In Brief

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke forward Singler eases
knee 'discomfort' with surgery

Duke senior forward Kyle Singler is recovering from knee surgery.

The school said last season's most outstanding player at the Final Four had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday at the Duke University Medical Center. He's expected to recover in time for the start of practice Oct. 15.

Associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski said Singler was having some "discomfort" in his knee so he decided to have the surgery.

Singler averaged nearly 18 points and seven rebounds to help Duke win its fourth NCAA championship.

Also: Michigan State guard Korie Lucious will be sentenced Dec. 20 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving.

The junior had been charged with operating while intoxicated after he was pulled over early Monday near the campus in East Lansing.

GOLF

Calcavecchia shoots 64, takes
early lead in Champions event

Mark Calcavecchia shot an 8-under-par 64 at Del Monte to take a two-stroke lead over Tom Pernice Jr. in the Champions Tour's First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, Calif.

Calcavecchia, in his first season on the 50-and-over tour after winning 13 times on the PGA Tour, capped his bogey-free first round with a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole to equal his career low on the senior circuit.

Pernice birdied five of the first six holes at Pebble Beach, then had 10 straight pars and birdied the 17th en route to a 66.

Fred Couples, Bob Tway, Tom Kite, Wayne Levi and 2006 winner Scott Simpson opened with 67s at Del Monte, and Chip Beck and Olin Browne had 67s at Pebble Beach -- the site of the final round Sunday.

Two-time defending champion Jeff Sluman had a 68 at Del Monte.

Also: Miguel Angel Jimenez fired a 10-under 61 to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the European Masters in Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

The 46-year-old Spaniard had two eagles to produce the lowest score of his 28-year professional career.

Edoardo Molinari (65) and 17-year-old Matteo Manasssero (67) were tied for second behind Jimenez, who stood at 14-under 128.

Nationwide Insurance announced it will end its title sponsorship of the PGA Tour's developmental circuit when the contract expires in two years.

Instead, Nationwide will stay involved in golf starting in 2011 as the presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament, founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus.

HORSE RACING

Quality Road big favorite in
Saratoga's Woodward Stakes

Quality Road is the favorite to win the $750,000 Woodward Stakes today at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Quality Road experienced his first defeat of the season by Blame in the Whitney Handicap this summer at Saratoga.

Beginning the season with three victories -- including the prestigious, Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park and Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont -- the 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher was ranked the nation's leading older male. That honor is now held by Blame, who isn't among seven entered in the 1 1/8-mile Woodward.

Quality Road, with John Velaquez aboard, is an overwhelming 1-4 morning-line favorite.

MISCELLANEOUS

Former Armstrong teammate
Landis files whistle-blower suit

Former Lance Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, who has accused the seven-time Tour de France winner of doping while riding for the U.S. Postal Service team, has filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Landis won the Tour de France in 2006 but had the title stripped because of a positive drug test. This spring, he ended years of denials by admitting he took performance-enhancing drugs. He also accused Armstrong and other cyclists of doping.

Citing anonymous sources, the Journal reported in a story posted on its website that Landis has filed a lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act. The law allows Americans to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded.

Also: Reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador will not race for Spain at the world championships.

Spain coach Jose Luis de Santos said the three-time Tour champion will not be at the worlds in Australia since "Alberto told me he prefers not to stretch out the season anymore and will rest ahead of next season."

Family members cried and hugged each other for support as pallbearers carried the casket of 13-year-old motorcycle racer Peter Lenz after his funeral at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Vancouver, Wash.

Lenz was killed Sunday when he fell off his motorcycle and was run over by another rider at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a warmup for a U.S. Grand Prix Racers Union event.

Two groups of scientists have developed tests for gene doping in what the World Anti-Doping Agency hailed as a major breakthrough in fighting the next frontier in cheating in sports.

Scientists in Germany said they have come up with a blood test that can provide "conclusive proof" of gene doping, even going back as far as 56 days from when the doping took place.

And a U.S.-French research team has devised its own method for detecting genetic doping in muscles.

The discoveries raise the possibility that a valid gene-doping test can be implemented by the 2012 London Olympics.

The UNLV volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision (24-26, 17-25, 14-25) to 19th-ranked Michigan at the Oregon State Challenge in Corvallis, Ore.

Kelsey Keeler and Sara Nehf had eight kills apiece for the Rebels (1-3).