WATCH LIVE: U.S.-Italy at IPC World Sled Hockey Championship — 2 p.m. ET

By Nick ZaccardiApr 29, 2015, 1:00 PM EDT

The U.S. looks to clinch a berth in the IPC World Sled Hockey Championship semifinals in its final group-stage game against Italy on Wednesday (2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Live Extra).

The U.S. is 2-0, atop its group after 6-1 and 7-0 wins over Russia and Germany, respectively. Russia finished group play 2-1, while Italy is at 1-1. The top two teams from the four-nation group advance to the semifinals Friday.

The U.S. beat Russia 1-0 in the Sochi 2014 Paralympic final but has never won a World Championship on home ice.

Defending World champion Canada appears to be the class of the other group, with 17-0 and 5-0 shutouts of Japan and Norway in its first two games.

WATCH LIVE — U.S.-Italy — 2 p.m. ET

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Date	Coverage	Network	Time (ET)
Wednesday	Preliminary Group B – Germany vs. Russia	NBC Sports Live Extra	10:30 a.m.
	Preliminary Group B – Italy vs. Team USA	NBC Sports Live Extra	2 p.m.
	Preliminary Group A – Czech Republic vs. Canada	NBC Sports Live Extra	5:30 p.m.
	Preliminary Group A – Japan vs. Norway	NBC Sports Live Extra	9 p.m.
	Preliminary Group B – Italy vs. Team USA *	NBCSN	10:30 p.m.
Thursday	Qualifying Round – TBA	NBC Sports Live Extra	4:30 p.m.
	Qualifying Round – TBA	NBC Sports Live Extra	8 p.m.
Friday	Semifinal Round – TBA	NBC Sports Live Extra	4:30 p.m.
	Semifinal Round – TBA	NBC Sports Live Extra	8 p.m.
	Semifinal Round – TBA*	NBCSN	10:30 p.m.
Saturday	Qualifying Round – TBA	NBC Sports Live Extra	4:30 p.m.
	Qualifying Round – TBA	NBC Sports Live Extra	8 p.m.
Sunday	Bronze Medal Game	NBC Sports Live Extra	11 a.m.
	Gold Medal Game	NBCSN	2:30 p.m.

*denotes same-day delay

U.S. women’s basketball team, statistically greatest ever, rolls to FIBA World Cup title

By OlympicTalkOct 1, 2022, 6:38 AM EDT

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The revamped U.S. women’s basketball team may have been the greatest of all time.

The Americans completed, statistically, their most dominant global championship ever by routing China 83-61 in the FIBA World Cup final on Saturday in Sydney — giving them 60 consecutive wins between the Olympics and worlds dating to 2006.

It marked the largest margin of victory in a World Cup final since the event converted from a fully round-robin format in 1983.

For the tournament, the U.S. drubbed its opponents by an average of 40.75 points per game, beating its previous record between the Olympics and worlds of 37.625 points from the 2008 Beijing Games. It was just off the 1992 U.S. Olympic men’s Dream Team’s legendary margin 43.8 points per game. This U.S. team scored 98.75 points per game, its largest at worlds since 1994.

“We came here on a mission, a business trip,” tournament MVP A’ja Wilson said in a post-game press conference before turning to coach Cheryl Reeve. “We played pretty good, I think, coach.”

Since the U.S. won a seventh consecutive Olympic title in Tokyo, Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles retired. Tina Charles ceded her national team spot to younger players. Brittney Griner was detained in Russia (and still is). Diana Taurasi suffered a WNBA season-ending quad injury that ruled her out of World Cup participation (who knows if the 40-year-old Taurasi will play for the U.S. again).

Not only that, but Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx succeeded Dawn Staley as head coach, implementing a new up-tempo system.

“There was probably great concern, and maybe around the world they kind of looked at it and said, ‘Hey, now is the time to get the USA,'” Reeve said Saturday.

The U.S. response was encapsulated by power forward Alyssa Thomas, the oldest player on the roster at age 30 who made the U.S. team for the first time in her career, started every game and was called the team’s glue and MVP going into the final.

Wilson and Tokyo Olympic MVP Breanna Stewart were the leaders. Guard Kelsey Plum, a Tokyo Olympic 3×3 player, blossomed this past WNBA season and was third in the league’s MVP voting. She averaged the most minutes on the team, scored 15.8 points per game and had 17 in the final.

“The depth of talent that we have was on display,” Reeve said. “What I am most pleased about was the trust and buy-in.”

For the first time since 1994, no player on the U.S. roster was over the age of 30, creating a scary thought for the 2024 Paris Olympics: the Americans could get even better.

“When you say best-ever, I’m always really cautious with that, because, obviously, there are great teams,” Reeve said when asked specifically about the team’s defense. “This group was really hard to play against.”

Earlier Saturday, 41-year-old Australian legend Lauren Jackson turned back the clock with a 30-point performance off the bench in her final game as an Opal, a 95-65 victory over Canada for the bronze. Jackson, who came out of a six-year retirement and played her first major tournament since the 2012 Olympics, had her best scoring performance since the 2008 Olympics.

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2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup schedule, results

By OlympicTalkOct 1, 2022, 6:05 AM EDT

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The U.S. women’s basketball team won its fourth consecutive title at the FIBA World Cup in Sydney — and eighth global gold in a row overall when including the Olympics.

A’ja Wilson, a two-time WNBA MVP, and Breanna Stewart, the Tokyo Olympic MVP, headlined a U.S. roster that, for the first time since 2000, included neither Sue Bird (retired) nor Diana Taurasi (injured).

The new-look team had nobody over the age of 30 for the first time since 1994, before the U.S. began its dynasty at the 1996 Atlanta Games. The Americans have won 60 consecutive games between worlds and the Olympics dating to the 2006 Worlds bronze-medal game.

The U.S. beat China in the final, while host Australia took bronze to send 41-year-old Lauren Jackson into retirement.

Nigeria, which played the U.S. the closest of any foe in Tokyo (losing by nine points), wasn’t present after its federation withdrew the team over governance issues. Spain, ranked second in the world, failed to qualify.

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2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup Schedule, Results

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Round
Wed., Sept. 21	8:30 p.m.	Puerto Rico 82, Bosnia and Herzegovina 58	Group A
	9:30 p.m.	USA 87, Belgium 72	Group A
	11 p.m.	Canada 67, Serbia 60	Group B
Thurs., Sept. 22	12 a.m.	Japan 89, Mali 56	Group B
	3:30 a.m.	China 107, South Korea 44	Group A
	6:30 a.m.	France 70, Australia 57	Group B
	8:30 p.m.	USA 106, Puerto Rico 42	Group A
	10 p.m.	Serbia 69, Japan 64	Group B
	11 p.m.	Belgium 84, South Korea 61	Group A
Fri., Sept. 23	12:30 a.m.	China 98, Bosnia and Herzegovina 51	Group A
	4 a.m.	Canada 59, France 45	Group B
	6:30 a.m.	Australia 118, Mali 58	Group B
Sat., Sept. 24	12:30 a.m.	USA 77, China 63	Group A
	4 a.m.	South Korea 99, Bosnia and Herzegovina 66	Group A
	6:30 a.m.	Belgium 68, Puerto Rico 65	Group A
Sun., Sept. 25	12:30 a.m.	France 74, Mali 59	Group B
	4 a.m.	Australia 69, Serbia 54	Group B
	6:30 a.m.	Canada 70, Japan 56	Group B
	9:30 p.m.	Belgium 85, Bosnia and Herzegovina 55	Group A
	11:30 p.m.	Serbia 81, Mali 68	Group B
Mon., Sept. 26	12 a.m.	USA 145, South Korea 69	Group A
	2 a.m.	France 67, Japan 53	Group B
	3:30 a.m.	China 95, Puerto Rico 60	Group A
	6:30 a.m.	Australia 75, Canada 72	Group B
	9:30 p.m.	Puerto Rico 92, South Korea 73	Group A
	11:30 p.m.	China 81, Belgium 55	Group A
Tues., Sept. 27	12 a.m.	USA 121, Bosnia and Herzegovina 59	Group A
	2 a.m.	Canada 88, Mali 65	Group B
	3:30 a.m.	Serbia 68, France 62	Group B
	6:30 a.m.	Australia 71, Japan 54	Group B
Wed., Sept. 28	10 p.m.	USA 88, Serbia 55	Quarterfinals
Thurs., Sept. 29	12:30 a.m.	Canada 79, Puerto Rico 60	Quarterfinals
	4 a.m.	China 85, France 71	Quarterfinals
	6:30 a.m.	Australia 86, Belgium 69	Quarterfinals
Fri., Sept. 30	3 a.m.	USA 83, Canada 43	Semifinals
	5:30 a.m.	China 61, Australia 59	Semifinals
	11 p.m.	Australia 95, Canada 65	Third-Place Game
Sat., Oct. 1	2 a.m.	USA 83, China 61	Gold-Medal Game

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