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TOKYO -- Tokyo held a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for a $1.5 billion National Stadium to host the 2020 Olympic Games.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and other dignitaries launched the construction at the site of the demolished National Stadium, which was used during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, by putting their hands on a glass sphere that rotated through pastels of the colors of the Olympic logo.The ceremony ended with a video replete with computer graphics showing how the stadium is expected to look and function once completed by November 2019.Work on the stadium in the center of the city fell behind schedule because the government abandoned the original design amid spiraling costs and complaints over its scale and appearance.Koike, Tokyos first female governor, took office in July pledging to use her platform to host a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly 2020 Olympics. She has lambasted organizers of the 2020 games for failing to keep costs under control.An expert panel she appointed put the price tag of the 2020 Games at over $30 billion, barring drastic cost-cutting measures, a more than a four-fold increase from the initial estimate when the city was awarded the games in 2013.Fans of the old stadium, built in the late 1950s, had lobbied to keep and renovate it. But in the end the government opted to replace it with a more modern facility.Kengo Kuma, the architect of the new, open-air stadium, chose a wooden lattice design that echoes traditional styles seen in Japanese shrines and pagodas. It is intended to blend in with surrounding parkland and will be structured to minimize costs for heating and cooling.The structure will use Japanese-grown larch in its wood and steel composite roof and prefabricated panels to help speed the work along and contain costs. . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. No. 19 Saint Marys | No. 21 Purdue | Full listNo. 20: FLORIDA GATORSLast season: 21-15, 9-9 SECIts not easy to figure out who the second-best team in the SEC is, but it looks like its going to be the Gators. Kasey Hill hasnt lived up to expectations, but hes a senior point guard, and theres enough around him, with wings KeVaughn Allen, transfers?Canyon Barry and John Egbunu, and Devin Robinson on the frontline.?-- Jeff GoodmanBest case:?NCAA second round. Florida was an NIT team last season, and that was after an excellent coaching job by Billy Donovans replacement, Mike White. The Gators struggled to score efficiently and lost Dorian Finney-Smiith to graduation.dddddddddddd This season, White has to get better production from KeVaughn Allen, John Egbunu and Devin Robinson. Florida will have more bodies but still needs consistent scorers.Worst case:?NIT. The Gators have been to the NIT two seasons in a row. It is not out of the question that Florida will take another year to reshape in Whites image. A key guy might be Charleston transfer and underhand free throw shooter Canyon Barry, the youngest son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry.No. 21 Purdue | Full list ' ' '
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