IN BRIEF

OLYMPICS

Double-amputee gets OK in quest for Beijing

Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter from South Africa, was cleared Friday to compete in his bid to qualify for the Beijing Games.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations that barred the 21-year-old runner from the Olympics and any other able-bodied competition because of his prosthetic racing blades.

Pistorius acknowledged it will be a challenge to make it to the Aug. 8-to-24 Beijing Games. He has the 400-meter Paralympic world record of 46.56 but must reach the qualifying time of 45.55 to compete in the event in Beijing. He could be invited to join the South African relay team, which would not require him to qualify.

Also: Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery was sentenced by a federal judge in White Plains, N.Y., to 46 months in prison for dealing in bad checks.

The judge also warned Montgomery, 33, that the evidence against him "does not appear to be flimsy" in an ongoing case in Virginia, where he is accused of selling heroin. A conviction there would carry a minimum mandatory five-year sentence.

Montgomery won a silver medal in the 400 relay at the 1996 Olympics and a gold medal in the same event in 2000. In 2002, he set a world record of 9.78 seconds in the 100-meter dash that later was erased because of doping allegations. He was banned from track for two years, and though he never tested positive for drugs, he retired after the ban was imposed.

Chicago Olympic organizers are on track to spend about $58 million trying to lure the 2016 Summer Games to the Midwest.

According to the group's Internal Revenue Service filing, the Chicago 2016 Exploratory Committee spent about $9 million during the initial phase of the bid. It previously has estimated it would spend another $49 million before the International Olympic Committee picks a host city next year.

GOLF

Byrd fires another 66, leads by three strokes

Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf, shooting his second straight 6-under-par 66 to take a three-stroke lead at 12-under 132 in the AT&T Classic at Duluth, Ga.

The course was drenched with more than an inch of rain Thursday and, though no precipitation fell in the second round, overcast conditions kept the sun from drying off the fairways and greens and making the course play faster.

Kenny Perry and Ryan Palmer, who shared the first-round lead with Byrd, Parker McLachlin and Jonathan Kaye, shot 69s to drop into a tie for second.

Also: Second-round play was wiped out in the LPGA Tour's Sybase Classic in Clifton, N.J., after rain created conditions that would have forced players to compete on two very different courses if the round had been suspended until today. Tournament officials wiped out play, rescheduled the second round to today and reduced the $2 million tournament from 72 holes to 54.

Annika Sorenstam, Rachel Hetherington and Song-Hee Kim shared the lead after shooting 67s on Thursday. Lorena Ochoa was a shot back.

Andy Bean and Monday qualifier Mike Goodes shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Regions Charity Classic at Hoover, Ala.

France's Michael Lorenzo-Vera shot a 2-under 70 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Irish Open in Adare, Ireland. He is at 6-under 138.

MOTOR SPORTS

Briscoe uninjured after crash in Indy practice

Veteran driver Ryan Briscoe, a front-row qualifier last week, crashed hard in the second turn but was uninjured during practice for the Indianapolis 500.

One of the fastest on the final full day of practice before the May 25 race, Briscoe spun into the wall with the rear of his backup car. After climbing out on his own, he was checked at the infield hospital and cleared to drive.

The 26-year-old Australian, who drives for Team Penske, qualified his primary race car third last week, placing him on the outside of the front row for the race. At the time of Friday's crash, his top speed of 223.372 mph was third fastest of the day, behind pole sitter Scott Dixon and former winner Helio Castroneves, Briscoe's teammate.

Also: With Kyle Busch's dominant truck getting crunched, Matt Crafton survived a wild finish to win his first Craftsman Truck Series race.

Crafton avoided the mayhem over the final laps, pulling away in a green-white-checkered finish to win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Chad McCumbee finished second and Las Vegan Brendan Gaughan third.

Busch finished 13th after getting caught in a wreck started by points leader Ron Hornaday.

Rookie Mike Neff (Funny Car), Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) led first-day qualifying in the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.

MISCELLANEOUS

Flyers All-Star Timonen likely to play Sunday

Philadelphia Flyers All-Star Kimmo Timonen, all but ruled out for the season a week ago because of a blood clot in his left ankle, skated on his own for 35 minutes and expects to play Sunday when the Flyers play at Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals. The Penguins lead the best-of-7 series 3-1.

Also: Peter Laviolette will be back for a fifth season coaching the Carolina Hurricanes. Speculation swirled for the past month about Laviolette's future after Carolina missed the playoffs in both seasons after its 2006 championship run.

Russia and Canada will meet Sunday in the final of the world hockey championships in Quebec City. Russia defeated Finland 4-0, and host Canada advanced with a 5-4 victory over Sweden.

Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match against French qualifier Alize Cornet at the Italian Open in Rome with a back injury.

Venus Williams was beaten by defending champion Jelena Jankovic, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Jankovic next will play second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who defeated Patty Schnyder 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2.

Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the Hamburg Masters in Germany by defeating Fernando Verdasco, 6-3, 6-3. In the semifinals, Federer will play unseeded Andreas Seppi and Novak Djokovic will face Rafael Nadal.

Brigham Young center Trent Plaisted has agreed to sign with an agent, giving up his option to return to school for his final season of eligibility. Plaisted, who will sign with Priority Sports, averaged 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds as a junior.

North Carolina forward Alex Stepheson is transferring because he wants to be closer to his family in Los Angeles. The reserve power forward averaged 3.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in two years at the university.