Sports

The United States has never won an Olympic medal in table tennis. China has long dominated the sport, winning almost every medal since 1992. That's not likely to change at this year's Summer Olympics in London, but a group of young American women may be on their way to competing at the sport's highest levels.

Ariel Hsing, 16, already has the attributes of a fine table tennis player — quick hands, perfect balance and strong lungs. While she plays, she'll often shout "Sa!" — a meaningless word — to help relieve stress, something she's been dealing with a lot lately.

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Now, the story of a baseball gone foul. The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers were wrapping up a game in Arlington, Texas last night. And in the 8th inning, Rangers' first baseman Mitch Moreland fielded a foul ball and then tossed it into the stands. Standard operating procedure.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is still doing interviews regarding player punishments that likely will be handed down for the Saints' pay-for-hits bounty system. Goodell says he doesn't expect to issue a decision this week but says he's in the final stages of working on discipline involving the players. 

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana House has narrowly refused to extend an existing tax break given to the New Orleans Hornets that saves the team $3.7 million a year.

The extension proposed by Metairie Rep. Cameron Henry, a Republican, fell four votes short of passage in a 49-46 vote Wednesday.

The NBA team gets a tax break through the state Quality Jobs Program. Henry proposed continuing that for the length of the Hornets' new lease with the state, which is set to go through 2024.

Hockey teams wearing darker-colored jerseys are more likely to be penalized for aggressive fouls than teams wearing white jerseys, according to new research. Teams wearing black jerseys in particular get penalized the most, according to an analysis that may offer a window into the hidden psychological dynamics of the ongoing NHL playoffs.