50 years. He was the primary coach for 1982 worl

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Baseball and softball are returning to the Olympics in 2020, while skateboarding, surfing, karate and sport climbing are joining the games for the first time.The IOC approved the addition of the sports Wednesday for the Tokyo Games, calling it an innovative mix of traditional and youth-oriented events that will attract Japanese and global fans.The five, including a combined baseball-softball bid, were put forward for inclusion last year by Tokyo organizers. Under new IOC rules, host cities can propose additional sports for their own games.IOC members voted unanimously to accept the five sports as a package. The approval was for the Tokyo Games only.The new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes to the program. The Tokyo Games will now feature 33 sports and about 11,000 athletes, compared to the usual number of 28 sports and 10,500 athletes.While mens baseball and womens softball -- both highly popular in Japan -- will be returning after a 12-year absence, the other sports will be making their Olympic debuts.The IOC called it the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic program in modern history.Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games, IOC President Thomas Bach said.Baseball and softball have been off the Olympic program since the 2008 Beijing Games. The two were rejected in separate bids to return for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, so they combined forces to put forward a single bid for inclusion in Tokyo.Mens baseball was a full part of the Olympic program from 1992 to 2008, with womens softball joining in 1996. The IOC voted them both out in 2005.Baseball will have a six-team tournament, short of the eight-team format sought by officials from the sports international federation. Womens softball will also have six teams. The games will be played at a shared venue In Yokohama.Todays historic decision by the IOC is a `home run for the Olympics, our sport and the Tokyo 2020 Games, said Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation.Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred also welcomed the IOC vote.Baseball and softball are global sports that belong in the Olympics, he said, adding that their approval will allow fans throughout the world to again enjoy baseball and softball on the Olympic stage.Craig Cress, executive director of USA Softball, said many young players had suffered after the sport was removed from the games.Their hearts were broken that they werent allowed to participate for their country at the Olympics in the sport that they had a passion for, he said. Now, thats back. In 2020, its our job as ambassadors of the sport to put on a great show in Tokyo.Before the vote, several IOC members questioned whether baseball would have the worlds top players at the games. While pro leagues in Japan and some other countries have agreed to shut down their seasons to send their players to the Olympics, MLB has declined to do so.Franco Carraro, who chairs the IOCs program commission, said he hopes the international federation can still reach an agreement with MLB, in line with the deals with the NBA and NHL that brought pro basketball and ice hockey players into the Olympics.If not, Carraro said, said it will be difficult for baseball to be included in the future beyond the Tokyo Games.Fraccari said talks with MLB are very open and going in a very good way.Our goal is not to appear one time but to be permanently in the program, he said. The goal is to have the best players possible.Skateboarding will have street and park events, and feature 80 athletes -- 40 men and 40 women. In climbing, 40 competitors will take part in the disciplines of speed, bouldering and lead (also known as sport). Karate will have 80 athletes competing in mens and womens Kumite and Kata events, while surfing will have two shortboard events for 40 competitors.The surfing competition will be held on natural waves at a beach location in Chiba prefecture.Our Olympic dream has now become a reality, International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre said. This is a game-changing moment for surfing.Skateboarding and sports climbing events will be held in temporary venues in urban settings in Tokyo, while karate will be contested at the Nippon Budokan in the capital.Ive always believed that if skateboarding was properly protected and supported, its appearance on the Olympic stage could change the world, International Skateboarding Federation president Gary Ream said.Skateboardings approval came despite tensions between rival federations.For the Olympics, a special Tokyo 2020 skateboarding commission was formed to run the sport. It is a collaboration between the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) and the ISF.A lawsuit was filed last week in California by the World Skateboarding Federation (WSF). It alleged the ISF abruptly canceled scheduled drug testing at an event last year because of fears that several riders would test positive.The lawsuit also alleged that Ream struck up a friendly relationship with Christophe Dubi, the IOC Olympic Games executive director, and provided Dubis son with free training at a skateboarding camp he owned. Custom Lions T-shirts . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. T.J. Hockenson Jersey Large .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. http://www.customlionsjersey.com/ . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Wholesale Custom Lions Shirts . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Custom Lions Jerseys . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Olympic figure skating coach Peter Burrows has been elected posthumously to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.Burrows was selected Thursday to the halls class of 2017.Burrows, who died in 2014 at age 75, was a coaching fixture in the New York metropolitan area for more than 50 years. He was the primary coach for 1982 world champion Elaine Zayak, and for 1997-98 U.S. pairs champions Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen.In 1976, Burrows worked with Dorothy Hamill prior to the Innsbruck Olympics. Although Carlo Fassi was her coach, Hamill wrote in her autobiography that Burrows played a key role in her Olympic gold medal.Burrows coached at Sport-O-Rama in Monsey, New York, where he was the executive director of figure skkating for more than 35 years.dddddddddddd He also operated the Peter Burrows Skating Center at Iceland in New Hyde Park for 19 years.The lone inductee for the Class of 2017, Burrows will enter the hall at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose.We are very pleased with the election of Peter Burrows to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, said Dr. Larry Mondschein, the halls nominating committee chair. Mr. Burrows will always be known for his love of teaching skaters at all levels and abilities. His legacy continues to live on in his former pupils who have gone on to successful coaching careers. ' ' '