SYDNEY, Australia — Two days before 600 U.S. athletes march in the Sydney Games' opening ceremony, the American soccer team took a small step toward advancing in the 2000 Olympics.
In a physical battle with the Czech Republic, the Americans managed a 2-2 tie Wednesday — a game in which they twice led and suffered several missed scoring opportunities. Chris Albright and Josh Wolff scored for the United States.
"I tell people all the time that we have players in the United States that can play very well in any arena," U.S. coach Clive Charles said. "I just think the guys proved that tonight.
"We had quite a few chances to score — we were a little unfortunate not to convert. Overall I was happy with the way the team played," he said.
The soccer players will not join the rest of the Americans at the Friday opening ceremony in Sydney's Olympic Stadium. Instead, they will remain in Canberra to prepare for Saturday's game against Cameroon.
A half-dozen soccer games kicked off the Summer Games, with both men and woman taking the field for the first glimpse of the competition.
For the host Australian team, a screaming crowd of 93,252 in the Melbourne Cricket Ground could not help them overcome an Italian team that posted a 1-0 victory.
In other men's action, defending gold medalist Nigeria managed a 3-3 tie against Honduras, while Cameroon defeated Kuwait, 3-2.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: When the games began, it was the women's teams that kicked things off. Host Australia and three others nations started the competition at the Sydney Games.
It was an inauspicious debut for the Aussie women, who were thumped 3-0 by Germany. In the second game, Brazil was a 2-0 winner over Sweden.
A vocal 23,000-capacity crowd packed into Canberra's Bruce Stadium to see the first Australians in action. Not all of them saw the game's start, though, as heavy security caused long delays getting inside.
GOING, GOING, GONE: There was little rhyme to the reasons — drugs, mental exhaustion, a pennant race — but an assortment of athletes disappeared from the Summer Games.
U.S. baseball player C.C. Sabathia was yanked off the American squad Wednesday (Tuesday night MDT) by the Cleveland Indians after team officials discovered their prized prospect would be pitching in relief.
The Indians had agreed to let Sabathia pitch only if he started and was held to a pitch count. Sabathia, 20, was one of the few top major-league prospects on the American team.
Rather than pitching in Australia, Sabathia could start next week in Fenway Park when the Indians play back-to-back doubleheaders with the Boston Red Sox — a key matchup in the American League wild-card race.
Swiss tennis star Marc Rosset pulled himself out of the Games, citing "extreme physical and mental exhaustion." Rosset, 29, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist, said his condition made it unlikely that he would medal in Sydney.
Gone as well, due to a failed drug test, was Taiwanese weightlifter Chen Po-pu. Chuang Tsun-che, chief of Taiwan's Olympic delegation, said he received formal notice from the International Weightlifting Federation that Chen had tested positive for "prohibited drugs" on Tuesday, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.
And swimmer Yevgeniya Yermakova of Kazakhstan was dumped from the Olympics after testing positive for a drug masking agent. Yermakova tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic, at a meet in Monte Carlo in May.
ARRIVALS: Barry McCaffrey, head of the White House drug policy office, touched down in Australia and immediately praised China for dropping more than 20 athletes from its Olympic team over failed drug tests.
"It's a tremendous demonstration of their seriousness of purpose of acting against doping in their own teams," McCaffrey told The Associated Press shortly after his arrival. "It's a terrific signal that they are committed."
McCaffrey, part of the 10-member official U.S. delegation, delivered the same message in a letter to China's sports minister. The delegation also included first daughter Chelsea Clinton.
GYMNASTICS: After missing some practice time with injuries, a pair of U.S. gymnasts were back at work Wednesday (Tuesday night EDT). Stephen McCain and John Roethlisberger were expected to compete this weekend when the games get rolling.
McCain severely sprained his right ankle during training camp 10 days ago in San Diego. Roethlisberger strained his left calf at the Olympic trials last month, and it flared up again a few days ago.
"Stephen responded today with brilliance," U.S. coach Peter Kormann said. "He gets the badge-of-courage award."
INELIGIBLE: So close. So far.
Canadian diver Arturo Miranda, who missed out on a shot at the 1992 Games, was barred from participating in the Sydney Olympics by the International Olympic Committee. Cuban officials refused to grant a waiver to the Havana-born Miranda, who became a Canadian citizen in December 1999.
It was his second near-miss at the Olympics. In 1992, he was dropped by the Cuban squad for financial reasons just 15 days before the Barcelona Games.