Asian Cup 2004: Two quarter final matches were held. The Republic of Korea is defeated by Iran 4-3 after two Korean own goals in the second half, Iran advances to the semi-finals to face China. In the other game, Japan ties Oman after extra time 1-1 and a penalty shootout proceeds; after the first five rounds of shootout, the teams were tied 3-3, but Japan wins the 7th round to advance to the other semi-final match against Bahrain.
Asian Cup 2004: China defeats Iraq 3:0 in the first quarter final match to advance to the semi-finals stage for the first time since 1984. In the other match Uzbekistan is defeated by Bahrain in penalties 4:3, after an aet result of 2:2; This ends Uzbekistan's hopeful run at the Asian Cup.
Boxing: In a major upset, Mike Tyson gets knocked out in four rounds by journeyman Danny Williams. In the same undercard, Nelson Dieppa defends his WBO world Jr. Flyweight title with a twelve round majority decision over Ulises Solis , and Laila Ali defeats Monica Nunez by a knockout in nine rounds.(Boxing Central)
Canoe polo: During the weekend of 24 to 25 July, the Netherlands defeated Germany 5-4 in the final of the canoe polo 2004 world championships held in Miyoshi, Japan. In the first half of the final the Dutch dominated and this resulted in a score of 3-1 by half time. The perseverance of the German team was strong and they fought back to a score of 3-3. Just ten seconds before half time Jeroen Dieperink scored for the Dutch. Because of this setback Germany had to play a more offensive game in the second half. Two minutes before the end of the match Wouter Ottjes scored the winning goal for the Netherlands.
Copa America: In the final match Brazil defeat Argentina by 4 goals to 2 after a penalty shoot-out, the teams being tied 2 - 2 at the end of normal play. (BBC)
Tour de France: In a dominating performance in the last individual time trial in and around Besançon, Lance Armstrong scores his fifth stage win of the 2004 Tour, putting an exclamation point on a virtually certain sixth consecutive Tour win. Jan Ullrich finishes second in the stage, 1:01 behind. Andreas Klöden moves up to second overall and Ivan Basso stays ahead of Ullrich for third; this will be the first time that Ullrich has finished off the podium in seven Tours. (ESPN)
NBA: In a key development involving the upcoming trial of Kobe Bryant on sexual assault charges, Colorado District Judge Terry Ruckriegle has ruled that details of the sex life of Bryant's accuser in the three days before her July 1, 2003 hospital examination can be admitted as evidence in the trial. (ESPN)
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins Stage 17 at Le Grand Bornand, the first time anyone has won three successive mountain stages since Gino Bartali in 1948, and now looks unbeatable barring a major accident before next Sunday's finish in Paris. Richard Virenque amasses an unbeatable points total for his seventh King of the Mountains title. (LeTour)
An unnamed high-ranking official of the Tour de France states that American cyclist Lance Armstrong will not compete in the 2005 Tour preferring to ride in either Italy's or Spain's national tour. Bill Stapleton, Armstrong's agent, and Dan Osipow, communication director, deny the report. (NYT)
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins Stage 15 at Villard-de-Lans and takes the overall lead in the race. Ivan Basso, who finished second in the stage, moves into second place overall, 1:25 back. (ESPN)
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins the 13th stage at Plateau de Beille, dropping almost all of his main rivals. French rider Thomas Voeckler retains the yellow jersey, but his margin over Armstrong has shrunk to 22 seconds. Italy's Ivan Basso, who was the only rider to stay with Armstrong today, is third overall. (ESPN) During the stage, American rider Tyler Hamilton withdraws from the race due to severe back pain. (NBC Sports)
The St. Louis Blues' Mike Danton pleads guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, involving an unsuccessful plan to hire a hitman to kill his agent. (CBC)
Major League Soccer: The league announces that a new franchise based in Salt Lake City will begin play in the 2005 season. Along with a previously announced expansion franchise owned by Mexican club Chivas, called Chivas U.S.A. , this will bring the total number of MLS teams to 12. (ESPN Soccernet)
NASCAR: Tony Stewart wins the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway that was marred by a fight between the pit crews of Stewart and Kasey Kahne stemming from a crash involving the two on lap 127. Kahne's crew chief, Tommy Baldwin, was later fined US $10,000 for his role in the altercation. (ESPN)(ESPN)
The Los Angeles Lakers announce Rudy Tomjanovich as their new coach, confirming reports from the previous day. Details of the contract were not announced, but the deal is reportedly for 5 years and $30 million. (ESPN)
Tour de France: Early in Stage 6, Lance Armstrong crashes along with several other riders. Armstrong suffered a minor scrape of one leg, but was not otherwise hurt, and soon rejoined the peleton. He and major rival Jan Ullrich completely avoided a second crash near the finish that involved all but about 30 riders. There were no major changes to the overall classification. (ESPN)
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong relinquishes the overall lead after a wind- and rain-swept Stage 5. The peleton, which included Armstrong and all his key competitors, gave up over 12 minutes to a five-man breakaway. The riders in the breakaway are not considered to be threats to win the Tour. (ESPN)
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong takes the overall lead after the Stage 4 team time trial of the Tour de France. Six of the top seven places in the general classification are occupied by members of Armstrong's US Postal Service team. Armstrong's nearest major contender, Phonak team leader and former teammate Tyler Hamilton, is in eighth, 36 seconds back. (ESPN)
Euro 2004: Greece win the final, defeating host nation Portugal 1-0. It's the first major football championship triumph for Greece, and a surprise result. (BBC)(ESPN)
In the men's doubles, Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman defend their title by defeating Julian Knowles and Nenad Zimonjic 6-1 6-4 4-6 6-4. Woodbridge has now won nine doubles titles at Wimbledon, a new record. (BBC)
Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs win the women's doubles, defeating Ai Sugiyama and Liezel Huber 6-3 7-6 (7-5). (BBC)
Wayne Black and his sister Cara Black defeat Todd Woodbridge and Alicia Molik 3-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 in the final of the mixed doubles. (BBC)
IRL: Buddy Rice wins the Argent Mortgage Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway by .0051 seconds over Vitor Meira . It is the second-closest finish in IRL history. (ESPN)
Tour de France: Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara wins the first time trial at the Tour de France to secure the yellow jersey. Lance Armstrong finishes second in the first day of racing. (ESPN)
Cycling: British cyclist David Millar is suspended from competition by British Cycling, including the Olympic Games, following a confession to a French investigating magistrate that he had taken the hormone EPO. He had previously been banned from participating in the Tour de France which begins on Saturday. (BBC)
Former NBA center Manute Bol is seriously injured in a major car accident. The 43-year-old Sudanese-American activist susatined a broken neck and his immediate condition was unannounced. (ESPN)
BSN Finals: The Coamo Marathon Runners tie the best of seven series in game six, defeating the Ponce Lions, 101-72, in a game filled with protests by the Lions, who turned their backs on the local Runners' fans, the game's referees and the rival team during most of the fourth quarter, almost causing a riot. The Lions are fined a total of 12,000 dollars in fines.(BSNPR.COM in Spanish)
