

Shooting: (Nov. 28) Haley Dunn (Eddyville, Iowa) was golden in the women's skeet after setting a junior world record and equaling the final world record by hitting 96 out of 100 at the 2005 World Cup Finals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) claimed silver in the men's skeet, and Glenn Eller (Houston, Texas) and Connie Smotek (Bryan, Texas) captured bronze medals in the men's double trap and women's skeet, respectively. (Nov. 29) Based on their outstanding performances in major national and international competitions during 2005, USA Shooting announced Vincent Hancock and Haley Dunn as its Athletes of the Year. For more information, log on to www.usashooting.com.

Skeleton: (Nov. 24) Chris Hedquist (Salt Lake City, Utah) showcased impressive performances at the AIT America's Cup tour stops in Park City, Utah and Calgary, Canada. Hedquist claimed the gold in the final race in Park City and followed that up with additional gold-medal finishes in races five and six the following week at the final stop in Calgary. In addition, U.S. teammates Felicia Canfield (Salt Lake City, Utah) raced to the silver in the final race on the America's Cup tour stop in Park City, Marci Francis (Monroe, N.Y.) finished in fourth in race five in Calgary and Mackenzie Flanders (Park City, Utah) captured the bronze on the final race day in Calgary. For more information, log on to www.usbsf.com.

Skiing: (Nov. 23) Two-time Olympian Sarah Schleper (Vail, Colo.) underwent back surgery to relieve a bulging disc and will miss the World Cup races Dec. 9-11 in Aspen, Colo. (Nov. 23) The U.S. Ski Team begins its march to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Colorado as the VISA Birds of Prey Dec. 1-4 and Sirius Satellite Radio Aspen Winternational Dec. 9-11 kick off in Beaver Creek and Aspen, respectively. (Nov. 24) Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, Calif.) led U.S. racers in the second day of official training for the season-opening downhill and super G in Lake Louise, Alberta. (Nov. 25) OLN, the leader in action sports and adventure programming, is broadcasting "Ten Weeks to Torino," a weekly show featuring the top Olympic hopefuls on the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Teams and the races leading up to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. (Nov. 25) Battling a steady rain, Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) placed ninth and Bill Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.) moved up 11 places in the race to finish 15th on the first day of the opening nordic combined World Cup. (Nov. 26) Alan Alborn (Anchorage, Alaska), the only American competing in the second World Cup big hill jumping meet of the season, placed 29th after returning from knee surgery last spring. (Nov. 27) Todd Lodwick was 11th and Bill Demong finished 31st in the 7.5K race at the first nordic combined World Cup sprint. (Nov. 26) Carl Swenson (Park City, Utah) raged through the final kilometers and finished 11th in the World Cup 15K classic technique race. (Nov. 25) Leif Zimmerman (Bozeman, Mont.) edged Torin Koos (Leavenworth, Wash.) in the men's skating sprint while Wendy Wagner (Park City, Utah) cruised to the women's victory in the next-to-last SuperTour races. (Nov. 26) Wendy Wagner and Justin Freeman (Andover, N.H.) won the cross country SuperTour 10K classic technique races in West Yellowstone, Mont. (Nov. 26) Twenty-seven athletes were named to the U.S. Ski Team that will compete at five cross country World Cup races beginning Dec. 10-11 in Vernon, B.C. (Nov. 26) Steve Nyman (Orem, Utah), in his first World Cup downhill competition, led the eight U.S. skiers at the opening event in Lake Louise, Alberta and finished 14th-posting the best result of his young career. (Nov. 27) Carl Swenson completed the best World Cup weekend of his career finishing 12th in a 15K freestyle race. (Nov. 27) One day after finishing a frustrating 32nd in the opening downhill of the season, Daron Rahlves came back to finish third in a super G at Lake Louise. (Nov. 28) Erik Schlopy (Park City, Utah) had two solid runs to finish second in the first Chevrolet Super Series giant slalom of the season in Keystone, Colo. For more information, log on to www.usskiteam.com.

Soccer: (Nov. 23) U.S. Soccer announced the finalists for each of the four U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year awards. Soccer fans may vote among the finalists online through Dec. 16. (Nov. 28) CONCACAF announced that Mexico will host the Women's U-20 Final Qualifying Tournament Jan. 18-27 in Veracruz. (Nov. 28) The 2005 Nike Friendlies kick off Dec. 1 in Bradenton, Fla. with 65 teams competing across the U-16, U-17 and U-18 age groups. (Nov. 28) Soccer fans can watch live when the U.S. learns its opponents for the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the final draw Dec. 9 in Leipzig, Germany. (Nov. 28) The U.S. Men's National Team will face Norway Jan. 29 in Carson, Calif. as U.S. Manager Bruce Arena continues to shape and prepare his team for the FIFA World Cup in Germany. (Nov. 28) The U.S. U-17 Men's National Team concluded the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Boys Thanksgiving Interregional in Austin, Texas with a 2-0 loss to Region II. The U.S. finished the week with a 1-3 record against the four years-older regional teams. (Nov. 28) The U.S. U-16 Girls National Team put together an impressive three-game run at the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Thanksgiving Interregional in Boca Raton, Fla., winning two matches and tying one against regional teams one year older. (Nov. 28) U.S. forward Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.), a two-time U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year, is in Africa on behalf of "Right to Play," an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sport as a tool for development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. (Nov. 28) Ten former members of the U.S. Men's Youth National Teams lead the list of M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalists. (Nov. 28) Los Angeles, Calif. will again host the Futbol de Primera 2005 Honda Symposium Nov. 29, followed by the Player of the Year Award Nov. 30. For more information, log on to www.ussoccer.com.

Softball: (Nov. 28) The USA Softball National Team combined for 38 hits, outscoring opponents 39-1, and allowed only five hits in four games to go undefeated at the 2005 Pan Am/World Qualifier. For more information, log on to www.usasoftball.com.

Speedskating: (Nov. 27) On the final day of the Essent ISU World Cup in Milwaukee, Wis., the U.S. long track speedskating squad added four more medals to its ever-growing collection. In the men's 1000m, the U.S swept the podium with Shani Davis (Chicago, Ill.) grabbing his second gold in the event, Joey Cheek (Greensboro, N.C.) the silver and Casey FitzRandolph (Verona, Wis.) the bronze. FitRandolph also claimed a bronze in the men's 500m earlier in the day. On the women's side, Jennifer Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) won a silver medal in the ladies' 1000m and teammate Chris Witty (West Allis, Wis.) finished fourth in 1:16.59. On day one of the World Cup, Rodriguez captured the gold in the 1000m and Witty placed fourth. Cheek slightly missed a chance to step atop the podium with his fourth-place finish in the men's 1000m. (Nov. 27) The International Skating Union announced that the United States, based on the results of the short track speedskating Olympic qualifying competitions in Bormio, Italy and the Hague, Netherlands, earned a total of 10 entry quotes at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. For more information, log on to www.usspeedskating.org.

Track and Field: (Nov. 23) The U.S. six-person relay team raced to the highest U.S. finish ever at the Hanji Aoki Cup 2005 International Chiba Ekiden in Chiba, Japan finishing only 10 seconds behind Japan for third place. (Nov. 23) Former University of Washington Husky standout Aretha Thurmond (Seattle, Wash.) and her husband, Reedus Thurmond (Auburn, Ala.), were added to the UW track and field coaching staff. (Nov. 23) 2004 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Crawford (Raleigh, N.C.) is featured in a book by Duane Thomas entitled More Body, More Soul: Beautiful Black Men. (Nov. 28) World champion sprinters Justin Gatlin (Raleigh, N.C.) and Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, Calif.) were named winners of the 2005 USA Track & Field's Jesse Owens Award. (Nov. 28) The IAAF announced that there will be 10 Golden League events contested at each of the six meetings in the 2006 series. The 2006 IAAF Golden League will open June 2 in Oslo and conclude Sept. 3 in Berlin. (Nov. 29) Bobby Kersee (Los Angeles, Calif.), who guided two of his athletes to World Outdoor Championship gold medals in 2005, was named USA Track & Field's Nike Coach of the Year. For more information, log on www.usatf.org.

UAF: (Nov. 28) The Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns is hosting its Holiday Festival Dec. 2. from 6-10 p.m. MST. (Nov. 28) The Olympic facility at Soldier Hollow will open its tubing hill Dec. 10. For more information, log on to www.utahathleticfoundation.org.

USOC: (Nov. 28) AT&T, in conjunction with the United States Olympic Committee, announced that it will again be an Official Partner of the U.S. Olympic Team. (Nov. 29) The USOC and USA Gymnastics will host a teleconference with the U.S. Women's Team that won nine total medals at the 2005 World Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The teleconference is scheduled for Nov. 30 at 3:30 p.m. EST. For more information, log on to www.usocpressbox.org.

USOEC: (Nov. 29) U.S. speedskaters Travis Jayner (Midland, Mich.) and Shani Davis (Chicago, Ill.) returned to the USOEC from the Essent ISU World Cup to train for the 2006 U.S. Short Track Championships Dec. 12-16 in Marquette, Mich. (Nov. 29) Weightlifters Alexandria Argueta (Aurora, Ill.), Kyle Cook (Yorkville, Ill.), Amber Davis (Chiefland, Fla.), John Harris (St. Joseph, Mo.), Rachel Hearn (Savannah, Ga.), Colin Vista (Vista Calif.), Paul Roberts (Bartow, Fla.) and Emmy Vargas (Panorama City, Calif.) are preparing for the American Open Dec. 2-4 in Orlando, Fla. For more information, log on to usoec.nmu.edu/.

U.S. Paralympics: (Nov. 28) The United States Olympic Committee is the host for the 2005 America's Cup of Wheelchair Basketball at the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, Colo. Nov. 28-Dec. 3. For more information, log on to www.usparalympics.org.

Volleyball: Beach: (Nov. 27) Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) closed out his first season of international competition by teaming up with 2004 Olympian Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hawaii) to defeat David Klemperer and Kjell Schneider of Germany and capture the South Africa Open bronze medal on the final stop of the 2005 SWATCH-FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in Cape Town, South Africa. In earlier action, the American duo, seeded fourth to begin the tournament, advanced to the semifinal round with a 21-14, 19-21, 15-13 win in 71 minutes over third-seeded Benjamin Insfran and Harley Marques of Brazil.

Indoor: (Nov. 27) The USA Men's National Team posted its fourth-straight win over China and earned the silver medal at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in Tokyo, Japan. Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) each scored a match-high 13 points in the 25-16, 25-21, 25-18 victory for the United States, which finished the tournament with a record of 4-1. The Americans, who lost to defending Olympic gold medalist Brazil in the first match of the tournament, dropped just one set the rest of the way as they defeated Japan, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Italy, Egypt and China en route to their fifth medal in five events this season. For more information, log on to www.usavolleyball.org.

Wrestling: (Nov. 26) Andy Hrovat (Ann Arbor, Mich.) won a gold medal at 84 kg/185 lbs. at the Henri Deglane Challenge by defeating fellow American Chris Pendleton (Stillwater, Okla.) in a men's freestyle final. Hrovat swept through four opponents on his way to the title. Also winning medals were freestyle wrestler Angel Cejudo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with a silver at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Greco-Roman wrestler John Wechter (East Lansing, Mich.) with a bronze at 84 kg/185 lbs. (Nov. 26) Three more U.S. wrestlers secured gold medals, bringing the U.S. total to eight. In men's freestyle, Nik Fekete (Blacksburg, Va.) posted a 3-0 record overall and won gold at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. with a 1-1, 2-0 win over Mohamad Zadeghzadeh of Iran in the finals. Joe Heskett (Grover Beach, Calif.) captured a bronze in the 74 kg/163 lbs. category. In the women's freestyle competition, both U.S. competitors won gold medals - Marcie Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Alaina Berube (Escanaba, Mich.) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. For more information, log on to www.themat.com.