IN BRIEF

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Reluctantly, MWC agrees to BCS TV deal

After taking its fight to change the Bowl Championships Series to Congress, the Mountain West Conference is reluctantly agreeing to a BCS television deal.

The MWC still doesn't receive an automatic berth to a BCS game, but needed to sign the agreement with ESPN so the league's nine schools would be eligible to play in one of the top-tier bowls.

The Mountain West released a statement Wednesday from Utah president Michael Young, who testified the day before at a Senate subcommittee hearing.

Young said the conference thought it had no choice other than to sign the agreement, which runs through the 2013 season.

SOCCER

Quaranta, Ching score in U.S. win vs. Honduras

Santino Quaranta broke a scoreless tie in the 75th minute and Brian Ching followed with a header in the 79th, giving the United States a 2-0 win over Honduras in Washington, D.C., in the Gold Cup.

The United States, two-time defending champion in the competition contested among the countries of North and Central America and the Caribbean, is 23-0-1 in Gold Cup group play.

The Americans are 2-0 and lead Group B entering their final first-round match against Haiti on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.

MOTOR SPORTS

NASCAR asks court to restore Mayfield ban

NASCAR asked an appeals court to ban Jeremy Mayfield from racing, alleging the participation of "a proven methamphetamine user" could lead to fatal consequences for other competitors and fans.

NASCAR wants the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen's decision last week to lift Mayfield's indefinite suspension after a positive drug test.

Mayfield attorney John Buric scoffed at the idea Mayfield is a potential danger and revealed the driver was tested twice Monday -- once at an independent laboratory and once at his home by NASCAR.

Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test eight days earlier.

Also: Tony Stewart called his last-lap dustup with Kyle Busch at Daytona International Speedway last weekend "just a part of racing," and Busch apparently agrees.

Stewart said he spoke to Busch on Tuesday and that the two NASCAR stars were on the "same page" after the accident that sent Busch to the infield care center and Stewart to Victory Lane in the final moments of the 400-mile race Saturday night.

Busch took the lead on the next-to-last lap and tried to fend off a hard-charging Stewart. He successfully blocked Stewart once, but when he tried to do it again, Stewart hooked Busch's right rear fender instead, sending Busch into the wall a few hundred yards from the finish.

Formula One's fragile peace deal was thrown into doubt when eight leading teams walked out of a meeting with the governing body after being told they had not been entered into the 2010 championship and would have no say on finalizing cost-cutting measures.

The Formula One Teams Association accused the FIA of putting "the future of Formula One in jeopardy" by reneging on a deal that saw them halt plans to form a breakaway series.

MISCELLANEOUS

Figure skater's mother: Daughter not a criminal

Former U.S. figure skating champion Nicole Bobek would never do anything criminal, the skater's mother said, two days after her 31-year-old daughter was released from jail on a drug charge.

But Jana Bobek also said her daughter liked to party and might be in trouble because of the company she keeps.

"If she is in some kind of trouble, she is probably in some trouble because she got in with the wrong company," Jana Bobek said.

Nicole Bobek has been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Also: An official familiar with Olympic drug testing said that backup tests came back positive for 1,500-meter champion Rashid Ramzi and four others accused of doping at the Beijing Olympics.

The U.S. Olympic Committee's venture into the TV business is irritating some international Olympic leaders -- not exactly the reaction the Americans were expecting when they decided to create a network solely devoted to promoting the movement.

The USOC unveiled details of the network. On Monday, IOC TV director Timo Lumme sent the USOC a letter warning that the federation might not receive all the clearance it wanted for programming and naming rights.

Utah Valley has completed the jump from junior college athletics to NCAA Division I.

The Wolverines have spent the last six years as an NCAA provisional school. They could compete in Division I but were not eligible for postseason play.