OLYMPICS
DENVER (AP) - Tucked into the more than $257 million the U.S. Olympic Committee spent in 2016 was a $10 million payment to the International Olympic Committee designed, in part, to give the United States a better chance of hosting an Olympics someday - possibly in Los Angeles in 2024.
That $10 million payment is for “International Games Cost Sharing” - essentially, administrative costs for the Rio de Janeiro Games - and was part of a complex negotiation from 2012 in which the USOC gave up millions to get back into the bidding game after years of embarrassing rejections.
The USOC also paid $5 million in 2014 to offset expenses at the Sochi Games. The overall tab will rise to $20 million per Olympic cycle starting in 2020.
Los Angeles and Paris are the bidders for the 2024 Olympics, with a winner to be determined in September.
TENNIS
PARIS (AP) - Maria Sharapova’s popularity and past success did not earn her the wild-card invitation she needed to get into the French Open after serving a 15-month doping ban.
“I’m very sorry for Maria, very sorry for her fans. They might be disappointed; she might be very disappointed,” French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said in a live broadcast via Facebook. “But it’s my responsibility, it’s my mission, to protect the game and protect the high standards of the game.”
Giudicelli said he personally told Sharapova of his ruling during a phone call. The French Open begins May 28.
Three other tournaments, including the Italian Open this week, have given her wild cards since her suspension ended last month.
“While there can be a wild card for return from injury, there can’t be a wild card for return from doping,” Giudicelli said.
A tournament may grant a wild card to any eligible player. WTA CEO Steve Simon said he disagreed with the French federation’s reasoning.
PRO BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The Celtics won by beating out the Lakers, giving the draft lottery an old NBA Finals feel.
Yet, obvious by Magic Johnson’s smile, the hated rivals were both celebrating.
The Celtics won the lottery to continue another amazing basketball springtime in Boston, capitalizing on a trade they made with the Brooklyn Nets four years ago.
A night after winning Game 7 against Washington to secure an Eastern Conference finals matchup with Cleveland, the Celtics cashed in their 25 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick in the June draft.
The Lakers moved up one spot to second to hold onto their pick. They would have had to trade it to Philadelphia if it fell outside the top three.
The 76ers will pick third, while Phoenix fell two spots and is fourth.
GOLF
IRVING, Texas (AP) - Jordan Spieth is joining the long list of athletes to be depicted on a Wheaties cereal box.
The 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champion said he will be on four million Wheaties boxes in the fall. Spieth is playing in his hometown Byron Nelson tournament this week in the Dallas area.
The 23-year-old Spieth said it was “really cool” to be on the Wheaties box because he “used to walk down the aisle of the grocery store whenever my mom used to drag me along and always want to see who was on the cover.”
Spieth first emerged as a 16-year-old amateur at the Nelson in 2010, when he contended on Sunday and finished 4 under. But the Nelson isn’t among his nine career PGA Tour wins.
BASEBALL
DENVER (AP) - Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis says he has finished his last round of chemotherapy two months after doctors discovered his testicular cancer had spread.
Bettis posted a photo on his Instagram account of his new daughter sitting on his lap and his wife standing nearby.
Bettis wrote: “Just got done with my last day of chemo!! My family and I want to say thank you for all the support and prayers! We’re eternally grateful for y’all. We are excited to move forward and start the process of getting back.”
The 28-year-old Bettis had surgery in November to remove the cancer, but it returned and he was forced to leave the team in March for chemotherapy. There’s no timetable for his return to the NL West-leading Rockies.
SPORTS TELEVISION
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Peyton Manning will take the stage to host the ESPY Awards.
The retired two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback will preside over the July 12 show honoring the past year’s best athletes and sports moments. The show will air live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Manning says the show’s 25th anniversary will include moments from the past.
He retired from the NFL two years ago, ending a career in which he became the league’s winningest quarterback. He won nine ESPYs during his career.
Manning is also known for his humorous commercials and hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
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