Font ResizeSan Francisco's Howard Bach and badminton doubles partner Tony Gunawan were placed in what U.S. coach Ben Lee called the Olympic tournament's strongest group.
It features second-seeded Jae Sung Chung and Yong Dae Lee of Korea and teams from Malaysia and Japan.
"I felt like, 'Oh, my god,' but then I thought, 'Hey, this is the Olympics,' " Bach told reporters in London. "If you're going to win a medal, you're going to have to plow through everybody anyway."
Bach and Gunawan won the world championship in 2005, something the Bay Area player hopes will help propel the partners forward.
"We are the underdogs," Bach said, "and those are the guys with more to lose, and we just have to play like we did at the world championships."
Media
Former 49ers great Ronnie Lott will join Rick Neuheisel as studio analysts for the Pac-12 TV Network, which launches Aug. 15. Lott's son, Ryan Nece, has been hired as a sideline reporter and analyst.
Ted Robinson, the radio voice of the 49ers, will be the network's lead play-by-play announcer for football telecasts.
Blum had worked in Las Vegas since 1973, calling a variety of UNLV sports and minor league baseball games. Before that he voiced games for the Giants, the Raiders, and San Jose State and Santa Clara
"Blumer was just a great guy and was the consummate peoples person," said Don Logan, executive director of the minor league baseball Las Vegas 51s. "He was the grandfather, he got along with everyone he came into contact with and was a very generous person. He refused to let age get in the way of his everyday living."
Soccer
Soccer great Brandi Chastain will host a celebrity soccer match and postgame concert at 5 p.m. Sept. 22 at San Jose Municipal Stadium.
The game will support the ReachuP! Foundation, which Chastain cofounded.
The concert will feature artists from Radio Disney's musical talent competition "N.B.T." (Next Big Thing). Tickets, starting at $25, are available online at www.reachupworld.com.
Staff writer Jon Wilner and wire services contributed to this report.
