ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss justice officials said on Thursday they had extradited to the United States an official detained in a U.S. corruption investigation into world soccer's governing body FIFA.

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice did not name the official in a brief statement following Wednesday's extradition.

A source told Reuters last week Jeffrey Webb, a former FIFA vice president and president of the CONCACAF regional soccer federation, had agreed to be extradited to the United States to face corruption charges.

"The first of the seven FIFA officials being held in custody in Switzerland was extradited to the U.S. on 15 July," the justice office said.

"He was handed over to a three-man U.S. police escort in Zurich who accompanied him on the flight to New York." 

(Reporting by Katharina Bart; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Cauterets (France) (AFP) — Tour de France leader Chris Froome has challenged his detractors to prove he has been doping before making unsubstantiated accusations against him.

The 30-year-old has had to put up with a barrage of questions about doping since a stunning victory on the Tour's 10th stage on Tuesday, when he decimated his rivals to open up an almost three-minute lead over the rest of the field.

With several other mountain stages still to come, some people believe Froome could end up winning this year's race by a landslide.

It means he's had to fend off questions about his legitimacy while someone allegedly hacked his Sky team's computers and stole some training data which was then published on the internet.

"Those people should come and see us train, see how hard we work and see how I live my life," said a defiant Froome following Wednesday's 11th stage, in which he maintained his lead.

"Then tell me I'm not clean!"

He added: "People should have some proof before they start making accusations."

A video of Froome's famous victory on Mont Ventoux during his 2013 Tour-winning year was published on the internet showing that his heart-rate remained stable at 160 beats per minute despite him accelerating away from his rivals.

Many people reacted incredulously to that, believing it to be impossible.

But Froome dismissed any such concerns.

"I've put that data out there myself in my book. I said my maximum heart-rate is only 170," said the Kenyan-born rider.

"After two weeks of the Tour on Ventoux it's quite surprising it's 160, it's normally a bit lower than that.

"That's normal, two weeks into a Grand Tour, 10 beats off my maximum when I'm going as hard as I can -- for me anyway."

Sky manager Dave Brailsford has been at pains to try to demonstrate that his team is clean but, like Froome, he said the suspicions were to be expected.

"I think with the past we've had in cycling, it's reasonable," he said.

"My job is to be here, be open, speak to everyone, take responsibility.

"We're a team trying to be at the front of everything (anti-)doping.

"It's normal that people ask questions, my job is to be here, be open and answer those questions."

Gallopin surprise

Brailsford also pointed out that the gaps between Froome and some lesser lights on Tuesday's stage were nothing to be alarmed about, quite the opposite in fact.

Tony Gallopin, a Frenchman not noted for his climbing ability, and Adam Yates, a 22-year-old Briton riding his first Tour de France, both finished just two minutes behind Froome.

But because the likes of reigning champion Vincenzo Nibali and two-time former winner Alberto Contador lost 4min 25sec and 2min 51sec respectively, tongues started wagging.

It was perhaps exacerbated amongst the locals by French hopes Jean-Christophe Peraud, Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet -- second, third and sixth respectively last year -- losing between five-and-a-half and ten minutes.

"The surprise was the performance of the others, which wasn't to the level we expected," said Brailsford.

"It's true Chris had a good day but the others weren't really on top form."

And in a pointed remark to French accusers, he added: "The big performance (on Tuesday) was Gallopin coming seventh (actually ninth, he's seventh overall). 

"He had a great performance, or young Adam Yates did great (finishing seventh). We didn't see a great Contador or Nibali but (Nairo) Quintana was ok, if not brilliant."

Quintana finished just over a minute behind Froome to leave him third overall at 3min 09sec -- maybe be leave he is the only rider with any chance of denying Froome a second Tour crown.

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Caitlyn Jenner was recognized on Wednesday evening at ESPN's annual award ceremony, the ESPYs, where she delivered a moving speech about being an athlete, a role model, and about transgender issues.

Jenner was introduced by US soccer star Abby Wambach and given the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. A 10-minute tribute to Jenner's life and athletic career played, then Jenner delivered a moving 10-minute speech reminding viewers to be accepting of others.

She also encouraged other athletes in the spotlight to take advantage of the platform they've been given and set an example for millions of people who look up to them.

"If there's one thing I do know about my life, it is the power of the spotlight," Jenner said.

"Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but with attention comes responsibility. As a group, as athletes, how you conduct your lives, what you say, what you do, is absorbed and observed by millions of people, especially young people. I know I'm clear with my responsibility going forward, to tell my story the right way, for me, to keep learning, to reshape the landscape of how trans issues are viewed, how trans people are treated. And then more broadly to promote a very simple idea: accepting people for who they are. Accepting people's differences."

Here's the full video of the speech:

And here's the full transcript:

“Wow. I have to talk after that [tribute video]?

Thank you so much. It is so wonderful to be here tonight. The last few months have been a whirlwind of so many different experiences and emotions. But to tell you the truth, it seems like every time I turn around in life, I’m putting myself in these high-pressured situations. Competing in the Games, raising a family. But I’ve never felt more pressured than I ever have in my life, than the last couple of months. Picking out this outfit — OK, girls, I get it! [Laughter.] You got to get the shoes, the hair, the makeup, the whole process. It was exhausting. And next, the fashion police — please be kind on me, I’m new at this.

“But I just want to say a quick shout out to our soccer team [applause]. Ladies, you clean up very well.

“But the real truth is, before a few months ago I had never met anybody else who was trans, who was like me. I had never met a trans person, never. Now, as you just saw, I dealt with my situation on my own in private and that turned this journey into an already incredible education.

“It’s been eye-opening, inspiring, but also frightening. All across this country, right now, all across the world, at this very moment, there are young people coming to terms with being transgender. They’re learning that they’re different and they are trying to figure out how to handle that, on top of every other problem that a teenager has.

“They’re getting bullied. They’re getting beaten up. They’re getting murdered, and they’re committing suicide. The numbers that you just heard before are staggering, but they are the reality of what it is like to be trans today.

“Just last month, the body of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson, a transgendered young woman of color, was found in a field in Mississippi stabbed to death. I also want to tell you about Sam Taub, a 15-year-old transgendered young man from Bloomfield, Michigan. In early April, Sam took his own life. Now, Sam’s story haunts me in particular because his death came just a few days before my interview with Diane Sawyer. Every time something like this happens, people wonder, ‘Could it have been different if spotlighting this issue with more attention could have changed the way things happen?’ We’ll never know.

“If there’s one thing I do know about my life, it is the power of the spotlight. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but with attention comes responsibility. As a group, as athletes, how you conduct your lives, what you say, what you do, is absorbed and observed by millions of people, especially young people. I know I’m clear with my responsibility going forward, to tell my story the right way, for me, to keep learning, to reshape the landscape of how trans issues are viewed, how trans people are treated. And then more broadly to promote a very simple idea: accepting people for who they are. Accepting people’s differences.

“My plea to you tonight is to join me in making this one of your issues as well. How do we start? We start with education. I was fortunate to meet Arthur Ashe a few times and I know how important education was to him. Learn as much as you can about another person to understand them better.

“I know the people in this room have respect for hard work, for training, for going through something difficult to achieve the outcome that you desire. I trained hard, I competed hard, and for that, people respected me.

“But this transition has been harder on me than anything I could imagine. And that’s the case for so many others besides me. For that reason alone, trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect [applause]. And from that respect comes a more compassionate community, a more empathetic society, and a better world for all of us.

“There have been so many people that have traveled this road before me. From, in sports, Renée Richards to Chaz Bono, to Laverne Cox, and many others. Janet Mock is with us tonight. And I want to thank them all publicly, and the ESPYS, and the late Arthur Ashe, for giving me this platform to start the next phase of my journey. I also want to acknowledge all the young trans athletes who are out there — given the chance to play sports as who they really are.

“And now, as of this week, it appears that trans people will soon be serving in the military. That’s a great idea. We have come a long way. But we have a lot of work to do.

“I’d like to thank, personally, my buddy Diane Sawyer. You know, you can only tell your story the first time once and Diane you did it so authentically and so gracefully. And me and the community are so thankful for that. And I thank you so much Diane, I’m so proud to have you as a friend [applause].

“Here comes the tough part. I’d like to thank my family. The biggest fear in Caitlyn Jenner coming out was I never wanted to hurt anyone else, most of all my family and my kids. I always wanted my family to be so proud of their dad because of what he has accomplished in his life. You guys have given so much back to me. You’ve given me so much support. I’m so, so grateful to have all of you in my life. Thank you.

“And certainly last, but not least, my mother. My mom who, just a little over a week ago, had to have surgery and didn’t think she was going to make it, but she’s here with me tonight to share this night. Now, you know I always thought that I got my courage and my determination from my dad, who landed on Omaha Beach and fought all the way through World War Two. But you know what I’m thinking now, Mom, is that I got all these qualities from you. I love you very much. I’m so glad you’re here to share this with me.

“You know, it is an honor to have the word ‘courage’ associated with my life. But tonight another word comes to mind, and that is fortunate. I owe a lot to sports. It has shown me the world. It has given me an identity. If someone wanted to bully me, well, you know what? I was the MVP of the football team. That wasn’t going to be a problem. And the same thing goes tonight. If you want to call me names, make jokes, doubt my intentions, go ahead, because the reality is I can take it. But for the thousands of kids out there who are coming to terms with being true to who they are, they shouldn’t have to take it [applause].

“So for the people out there wondering what all this is about — whether it’s about courage or controversy or publicity — well, I’ll tell you what it’s all about. It’s about what happens from here. It’s not just about one person. It’s about thousands of people. It’s not just about me. It’s about all of us accepting one another. We are all different. That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing, and while it may not be easy to get past the things you do not understand, I want to prove that it is absolutely possible if we only do it together.

“Thank you so much for this. Thank you so much for this honor bestowed on myself and on my family. Thank you.”

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NOW WATCH: Here's the best look yet at the next big game starring Batman

Mexico played Trinidad and Tobago to a 4-4 draw in the teams' final group match at the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup thanks to a last-minute goal by Trinidad and Tobago.

Trailing 4-3 with less than a minute to play, Trinidad and Tobago had a stoppage-time corner kick. As Joevin Jones prepared for the kick, Mexico fans were raining trash down onto the field:

As trash was pelted at him, Jones lofted a perfect corner kick that found Yohance Marshall, who scored on a header:

It was a wild match that saw Mexico take a 2-0 lead before Trinidad and Tobago scored three straight goals to go up by one.

Later in the match, Mexico rattled off two more goals, the final going off Trinidad and Tobago's Kenwyne Jones for an own-goal that put Mexico up 4-3, setting up Marshall's equalizer.

Because of the tie, Trinidad & Tobago wins Group C and advances to the quarterfinals to play Panama.

Watch the recap of the exciting match and the final goal (2:40) below:

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NOW WATCH: Watch Cristiano Ronaldo star in a bizarre ad for his Japanese ab machine

Tiger Woods entered this week's Open Championship at St. Andrews with an air of optimism, having played well in recent weeks and having won two previous Opens at what is one of his favorite courses. But that quickly went away in a first round that was almost a complete disaster.

He finished 4-over on a day when most of the field took advantage of perfect conditions and played well. He's in 133rd place, 11 shots behind the clubhouse leader, Dustin Johnson.

Woods problems were two-fold. His drives were overly conservative, often leaving him with the longest second shot of his group, and his approach shots were all over the place.

The result is an opening round that saw Woods hit most of the fairways, but only about half of the greens in regulation (i.e. birdie putt opportunities). In fact, of all the golfers who had completed their rounds by the time Woods returned to the clubhouse, he was dead last in greens in regulation.

Woods was so bad at one point that an ESPN Radio announcer commented that "Tiger Woods is the worst player on the golf course."

The round got off to a terrible start for Woods with what was a combination of bad shooting and awful luck. On the first hole, Woods' tee shot was a sign of things to come. You can see just how much shorter his shot was compared to playing partner Jason Day.

This left a long second shot, which ended up in the burn just in front of the green. Unluckily for Tiger, if this shot is another yard longer — or if his drive was 10 to 20 yards longer — this probably ends up close to the hole for a makeable birdie putt. Instead he started his round with a bogey.

On the second hole, Woods hit iron off the tee while his playing partners used drivers, again leaving himself a longer second shot. Still, it was just 177 yards to the hole and an 8-iron for Woods.

Woods didn't even reach the green, leaving his shot about 30 yards short.

But his worst shot came on the short, 348-yard 12th hole. Woods left his drive just off the green and needed just a simple chip to get the ball up on the green for a birdie putt. 

Woods just chunked it like a weekend duffer.

After the round, Woods addressed his struggles. 

"I made so many mistakes today," Woods said. "I made two bogeys with wedges in my hand and a bogey on a par-5. So, not ideal."

If there is reason to be optimistic it is that Woods did settle down some. After dropping to 4-over after just seven holes, he was even-par on the tougher back nine holes, including 1-under over the final eight holes.

Still, on a day when the conditions were perfect and many golfers were going low, even-par is still not good. But at least it was not the meltdown that many saw coming after the front nine.

Tiger is still not back.

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NOW WATCH: FIFA just spent $30M on a film about itself — and guess who plays Sepp Blatter

Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, has had an incredible life. A former Olympian who won a gold medal in 1976, Jenner was then a symbol of masculinity.

"It was an all-American story," a sports news anchor recently told ESPN of Jenner. "A magnetic cosmetically gifted athlete. You couldn’t take your eyes off him."

But for 60 years, the athlete was keeping a secret.

"I’ve always known that I was different than everyone else," Jenner said in an ESPN tribute video. "I could play that type of male gender role, but I always felt female and that really scared me."

ESPN gave Jenner the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on Wednesday evening at its annual ESPY ceremony. Before Jenner took the stage, ESPN played a moving tribute video about her life and athletic career. In the video you learn a lot about Jenner, how difficult her transition has been, and why she finally came to terms with herself publicly. At one particularly low point, Jenner says she contemplated suicide.  

Here are the highlights of the video, and Jenner's inspiring life.

Caitlyn Jenner went through most of her life as a man. She got married multiple times and has ten children.

After becoming a gold medalist, she was placed on magazine covers and Wheaties boxes. But Jenner's personal identity crisis never went away.

"Relationships for me were always tough," Jenner says. "I always felt like I was hiding myself from everybody."

Jenner's family didn't know how she felt for a very long time.

"He couldn’t open up to us because he couldn’t tell us his deepest feelings. It broke my heart," Esther Avry, Jenner's 88-year-old mother, said in the tribute video. "And I had no idea. And of all people your mother should have a better insight than that. But he was awfully good at hiding it."

It wasn't until the late 1980s that Jenner began the process of transitioning from a man to a woman, taking hormones and getting plastic surgery. But she feared what her secret would do to her family, so she stopped. 

"It’s too bad because I wasted a lot of my life and nobody really knew who I am," Jenner said. "And that’s sad."After her marriage to Kris Jenner ended in 2013, Jenner finally came to terms with herself. Jenner says those first few months were the hardest of her life.

One of Jenner's most challenging moments occurred last January, when Jenner had some of her adam's apple surgically shaved down. When she left the doctor's appointment, the paparazzi was waiting outside. She knew her secret was about to be made public, and Jenner was distraught.

The paparazzi snapped a photo of her crying in her car in the hospital parking lot.

"That was really, really hard to see because my dad does not cry,' Jenner's daughter, Kendall, said in the video.

Jenner says she contemplated suicide after that. "You have a gun, there’s an easy way out," Jenner said. "No more pain, no more problems, I can see how people are driven to that. You don’t want to deal with life anymore."

Instead, Jenner says she had a revelation. "Of all the things I’ve done in my life, maybe this is my calling," Jenner thought. "To take my struggle and bring it out to the world."

It's only been a few months after Jenner's big reveal, but her message has already begun to resonate with millions of people. A writer who was interviewed by ESPN for the tribute says Jenner's story "inspires each of us to say it’s never too late to be who you truly are."

Since learning Jenner's true identity, her family has been incredibly supportive.

"To think of someone not being able to be free is heartbreaking. And to finally be able to be free, that must be the greatest feeling in the world," Kendall Jenner said.

"When she was receiving that medal, I never thought I could ever be more proud," Jenner's mother Avry said. "But I was wrong. I am now. Even more proud. And believe me, I’m not losing anything. I’m gaining. A better relationship with my child."

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NOW WATCH: Scientists are astonished by these Goby fish that can climb 300-foot waterfalls

The 144th Open Championship — more commonly referred to as the British Open — is underway in Scotland, at the Old Course at St. Andrews, one of the most famous tracks on the planet.

There's an old saying that goes "no wind, no rain, no golf," and that's certainly set to be the case over the next four days in the birthplace of the game: windy, cool, periodically wet.

That means a jarring sight for Americans watching the tournament from the comfort of summer: sweaters. Lots of sweaters.

Golf is a sport that can be played in bad weather, when it's chilly. So sweaters are an indispensable part of the wardrobe of any gentleman who hopes to stylishly enjoy the game. Like so much else in menswear these days, a trim and fitted look is the way to go. Masters and US Open champ Jordan Spieth and top-10 player Dustin Johnson are both at St. Andrews (Spieth gunning for the third leg of the Grand Slam) and both are rocking their sweaters to perfection.

Spieth's Under Armour version is a tad less snug than Johnson's Adidas number, but that's consistent with the overall style that each man favors. Speith always looks neat, but not too pumped. Johnson, on the other hand, favors a snug aesthetic.

Notice that both guys have gone for a subdued palette. Golf fashion for men is shifting away from some of the louder patterns and colors we've seen in recent years, an homage to the wild and crazy 1970s, toward more of a 1960s Arnold Palmer vibe. 

SEE ALSO: This is how to dress for golf at 3 stages of life

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Though the Philadelphia 76ers have now accrued four lottery picks and an abundance of other late picks and undrafted young players, the trajectory of their radical rebuilding plan is still a bit of an unknown.

The Sixers have blatantly tanked for high draft picks the last two seasons, and don't seem any closer to competing for a playoff spot than they did two year ago when master-tanker Sam Hinkie was hired as GM.

According to former Sixer and NBA player Julius Erving, this is part of a seven-year rebuilding plan.

Erving appeared on Sirius XM radio and said he was told in 2012 that the Sixers planned to compete for a championship in seven years.

"When they acquired the team in 2012 maybe, I think the talk was about seven years," Erving said. "Seven years. So, I think it’s still on that same timeline."

When asked if seven years meant making the playoffs, Erving said, "No, to be good. To be good, to be formidable, to be a contender. So that's probably '18-19."

Hinkie was hired in 2013, when the Sixers rebuilding plan started. That would make this coming season Year 3. With 2015-16 looking like another throwaway year — the 76ers pretty much sat out of free agency, with their biggest offseason addition being No. 3 pick, Jahlil Okafor — that means they won't start aiming for the playoffs until at least Year 4.

Unfortunately, the Sixers' plan has faltered a bit. 2013 lottery pick Michael Carter-Williams was traded last season. 2014 lottery pick Joel Embiid will miss the 2015-16 season to get foot surgery and hasn't played a minute in the NBA yet. Their other 2014 lottery pick, Dario Saric, is playing overseas and likely won't come to the NBA until next season.

That makes Okafor and fellow big man Nerlens Noel the stars of the rebuild, while last year's breakout wing Robert Covington looks like an intriguing supporting piece. Assuming Noel and Okafor both need two to three seasons to reach their peak as stars that can carry a team, the Sixers still need some serious help through other draft picks and free agency to support them. Those draft picks will need time to develop, too, and they're currently not a hot-spot for free agents.

The Sixers are basically trying a more radical version of what the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors have done: accumulate a few high draft picks who will turn into superstars, nail a few later picks, build a solid core, and fill in the gaps in free agency.

What's overlooked is that players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Stephen Curry are on pace for Hall-of-Fame careers, while supporting players like Serge Ibaka, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are all max-level, borderline All-Stars. A team can be patient and accumulate assets and do their due diligence on prospects all they want, but luck is still very much part of the process.

There's no saying the Sixers' plan won't work, but to go from a lottery team to a championship contender in three years is pretty tough unless someone the Sixers have drafted turns into a bonafide superstar very quickly. Thus far, the Sixers' rebuilding plan is a little bit sloppy and building their core has taken longer than expected. 

With tons of holes to fill and at least a couple developmental seasons needed, the Sixers' seven-year plan currently looks a little ambitious.

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Major League Baseball's All-Star drew a 6.6 Nielsen rating, the lowest ever for the mid-summer classic, according to Sports Media Watch. However, MLB's numbers are still easily outpacing those of the NBA.

The 10.9 million viewers for MLB's All-Star game, combined with the biggest Home Run Derby audience (7.1 million) in four years, produced a total two-day TV audience of 18.0 million viewers. That was 35% larger than the 13.3 million combined TV audience for the NBA All-Star Game (7.2 million) and the NBA Saturday Night (6.1 million) which includes the Slam Dunk Contest.

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Caitlyn Jenner may have stolen the show during Wednesday night's ESPY Awards honoring the best in sports, but tons of other celebrities and athletes came out to celebrate as well.

From presenters Ben Affleck and Britney Spears to all-star couples like Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis and Ciara and Russell Wilson, here's who wore what and who won.

SEE ALSO: Caitlyn Jenner makes red carpet debut to accept courage award at the ESPYs

Derek Jeter walked the red carpet with his Sports Illustrated cover model girlfriend, Hannah Davis, and sister, Sharlee Jeter.

The U.S. women's soccer team arrived in full force.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams used the opportunity to promote their new boxing movie, "Southpaw."

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In the second game of the 2001 season, the New England Patriots lost starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, and it appeared they were headed for another last-place finish in the AFC East.

Instead, led by sixth-round pick Tom Brady, the Patriots went on one of the most unprecedented runs in NFL history, beating the heavily favored St. Louis Rams to win the Super Bowl.

While many of these players and coaches remain involved with football, others have taken completely different paths. One is now the co-owner of a trampoline amusement center chain, another competed in last year's World Series of Poker event, and one has even become a minister.

Drew Bledsoe began the year as the team's starting quarterback.

He's now a renowned winemaker in Oregon, where he's also the offensive coordinator for his sons' high school team.

Source: Patriots.com

Tom Brady took over at quarterback after Bledsoe got injured.

There are 30 teams in the NBA, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban floated the idea that 20 of them should make the playoffs. 

During the NBA's yearly ownership meeting, Mark Cuban proposed a new playoff format in which 10 teams from each conference would make the playoffs instead of eight.

Cuban revealed the news in a message posted on the social-media app Cyber Dust:

"Hey Mavs fans. I had an idea that I proposed to my fellow owners as food for thought. With all the concern about getting a high draft pick taking precedent over winning games, the disparity in talent between conferences and the general challenges of team building, I asked the question..

Why do just 8 teams per conference make the playoffs? Why not 10?

The increased number would reduce the chances of good teams missing the playoffs in the stronger conference. It would make it harder to tank since the chance of making the playoffs increased. It would keep things interesting for fans longer into the season. Teams that suffered difficult injuries would increase their chances of recovering. We could offer a [bye] to the best records per conference and let the bottom 2 teams play an accelerated best of 5 series.

Curious what everyone thinks about the idea?

+letsgomavs and Dust On!"

As ProBasketballTalk's Dan Feldman pointed out, Cuban's proposal comes with a few scheduling flaws. If the bottom two teams, the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds, played in an initial best-of-five series that would leave nine teams left, which doesn't fit the typical 16-8-4 team playoff tournament style.

In order to trim the 10-team field to eight, there would need to be two initial best-of-five "play-in games." A 10-team playoff tournament would look like this for each conference:

First Round:

• No. 7 versus No. 10
• No. 8 versus No. 9

Second round:

• No. 1 versus No. 8/No. 9
• No. 2 versus No. 7/No. 10
• No. 3 versus No. 6
• No. 4 versus No. 5

From there on it would proceed like the current NBA playoff system.

There are more problems than just scheduling and seeding. Expanding the playoff field also runs the risk of watering down the level of competition. If a 10-team playoff system were in place last season, three of the four teams that would have been added would have had losing records (the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and the Phoenix Suns).

While there's no indication this 20-team playoff is being seriously considered, change is on the way for the NBA playoffs. According to the New York Post's Tim Bontemps, commissioner Adam Silver said the competition committee is open to change and he expects the NBA will soon seed playoff teams in each conference first to eighth based solely on record, no longer automatically giving division winners the top four seeds.

Last season the Portland Trailblazers (51-31) were awarded the No. 4 seed as a result of winning their division, forcing the San Antonio Spurs (55-27) to fall to No. 6 and play the third-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

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NOW WATCH: How LeBron James spends his money

Warning: spoilers ahead

LeBron James is certainly not the first or last professional sports star to be cast in a movie. But he’s one of the few who can actually act.

In “Trainwreck,” the newest Judd Apatow comedy starring Amy Schumer (who also wrote the screenplay), James plays a version of himself who is good friends with a sports doctor named Aaron (Bill Hader) who falls in love with Schumer’s character, Amy.

It feels like a stretch that James would ever be buddy-buddy with a sports doctor in real life, but for a comedy it’s incredibly effective, and that’s thanks to the surprising acting chops of the four-time NBA MVP.

James knows how to deliver a joke and looks calm in front of the camera, which has always been what kills the appearances of sports stars in the past (think Brett Favre in “There’s Something About Mary” or all the NBA stars outside of Michael Jordan in “Space Jam").

 And Apatow/Schumer gave James a great character trait — trying desperately to be relatable when you’re a huge superstar.

The first time we see James, he shows up to Aaron’s office to find the sunglasses he left behind. When Aaron says, “You drove back 40 minutes to get your glasses?” James answers back, “I’m not giving Sunglass Hut another $30!”

The fiscally conservative attitude shines through later when James and Aaron have lunch and multimillionaire James is adamant that they split the check. When Aaron finally gives in, James realizes he left his wallet in the car.

James holds his own opposite Hader, never looking overwhelmed and never trying to perform with an overplay of emotion.

The funny thing is how James was even considered for the role.

Schumer had James’ name originally in the script, but not because she's a huge basketball fan. In fact, Schumer, like her "Trainwreck" character, knows nothing about sports. 

“He's the only basketball player I’ve ever heard of,” Schumer told Entertainment Weekly for their July 3 issue. But she was in luck.

James has shown in the past that he can be a performer. He has cohosted the ESPY Awards and hosted "Saturday Night Live," but a movie is a different animal, especially when it's not just a cameo and the athlete is a crucial part of the story line.

James especially shines in "Trainwreck" when he is playing basketball one-on-one with Aaron and they are talking about Amy (while James blocks every shot Aaron puts up). At one point — again, poorly trying to relate to his buddy — James goes on a long tangent about the consequences of having sex without protection. Not with a condom, but a lawyer. He explains the horrible aftermath of having sex with a gold digger (a common peril for someone of his fame) and in mid-sentence starts spouting lines from the Kanye West “Gold Digger” song.

James definitely has a second career he can embrace once he hangs up the sneakers.

“Trainwreck” opens in theaters on Friday.

Here’s a bit more of James showing off his acting chops. Watch this Funny Or Die video he did with Schumer, Apatow, and Hader on his pitch for a “Trainwreck” sequel (that features a lot more of King James).

SEE ALSO: Amy Schumer came up with the idea of "Trainwreck" during a very personal conversation with Judd Apatow

MORE: Everything you missed from last night's athlete- and celebrity-filled ESPY Awards

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The most jarring part of Tiger Woods' string of bad performances in 2015 is that there's no consistency to his badness.

One week he can't putt. The next week he can't drive. The week after that he can't hit an iron shot with any sort of distance control.

We know why he's struggling: He's in the middle of changing his swing at the same time as he's returning from major back surgery at age 39. But those reasons aren't expressing themselves in any consistent way on the course. Golfers of every skill level dread the two-way miss — where you can't stop hooking it or slicing it, and thus can't isolate the problem that's plaguing your game. Well, Tiger has something like a generalized version of that for his entire golf game. So much is wrong that it's hard to see him fixing it all anytime soon.

In February his short game was so bad people thought he had the chipping yips:

These short game issues still pop up every once in a while:

At the Greenbrier in July his putting was so bad he had the best distance to the hole statistics of his career but still finished 32nd:

He said after the final round, "I obviously needed to make some putts today, and it was just one of those days where the putts that I read perfectly and were hit right still lipped out. The putts that I didn't hit well weren't going to go in. Even my putts I made, took a step, they didn't go in."

Those issues seem to have followed him to St. Andrews:

In the first round of the British Open he hit nearly every fairway, but somehow only hit half the greens in regulation.

He was ranked 12th in fairways hit, but 135th in greens in regulation:

While it's not tough to hit fairways at the wide-open St. Andrews, he was putting himself in solid position, but just had no control of his irons:

At the US Open in June, only three guys in the entire field hit fewer fairways than Tiger, and one of them had to withdraw:

Woods was driving it all over the place, forcing him into second shots like these:

So we have chipping, putting, driving, and distance-control issues. It's really an "all of the above" type of situation for Tiger in 2015.

To complicate things even further, Tiger is having trouble translating his progress on the range to progress when it counts. At the Greenbrier, CBS showed a great video of Tiger's range drive and competition drive side-by-side. It showed that he's rushing things on the course.

At the very least, this suggests he's not entirely comfortable with his new swing and doesn't have it committed to muscle memory yet. If you want to be more pessimistic, it suggests he has to overcome a mental hurdle to do what he does in practice when it counts.

Everyone who cares about golf wants to see Tiger Woods get back to the point where he's contending in majors. But considering the sheer variety of problems he's fighting through right now, it'll likely take longer than we think.

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Riding the waves near a picturesque beach is a rush, whether you're a professional surfer, a beginner, or simply observing the sport. 

All around the world are magnificent beaches that have become known in the surfing community thanks to their massive swells, amazing landscapes, and array of surf competitions. 

From Morocco's Taghazout Beach, where you can ride a camel straight to the beach, to Hawaii's Banzai Pipeline, known for hosting some of the biggest swells in the world, here are 30 beaches every surfer should check off their bucket list.

SEE ALSO: The 23 best beaches in America

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Australia’s Bondi Beach, located 4 miles east of the Sydney central business district, has a name which translates to “water breaking over rocks” and has attracted surfers since it opened the world’s first surf lifesaving club in 1907.

Source: CNN

Another popular beach for surfing in Australia is Bells Beach, located on the southern coast of Victoria. The beach attracts some of the top surfers to compete at the Rip Curl Pro Surfing Competition in March, and its high cliffs provide a stunning backdrop to enjoy while riding its large swells that come in from the Southern Ocean.

Source: Telegraph

Bali’s most surfed beach is Kuta Beach, in Kuta. The beach is where surfing originally began in Bali, and is a good location for beginner surfers and expert surfers alike.

Source: Telegraph

Jordan Spieth was flying blind into this week's Open Championship, not arriving at St. Andrews until Monday and risking his chances to win his third major with only limited practice and the possibility of still suffering from jet lag. But by teeing off early in the first round, when the weather was calm and conditions were perfect, Spieth caught a lucky break.

Spieth took advantage of the conditions in what was his first round at St. Andrews as a pro to put together five birdies in the first seven holes on his way to a 5-under 67.

How important was it to tee off early? Of the first 147 golfers to complete the first round, only 23 shot a round in the 60s (3-under or better). Of those, 16 were shot by golfers in one of the first 17 groups to tee off. Spieth was in group No. 17.

The early morning conditions were exactly what Spieth needed to get off to a good start. By the afternoon, things had started to take a turn for the worse. While Spieth was in a light sweater. Players in the afternoon were in cold weather gear.

Rickie Fowler even had snow gloves to keep his hands warm, and looked an awful lot like the little brother from "A Christmas Story."

To make things even better for Spieth, the weather for the second round is expected to flip-flop. Afternoon golfers in Round 1 will tee off early in Round 2. While forecasts had been calling for rain in the afternoon on Friday, that won't be the case now.

The official weather report for Round 2 is now "spells of heavy rain between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., winds from 18 to 35 mph," according to ESPN. By the afternoon, things will look much different and the golfers will only have to battle the wind.

Spieth will be one of the last ten groups to tee off in the second round, with his group scheduled to go off at 2:34 p.m. local time.

With the rain and the wind, there will likely be few rounds in the 60s in Round 2. But golfers who tee off later could have a better chance of avoiding bad scores.

In other words, early in Round 1 may end up being the only time all weekend that golfers will really get a chance to attack the golf course. Spieth did and in doing so, he avoided the rough start many feared because of his decision to play in the US the week before.

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Earlier this year, Brooklyn Nets majority shareholder Mikhail Prokhorov was looking to sell his share of the team and their stadium, but now it looks like the Russian oligarch has changed his mind.

According to Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News, Prokhorov's seeking to buy out the team and its $1 billion home stadium, the Barclays Center.

The word is that the 10th wealthiest man in Russia might want to settle a debt of an undisclosed amount that Bruce Ratner, the team's minority shareholder, owes him — though no one can be for sure.

The team, which is currently juggling debt due to a bad television deal and high payroll for players, is worth about $1.5 billion, reported Forbes.

The sense within the industry is that Prokhorov wants to buy the team to sell it at a higher profit later, the Daily News reported.

"We can confirm that Onexim Sports and Entertainment is looking at various ways to restructure debt owed to the company in connection with its US assets," said a spokesperson for Prokhorov and his holding company, ONEXIM, over email to the Daily News. "One possibility is the conversion of such debt into equity and consolidation of shares, but there are other scenarios also under consideration by Onexim and its partners, and no decision has yet been made."

In other words, it's a proposed debt-to-equity swap. 

Prokhorov owns 80 percent of the team, and 45 percent of the stadium. 

At the time of purchase, Prokhorov agreed to pay 80 percent of the team's $220 million debt, ESPN reported. Russia's own tenuous economic situation may also be a factor in Prokhorov's decision.

Read the full Daily News article here, and check out the ESPN article.  

SEE ALSO: Back when Prokhorov was selling the Brooklyn Nets

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Dustin Johnson surprised the golf world by coming out at the British Open on fire.

Johnson leads the pack after Round One at seven-under. He had five birdies and one eagle without a single bogey.

It comes less than a month after a brutal meltdown on the 18th green at the US Open. Johnson missed a long putt that would have won the tournament, then missed his next putt to tie, ceding the title to Jordan Spieth.

Johnson has often had trouble closing out tournaments — he lost the 2010 U.S. Open after holding a three-shot lead going into the final round. Heading into the British Open, Johnson explained why he skipped the trophy presentation— "I had had enough. It was time to get out of there" — and said he cleared his head afterward with a family vacation.

A month later he seems to be back on track:

Golfer Zach Johnson explained to Garrett Johnson of Myrtle Beach Online how Dustin Johnson has been so resilient:

"When he’s coming off a debacle or mistake he still gets himself back into contention, and clearly that’s what you have to do as an athlete. That’s what you certainly have to do as golfer. Clearly Dustin has that trait, which is tremendous because it’s not the easiest thing to find or even bring out.

"He’s got that mental ability to forget about whether it was last week, two weeks ago. He can forget about the last thing, whatever sort of debacle, he can bring his game right back up and get back into contention. Part of it is because he’s just a freak talent."

Though Dustin is still lacking his first major, he's been one of the top competitors in golf for several years now. As European Tour member Joost Luiten told Garrett, it's only a matter of time until Dustin wins one.

"He’s such a great player, he will win majors," he said. "He’s so young and he can overpower golf courses. He’s so good. He will win majors and no one will think about that anymore."

Adding to the intrigue of Johnson's early lead is that he's been paired with Spieth, who trails him by just two shots. Spieth noted after the first round that he'll have to play his best and be more tactical to match Dustin's strength:

"If D.J. keeps driving it the way he is, then I'm going to have to play my best golf to have a chance... I've played enough golf with him to where I believe in my skill set, that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has. I expect when he stands on the tee it's going to up there miles and down the fairway. I also expect that I can birdie each hole when I stand on the tee -- it just happens to be a different route."

Of course, given Johnson's history of collapsing down the stretch, he'll have to prove that he can handle the pressure of the next three rounds. He holds a slim lead heading into Round Two, when the weather is expected to take a turn for the worse, but that early lead could be huge for Johnson's confidence in getting over a disastrous finish at the US Open. 

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Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday ordered a complete review of plans for Tokyo's 2020 Olympic stadium amid growing public anger over its $2-billion price tag.

"I have decided we need a full review of the plans and must go back to the drawing board," Abe told reporters after meeting Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori, sports minister Hakubun Shimomura and Olympics minister Toshiaki Endo.

"We have looked at the logistics and construction period and I have made this decision because I was assured that we can definitely complete construction on time."

The 2019 rugby World Cup, to be held in Japan, became the first casualty of Friday's decision with organisers now forced to consider alternative venues in Tokyo or Yokohama for games, including the tournament final.

Construction costs for the new National Stadium have ballooned by nearly twice the original budget to 252 billion yen ($2.03 billion), which puts it on track to become the world's most expensive sports venue.

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During the first round of the British Open, the par-4 17th hole at St. Andrews — the iconic Road Hole — was the hardest hole since the tournament started keeping stats in 1982, according to Ryan Lavner of the Golf Channel.

The average score was 4.833 on the par 4, and there wasn't a single birdie:

The golf world saw this coming. The Road Hole has always been one of the toughest par-4 holes in golf, especially since St. Andrews lengthened it to 495 yards before the 2010 Open. But in advance of the 2015 Open, organizers made it even more difficult by taking away one of the traditional (if unusual) ways of playing the hole — missing left intentionally.

The Road Hole Bunker, a deep bunker off the left front of the green, has been tweaked so that it collects more wayward approach shots. The bunker itself is the same size, but the area around it is now angled so balls will feed right into the trap.

You can get a sense of it here as Luke Donald climbs out of the bunker. It's now designed so that anything close to the bunker goes in it:

It's a steep grade:

It's easy to see the problem here. With a literal road and out-of-bounds to the right and a treacherous bunker that eats everything to the left, players either have to be perfect or go way long and left on their second shots. When you factor in that many players are hitting long irons or 3-woods to even reach the green, it's a nearly impossible task to make birdie:

In an article for The Telegraph before the tournament, Nick Faldo broke down the Road Hole and said it's "all about whether the pin is located behind the Road Hole bunker." Well, that's exactly what happened yesterday, and it was historically hard as a result.

Jordan Spieth, who made bogey on the 17th after finding the bunker, was one of the most outspoken players after the round, basically calling the hole unplayable.

"And then 17 today, you purposely try and miss the green on the second shot. There's almost no other way around it," he said. "That kind of takes away the point of the hole, but at the same time, it's the Road Hole at St. Andrews, and today's pin position is really the only time you can't really play the hole."

Earlier in the week, golf writer Geoff Shackleford criticized the redesign, calling the landscaping around the bunker "volcano walls."

Still, even if the players find it unfair, the 17th is one of the most fun holes in golf. The tee shot over the hotel still looks awesome, and the split fairway leads to a variety of drives:

And even if players find the bunker, you can get great shots like this. They're just few and far between:

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