Surfing, breakdancing among four sports to win Paris 2024 spot
Breakdancing became an official Olympic sport on Monday.
The International Olympic Committee’s pursuit of urban events to lure a younger audience saw street dance battles officially added to the medal events program at the 2024 Paris Games.
Also confirmed for Paris by the IOC executive board were skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing.
Those three sports will make their Olympic debuts at the Tokyo Games which were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic by one year to open on July 23, 2021. Alongside the additions, the IOC made subtractions: The slate of 329 medal events in Paris is 10 fewer than in Tokyo, and the athlete quota in 2024 of 10,500 is around 600 less than next year.
Baseball
DICK ALLEN, 7-TIME ALLSTAR, DIES AT 78 >> Dick Allen, a fearsome hitter who was a seven-time All- Star, the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP, has died. He was 78.
The Philadelphia Phillies, the team Allen started out with, announced his death on Monday.
Allen batted .292 with 351 homers, 1,119 RBIs and .912 OPS in 15 seasons. He played first base, third base and left field.
ANGELS ACQUIRE CLOSER RAISEL IGLESIAS FROM REDS >> The Los Angeles Angels acquired closer Raisel Iglesias from the Cincinnati
Reds for right-hander Noé Ramirez and a player to be named or cash Monday in the first trade of the week of baseball’s winter meetings.
Iglesias has been the Reds’ closer for the past four seasons, racking up 100 saves in 114 opportunities over that stretch with a career 3.15 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.
College football
OLE MISS AT NO. 5 TEXAS A&M POSTPONED >> Mississippi’s football game at No. 5 Texas A&M scheduled for Saturday has been postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Rebels program.
The game will only be rescheduled if games set for Dec. 19 are canceled.
The Aggies are scheduled to visit Tennessee and Ole Miss is scheduled to visit LSU that day.
College basketball
STANFORD REPLACES SOUTH CAROLINA AS TOP WOMEN’S TEAM >>
Coach Tara VanDerveer and Stanford are the new No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.
The Cardinal ascended to the top spot Monday after previous No. 1 South Carolina lost at home to thenNo. 8 North Carolina State. Stanford received 24 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel.
The Cardinal moved up to No. 1 at nearly the same time last year and held on to that spot for three weeks, the team’s first appearance
there in seven years.
GONZAGA, BAYLOR REMAIN ATOP AP TOP 25 >>
Gonzaga and Baylor remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after their hotly anticipated weekend game in Indianapolis was called off about 90 minutes before tipoff because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program.
Gonzaga received 54 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel while the Bears had the other seven. Iowa remained third after Luka Garza’s monster week powered the Hawkeyes to a pair of easy victories, Michigan State climbed four spots to No. 4 and Kansas jumped two spots to round out the top 5.