Brian Ching makes preliminary World Cup list
Soccer: Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching (pictured above) received two pieces of positive news Tuesday.
Ching (Gonzaga University) made the U.S. men’s soccer team’s 30-man preliminary roster for the World Cup.
Ching, sidelined since April 1 with a hamstring injury, also said he hopes to play for the Dynamo on Thursday.
About 20 minutes before the announcement, Ching’s team administrator told him he made it. Still, he wondered and watched the broadcast.
“I was kind of relieved when I saw it up there,” Ching said.
Meanwhile, Charlie Davies, the forward who was convinced he could recover from a shattering car crash in time for the World Cup, fell short of making the roster.
It was also a day of unexpected highs for Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez, a pair of veteran forwards selected for the team. At the start of the year, they were such afterthoughts they weren’t even listed in the 2010 U.S. media guide.
Associated Press
Big Ten commish quashes rumor
College sports: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany e-mailed conference officials to stamp out a rumor that four schools had already been offered a chance to join the league.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith confirmed that Delany had quashed a report that the Big Ten had offered expansion spots to Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Rutgers.
Asked if there was anything to that speculation, Smith said, “Nothing. There’s no truth to it whatsoever. Actually, Jim sent us all an e-mail telling us there’s no truth to that – which we knew.”
The conference is looking at expanding from its current 11 members so that it can extend the reach of its lucrative cable network and add a league championship game in football.
Associated Press
Share Legion stories with us
BASEBALL: Do you have a special American Legion moment you would like to share with readers? The 2010 American Legion World Series will be in Spokane Aug. 13-17, and in advance of the tournament we are asking readers to e-mail their favorite Legion baseball story.
It could be a funny anecdote about a player or situation during a game or at practice. It could be a road-trip adventure. It could be a season-turning moment or even a life-turning moment. Players, coaches, sponsors, family members … anyone who has a good Legion baseball story to tell about American Legion baseball is invited to write in to sports@spokesman.com or Sports Dept., The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201.