Cycling
Italian champion Visconti banned
• Three-time Italian cycling champion Giovanni Visconti has been banned for three months for seeing banned physician Michele Ferrari. The Italian Olympic Committee’s anti-doping court also hit Visconti with a $13,000 fine. Former Giro d’Italia champion Michele Scarponi received an identical sentence this week for seeing Ferrari.
Ferrari was banned for life by the Italian cycling federation in 2002. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency also banned Ferrari for life this year after its inquiry of Lance Armstrong, whom Ferrari advised. Visconti’s ban was backdated to Oct. 8 and will expire on Jan. 7.
Snowboarding
Wescott wins race in World Cup event
• Two-time Olympic champion Seth Wescott won his first World Cup snowboardcross event in four years in a photo finish over Alex Pullin of Australia in Telluride, Colo. In his second race back since a season-ending knee injury in January, Wescott exchanged leads with Pullin four times in the finals before edging him out at the finish. Canada’s Dominique Maltais defeated teammate Maelle Ricker in the women’s race.
Golf
Popovic tied for lead in Australian PGA
• Daniel Popovic maintained a share of the lead after the second day of the Australian PGA while Geoff Ogilvy posted another solid round. Popovic, who nearly gave up golf earlier this year to care for his ill father, followed his opening-round 64 with a 2-under 70, including a double-bogey seven on the par-5 15th. The tour rookie is tied with Zhang Xinjun (67) at 10 under, 2 shots clear of the field at the Palmer Coolum resort course in Coolum.
• Spain’s Sergio Garcia birdied five of his first 12 holes in the Johor Open in Johor, Malaysia, for a share of the lead in the suspended second round. Garcia was 9 under overall with eight holes left when darkness forced the suspension of play in the Asian Tour event at rainy Horizon Hills. American David Lipsky also was 9 under after finishing off a first-round 63 in the morning. He was unable to start the second round before play was stopped.
Bobsledding
Canada’s Humphries wins eighth-straight
• Canada’s Kaillie Humphries raced to her eighth straight World Cup bobsled victory, edging American Jamie Greubel by 0.27 seconds in La Plagne, France. Humphries and brakeman Chelsea Valois were fastest in both runs, finishing with a combined time of 2:03.30. Greubel, from Newtown, Pa., teamed with brakeman Emily Azevedo of Chico, Calif. Fellow Americans Elana Meyers of Douglasville, Ga., and Katie Eberling of Palos Hills, Ill., were third in 2:03.81.
College Football
La. Tech assistant Ingram to join Cal
• Louisiana Tech running backs coach Pierre Ingram has agreed to do the same job for new coach Sonny Dykes at California. Ingram served in the same role for Dykes at Louisiana Tech the last three seasons.
— From wire reports
