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BASEBALL
CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Indians added a walk-off win to a streak that has had everything.
Jay Bruce hit an RBI double in the 10th inning as the Indians rallied for their 22nd straight win to extend their AL record, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-2 to move within four wins of matching the 1916 New York Giants for the longest streak in major league history.
After blowouts, shutouts and oh-so-easy wins, the Indians, who tied it in the ninth on Francisco Lindor's two-out, two-strike RBI double, went into extras for the first time to keep the longest streak in 101 years intact.
Ramirez led off the 10th with a hard hit into right-center off Brandon Maurer (2-2) that he turned into a double with a head-first slide. After Edwin Encarnacion walked, Bruce, the recent arrival who hit a three-run homer in win No. 21 on Wednesday, ripped a 2-0 pitch into the right-field corner.
As Progressive Field shook like it usually does in October, Bruce reached second base and was quickly mobbed his teammates, who doused him with ice water and talcum powder while tearing the front of his jersey.
OLYMPICS
LIMA, Peru (AP) - As soon as he got the job, the new ethics chair of the International Olympic Committee received an earful, as well.
Former U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon was elected to his new position - handed the task of restoring credibility to an organization that, according to its own members, is getting ''hammered'' by an onslaught of unsavory scandals.
In his acceptance speech, Ban called his new task ''a serious responsibility.'' After he was done, and the floor was opened for questions, IOC members took turns accentuating the challenge he faces.
This week's IOC session was highlighted by the dual award of the 2024 and 2028 Olympics to Paris and Los Angeles. Sharing those headlines have been almost-daily developments about Brazilian IOC member Carlos Nuzman, who is under investigation for his alleged role in a $2 million vote-buying scheme to bring the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier this week, IOC president Thomas Bach said the committee was awaiting word from Brazilian authorities before determining next steps. There are IOC members, however, who think the committee should act more decisively.
LIMA, Peru (AP) - If the Russians are worried about missing the upcoming Winter Olympics, one of their key leaders certainly isn't showing it.
Alexander Zhukov, a Russian member of the International Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press ''all of them are going to Pyeongchang'' when asked this week if he had any concerns about how the doping investigation in his country might affect eligibility for the Olympics next February.
''Most of the Russian athletes are training in major competitions'' this winter, said Zhukov, who also serves as head of Russia's Olympic committee. ''And they're preparing. I understand all of them are going to Pyeongchang.''
Zhukov's confidence comes as a pair of IOC committees head into their 15th month of reviewing the findings of an investigation conducted by Richard McLaren. That probe found evidence of widespread, state-sponsored doping corruption inside Russia that impacted 1,000 athletes covering 30 sports.
At its meetings this week, the IOC will receive updates on those reports, one of which was to include reanalysis of 254 urine samples. But there are no plans to decide either about individual Russian athletes or the country's eligibility as a whole.
BASKETBALL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - It didn't take long for the tears to start rolling down Sylvia Fowles' cheeks, as unstoppable as the Minnesota Lynx center is in the post.
The WNBA MVP trophy sat just a few feet away, a coronation long expected and finally realized. Fowles was the runaway winner in voting results announced, finishing with 35 of 40 first-place votes from a media panel.
''I said I wasn't going to tear up, but it's just a proud moment,'' Fowles said in a ceremony held two hours before the Lynx faced the Washington Mystics in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals.
There was never any doubt this season. Fowles dominated in the paint on both ends of the court from the very first night for the Lynx, who had a league-best 27-7 record during the regular season. New York's Tina Charles finished second in the voting and received three first-place votes. Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker was third.
