Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EDT on Thursday, July 24
July 24 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427 - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Ravens' Rice suspended for two games Baltimore Ravens' three-time Pro Bowler Ray Rice is suspended by the NFL without pay for the first two games of the 2014 regular season following his offseason arrest on an assault charge stemming from an incident with his fiancee. (FBN-RAVENS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 550 words) - - Report: Browns WR Gordon to appeal suspension Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon will appeal a pending one-year suspension in a meeting with NFL officials on Aug. 1. (FBN-BROWNS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 450 words) - - Suspended Jaguars WR Blackmon arrested Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon is arrested in Oklahoma and charged with possession of marijuana. (FBN-JAGUARS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 250 words) - - Falcons WR White gets four-year extension The Atlanta Falcons agree to terms with Roddy White on a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2018 season and could set the wide receiver up to finish his career with the franchise that drafted him in the first round in 2005. (FBN-FALCONS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - Gruden: RG3 best Redskins QB 'hands down' RICHMOND, Va. - Jay Gruden is not leaving any room for interpretation. The Washington Redskins' rookie head coach said Robert Griffin III is the starting quarterback. (FBN-REDSKINS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 600 words) - - 49ers RB Gore welcomes challengers Frank Gore is over the hill by NFL running back standards, but the Pro Bowl starter for the San Francisco 49ers had a message for the growing number of challengers lining up at training camp this week: Get in line. (FBN-49ERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 425 words) - - Panthers declare Newton, Hardy ready to roll Quarterback Cam Newton (ankle) and defensive end Greg Hardy (offseason arrest) are ready to begin training camp workouts, the Carolina Panthers say. (FBN-PANTHERS-NEWS/, expect by 1845 GMT/2:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 405 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Ray Allen could be ready to commit to Cleveland Ray Allen is reportedly leaning toward returning for his 19th season in the NBA to continue as a teammate of LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers. (BKN-CAVALIERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 250 words) - - Mavericks chasing PG Nelson Former Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson could join the Dallas Mavericks as the primary backup to Raymond Felton. (BKN-MAVERICKS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 250 words) - - NBA roundup The latest news and notes from around the league. (BKN-NOTEBOOK-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 375 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: Canadian Open, Ile Bizard, Quebec Kuchar and Furyk head strong field at Royal Montreal American world No. 7 Matt Kuchar and compatriot Jim Furyk, a two-time former Canadian Open champion who is ranked 10th, head a strong field at Royal Montreal going into today's opening round. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), expect end-of-day lead by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, 350 words) - - International Crown opens in Maryland Coverage of the opening round of the LPGA International Crown at Owings Mills, Md. (GLF-NEWS/, expect ASAP after conclusion of first round, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL MLB INSIDER COLUMN Rays' call: Raise or hold on Price Surging in the wildcard and American League East standings, the Tampa Bay Rays hold the biggest chip - former Cy Young winner David Price - with one week to go until the non-waiver trade deadline. (BBO-COLUMN/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by John Perrotto, 800 words) - - Lester, Red Sox pause contract talks at pitcher's request Contract talks between the Boston Red Sox and left-handed starter Jon Lester will be tabled until the end of the season. (BBO-REDSOX-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 450 words) - - Thumb down: A's slugger Cespedes out of lineup Thursday OAKLAND, Calif. - Yoenis Cespedes flashed his Home Run Derby form Wednesday night, but he is out of the lineup today after his two-homer game because of a thumb injury. (BBO-ATHLETICS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Eric Gilmore, 775 words) - - Astros OF Springer expects rapid recovery, return OAKLAND, Calif. - Houston Astros rookie center fielder George Springer tried to play through a painful injury to his left quadriceps, hoping it would heal without him having to miss many games. That plan failed, so the Astros turned to Plan B, placing Springer on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Sunday. (BBO-ATHLETICS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Eric Gilmore, 375 words) - - White Sox optimistic OF Garcia will play again in 2014 CHICAGO - Avisail Garcia was supposed to be a big part of the White Sox's season until he hurt his shoulder in April. Following surgery, it was thought Garcia would miss the rest of the year. Now, it looks like he might to return this season. (BBO-WHITESOX-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Brian Hedger, 350 words) - - The Sports Xchange covers all MLB games. Key matchups highlighted below: - - Red Sox at Blue Jays TORONTO - Toronto jumps on Boston Red Sox starter Rubby De La Rosa early to take a 5-0 lead into the fourth inning, as Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman hushes Boston's bats. (BBO-BLUEJAYS-REDSOX-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after the 1645 GMT/12:45 PM ET game, The Sports Xchange, by Larry Millson, 400-word first lede, 800-word writethru) - - Tigers at Angels ANAHEIM, Calif. - Eleven-game winners Max Scherzer (11-3, 3.34 ERA) and Garrett Richards (11-2, 2.47) square off in a potential playoff preview at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Richards is 7-0 in his last nine starts for the Halos. (BBO-ANGELS-TIGERS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after the 0215 GMT/10:15 PM ET game, The Sports Xchange, by Joe Haakenson, 400-word first lede, 800-word writethru) - - MLB Wrap: Indians' Kluber shoots for 11th win Right-hander Corey Kluber (10-6) aims for his 11th victory of the season when the Cleveland Indians, who are vying with Kansas City for second place in the American League Central, visit the Royals in one of 11 games on the MLB schedule. (BASEBALL-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), expect by 0430 GMT/12:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 900 words) - - The full MLB schedule American League Boston at Toronto, 12:37 PM ET Texas at New York Yankees, 1:05 PM ET Houston at Oakland, 3:35 PM ET Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 8:10 PM ET Cleveland at Kansas City, 8:10 PM ET Detroit at Los Angeles Angels, 10:05 PM ET Baltimore at Seattle, 10:10 PM ET - - National League San Francisco at Philadelphia, 1:05 PM ET Miami at Atlanta, 7:10 PM ET San Diego at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 PM ET New York Mets at Milwaukee, 8:10 PM ET - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Bruins name Sacco assistant coach, sign D Warsofsky The Boston Bruins hire former Colorado Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco as an assistant. (HKN-BRUINS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 200 words) - - NHL Roundup The latest moves and news from the NHL. (HKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - SOCCER Friendlies, where business and sport collide on pitch TORONTO - Neither Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino nor his Toronto FC counterpart Ryan Nelsen seemed particularly enthused about their friendly but both grudgingly accepted the match as part of today's global soccer reality where new fans and revenue streams must be cultivated. (SOCCER-SPURS/FRIENDLIES, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, by Steve Keating, 700 words) - - Lampard joins New York City on two-year contract NEW YORK - Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard signs a two-year contract with new Major League Soccer club New York City FC. (SOCCER-MLS/LAMPARD (UPDATE 2), moved, 475 words) - - - - AUTO RACING Weekend preview: Brickyard Circling the track at iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway with news and notes from the Brickyard 400. (CAR-NEWS/, expect by 2230 GMT/6:30 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, special from NASCAR Wire Service, 450 words) - - Marussia appoints U.S. driver Rossi as F1 reserve BUDAPEST - The Russian-licensed Marussia Formula One team appoints American driver Alexander Rossi, a born and bred Californian, as its official reserve for the rest of the season. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/ROSSI, moved, 250 words) - - 'So happy' Perez sure 2015 Mexican GP will happen BUDAPEST, July 24 (Reuters) - Mexico will definitely be ready to host a Formula One grand prix next year after resolving the problems that prevented the country's return this season, Force India driver Sergio Perez says. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/MEXICO (PIX), moved, by Alan Baldwin, 475 words) See also: Forget 2009, Massa more vexed by recent crashes (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/MASSA (PIX) - - - - TENNIS Isner takes on Ginepri in second-round action at Atlanta Open Top seed and defending champion John Isner makes his first appearance of the week in an all-American clash with wildcard Robby Ginepri in the second round of the Atlanta Open, which kicks off the U.S. hard court season ahead of the year's final grand slam, the U.S. Open. (TENNIS-ATLANTA/, expect by 0300 GMT/11 PM ET, 250 words) - - - - TOUR DE FRANCE Peerless Nibali all but seals Tour with stage win HAUTACAM, France - Vincenzo Nibali proves once again he has no serious rivals in the Tour de France as he powers to victory in the final mountain stage, all but securing his first title in impressive fashion. (CYCLING-TOUR/ (PIX, UPDATE 1), moved, by Julien Pretot, 625 words) - - Shark Nibali not in giving mood in final mountain stage HAUTACAM, France - He's not quite the Cannibal yet, but Vincenzo Nibali once again shows his teeth to stamp his authority on the Tour de France as the Shark of Messina is cruising towards his maiden title in the race. (CYCLING-TOUR/NIBALI (PIX), moved, by Julien Pretot, 475 words) - - Old geezer Mura types Tour de France legend in modern era ARGELES GAZOST, France - Ashes fall from his cigarette as his puffy fingers play a distinctive staccato on a 38-year-old Lettera 32. Gianni Mura, who covered his first Tour de France in 1967, is the iconic figure in the race press room. (CYCLING-TOUR/MURA, moved, by Julien Pretot, 800 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
