SHANGHAI, China — Natasha Kai headed in an extra time goal, giving the defending champion United States a spot in the Olympic women’s soccer semifinal with a 2-1 victory over Canada.

BEIJING — After three straight blowouts, it took a half for the U.S. women’s basketball team to get going and beat Spain.

BEIJING — James Blake deserved some kind of medal for the back-to-the-net, between-the-legs forehand he hit Friday.

BEIJING — Tyson Gay advanced to the semifinals of the men’s 100-meter Olympic dash Friday night (Friday a.m. EDT).

BEIJING — Lu Yong won China’s eight weightlifting gold medal, tying the world record set moments earlier by the silver medalist but grabbing the title because of a lower body weight.

BEIJING — The baseball rivalry between Cuba and the United States is not dead, not even close. Their intense game Friday afternoon, tied after 10 innings, yielded the first Olympic case of a quirky new tiebreaker system that, indirectly, left a United States player in the hospital, both managers sniping at each other and Cuba a 5-4 winner in 11 innings.

BEIJING — Roger Federer has salvaged his bid for an Olympic medal, winning his doubles quarterfinal with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka against Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi of India.

BEIJING — As the contenders for the Olympic gold medal in the women’s gymnastics individual all-around moved to their final event — the floor exercise — the crowd Friday began competing cheers of “Go China!” and “U-S-A!”

BEIJING — Did you stay up and watch Texan Nastia Liukin win gold in the all-around Thursday?

BEIJING — Six gold medals down, two left for Michael Phelps.

BEIJING —Aaron Peirsol swam one-hundredth of a second outside his world record Friday morning, but finished second to Ryan Lochte in 100 meter backstroke final.

No runner-up finish to her friend and rival this time. Nastia Liukin won the biggest prize of all.

A North Korean shooter was stripped of his two medals and expelled from the Beijing Olympics along with a Vietnamese gymnast today after failing doping tests.

Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.