Olympic Weekend Preview: July 6, 2012

With 21 days remaining until the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games, most of the U.S. Olympic Team spots are now secure. However, USA Basketball will name its men’s Olympic team Saturday, and several other elite U.S. athletes are competing around the globe. Check out the Olympic Weekend Preview for all the details.

BASKETBALL

USA Basketball Men’s National Team training and Olympic selection camp, July 5-12, Las Vegas

The 12 players who will form the U.S. Olympic Team for men’s basketball will be revealed Saturday.

USA Basketball opened its Olympic selection and training camp Thursday. The roster will be trimmed from 15 to 12, and the final roster for the London 2012 Olympic Games will be announced after practice Saturday. All nominees are subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the USOC will announce its full lineup for London on July 10.

Candidates for the squad: Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks; LeBron James, Miami Heat; Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers; Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder; Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies; Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon, New Orleans Hornets; Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers; Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers; Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves; Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets. Chris Bosh (abdominal strain) and Dwyane Wade (knee surgery) of the Miami Heat withdrew, and Lamar Odom of the Dallas Mavericks also withdrew.

The Las Vegas camp will conclude next Thursday, when the team plays the Dominican Republic in the USA Basketball Showcase at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center. The USA Men’s Select Team, featuring some of the top NBA players including 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, is training with the Olympic Team candidates.

FIBA U17 World Championship, June 29-July 8, Kaunas, Lithuania

The USA Basketball U-17 World Championship Team will face Canada on Friday in the quarterfinals of the FIBA U-17 World Championship for Men being held in Kaunas, Lithuania. The United States won all five of its preliminary round games.

If the United States (5-0) wins Friday, it would advance to semifinals Saturday against Spain or China. The medal round will be held Sunday.

Conner Frankamp of Wichita North (Kan.) High School scored a game-high 17 points in a 116-47 win over China on Wednesday. He is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points.

VOLLEYBALL

FIVB World League Final, July 5-8, Sofia, Bulgaria

The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, ranked No. 6 in the world, lost to Germany, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 16-14 on Thursday in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“It was frustrating,” U.S. coach Alan Knipe said. “If you look at the stats, in a lot of areas we had an edge. But in receptions, we didn’t, and in the most important area, the final score, we didn’t.”

Germany had previously lost to Bulgaria. The top two teams in two pools will advance to semifinal round Saturday. The medal round will take place Sunday.

The U.S. men’s team that will play in London was named earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, ranked No. 1 in the world, also was named.

1-1 Energy Grand Slam, July 4-8, Gstaad, Switzerland

Two-time Olympic beach volleyball champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their only pool play match Thursday and entered the second round as the No. 6 seeds in the FIVB Swatch World Tour 1-1 Energy Grand Slam in Gstaad, Switzerland. Four U.S. women’s teams all advanced through the round Thursday with unbeaten records, including No. 4 seeds Jen Kessy and April Ross.

U.S. Olympic Team nominees Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, the No. 1 seeds in the men's tournament, opened play Thursday with two victories. They were to meet No. 16 Jason Lochhead and Kirk Pitman of New Zealand on Friday. No. 3 seeds Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, also U.S. Olympic Team nominees, went 1-1 Thursday and were to play No. 14 Sebastian Dollinger and Stefan Windscheif of Germany in pool play Friday.

Also in volleyball:

NORCECA Boys’ Youth (U-19) Continental Championship, July 2-7, Tijuana, Mexico

USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships, July 1-8, Dallas

SHOOTING

USA Shooting National Championships for Shotgun, June 28-July 8, Colorado Springs

Men’s and women’s trap take the spotlight for the final four days of the USA Shooting National Championships for Shotgun. The event continues through Sunday at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs.

Three-time Olympian Lance Bade, Jake Turner, Collin Wietfeldt and defending national champion Matt Gossett are among the contenders in men’s trap. Kayle Browning, Kelsey Zauhar, Miranda Wilder and Rachael Heiden will be among the top women’s shooters. Olympic Team nominee Corey Cogdell skipped the event to train on her own for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The top three shooters will be named to the USA Shooting National Team.

On Tuesday, 19-year-old Billy Crawford won his first national title, defeating 2012 Olympic Team nominee Josh Richmond by one target in the finals of the men’s double trap.

TENNIS

Wimbledon, June 25-July 8, London

Serena Williams, a gold medalist at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and a nominee for the London 2012 Olympic Games, will play for her fifth Wimbledon women‘s championship Saturday against Agnieszka Radwanska. Williams, the No. 6 seed, is in the Wimbledon final for the seventh time. She defeated No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, 6-3, 7-6 in the semifinals.

“I‘ve been working so hard and I really, I really wanted it,” Williams said.

Serena and her sister, Venus Williams, will bid for their sixth doubles crown at Wimbledon after reaching their ninth final with a victory over Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, Jonny Murray and partner Freddie Nielsen upset defending Wimbledon champions and U.S. Olympians Mike and Bob Bryan, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9), 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

SOFTBALL

Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship, July 4-9, Surrey, B.C., Canada

The USA Softball Women’s National Team will play Friday against New Zealand, and Saturday against Canada and Japan in the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship in Surrey, British Columbia. The playoffs are scheduled for Sunday, followed by the medal round Monday.

Team USA won its first three games in the tournament, including 8-0 over Puerto Rico and 7-0 over Australia on Thursday. Michelle Moultrie drove in Stacy May-Johnson with the winning run in the ninth inning Wednesday, giving the United States a 5-4 win over Venezuela in its opening game.

The United States is coming off its sixth title at the World Cup of Softball. Samantha Fischer drove in two runs with a double, and Jackie Traina, Jordan Taylor and Keilani Ricketts combined for a 3-0 shutout of Australia in the championship game Monday in Oklahoma City, Okla.

TRIATHLON

ITU World Cup, July 8, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Manuel Huerta, Jarrod Shoemaker and Kevin McDowell lead the USA Triathlon men’s team into Sunday’s ITU World Cup event in Edmonton, Alberta. Lindsey Jerdonek will compete in the women’s race.

WATER POLO

U.S. Olympic Women’s Water Polo Team vs. Hungary, July 6 and 8, San Diego and Newport Beach, Calif.

The U.S. Olympic Women’s Water Polo Team will play Hungary in a pair of exhibition matches Friday at the University of California-San Diego and Sunday at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif. Team USA defeated Hungary in the first two matches of the series, 17-8 on Monday in Palo Alto and 14-8 on Wednesday at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos.

Heather Petri scored three goals for Team USA in Wednesday’s victory. The four-game series is a final tune-up for the London 2012 Olympic Games for the U.S. squad, which won gold at the 2012 FINA World League Super Final.

CYCLING

USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships, July 5-8, Ketchum, Idaho

Helene Drumm (Category 1 women), Chris Jackson (Category 1 men), Ty Kady (30-and-over men) and David Poole (Para-handcycle) were among cyclists winning Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in short track cross-country Thursday, the first day of competition in the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships. The four-day event is being held at Sun Valley in Ketchum, Idaho.

More than 1,000 of the nation’s best cross-country riders, ranging in age from 10 to over 70, are competing for national titles in cross-country, short track cross-country and Super-D. Contenders in the pro races include 2012 U.S. Olympic Team nominees Lea Davison, Georgia Gould (bronze medalist at last week’s World Cup Windham), Sam Schultz, Todd Wells, Michael Broderick, Spencer Paxson, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Stephen Ettinger.

Jill Behlen, the 2011 U-23 women’s champion, is back to defend her crown against a field that includes AliciaRose Pastore of the BMC Mountain Bike Development Team.

Also in cycling:

Tour de France, June 30-July 22, France

ROWING

USRowing Non-Olympic Senior World Championship Trials, July 9-11, West Windsor, N.J.

Competition begins Monday in the USRowing Non-Olympic Senior World Championship Trials on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Winners qualify for the World Championships to be held in Bulgaria. The Junior World Championship Trials will be held the same days on Mercer Lake.

GYMNASTICS

U.S. Elite National Championships, tumbling and trampoline, July 5-8, Long Beach, Calif.

Alexi Shostak and Louis Prejean won the junior men’s synchronized competition, and Ginger Hansen and Andrea Ghanian won the junior women’s synchronized competition on the trampoline on the opening day of the U.S. Elite National Championships in Long Beach, Calif. The competition continues through Sunday.

Also in gymnastics:

Junior Olympic National Championships, trampoline and tumbling, July 4-11, Long Beach, Calif.

BASEBALL

USA Baseball Collegiate National Team vs. Cuba, July 5-9, Havana, Cuba

Michael Conforto hit a grand slam Thursday, helping to lead the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team to a 4-3 victory over Cuba in the first of a five-game exhibition series in Havana, Cuba. The teams will also play Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Also in baseball:

16U Cup, July 6-8, National Training Complex, Cary, N.C.

ROLLER SPORTS

FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships, June 30-July 14, Bucaramanga, Colombia

The USA Roller Sports Women’s Team won its first five games in the FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships and will play Spain and Mexico on Friday.

TRACK AND FIELD

USATF National Club Track & Field Championships, July 6-7, Omaha

Competition will be held Friday and Saturday in the USATF National Club Track & Field Championships in Omaha. Burke High School is hosting the meet.

Also in track and field:

NACAC U-23 Championships, July 6-8, Guanajuato, Mexico

Samsung Diamond League, July 6, Paris

BOXING

Veles Cup, July 7-21, Kurgan, Russia

Competition begins Saturday in the Veles Cup. USA Boxing will be represented by champions in 13 Junior Olympic weight classes, from 101 to 189-plus pounds.

FENCING

USA Fencing National Championships, June 28-July 7, Anaheim, Calif.

Competition continues through Sunday in the USA Fencing National Championships, which are being held at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center. Remaining divisions include U-19 men’s saber and women’s foil Friday, U-19 men’s epee and women’s foil Saturday, and U-16 women’s foil and men’s saber Sunday.

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Paul D. Bowker is a freelance contributor for TeamUSA.org. Material from various news services and press releases from National Governing Bodies was used to compile this report. This story was not subject to the approval of any National Governing Bodies.