National

LONDON (AP) — First-time Olympian Alex Morgan already has her defining moment: A game-winning goal in overtime that put the U.S. women’s soccer team into the gold medal match.
And it came on a header, the very skill that was supposed to be a weakness in her game.
The lightning-fast striker brings beautiful goals to game at the formative age of 23. Long after Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and the other vets have retired, it’s a reasonable bet that Morgan will be the face of the U.S. national team.
“She’s still a genetic freak, in my opinion,” Wambach said. “She makes plays that you don’t expect anybody to make.”

LONDON (AP) — A Chinese badminton star is apparently quitting the sport after she was one of eight players disqualified from the doubles tournament at the London Olympics for trying to lose.
A comment on a verified account for Yu Yang on the Tencent microblogging service late Wednesday read: “This is my last game. Farewell Badminton World Federation. Farewell my dear badminton.”
Yu’s retirement could not be immediately confirmed with Chinese badminton officials. In China, the lives of top athletes are closely controlled by sports officials.
Yu and Wang Xiaoli were one of four doubles teams which appeared to play poorly on purpose to secure a more favorable position in the next phase of the event.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Summer Olympics opening ceremony takes place Friday, but the first of 5,535 hours that NBC is showing of the games begins Wednesday with qualifying rounds in women’s soccer. With so many different options, viewers need a road map to make sense of it all.
NBC is promising that every competition in London will be available to U.S. consumers live, with the bulk of them seen online.
The centerpiece of coverage will be NBC’s prime-time, 7 p.m. to midnight on most evenings, with Bob Costas as host. Given the time difference with England, all of the events will be shown on a tape-delayed basis, although particularly rabid fans will have the opportunity to see each of these events online during the day.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Olympians should have figured out one thing by now: What they can or cannot wear at the London Games has very little to do with their fashion, marketing sense or patriotism, and a whole lot to do with rules, regulations and, of course, money.
The overseers of the Olympics are protective of their brand and rings — considered one of the most recognizable logos in sports — and what the athletes wear when they’re competing has been tightly regulated, much to the chagrin of some of the games’ stars.
Take Michael Phelps, for example. He recently tweeted his dismay at no longer being allowed to wear a swimming cap bearing miniature American flags on the front and back.