London mayor vows to bear down on Olympic costs
Chinese authorities checking IDs of gymnasts, too
London mayor urges faster Olympic police planning
Lake Placid sliding track opens for winter season
Equestrian stripped of Beijing result for doping
USOC picks Probst as new chairman
Rogge says global crisis wont hurt Olympic cities
Official says 2012 security increase necessary

By Jeff Christensen (AP)

The U.S. Olympic Committee is replacing a name most sports fans know _ Peter Ueberroth _ with one of the architects of the games most sports fans know _ EA Sports.

Larry Probst, a longtime executive at the company that makes some of the nation's most popular video games _ including Madden NFL and Tiger Woods PGA Tour _ was elected Thursday to replace Ueberroth as the USOC's chairman of the board.

He'll take office next month at the USOC's annual assembly.

"There wasn't any debate at the board meeting," Ueberroth said of the unanimous vote that ended in Probst gettin...

By AMY SANCETTA (AP)

China's gold medal gymnasts are in the clear. Its team that won the bronze medal eight years ago, however, still faces questions.

International gymnastics officials on Wednesday closed their 5 1/2-week investigation into the ages of the Chinese gymnasts at the Beijing Olympics, saying the documentation provided confirms they were old enough to compete. But the 2000 squad remains under scrutiny, particularly Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun.

"The FIG does not consider the explanations and evidence provided to date in regards to these athletes as satisfactory," the International Gymn...

By (AP)

Olympic organizers intend to "bear down" on costs in the wake of the global financial crisis and do everything possible to avoid overruns on the $17 billion budget for the 2012 Summer Games.

Mayor Boris Johnson appeared before the British Parliament's Olympic watchdog committee Tuesday, five months after he defeated incumbent Ken Livingstone and assumed a central role in planning the games.

Johnson praised organizers for doing a "first-rate job" in "increasingly difficult market circumstances."

"The whole thinking about the Olympics has changed in that market condi...

By (AP)

International gymnastics officials aren't the only ones who want more information on two members of China's 2000 Olympic team.

The Chinese Gymnastics Association is doing its own investigation into the ages of Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun, spokeswoman Zhou Qiurui said Tuesday. New information suggests the two could have been as young as 14 at the Sydney Olympics, where China won the bronze medal.

Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to compete.

Zhou declined further comment and referred questions to another member of the association, who was not available. But,...

By (AP)

Mayor Boris Johnson says authorities must speed up planning for security at London's 2012 Olympic games.

Johnson told a House of Commons committee on Tuesday that Britain's capital won't mimic what he called Beijing's "oppressive" security during the recent summer Olympic games.

He said planning had to consider the impact on police resources across Britain. Johnson recalled that suicide bombers attacked the London subway system in 2005 while 12,000 police officers from around the country had been shifted to Scotland for the G8 summit.

Johnson, who was elected in May,...

By (AP)

With temperatures around freezing, the bobsled-skeleton-luge track in Lake Placid opened for the season Monday morning, allowing more than 100 American sliders to officially begin on-ice training.

The Lake Placid track was the first in the world to open in preparation for the 2008-09 season.

"It always feels good to get back on the ice," said 2002 Olympic luger Ashley Walden. "We've all put a lot of hard work in this summer, so we're ready to get back into sliding after the long break."

When skeleton racers _ the ones who slide headfirst down the track on thin sleds,...

By (AP)

Equestrian rider Rodrigo Pessoa has been stripped of his fifth-place finish at the Beijing Olympics and banned from competing for 4 1/2 months after a positive drug test on his horse.

The sport's governing body Friday also fined the 36-year-old Brazilian $1,766. He is suspended until Jan. 10, 2009.

Pessoa's horse Rufus tested positive Aug. 23 for nonivamide, a banned pain-relieving medication.

They placed fifth in the individual jumping final. Pessoa lost in a jump-off for the bronze medal won by Beezie Madden of the United States.

Pessoa was defending the...

By (AP)

The U.S. Olympic Committee has elected Larry Probst as its new chairman, to replace Peter Ueberroth on the board next month.

The 58-year-old Probst, a longtime executive at the entertainment company Electronic Arts, was elected to the four-year term during a meeting Thursday.

He will take the place of Ueberroth, who oversaw the restructuring of the USOC over the past few years and will stay on in a nonvoting capacity through next year.

Next fall, the International Olympic Committee will pick a site for the 2016 Olympics, with Chicago among the candidates.

...

By (AP)

IOC president Jacques Rogge says the global financial crisis should not hurt preparations for upcoming Olympics.

"No one has certainties today, but I am not pessimistic for the Olympic Games," Rogge said.

Funding for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, is secure while authorities in London, site of the 2012 Summer Games, have assured the International Olympic Committee they can overcome the worldwide credit crunch.

Rogge said there is "no issue" concerning Vancouver, which had a budget for building venues set last year at $577 million.

"The (Lo...

Obama awarded Illinois grants to relatives group
Lawsuit seeks to preserve Palin e-mails
Misty May-Treanor out of Dancing with the Stars
Character attacks emerge in McCain-Obama race
Oil rebounds to $90 after falling to 8-month low
Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking aid
Red Sox beat Angels 3-2, move on to ALCS
McCain calls Obama a liar, faults his Chicago ties
China vows overhaul of chaotic milk industry
Odd couple Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan