ng that hes open to pitching in relief against the Dodgers if needed. Im ready. The last game is on Sunday and if they give me the ball Ill take (it).Cono

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Wednesday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- RIO DE JANEIRO -- Unlike the last four Olympics, Michael Phelps will be taking part in the opening ceremony. And hell have something to carry. Phelps was selected by his fellow athletes as the U.S. flag bearer, giving him the honor of leading the American delegation into Maracana Stadium. SENT: 700 words, photos.- BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Seeking its fourth straight Olympic gold medal, the U.S. womens soccer team debuts against New Zealand at the Rio Games. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos. Starts 8 p.m.- A new report by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport on the breakdown of leadership in international sports is released days before the start of the Rio Olympics. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos.- RIO DE JANEIRO -- IOC votes on the proposed addition of five sports for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- baseball/softball, skateboarding, surfing, karate and sport climbing. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos, video after 4 p.m.- NEW YORK -- After a split in Queens, the Subway Series shifts to the Bronx. Steven Matz (8-7) starts for the Mets and Chad Green (1-2) for the Yankees after taking over the rotation slot of traded Ivan Nova. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Starts 7:05 p.m.- BALTIMORE -- A matchup of division leaders pits the Rangers and 12-game winner Cole Hamels against the Orioles and Kevin Gausman. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Starts 7:05 p.m.- CHICAGO -- Miamis Ichiro Suzuki remains two hits shy of 3,000 when the Cubs look for a three-game sweep of the Marlins. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Starts 2:20 p.m.- OAKLAND, Calif. -- Ken Stabler built a Hall of Fame career on moments more than raw numbers. By Josh Dubow. SENT: 750 words, photos.- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Led by veterans like Donta Hightower and Rob Ninkovich, the Patriots have been able to maintain a defense that ranked among the top in the AFC in 2015. A year later, its a top priority again for an aging corps. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 4 p.m.- FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Falcons newly signed pass-rush star Dwight Freeney is expected to make his practice debut. Freeney could serve as a mentor for second-year player Vic Beasley Jr. UPCOMING: 550 words, photos by 4 p.m.- LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska prepares to begin preseason practice less than a week after the funeral of All-Big Ten punter Sam Foltz, who died in a car accident July 23. UPCOMING: 600 words by 4 p.m., photos.- RALEIGH, N.C. -- While North Carolina has responded to NCAA charges on largely jurisdictional and procedural grounds, the former faculty member and womens basketball academic counselor charged in the case is pushing back in her own filed response by saying shes done nothing wrong. UPCOMING: 650 words by 3 p.m.- CROMWELL, Conn. -- The TPC River Highlands golf course has undergone a minor facelift in advance of this weeks Travelers Championship. UPCOMING: 500 words by 5 p.m. Carlos Zambrano Cubs Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Billy Williams Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/ . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. Jose Quintana Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Jason Heyward Jersey . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. SAN FRANCISCO -- The up-and-down Giants are going down to the wire in a bid to keep their even-year magic going.With three games left, manager Bruce Bochys ballclub is sandwiched between the Mets and Cardinals in the race for the two NL wild-card spots with two games separating the three teams.Its not exactly how Bochy envisioned it, not after the Giants went into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors. Given the alternative, however, San Franciscos skipper certainly isnt complaining.We certainly wish we were in a better position but you dont stop fighting, Bochy said following San Franciscos 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night. It is what it is as far as our situation that we created. We know that.The Giants -- who won the World Series in 2010, 12 and 14 -- are one game behind the idle Mets and one game ahead of St. Louis. The Cardinals beat Cincinnati on Thursday.San Francisco hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Friday, the Cardinals play Pittsburgh at home and the Mets close out the regular season in Philadelphia.I dont know whats going to happen but theyll keep fighting and well see what happens, Bochy said.Johnny Cueto pitched seven uneven innings for his 18th win to help set up the wild race to the finish.Cueto (18-5) overcame a shaky start in his first appearance since being sidelined more than a week with a groin strain. The All-Star right-hander matched his season high of 11 strikeouts, allowed two runs, nine hits and walked one to beat the Colorado for the third time this season.After we took the lead I just got focused on what I needed to do, Cueto said through an interpreter, adding that hes open to pitching in relief against the Dodgers if needed. Im ready. The last game is on Sunday and if they give me the ball Ill take (it).Conor Gillaspie, Angel Pagan and Brandon Crawford had two hits apiece to help the Giants bounce back after getting shut out a night earlier.Nolan Arenado had two hits and ann RBI for Colorado, which was eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend and has dropped eight of 10.dddddddddddd(Cueto) found his groove and he was doing his thing, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Once he gets rolling hes one of those top-of-the-rotation guys that can be tough to get to.On a night when St. Louis rallied to win on a walkoff hit in the ninth, San Francisco staged its own comeback.Arenado hit an RBI double in the first and scored on David Dahls triple to put the Rockies up 2-0.The Giants tied it with two runs in the fourth, then went ahead in the sixth with help from Colorados defense. The Rockies committed two errors, including a wild throw by third baseman Arenado on Cuetos one-out bunt single that allowed two runs to score.Colorado starter Jon Gray (10-10) allowed five runs over 5 1/3 innings and left shortly after he appeared to get hit in the right ankle by Crawfords line drive in the sixth.It hurt pretty bad but Ill be all right. Nothing serious, Gray said.TAKING NO CHANCESBochy used four relievers to record the final six outs. One-time closer Santiago Casilla was not among them. Instead, Sergio Romo pitched the ninth and retired Charles Blackmon on a fly ball to end it. Youre in a situation where you have to win now, Bochy said.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: INF Eduardo Nunez is making slight progress from a mild hamstring strain but could still miss the wild-card round of the playoffs if San Francisco makes it that far. Nunez has not played since Sept. 25.UP NEXTRockies: RHP Chad Bettis (13-8) makes his final start of the season against Milwaukee on Friday. Seven of Bettis wins this season have come at Coors Field.Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (14-9) pitches the series opener against the Dodgers on Friday night. Bumgarner is winless over his previous four starts and has a 4.21 ERA during that span. ' ' '