Category: Sports

Pats Win Super Bowl on Another Late Kick
HOUSTON – Once again, the New England Patriots have Adam Vinatieri’s foot to thank for a Super Bowl victory. Vinatieri gave New England its second NFL championship in three seasons with a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left for a thrilling 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.
Vinatieri earlier missed a field goal and had another one blocked. But as he did in 2002 when he kicked the winning field goal to beat St. Louis on the final play of the Super Bowl, he proved he is perhaps the NFL’s best clutch kicker.
For a contest that was scoreless for a record 27 minutes, this game was one of the all-time offensive shows between two of the NFL’s best defenses.
There were 37 points scored in the fourth quarter alone and Tom Brady, who led New England on its winning drive, was 32-of-48 for 354 yards and three touchdowns.
Brady was voted the game’s MVP for the second time in three seasons, although he did throw an interception that prevented New England from winning more easily.
“There have been some heart attacks, but they’ve come out on top,” said coach Bill Belichick, whose team won its 15th straight game.
Carolina had tied the game at 29 with its third fourth-quarter TD on a 12-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to Ricky Proehl with 1:08 left. Then John Kasay kicked the ball out of bounds to give New England field position at its own 40.
Brady moved the Patriots 37 yards in six plays, hitting Deion Branch to set up Vinatieri’s winning kick.
“I looked up and it was going right down the middle,” he said.
The kick prevented the Super Bowl from going into overtime for the first time ever.
The Patriots led 14-10 at the half, and after a scoreless third quarter, they made it 21-10 on the second play of the fourth on a 2-yard run by Antowain Smith. It capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive featuring a 33-yard pass from Brady to tight end Daniel Graham.
Carolina wasn’t about to give up, though, scoring on DeShaun Foster’s 33-yard run on a six-play, 81-yard drive. But the 2-point conversion pass was behind Muhsin Muhammad and it was 21-16. The decision to go for 2 would come back to haunt coach John Fox.
The Patriots seemed ready to put the game away when they got the ball back, but Brady made a rare mistake ó throwing an off-balance pass that Reggie Howard intercepted in the end zone.
Two plays later, Delhomme found Muhammad behind the New England defense for an 85-yard score, the longest play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history, to give the Panthers a 22-21 lead with 6:53 left. Fox again went for the 2-point conversion and failed.
Brady came back with the TD pass to linebacker Mike Vrabel with 2:51 remaining, and Kevin Faulk ran in for the 2-point conversion to give New England a 29-22 lead.
About two minutes later, Delhomme and Proehl hooked up to tie the game, setting up Vinatieri’s heroics.
The game was scoreless longer than any previous Super Bowl ó nearly 27 minutes.
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Then the teams got going ó 24 points in the final 3:05 of the first half that left the Patriots with a 14-10 lead.
New England dominated that dormant period and finally took a 7-0 lead on the first of two 5-yard TD passes by Brady. The quarterback found Branch after Vrabel had sacked Delhomme, forcing a fumble and giving New England the ball at the Carolina 20.
At that point, New England had outgained Carolina 125 yards to minus-7, and Delhomme was 1-of-9 for 1 yard and had been sacked three times.
But the Patriots’ touchdown seemed to wake up the Panthers. Delhomme led Carolina on a 95-yard drive, tied for second longest in Super Bowl history, capping it with a 39-yard TD pass to Steve Smith, who beat Tyrone Poole in single coverage. That tied it at 7-7 with 1:14 left in the half.
Brady came right back, hitting Branch for 52 yards behind Ricky Manning Jr. to set up the second 5-yard TD pass, this time to Givens.
Carolina wasn’t finished, either.
Vinatieri squibbed the kickoff and Kris Mangum returned it 12 yards to his own 47. With 12 seconds and a timeout left, the Panthers crossed up the Patriots by handing the ball to Stephen Davis, who rushed 21 yards to the New England 32.
After a timeout, Kasay kicked a 50-yard field goal to close the half.
New England looked as if it might get off to a quick start, shutting down the Panthers on their first possession, then moving to the Carolina 13 after Troy Brown’s 28-yard punt return.
But Vinatieri’s 31-yard field-goal attempt was wide right. It was only the third time he had missed indoors in 34 attempts, all of them in Houston.
The Patriots continued to keep the Panthers backed up.
Carolina got its first first down with just over 2 minutes left in the first quarter on a holding penalty on New England’s Ty Law but had to punt three plays later. Carolina’s defense held up its end ó Will Witherspoon ended another Patriots threat by dumping Brown for a 10-yard loss on a reverse to take New England out of field-goal range.
With just under 9 minutes left in the second quarter, the Patriots reached the Carolina 38. Brady’s third-down sneak was barely stopped, then Antowain Smith barely got the 6 inches on fourth down, a spot that was upheld on replay.
The Patriots reached the 18, but Vinatieri’s 36-yard attempt was blocked by Shane Burton.
Three plays later, Vrabel stripped Delhomme and Richard Seymour recovered.
On third-and-7, Brady, the self-described “slowest quarterback in the league,” scrambled up the middle to the 5. On the next play, he found Branch in the end zone for the game’s first score.

Molitor, Eckersley elected to HOF
NEW YORK (AP) – In their final confrontation, Paul Molitor wanted to beat Dennis Eckersley so badly he bunted in the ninth inning to win a game that was meaningless to the Minnesota Twins.
When they see each other this summer, they’ll be going into the Hall of Fame together.
The two tough competitors were chosen Tuesday in their first year of eligibility, the only players to gain election. And they thought back to that night at the Metrodome in August 1998.†
“I was 43 years old,” Eckersley recalled with a laugh. “He dropped down a bunt and, guess what, it worked. He’s a little weasel, that’s what he is.”
Molitor turned 42 that night, and his single gave the Twins a 4-3 win over Boston, which was vying for the AL wild-card. Eckersley had a few choice words for Molitor that night. But the two always had great respect for each other.
“He had a way of being unpredictable,” Molitor said. “He could throw any pitch at any time, which added to his effectiveness. Not to mention he could throw it to a teacup.”
Molitor, a patient, proficient batter, is eighth on the career list with 3,319 hits, many in clutch situations. He also helped the Toronto Blue Jays win the second of two straight World Series titles in 1993, batting .500 with two home runs and eight RBIs as Toronto beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.† Molitor was named World Series MVP.
Molitor was picked on 431 of 506 ballots (85.2 per cent) cast by reporters who have been members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for 10 or more years.
Eckersley, among baseball’s most exuberant and colourful players, was selected on 421 ballots (83.2 per cent).
To gain election, a player must be chosen by at least 75 per cent of the voters (380).
Ryne Sandberg was third with 309 votes, 61.1 per cent, up from 49.2 last year. He was followed by Bruce Sutter (301), Jim Rice (276), Andre Dawson (253), Rich Gossage (206), Lee Smith (185) and Bert Blyleven (179).
Pete Rose, ineligible because of his lifetime ban from baseball, got 15 write-in votes, down three from last year.
Molitor, Seattle’s hitting coach, became the first player elected to the Hall who spent more games at designated hitter than at any other position. He was a DH for 1,174 games (44 per cent), played 791 at third, 400 at second, 197 at first, 57 at shortstop and 50 in the outfield.
He hit 51 home runs and had 246 RBIs in his three seasons in Toronto. He joined the Jays in 1993 after 15 years in Milwaukee.
Molitor was a seven-time all-star who played from 1978-98 with Milwaukee, Toronto and Minnesota. He was primarily a DH in his final six seasons.
“It certainly extended by career and allowed me to accomplish some things offensively that I might not have otherwise,” he said.
Eckersley, 49, joins Hoyt Wilhelm and Rollie Fingers as the only pitchers who were primarily relievers elected to the Hall by the BBWAA. The six-time all-star went 149-130 with a 3.71 in 361 starts, winning 20 games for Boston in 1978 and throwing a no-hitter for Cleveland against the Angels in 1977.
He was converted to a reliever when he moved from the Chicago Cubs to Oakland after the 1987 season, when he underwent treatment for alcoholism. He quickly became the game’s dominant closer.
Eckersley is credited with coining the phrase “walkoff homer” – and one of the worst nights of his career included one. He allowed Kirk Gibson’s famous game-winner in the opener of the 1988 World Series, which propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to the title in five games.
“I had the ultimate walk off in the World Series, a lot of pain in those walking offs,” Eckersley said.
He was the American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner in 1992, when he was 7-1 with 51 saves and a 1.91 ERA.
Eckersley was a big reason Oakland won three AL pennants and one World Series from 1988-90. In 1989 and 1990, he had seven walks and 128 strikeouts in 131 innings.
“I could do no wrong. It was like walking on water at one point,” he said.
In all, Eckersley went 197-171 in 24 seasons with 390 saves, third behind Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424).
“There’s no way I would have gotten into the Hall just strictly as a reliever,” he said. “Being a starter had to have something to do with distancing me from some of the other relievers.”
Molitor, 47, hopes the Hall decided he should go in with a Brewers cap. Eckersley, who played for six teams, wouldn’t say which team he preferred for the cap on his plaque, but he added, “I liked playing for the Oakland A’s.”
“As long as my moustache looks good, it’s OK,” he said.
Rose, who admits in his soon-to-be-released autobiography that he bet on the Cincinnati Reds while managing them, must be reinstated by December 2005 to appear on the BBWAA ballot. In the 13 seasons he has been ineligible because of the ban, he has been written in on 230 of 6,171 ballots (3.7 per cent).
“I am a little disappointed in the timing of it,” Molitor said, referring to Rose’s book. “Does it take away from the current class? … In my mind, I think it does a little bit.”
Eckersley didn’t care, saying: “Bad timing, but it doesn’t bother me.”
Fifteen players will be dropped from next year’s ballot because they failed to draw at least 5 per cent of the votes. That group includes first baseman Keith Hernandez (22 votes), who was on the ballot for nine years, and pitcher Fernando Valenzuela (19), who was on for two.
Five-time AL batting champion Wade Boggs is eligible for the first time next year.
Molitor and Eckersley will increase the Hall of Fame’s members to 258. The BBWAA has elected 100 players, including 40 in their first year of eligibility. Induction ceremonies are July 25 in Cooperstown, the small village in upstate New York.

Rose in Book Admits Betting on Baseball
NEW YORK – After 14 years of denials, Pete Rose has finally come clean and admitted he bet on baseball while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
The career hits leader says in his soon-to-be-released autobiography that he hopes the acknowledgment will help end his ban from baseball, which could lead to his induction into the Hall of Fame.
Rose says he was a big-time gambler who started betting regularly on baseball in 1987 but never against the Reds, according to excerpts from the book released to Sports Illustrated for its issue that hits newsstands Wednesday.
“Yes, sir, I did bet on baseball,” Rose told commissioner Bud Selig during a meeting in November 2002 about Rose’s lifetime ban.
“How often?” Selig asked.
“Four or five times a week,” Rose replied. “But I never bet against my own team, and I never made any bets from the clubhouse.”
“Why?” Selig asked.
“I didn’t think I’d get caught.”
Rose repeated his admission in an interview on ABC News’ “Primetime Thursday,” parts of which aired Monday on “Good Morning America.”
“It’s time to clean the slate, it’s time to take responsibility,” Rose says in the interview. “I’m 14 years late.
“I just never had the opportunity to tell anybody that was going to help me. … I couldn’t get a response from baseball for 12 years. It’s like I died and, and they knew I died and they didn’t want to bring me back. They were just going to let me rot.”
In “My Prison Without Bars,” to be released Thursday, Rose writes that he regrets lying for all those years and says, “I wish I could take it all back.”
“I’ve consistently heard the statement: ‘If Pete Rose came clean, all would be forgiven.’ Well, I’ve done what you’ve asked. The rest is up to the commissioner and the big umpire in the sky.”
Rose agreed to the lifetime ban in August 1989 and applied for reinstatement in 1997, but Selig hasn’t ruled on the request.
After meeting with Selig, Rose came away thinking he would be reinstated “within a reasonable period.” Other baseball officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the following month that Selig wanted Rose to admit he bet on baseball as part of any reinstatement agreement.
“We haven’t seen the book. Until we read the book, there’s nothing to comment on,” Selig told The Associated Press on Sunday night.
As long as Rose is banned from baseball, he is ineligible for the Hall of Fame ballot. His last chance to appear on the writers’ ballot is December 2005. After that, if he’s reinstated, he could be voted in by the veterans’ committee.
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Rose wrote that if he “had been an alcoholic or a drug addict, baseball would have suspended me for six weeks and paid for my rehabilitation.”
“I should have had the opportunity to get help, but baseball had no fancy rehab for gamblers like they do for drug addicts,” Rose wrote. “If I had admitted my guilt, it would have been the same as putting my head on the chopping block ó lifetime ban. Death penalty. I spent my entire life on the baseball fields of America, and I was not going to give up my profession without first seeing some hard evidence. … Right or wrong, the punishment didn’t fit the crime ó so I denied the crime.”
In the book, Rose admits placing bets with Ronald Peters through Thomas Gioiosa and Paul Janszen ó the three were the primary witnesses in the 1989 investigation by baseball lawyer John Dowd that led to the agreement in which Rose accepted a lifetime ban.
Dowd concluded Rose bet on baseball from 1985-87 and detailed 412 baseball wagers between April 8-July 5, 1987, including 52 on Cincinnati to win.
“During the times I gambled as a manager, I never took an unfair advantage,” Rose wrote. “I never bet more or less based on injuries or inside information. I never allowed my wagers to influence my baseball decisions. So in my mind, I wasn’t corrupt.”
Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent said Sunday: “I think John Dowd is owed a big apology by Rose.
“John is the hero. He did a great job. Now Rose admits John was correct,” Vincent said.
Rose wrote that after breaking Ty Cobb’s career hits record in 1985, and as he dealt with retirement as a player the following year, his betting became more of a problem. He details losing several hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was pushing toward disaster,” he wrote. “A part of me was still looking for ways to recapture the high I got from winning batting titles and World Series. If I couldn’t get the high from playing baseball, then I needed a substitute to keep from feeling depressed. I was driven, in gambling as well as in baseball. Enough was never enough. I had huge appetites, and I was always hungry.”
Asked during the ABC News interview what fans think about him, Rose said: “I think the powers that be in baseball understand that, ‘Hey, maybe the fans like this guy. Maybe the fans want, want us to give him a second chance.'”

Janet Tapped For Super Bowl Halftime
Janet Jackson will perform on one of the world’s biggest stages, the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. The National Football League championship football game is set to air Feb. 1 live on CBS from Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
MTV is producing the Super Bowl halftime show, which will be sponsored by America Online, for the second time. The network previously produced the segment in 2001, which featured Aerosmith, ‘N Sync and Britney Spears.
Last year’s halftime event, produced by Interscope Geffen A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine and Tenth Planet Productions director/producer Joel Gallen, saw Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting perform at halftime. Celine Dion, Carlos Santana, Michelle Branch and BeyoncÈ all performed during pre-game festivities, while the Dixie Chicks were on hand to deliver the National Anthem.
Jackson is currently working on her next still-untitled album, which is due sometime in 2004 on Virgin Records. Her official Web site promises a world tour will follow.

Blue Jays’ Halladay Wins Cy Young Award
NEW YORK – Toronto’s Roy Halladay won the American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, easily beating Chicago’s Esteban Loaiza.
Halladay, who won a major league-high 22 games, received 26 first-place votes and two seconds for 136 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Loaiza, who went to spring training with a minor league contract, got two firsts, 16 seconds and five thirds for 63 points.
Boston’s Pedro Martinez was third with 20 points, followed by Oakland’s Tim Hudson (15), Seattle’s Jamie Moyer (12), the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte (four) and Oakland’s Keith Foulke and Minnesota’s Johann Santana (one each).
Halladay, a 26-year-old right-hander, had never won more than eight games in a season before he went 19-7 in 2002.
He finished 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA this year, winning 15 consecutive decisions from May 1 to July 27 and tying for the AL lead with nine complete games.
His 1-0, 10-inning win over Detroit on Sept. 7 was the first extra-inning shutout in the major leagues since Jack Morris led Minnesota over Atlanta in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
Loaiza went 21-9 with a 2.90 ERA and a league-high 207 strikeouts. Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner, was 14-4 with a major league-leading 2.22 ERA.
Toronto pitchers have won the award in four of the last eight seasons, with Halladay following Pat Hentgen (1996) and Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998).
Halladay gets a $100,000 bonus for winning, Loaiza gets $90,000 for finishing second and Martinez $50,000 for finishing third.

Marlins Win to Advance to World Series
CHICAGO – Given one final chance to beat the demons of their past and the Marlins, the Cubs couldn’t get it done. Kerry Wood failed to hold an early lead and Wrigley Field fell silent as Florida capped its stunning NLCS comeback with a 9-6 win in Game 7 Wednesday night.
Destiny? Fate? The fan in Game 6? Whatever. The Cubs were unable to end their long, strange drought because Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera and these remarkably resilient Marlins won their third straight game to clinch the National League pennant.
Now, the Marlins will head off to face Boston or the New York Yankees in the World Series starting Saturday night. In a cruel twist to the Cubs’ faithful, Florida will make its second Series trip in only 11 years of existence ó Chicago has been absent since 1945, prompting the team’s sad little motto of “Wait ’til next year.”
Alex Gonzalez provided insurance with a two-run double to left-center field in the seventh inning for a 9-5 lead. The ball hopped up against the brick wall, covered with ivy that has changed colors to orange and red.
That poison ivy will certainly be tinged with tears, too.
Even after being shut out in Game 5 by Josh Beckett, the Cubs were in excellent position as they returned home. But aces Mark Prior and Wood lost on back-to-back days for the first time this season and suddenly a sure thing had turned sour.
A sellout crowd of 39,574 minus the infamous Steve Bartman ó the fan who deflected a foul ball during the Marlins’ eighth-inning rally in Game 6, he was at home with a police guard ó had the old ballpark shaking as Wood and Moises Alou homered for a 5-3 lead.
But Wood could only flip his glove into the stands as the wild-card Marlins rallied for three runs in the fifth. Luis Castillo added an RBI single in the sixth and Gonzalez hit a two-run double in the seventh for insurance.
Brad Penny won with an inning of scoreless relief for Mark Redman.
Beckett came out of the bullpen and pitched four innings of one-hit ball on two days’ rest, allowing only a homer by pinch-hitter Troy O’Leary. Ugueth Urbina worked the ninth for a save.
Home teams had won 12 of the last 13 times a postseason series went to Game 7. But the Marlins became just the sixth team to ever overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
Florida has never lost a postseason series in its young history, going 4-0. That includes a thrilling Game 7 victory in 11 innings over Cleveland for the 1997 title.
This win sent 72-year-old manager Jack McKeon and the Marlins into the Series, something that seemed almost impossible when they were 19-29 back in late May. But McKeon, who had replaced the fired Jeff Torborg earlier in the month, somehow steered them deep into October.
Cabrera and Rodriguez once again played starring roles for Florida. Cabrera, a 20-year-old rookie, hit his third homer of the series while Rodriguez singled home a run that gave him an NLCS-record 10 RBIs.
Down 5-3 in the fifth, Rodriguez doubled home a run and Cabrera tied it with an RBI grounder. Derrek Lee, whose double keyed the eight-run rally in Game 6, followed with a single that put Florida ahead 6-5.
The Cubs had been hoping this would be the year they got a chance to win their first Series championship since 1908.
Instead, add this failure to all of their previous disappointments. That includes wasting a 2-0 lead over San Diego in the best-of-five NLCS, blowing a late lead in the 1969 NL race and losing Game 7 of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field to Detroit.
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Cubs manager Dusty Baker was trying to become the first manager in history to lead two different teams to the World Series in consecutive years. Rather, he fell short, just as he did last year when his San Francisco Giants lost the last two games of the World Series at Anaheim.

Athletes Bare All to Pay for Training
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Female Dutch athletes are baring all on a pay-per-view Web Site to fund training abroad during the winter after cuts in subsidies left them in the cold.
A nude runner basks in the sun embracing her knees, sitting next to starting blocks. Another black and white picture shows an athlete wearing nothing at all who is draped across a podium, her chin propped up on her arm as she looks into the lens.
“Most athletes travel to Spain, France, Portugal, South Africa or the Canary Islands early in the year to prepare for the new season in the sun,” Joop Tervoort, an athletics trainer and one of the site creators, told Reuters.
“This year subsidies to the Royal Dutch Athletics Union were cut heavily and many athletes are still students who have a hard time scraping together extra money,” he said.
Some 250 photos of six women are on www.sportmeiden.nl, which received almost two million hits on Monday alone.
Visitors can access the Web Site for 80 eurocents ($0.943) a minute and all the proceeds go to the women. They expect to earn about 1,000 euros ($1,185) each which will cover travel to warm countries and accommodation, Tervoort said. They will still need to pay for a coach, physiotherapist and masseur.
The Netherlands’ 23-year old high jump champion, Frenke Bolt, features on the site that also includes female javelin throwers and shot putters and lists their achievements.
Tervoort also wants to attract internationally famed athletes, although most receive corporate sponsorship.
Sports personalities from other countries have already set the trend, with teams and individuals stripping off for extra publicity or to raise funds for sports associations.
The photographer and co-founder of the Dutch site, Alex Boer, said there was enough interest to add new photos each week and some male athletes had also asked to be included.
“First we will see how it goes as it is, then we will decide whether or not to set up a site for sportsmen.”

Jordan could get the call to replace Kobe
CHICAGO (AFP) – Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson admits he has thought about asking one of his former players, Michael Jordan, to come out of retirement if Kobe Bryant is unable to play in the upcoming season.
“It has crossed my mind,” Jackson said. “But I don’t think I would ask Michael that question until it became absolutely necessary or it became a reality. It’s just speculation.”
Jordan, 40, played under Jackson on six championship teams with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan retired for the third time last April after the Washington Wizards failed to make the National Basketball Association play-offs.
Bryant faces charges of sexual assault and faces a Thursday hearing in Eagle, Colorado. He is probably going to sit out of two pre-season exhibition games against Golden State in Hawaii, where the Lakers are training.
The Lakers added Karl Malone and Gary Payton to a lineup that already featured dominating center Shaquille O’Neal and backcourt playmaker Bryant, whose absence would dim the club’s hopes of a fourth NBA crown in five years.
But the Lakers, ousted in last year’s playoffs by eventual champion San Antonio, would be in a solid position for a title run if Jordan replaced Bryant in the backcourt.
Jordan’s two-year stint with the Wizards showed that time has weakened some of the skills that made him one of the game’s all-time greats. But together with what amounts to an all-star lineup, Jordan could fill a key void.

Bruce Springsteen Getting The Cold Shoulder From New York Yankees?
While Bruce Springsteen can sell out 10 nights at Giants Stadium, he is having trouble getting a “meeting across the river” in New York City. A report in the New York Daily News says Springsteen wants to play with his E Street Band at Yankee Stadium in September, but that the team turned him down due to fears of damaging the field so close to the playoffs. It was noted, however, that the Boston Red Sox don’t have the same fears, since they’ve OK’d two shows at their Fenway Park, even though they’re within striking distance of the Yankees.
The story goes on to say that the crosstown New York Mets–who almost certainly aren’t headed for the postseason–may make their Shea Stadium home available for the band.
A Springsteen representative had no knowledge of any New York City dates being added to Sprinsgteen’s itinerary.
While New York’s baseball teams decide what to do, another stadium show has been announced. Springsteen and company will play the first-ever concert at the new Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut, on September 16. The stadium is the home of the University Of Connecticut Huskies football team. Ticket information for the show hasn’t been made public yet.
Springsteen plays the first of two shows at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on Friday (August 1).

Vancouver Wins Bid to Host 2010 Olympics
PRAGUE, Czech Republic – The Olympics are returning to North America in 2010, to a scenic Pacific coast city beneath snowcapped mountains.
By a mere three votes, Vancouver was selected Wednesday as the host of the Winter Games, taking the Olympics to Canada for the first time since 1988 and perhaps hurting New York’s bid for the 2012 Games.
“It was a photo finish,” Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said. “That’s what is so great about sport. But winning is winning. I just want to guarantee everybody that it will be a great success.”
The vote was closer than expected, with outsider Pyeongchang, South Korea, nearly pulling off a stunning upset in the first round of secret balloting by International Olympic Committee members.
The election wasn’t without controversy √≥ several members didn’t vote, which could have swung the result the other way. The IOC said it was unsure why.
With a simple majority needed for victory, Pyeongchang got 51 votes in the first round, followed by Vancouver with 40 and Salzburg with 16. But Vancouver picked up Salzburg’s votes in the next round and defeated Pyeongchang 56-53.
The words that Canada had waited to hear came from IOC president Jacques Rogge, who opened a white envelope and declared: “The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the 21st Olympic Winter Games are awarded to the city of Vancouver.”
Awarding the 2010 Games to North America leaves Europe in a strong position for the 2012 Summer Olympics ó at the expense of New York. Some members say back-to-back games in North America are unlikely.
“It’s not complicated,” said senior Italian member Mario Pescante, head of the European Olympic Committees. “With five countries interested in the Summer Games, the majority of European IOC members preferred to have games outside Europe. This is a very political vote in view of the summer games.”
Paris, London, Madrid, Moscow, among others, are in the running for the 2012 Games.
Rogge disputed any 2010-2012 trade-off.
“We had two consecutive games in 2004 and 2006,” he said. “There have been many other examples. This so-called continental rotation, we don’t believe in that.”
Officials working on New York’s bid were quick to say they didn’t believe Vancouver’s selection would hurt the city’s chances.
“We really didn’t feel like we had a stake in the outcome here,” said Dan Doctoroff, the leader of New York’s 2012 bid. “Ultimately we’ve got to do the job in 2005. Between winter and summer, there’s no evidence that it’s ever made any difference whatsoever.”
Vancouver, whose “Sea to Sky Games” concept plans for events in the city and the ski resort of Whistler, had been considered the front-runner.
The announcement was greeted with huge cheers from Vancouver boosters in the convention hall in Prague. And in Vancouver, wild cheering and flag-waving erupted among those gathered at a downtown arena.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! We did it!” screamed Jennifer Goepel, 28, her face painted like the red and white Canadian flag.
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Vancouver was a top pick on technical merits alone. A recent IOC report gave Vancouver the best overall review, with high marks for its plans for sports venues, accommodations and financing.
Canada’s understated campaign focused on the technical strengths of its proposal, with most indoor venues in Vancouver and ski and sliding events at Whistler.
“We made a decision that our program was going to be 100 percent about athletes and sport,” bid president John Furlong said. “That’s what we think tipped the scales for us.”
Canada has hosted two previous Olympics ó the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
The games of 2004 (Athens, summer) and 2006 (Turin, Italy, winter) are being held in Europe and 2008 (Beijing, summer) in Asia, leaving North America in line for 2010.
Vancouver’s selection was welcomed by NBC, which won the U.S. television rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics last month for just over $2 billion. “We’re delighted with a win in the North American continent because it will allow much of the events to be shown live in prime time,” NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol said. “It’s like having a Games at home.”
Ebersol said the time difference in Vancouver, three hours earlier than the East Coast, shouldn’t be a problem. He said organizers could schedule finals from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (9 p.m.-midnight in the East.)
Wednesday’s biggest surprise was the showing by Pyeongchang, the least known of the three bidders.
Of 111 ballots distributed in the first round, only 107 were cast. In the second round, 109 out of 112 eligible voters cast ballots. Had the missing four votes in the first round gone to Pyeongchang, the South Korean city would have won with a majority of 55. Had it received the extra three votes in the second round, the two cities would have tied 56-56.
The Koreans scored points with a strong presentation stressing how the games could promote winter sports in Asia and bring peace on the divided Korean peninsula.
Cho Myung-soo, vice governor of Gangwon province, said he was disappointed. “We will try again in 2014,” he said.
Salzburg, which prided itself on its winter sports tradition and world-class venues, sustained a bitter defeat.
“We knew that we are not a favorite but we didn’t expect to fall out after the first vote,” Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said. “There are many reasons for that … the geographical and geopolitical situation.”