IN BRIEF

CYCLING

Armstrong has surgery, sets plans for rehab

His broken collarbone surgically mended, Lance Armstrong is on the clock.

The seven-time Tour de France champion will be back on his bike in days, even though the bone might take eight to 12 weeks to fully mend. Armstrong must resume training almost immediately if he's to meet his goal of racing in the Giro d'Italia, which begins May 9.

The 37-year-old American cyclist also plans to ride in the Tour de France in July.

Surgeon Doug Elenz inserted a stainless steel plate and 12 screws to stabilize the broken collarbone Wednesday, two days after Armstrong crashed in the first stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon race in northern Spain.

"Lance is going to be a patient who is going to push the envelope," Elenz said. "This first week we're going to make Lance take it easy ... ask Lance not to do a whole lot."

After taking a few days off, Armstrong will be allowed to ride a stationary bike. Then doctors will monitor his arm strength and range of motion, as well as his pain, to decide what kind of training he can do.

Also: Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the 98-mile third stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon, and Levi Leipheimer of the United States retained the overall lead as the event rolled into San Isidro, Spain.

BASKETBALL

Aztecs, Fighting Irish reach NIT semifinals

San Diego State blew a 13-point second-half lead, then rallied to beat Patrick Mills and the Saint Mary's Gaels 70-66 in San Diego to reach the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament.

Tim Shelton posted up for the go-ahead basket with 48.6 seconds left, and Richie Williams made three free throws in the final 26 seconds for the Aztecs, who next will face Baylor at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Also: Luke Harangody had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Notre Dame hit 12 3-pointers to end a 10-game losing streak to Kentucky, beating the Wildcats 77-67 in South Bend, Ind., to advance to the NIT semifinals. The Fighting Irish next will take on Penn State.

The NBA announced it will head to Europe on a preseason tour for the fourth straight year, with the Chicago Bulls playing the Utah Jazz on Oct. 6 in an exhibition game in London.

A second game on this year's NBA Europe Live Tour will be announced at a later date, with the Jazz expected to play an opponent yet to be determined.

The Denver Nuggets' Nene was suspended two games without pay by the NBA after head-butting an opposing player and making contact with an official.

Nene was ejected in the fourth quarter of Denver's 118-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday, after head-butting the Suns' Louis Amundson. After the ejection, Nene made contact with a game official.

MOTOR SPORTS

Hendrick won't split up Dale Jr., crew chief Eury

Team owner Rick Hendrick won't split Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his embattled crew chief, despite their slow start to the season.

Tony Eury Jr. always has been under scrutiny as crew chief for NASCAR's most popular driver, but it has hit a new level this year as the No. 88 team has just one top-10 finish through five races. Earnhardt heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend 19th in the standings.

"Both Junior and Tony have told me that if they thought they needed to be split, that they understood," Hendrick said in a national teleconference. "That's my call, and I'm not ready to make that call. Not even close. I am convinced that they're better together."

Also: NASCAR's annual All-Star race will end with a 10-lap final shootout to create a dramatic finish for the $1 million event.

The race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., still will be 100 laps, but it will be split into four segments and culminate with the final sprint to the finish. NASCAR, track and sponsor officials announced the new format.

MISCELLANEOUS

France's Joubert leads world figure skating

Frenchman Brian Joubert botched his quad combination yet still edged American Evan Lysacek in the men's short program at the world figure skating championships in Los Angeles.

Joubert, the 2007 champion, was bolstered by a more difficult solo jump, scoring 84.40 points to stand 1.7 points ahead of Lysacek going into tonight's free skate.

Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won the pairs title for the second year in a row, scoring 203.48 points, almost 17 points ahead of the runners-up.

Also: Unbeaten Dunkirk and Quality Road, who won the Fountain of Youth, were among nine horses entered in Saturday's Florida Derby, one of the biggest preps for the Kentucky Derby.

Dunkirk, who wasn't raced as a 2-year-old and is 2-for-2 this year over the Gulfstream Park surface, drew the fourth position. That's two spots outside Quality Road, who announced himself as a contender for the Triple Crown season with a convincing four-length win in the Fountain of Youth a month ago.

The UNLV baseball team gave up 12 runs over the middle three innings, losing to No. 17 Oklahoma State 15-1 in Stillwater, Okla.

UNLV (13-10) trailed 1-0 after three innings, but the Cowboys scored three runs in the fourth, four in the fifth and five in the sixth to put the game away. Bryan Resnick's seventh-inning homer accounted for the Rebels' run.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Gerber received an automatic three-game suspension from the NHL for abusing referee Mike Leggo.

Gerber was tossed with 56 seconds remaining in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals after he pushed Leggo and shot a puck in his direction.

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is scheduled to play against Toronto on Friday, marking his first start after missing a month with a sprained left ankle.

Boxer Giovanni Parisi, a former Olympic and world champion, died in a car accident in northern Italy. He was 41.

Parisi died when the car he was driving collided head on with a van on a highway outside the town of Voghera, where he lived, police said.