Yahoo! News: Sports News
Like lightning, Bolt sets record in Olympic 200m (AP) AP - Arms churning high, face twisted in pain as he sprinted toward the finish line, Usain Bolt kept glancing at the clock. The win in the Olympic 200 meters was a given, his second gold medal of the Beijing Games assured. This was now about a world record. About racing against history.
US tops Australia 116-85 to reach basketball semis (AP) AP - Don't doubt this U.S. men's basketball team — and sure don't challenge them, either. Especially if it's going to make Kobe Bryant flash his NBA MVP form.
NASCAR hands out penalties to 7 Gibbs crew members (AP) AP - NASCAR's latest attempt to reel in the rule-breakers aimed at an unfamiliar target: the normally squeaky-clean Joe Gibbs Racing.
Griffey ties Sosa with 609th HR as White Sox roll (AP) AP - Ken Griffey Jr. hit one of Chicago's four homers to move into a tie with Sammy Sosa for fifth on the career list and the surging White Sox routed the Seattle Mariners 15-3 on Wednesday.
4 more foreign activists detained in China (AP) AP - Two elderly Chinese women who applied to hold a protest during the Olympics were ordered to spend a year in a labor camp, a relative said Wednesday. Police later squelched a pro-Tibet demonstration.
Rams RB Jackson ends holdout, but no new deal yet (AP) AP - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson ended his holdout on Wednesday while his agent continues negotiations for a new contract. Jackson, the centerpiece of the team's offense, is entering the final year of a deal he signed as a first-round pick in 2004.
Settlement reached over Sonics' Oklahoma City move (AP) AP - Clay Bennett's ownership group has reached a final settlement with the city of Seattle, allowing the former SuperSonics franchise to move to Oklahoma City.
Brewers' Manny Parra wins 1st game since July 20 (AP) AP - Manny Parra won for the first time since July 20, J.J. Hardy hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 on Wednesday.
Capello suffers as England struggle and Barwick quits (AFP) AFP - Joe Cole helped England coach Fabio Capello avoid a first Wembley defeat as his late equaliser earned a barely-deserved 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Gordon on board with Islanders, leads youth charge (AP) AP - Scott Gordon faced a probing question in the time between accepting the job as head coach of the New York Islanders and his introductory news conference.
NCAA penalizes New Mexico for football violations (AP) AP - The NCAA put New Mexico's football program on three years of probation Wednesday and cut five scholarships as punishment for academic violations involving two former assistant coaches.
Australia's Hewitt out of US tennis Open (AFP) AFP - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt said Wednesday he had withdrawn from this month's US Open after having surgery for a nagging hip injury.
Fire destroys Gary Nicklaus' home (AP) AP - A home being built for the son of Jack Nicklaus in Jupiter, Florida, has been destroyed by fire.

Yahoo! Sports - NBA News
US pulls away from Aussies, makes semis (AP) Don't doubt this U.S. men's basketball team -- and sure don't challenge them, either. Especially if it's going to make Kobe Bryant flash his NBA MVP form. Bryant scored 25 points in his best game in Beijing, and the men's U.S. Olympic team advanced to the semifinals by beating Australia 116-85 on Wednesday night.
Gasol leads Spain into Olympic semis (AP) Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol scored 20 points to lead world champion Spain to a 72-59 win against Croatia Wednesday in men's basketball. Felipe Reyes added 13 points for Spain, while Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon added 10. Gasol also had a game-high 10 rebounds. Marko Banic had 15 points to lead Croatia.
Ratliff returns to Sixers 7 years later (AP) Theo Ratliff returned to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, seven years after he was traded from the team during its run to the NBA Finals. The 35-year-old Ratliff played 26 games for Minnesota and Detroit and appeared in 12 of the Pistons' 17 playoff games. Terms of Ratliff's deal with the Sixers weren't disclosed.
Oklahoma City waives F Donyell Marshall (AP) Forward Donyell Marshall won't be making the move to Oklahoma City with the Seattle SuperSonics. The 14-year NBA veteran was waived Wednesday by the Oklahoma City franchise, which still hasn't been renamed after its relocation last month. Marshall was acquired by the franchise from Cleveland in a three-team trade in February that sent Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace to the Cavaliers.
Final settlement reached for Sonics move (AP) The championship banners and trophies from the SuperSonics' best days will be staying in Seattle. But the flat screen TV in the coaches' locker room, that is going to Oklahoma City. The city of Seattle and Clay Bennett's ownership group have divvied up the artifacts of the NBA's past in the Pacific Northwest, with the details outlined in a settlement obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
76ers re-sign Iguodala for reported $80M (AP) Andre Iguodala, who helped the Philadelphia 76ers reach the playoffs for the first time in three years, was rewarded Monday with the official announcement of a six-year contract worth a reported $80 million. "We felt like he had a very good track record to warrant a contract like that," Sixers president Ed Stefanski said.
Stern wants NBA-affiliated China league (AP) NBA commissioner David Stern is intrigued by the question buzzing around the Beijing Games: Who would win a match-up between the 1992 Dream Team and the 2008 Redeem Team? "I'd actually pay to buy a ticket for that one," Stern said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. And though he wouldn't pick a winner, he seemed to favor the frontcourt of the 1992 team.