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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Switzerland turns to its best

Federer will carry flag at Beijing

Associated Press

Roger Federer will carry the Swiss flag at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

The top-ranked tennis player will celebrate his 27th birthday Friday by being his country’s standard bearer for the second straight Olympics.

“It’s wonderful that I can carry the flag for the Swiss delegation on my birthday,” Federer said in a statement released Friday on the Swiss Olympic Web site.

Federer has struggled with his form this year, and was upset again on Thursday, losing to Ivo Karlovic in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.

He risks losing his No. 1 ranking after 235 weeks to Rafael Nadal if the Spaniard wins the Cincinnati tournament. Nadal beat Federer in both the French Open and Wimbledon finals this year.

Still, winning an Olympic gold medal could help salvage what has been a disappointing year for Federer, in which he has failed to add to his 12 Grand Slam singles titles.

“I still have a score to settle with the Olympics and being handed this honor for a second time will give me extra motivation,” he said.

Federer was the top seed at Athens four years ago but lost in the second round to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

U.S. swimmer withdraws

Swimmer Jessica Hardy withdrew from the U.S. Olympic team, four weeks after testing positive for a banned substance at the national trials.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Hardy’s decision, saying she did so “in the best interests of the team.”

The 21-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., could have contested the drug test results before the American Arbitration Association and potentially filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which would have kept her Olympic berth in doubt until the eve of the games.

Hardy tested positive for a low level of clenbuterol, a prohibited anabolic agent, at the trials on July 4.

A panel from the American Arbitration Association issued a decision that was jointly agreed to by Hardy and USADA officials after Hardy had a full opportunity to review the laboratory test results and to have those results analyzed by independent experts.

Hardy did not contest the laboratory findings and was granted additional time by the arbitration panel to investigate possible causes of her positive drug test.

The decision allows for a two-year period of ineligibility but allows Hardy to come back to the panel and present evidence that could reduce her period of ineligibility.

Canada trips U.S. baseball

Scott Thorman had an RBI double in the 10th inning to lead Canada to a 4-3 pre-Olympic exhibition victory over the United States at Cary, N.C.

Thorman’s two-out liner down the right-field line off Jeff Stevens scored Stubby Clapp for the Canadians, who didn’t have any baserunners reach third until the eighth yet rallied to claim the first of four pre-Olympic tuneups between the teams before they head to Beijing.

Matt LaPorta and Brian Barden homered and Terry Tiffee added an RBI double for the U.S.

CBC goes out with a bang

The CBC is going to make the most of its final Olympic broadcast.

Marking the last time they’ll be Canada’s official Olympic broadcaster, for at least the next six years, the CBC will offer more than 2,000 hours of coverage across several platforms.

“These Games will be the most spectacular, the most compelling and easily the most important Olympic Games of my lifetime,” said Scott Moore, the executive director of CBC Sports who is the chef de mission for CBC/Radio-Canada’s broadcast.

Moore said these Games are a “statement broadcast” for the public corporation, and they intend to set the bar extraordinarily high for the next official Olympic broadcaster – CTV.

CTV paid $153 million for the rights to broadcast the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London, taking the Olympics away from the CBC for the first time since 1996.

CBC paid $73 million for the 2006 and 2008 Olympics.

Price of gold increases

The Philippine government is dangling more incentives to the athlete who brings home the country’s first Olympic gold medal, with the pot worth $340,000.

The stakes were raised after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met with the 15-strong Philippines team for the Beijing Olympics.

Presidential spokesman Jesus Dureza said $102,000 has been added to the previously announced $238,000 award offered for the coveted medal.