Cycling
* Federal lawmakers want stronger oversight of USADA: Two federal lawmakers are calling for Congress to have stronger oversight of the anti-doping agency that accused Lance Armstrong of using performance-enhancing drugs and stripped him of his seven Tour de France victories. A bill filed Friday by Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) and John Conyers (D-Michigan) would require the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to provide accused athletes with specific written notification of allegations of doping, give Congress an annual report summarizing enforcement actions and notify lawmakers of rules changes. Armstrong denies doping but dropped his fight against USADA last month. He complained the agency’s enforcement process is unfair to athletes.
Football
* ‘Serious’ gaps divide NFL, officials: The NFL and its locked-out officials met the past two days, but a person familiar with the negotiations said Friday the sides remain far apart and no further talks are scheduled. The person said in an email to The Associated Press that there are “significant and serious economic gaps." The person requested anonymity in characterizing the negotiations because they are intended to remain private. Michael Arnold, counsel and lead negotiator for NFL Referees Association, acknowledged the discussions, saying his group reached out to the league last week and the NFL agreed to meet. He said there may be additional talks, but it is “not appropriate" to comment on specific issues.
• Former Beaver gets probation in domestic battery case: Former NFL and Oregon State wide receiver Chad Johnson pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge involving his then-wife, reality TV star Evelyn Lozada. Johnson was sentenced Friday to a year’s probation and a counseling course under a plea deal with prosecutors. Johnson also must pay Lozada unspecified restitution.
• Jim Brown: ‘I am a Cleveland Brown forever’: Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown says he hopes to have a role with the Cleveland Browns after a two-year estrangement from his former team. Appearing at an alumni golf outing, the 76-year-old Brown said he’ll meet Saturday with incoming owner Jimmy Haslam III. Brown would like to have a hand in developing “a new winning attitude" with the Browns. He previously worked as an adviser to owner Randy Lerner, but was relieved of his duties by president Mike Holmgren. Brown said Holmgren has reached out to meet with him this weekend. Brown said he’s looking forward to sitting down with Holmgren and the two “didn’t have much of a confrontation."
Track & field
* Bolt joins cause for track athletes: Jamaican Olympic champion Usain Bolt is among those joining a group of U.S. track and field athletes fighting a rule that bars Olympians from using their names or likenesses for advertising during the Games. The Track and Field Athletes Association, which includes high-profile American runners such as Sanya Richards-Ross and Bernard Lagat, announced Friday it had added international athletes. The athletes are opposed to Rule 40, an International Olympic Committee rule that prohibits Olympic athletes from advertising in the days leading up to and during the Games.
Motor sports
* Edmonton IndyCar race folds: The Edmonton IndyCar race has folded. Promoter Octane Motorsports said Friday that it won’t stage the race the next year, and city officials said they won’t search for a replacement promoter. The decisions leave Toronto as IndyCar’s lone Canadian race. Montreal-based Octane said that to survive the event needed a promise of more spectators and more support from local businesses, and that it was wasn’t confident that would happen.
— From wire reports
