Cathine

OLYMPICS NOTES

Shaken but victorious

U.S. beats Turkey amid bomb anxiety

Associated Press

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

After awakening to news of bombings in Istanbul, the U.S. Olympic basketball team decided to play on.

By the time the Americans finished an 80-68 victory over Turkey in front of a jeering crowd, they pronounced themselves ready for Athens -- but still jittery from the events of an anxious day.

The Americans' final Olympic tuneup was similar to others during an up-and-down tour through Europe. They didn't dominate an opponent that figured to be vastly overmatched, but they got the job done.

What made this day different was a major off-the-court event that tested their focus.

The team learned early in the morning that bombs had exploded at two tourist hotels and a fuel depot a few miles from their hotel. But team and U.S. government officials reassured them it would be safe to play.

"I don't know that everybody is absolutely confident and secure with everything, but they said everything would be fine, so you have to keep going on," Tim Duncan said.

The Americans hit their stride in the fourth quarter -- while the crowd gave them an earful.

The noise began when LeBron James swiped at the ball and hit Turkish guard Ibrahim Kutluay in the eye. Kutluay, who scored 26 points, lay writhing on the floor before walking off. He eventually returned.

Another Turkish player went down moments later, and after that the whistles and shrieks from the crowd reached ear-splitting levels whenever the Americans had the ball.

Duncan made 12 of 14 shots and led the U.S. with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Capriati out: Jennifer Capriati was forced to withdraw from the U.S. tennis team because of a hamstring injury and was replaced by Lisa Raymond, a team spokesman said Tuesday.

Capriati won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, but she missed the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. The injury has been bothering her for several weeks.

Devers accepts: Gail Devers will replace Torri Edwards in the 100 meters in Athens if Edwards is suspended for a drug offense as expected, The New York Times reported.

Devers, who won gold medals in the 100 in 1992 and '96, finished fourth in the U.S. Olympic trials, behind the three Olympic qualifiers, LaTasha Colander, Edwards and Lauryn Williams.

If Devers, already in the 100 hurdles, had turned down the offer to replace Edwards, the next person in line for the 100 would have been Marion Jones, the defending Olympic champion, who finished fifth in the trials and has been under a cloud because of the BALCO drug scandal.

Devers' agent, Greg Foster, told the Times that Devers accepted the spot in the 100 after the U.S. coach, Sue Humphrey, offered it last Friday. "She's very excited," Foster said.

She's in: Long jumper Rose Richmond had some fast packing to do after getting last-minute notification that she'd be on the U.S. Olympic team.

Richmond placed fourth in last month's trials, her mark of 21 feet 6 1/4 inches leaving her a half-inch behind Akiba McKinney. But McKinney still had to meet the Olympic qualifying standard of 21-11 3/ 4.

McKinney's last chance was Sunday at a meet in Germany, where she finished more than a foot short. Richmond, meanwhile, made a jump of 22-2 1/4 on July 24 in Carson, Calif., and that got her on the team when McKinney came up short.

Boxer banned: In the first doping case of the Athens Games, a Kenyan boxer was barred Tuesday after failing an out-of-competition drug test in the athletes' village.

Bantamweight David Munyasia, 24, tested positive for the banned stimulant cathine, the International Olympic Committee said.

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