Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EDT on Thursday, Sept. 5
Sept. 5 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427 - - - - TENNIS U.S. Open, Flushing Meadows, N.Y. (to Sept 9) Murray, Djokovic try to set semi-finals date NEW YORK - Defending champion Andy Murray takes on ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, and top-seeded Novak Djokovic, the 2012 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, plays 21st seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in semi-finals that could produce a rematch of last year's U.S. Open men's final. (TENNIS-OPEN/ (PIX), expect by 2130 GMT/5:30 PM ET, by Larry Fine, Simon Evans and Will Swanton, 700 words) - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Let's Get Ready to Rumble: Baltimore at Denver DENVER - Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos' vaunted passing attack tackles the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and a new-look defense in the 2013 regular-season opener. (FBN-BRONCOS-RAVENS-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect by 0325 GMT/11:25 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Dennis Georgatos, 750 words) - - Week 1 matchups, analysis Detailed breakdown of all Week 1 games, including the return of Robert Griffin III on "Monday Night Football", the latest installment of Cowboys-Giants - New York has never lost in the Cowboys' new stadium - and the battle of NFC heavyweights Green Bay and San Francisco. All previews include these sections: Gameplan, Keys to the Game, Matchup to Watch, Spotlight player, Fast facts and Who Wins. (FBN-PACKERS-49ERS-NEWS/, expect by 1820 GMT/2:20 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words per game). Slug convention is specific to matchup, for example, FBN-COWBOYS-GIANTS-NEWS/, for Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants) - - NFC roster analysis Breaking down every roster for all 16 NFC teams, unit-by-unit, entering Week 1. (FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS/, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 850 words) Slug convention is specific to 16 NFC teams, for example, FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS, for Dallas Cowboys roster analysis. Coming Friday: AFC roster analysis - - Eagles' Cooper in practice fight with CB Williams Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper and cornerback Cary Williams are involved in a practice tussle. Williams was highly critical of Cooper's racist comments captured on video; Cooper says after practice today's dust-up was much ado about nothing. (FBN-EAGLES-NEWS/ (UPDATE 2), moved; will be led, The Sports Xchange, 325 words) - - Harbaugh asks league to look at 'targeting threats' Coach Jim Harbaugh isn't pleased to hear Green Bay Packers players, specifically Clay Matthews, discuss the need to put hits on quarterback Colin Kaepernick to slow down the San Francisco 49ers' read-option offense. (FBN-49ers-PACKERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 365 words) - - Bills' safety Byrd wants out of Buffalo A holdout and a foot injury have kept Jairus Byrd away from the field in Buffalo. But the franchise player reportedly wants to relocate permanently and is requesting a trade. (FBN-BILLS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 200 words) - - NFL notebook The latest news and notes from around the league. (FBN-NOTES/, expect by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - - - COLLEGE FOOTBALL Top 25 game previews Previewing the big games in the weekend ahead. (FBC-OHIOSTATE-SANDIEGOSTATE-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) NOTE: Previews to move for all games involving teams in the AP Top 25 rankings. Expect all previews by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET. - - CFB notebook The latest news and notes from around the nation. (FBC-NOTES/, expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL The Sports Xchange covers all MLB games, top matchups highlighted below - - Diamondbacks keep close tabs on left-hander Corbin PHOENIX - Left-hander Patrick Corbin is scheduled to pitch Friday night in San Francisco, and the Diamondbacks plan to scrutinize his outing carefully, wary of jeopardizing his future. (BBO-DIAMONDBACKS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 375 words) - - Twins' Presley takes center stage MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Twins center fielder Alex Presley is in the spotlight, not just because he is the face of the trade that sent longtime fan favorite Justin Morneau to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, but because he was immediately inserted into the starting as the leadoff batter. So far he has deserved the attention. (BBO-TWINS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Another go 'round for Mo? NEW YORK -- New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi plans to speak with Mariano Rivera a month or two after the season ends to make sure the closer is set on retiring. (BBO-YANKEES-NEWS/, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Red Sox at Yankees NEW YORK - The New York Yankees swept three games from the Chicago White Sox and remain in the hunt for a wild-card playoff spot in the American League. They can make up ground in the AL East race beginning Thursday with a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. (BBO-YANKEES-REDSOX-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect by 0200 GMT/10 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Larry Fleisher, 700 words) - - Cardinals at Reds CINCINNATI - Matt Adams, who homered twice in extra innings to propel St. Louis to a win in 16 innings on Wednesday, and the St. Louis Cardinals meet the Cincinnati Reds for the final time this season. (BBO-REDS-CARDINALS-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect by 0200 GMT/10 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Jeff Wallner, 700 words) - - Around the Horn highlights Cardinals look to close in on division lead The St. Louis Cardinals will try to close the gap on the National League Central Division-leading Pittsburgh Pirates when they visit the Cincinnati Reds in one of seven games of the major league schedule. (BASEBALL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0430 GMT/12:30 AM ET, 300 words) - - MLB notebook The latest news and notes from around the league. (BBO-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - - - SOCCER U.S. looks for first WC qualifying win in Costa Rica The United States, riding a 12-match winning streak, can take a big step Friday toward securing a spot in next year's World Cup if it can defeat host Costa Rica, a club still angry about having lost to the Americans in a driving Denver snowstorm last March. (SOCCER-WORLD/CONCACAF (PREVIEW, PIX), expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, by Simon Evans, 450 words) - - - - AUTO RACING New Jersey not on draft F1 calendar MONZA, Italy - Mexico City looks set to host a Formula One grand prix next year for the first time since 1992 while New Jersey, whose debut was postponed this season, is again absent from a draft 21-race calendar seen by teams and broadcasters. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/CALENDAR, moved, by Alan Baldwin, 500 words) - - Nascar Driver Capsules A night race at Richmond, the final race of 26 in the regular season schedule, could be tense for Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex and Kurt Busch, who are scrambling to remain in the Cup chase. (CAR-DRIVERCAPSULES/, expect by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words per driver) - - - - BUSINESS British team switches to Nike from Adidas LONDON - Oregon-based sportswear company Nike will provide the uniforms for the British track team until 2020, winning the contract after a legal battle involving current supplier Adidas. (ATHLETICS-BRITAIN/, moved, 200 words) - - OLYMPICS Squash hopes major TV deal can help land IOC votes BUENOS AIRES - The powers behind world squash fly into Argentina to add thrust to their bid join the 2020 Olympic Games, hoping a major new broadcast deal will help land IOC votes. (OLYMPICS-SQUASH/, moved, by Ossian Shine, 550 words) - - Wu: IOC should take Games away from hosts ignoring Charter BUENOS AIRES - The International Olympic Committee should take the Games away from future host cities which ignore its Charter and discriminate against specific groups of people, senior IOC member CK Wu tells Reuters. (OLYMPICS-RUSSIA/CHARTER (INTERVIEW), moved, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words) - - Firm IOC tells India to exclude tainted officials NEW DELHI - The International Olympic Committee is rejecting India's compromise formula and insists the Asian nation must exclude tainted officials from office in order to overturn its Olympic ban. (OLYMPICS-INDIA/BAN, moved, by Amlan Chakraborty, 250 words) - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Outside the Lines Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0001 GMT/8:00 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
