CONCACAF to review refs
The president of CONCACAF said Thursday he will conduct a review of the organization’s refereeing department.
The ongoing review is evaluating refereeing standards and assessing the process for determining assignments for each match, the regional soccer body said.
“The foundation of our game is fair play, and we must take the required steps to reinforce the importance of this principle,” said Alfredo Hawit, who became president of North and Central America and the Caribbean’s governing body in May after Jeffrey Webb’s indictment.
Webb and predecessor Jack Warner were named in a U.S. federal indictment charging soccer officials with racketeering, bribery and money laundering.
Olympics
The waters where Olympians will compete in swimming and boating events next summer in South America’s first games are rife with human sewage and present a serious health risk for athletes, as well as for visitors to the iconic beaches of Rio de Janeiro. An Associated Press investigation found dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from sewage in venues where athletes will compete in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic water sports.
Hockey
The Philadelphia Flyers and right winger Jakub Voracek agreed to a multiyear contract extension. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Voracek, 25, had 22 goals and career highs of 59 assists and 81 points last season. … The Montreal Canadiens and restricted free agent Alex Galchenyuk agreed to terms on a two-year contract. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Galchenyuk, 21, had career highs with 20 goals, 26 assists and 46 points last season.
• Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Leo Reise Jr. died Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 93. Reise had 21 goals and 61 assists in 340 games for Detroit from 1946-52. He was a fourtime All-Star with the Red Wings and played on the 1950 and 1952 Stanley Cup champion teams.
Pro basketball
DeWanna Bonner had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 78-66 victory at the Tulsa Shock in WNBA action.
Tennis
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal toiled to beat Jiri Vesely, 6-4, 7-6 (2), to reach the Hamburg Open quarterfinals in Germany.
• Former No. 1 and twotime major champ Victoria Azarenka pulled out of next week’s Citi Open hard-court tournament in Washington because of an injured right shoulder. CoCo Vandeweghe will get a wild-card entry for the main draw.
Horse racing
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is the overwhelming 1-5 favorite in a field of eight 3-year-olds for $1.75 million Haskell Invitational Sunday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. This will be American Pharoah’s first race since he swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes and became the 12th Triple Crown winner and first in 37 years.