State Department officials meet with Griner's WNBA team
WASHINGTON >> State Department officials met Monday with representatives of Brittney Griner's WNBA team about the Phoenix Mercury star's monthslong detention in Russia and the Biden administration's efforts to secure her release.
The State Department confirmed the meeting, which involved officials from its specialized office that advocates for hostages and wrongfully detained Americans, but offered no additional details about what was said or who specifically attended.
The administration has previously said that its working to bring Griner and another American, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, home from Russia.
Griner was detained on Feb. 17 at an airport in Russia after authorities there said a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing a cannabis derivative. In May, the State Department reclassified Griner as wrongfully detained and transferred oversight of her case to the State Department Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, or SPEHA.
Soccer
RAPINOE, MORGAN BACK FOR US FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS >> Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan have been included on the U.S. roster for next month's CONCACAF W Championship, which will determine four of the region's teams in the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Rapinoe and Morgan have not been named to a U.S. roster since last October as coach Vlatko Andonovski looked at younger players in the run-up to qualifying. The United States is the twotime defending World Cup champion.
Twenty-three players were named to the qualifying roster, and three others — Sam Coffey, Carson Pickett and Jaelin Howell — were added to the training camp in advance of a pair of friendlies later this month against Colombia. AUSTRALIA QUALIFIES FOR WORLD CUP AFTER EDGING
PERU >> Australia qualified for a fifth straight World Cup after a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Peru in their intercontinental playoff.
The teams failed to score in regulation and extra time at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, and goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, sent on as a substitute in the dying seconds of extra time, proved to be the star for Australia by saving the last penalty from Alex Valera.
Tennis
NONE OF FEDERER, NADAL, DJOKOVIC IN ATP TOP 2; 1ST SINCE `03 >> None of the socalled Big Three of men's tennis — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — was in the No. 1 or No. 2 spots in the ATP rankings on Monday, the first time that's been the case in nearly 20 years.
Daniil Medvedev rose one place to return to No. 1, where he briefly spent time earlier this season, and Alexander Zverev moved up to a career-best No. 2.
Djokovic slid from No. 1 to No. 3, because his points for winning the French Open in 2021 dropped off his record on Monday. The ATP rankings are based on a player's top 18 tournament results over the preceding 52 weeks (19 if he participated in the ATP Tour Finals).
MLB
DONALDSON'S 1-GAME BAN
UPHELD BY MLB >> Major League Baseball has upheld Josh Donaldson's onegame suspension, a penalty that was assessed after the New York Yankees third baseman made a remark to White Sox star Tim Anderson about Jackie Robinson that Chicago manager Tony La Russa called racist.
MLB special adviser John McHale upheld the penalty after hearing Donaldson's appeal on Thursday, a person familiar with the discipline told The Associated Press. The person spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because McHale's decision was not announced.
Donaldson's fine was cut in half by McHale to $5,000, the person said. Donaldson will serve the penalty during the Yankees' series opener against Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.