Beijing is ramping up its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics by holding a series of international athletic competitions and promotional events.

Games organizers said Thursday the upcoming season-opening Freestyle Skiing World Cup in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium will be the first of six international competitions in the capital city and Shanghai. Skating events make up most of the remainder.

It's a cold, hard fact of football: Countries with tiny populations don't generally beat big ones with deep wells of talented players.

So how embarrassing might the score be when Qatar — smallest host in World Cup history, with just 282,750 citizens — plays the opening game of its 2022 tournament against, for example, titans Brazil or Germany?

Memphis prevailed in a triple-overtime classic at San Antonio on Wednesday, blowing a 23-point lead before recovering to eke out a 117-116 victory over the NBA champions, a day after ending Golden State's 16-game winning streak.

The Grizzlies moved within half a game of the Warriors for the overall league lead and moved 4-1/2 games ahead of the Spurs, a Southwest Division rival.

If one ripple from the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations means baseball prospects get off the island and into the major leagues without payoffs to smugglers and threats from kidnappers, it's hard to see the downside.

Just don't expect too much, too soon. Barely two hours after President Barack Obama's dramatic announcement Wednesday in Washington, both MLB and its players' union acknowledged as much in statements.

Elton John and his partner David Furnish plan to tie the knot for a second time, following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Britain.

The singer's spokesman, Gary Farrow, said Wednesday that the weekend ceremony will be private.

Princess Charlene of Monaco has revealed that the royal twins born last week were delivered by cesarean section — two weeks before they were due, and she hopes to be out of the hospital by Christmas.

The South Africa-born new mother of two has given her first interviews to French media since the Dec. 10 births — 15 days early — that captivated the tiny principality.

The satellite TV company Dish is making it easier to watch video from an online rival, Netflix.

Dish said Wednesday that it is adding the Netflix app for U.S. customers who have its latest set-top boxes, its second-generation Hopper devices released in February 2013. Dish wouldn't say how many customers have that box. Customers with older boxes would need a replacement to use the feature. Dish customers also must subscribe to Netflix's $9-a-month service on their own.

The Indian female boxer who had refused to accept her bronze medal at the Asian Games has been banned for one year.

Boxing India said Wednesday that world governing body AIBA confirmed the ban on Sarita Devi, backdated to the day of the incident on October 1.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny says Ireland's voters will be asked to legalize gay marriage, a government-backed measure that reflects rapid social change in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Kenny told lawmakers Tuesday that the government would subject its planned Marriage Equality Bill to a public referendum in May, though a precise date has not been selected. The vote is needed to amend the family section of Ireland's 77-year-old constitution.

Memphis snapped Golden State's 16-game winning streak with a 105-98 victory in Tuesday's clash of the NBA's two top teams.

The Grizzlies moved within one game of the Warriors for the league's best record by notching their fifth straight win.