Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei De Lima has lit the cauldron at the Rio Games. De Lima was one of the suspected candidates after Pele revealed earlier Friday that health problems would keep him from attending the opening ceremony at Maracana Stadium. So 12 years later than he likely would have, De Li...

RIO DE JANEIRO >> With fireworks forming the word “Rio” in the sky, performers decked in silver and sweet, sultry music, Rio de Janiero is welcoming the world to the first Olympic Games in South America with a message: Let’s take better care of our planet. After one of the roughest-ever rides from v...

RIO DE JANEIRO >> He is a first-time Olympian and, as much, admitted he’s not sure what his first competition will be like, while noting that his overall feelings are “familiar, just on a way, way higher scale.” Then U.S. men’s water polo player Josh Samuels made reference to the most decorated Olym...

Late actors Bud Abbott and Lou Costello began performing their famous “Who’s On First?” routine in the 1930s. By 1956, they had donated their gold record of the skit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Sixty years later, Chris Costello has re-released her 1981 book - “Lou’s On First” — on e...

Sure, competing in the Olympics is cool and all, but you know what’s also awesome? Meeting Michael Phelps. At least that’s what you’d think if you watched beach volleyball player and member of Team USA Lauren Fendrick’s Snapchat story. • Related: How to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony on TV, int...

LONG BEACH >> Olympic gold medalist and Long Beach native Jessica Hardy was back in the water in her hometown on Tuesday, helping preschool-aged children lea to swim in the Belmont Plaza outdoor pool. Hardy teamed up with four-time Olympic gold medalist Jason Lezak (a native of Bellflower) for the e...

IRVINE — A year ago, there was one difference between graduate school and the NFL for Cameron Lynch. Graduate school wanted him. The prestigious Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse, the hatching point for numerous broadcasters, had accepted Lynch into its master’s program, after his four y...

It was Thursday, and Oscar De La Hoya was on the phone. The Hall of Fame boxer from East Los Angeles won a gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Games, so with two days before boxing was to begin at the Rio Games, one would think De La Hoya would be eyeing that with great anticipation. He’s not. Even tho...

NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira plans to retire at the end of the season, a ouncing his decision during a tear-filled news conference Friday at Yankee Stadium. “I gave you everything I had,” he said to Yankees fans in the televised a ouncement, his voice cracking. “It wasn’t always enough.” Slowed by injur...

What would compel Eddie Braun to propel himself a quarter of a mile across a canyon in Idaho if not even Evel Knievel could do it? Because if there was a fortuitously fitting way to pay homage your personal hero, while at the same time putting the final line on your own professional life’s resume, w...

The Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony will air at 7:30 p.m. on NBC TV on Friday. The event begins at 4 p.m. Pacific Time, but is delayed for prime time across the country. Streaming options include the NBC Sports app or go to NBColympics.com - both will require a login with cable subscription after 30 m...

On paper, it would seem Alexander Brand doesn’t have much for Andre Ward. Brand is 39 and has been a pro only seven years. He is 25-1 with 19 knockouts, yet has not faced the stiffest of competition. But to Ward, Brand is a beast. At least that’s the way Ward has to think. If he doesn’t and he slips...

It was Thursday, and Oscar De La Hoya was on the phone. The Hall of Fame boxer from East Los Angeles won a gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Games, so with two days before boxing was to begin at the Rio Games, one would think De La Hoya would be eyeing that with great anticipation. He’s not. Even tho...

RIO DE JANEIRO — A Moroccan Olympic boxer was arrested Friday on allegations he sexually assaulted two Brazilian women. Police said they arrested Hassan Saada for possible assaults Wednesday on the two housekeepers in the Olympic Village. Chief investigator Carolina Salomao said the women filed a re...

With much fanfare, a torch and plenty of dramatic lighting, it’s time to kick off the 2016 Rio Olympics. The opening ceremony starts at 8 p.m. Rio time (that’s 4 p.m. Pacific, but the broadcast on NBC doesn’t start until 7:30 p.m.) on Friday. Among the fun activities for those watching at home are j...

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian police say they have jailed a Moroccan Olympic boxer on allegations he sexually assaulted two Brazilian women. In a statement, police say they arrested boxer Hassan Saada on Friday for possible assaults on two Brazilian women who worked as waitresses in the Olympic Village...

NEW YORK — A person familiar with the situation says New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira plans to retire at the end of the season. New York scheduled a news conference with Teixeira for Friday afte oon, before its series opener against Cleveland. The person, speaking on condition of anonymi...

RIO DE JANEIRO — Right after getting off the plane, sweat beads will start to gather on your forehead. That’s just Rio de Janeiro’s ever-present humidity saying “hello.” Look around and you will be enveloped by shades of green — lush tropical forests jammed between buildings of all sizes — and tones...

DENVER — There is irony in every start Kenta Maeda makes these days. The pitcher whose health was considered so perilous his contract is loaded with rewards for staying healthy has become, by attrition, one of the Dodgers’ most dependable starting pitchers and the team leader in i ings pitched. His ...

IRVINE — At the start of his first training camp last July, nine months removed from a to anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and three months after the Rams made him just the second ru ing back in five years drafted in the top 10, Todd Gurley was only permitted to run in straight lines. Con...