Thursday, July 21, 2005 | 10:25 a.m.
U.S. relay team gets to keep gold medals
Michael Johnson and the rest of the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team can keep their gold medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled today.
The United States Olympic Committee had filed an appeal to the CAS challenging a recommendation by the IAAF to disqualify the entire squad for a doping scandal involving team member Jerome Young.
"The results of the men's 4x400-meter relay event at the Sydney Games should not be amended and that only Jerome Young in the U.S. team should be stripped of his gold medal," the CAS said in a statement.
The petition was lodged with the Lausanne-based court by the USOC and five team members -- Johnson, twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, Antonio Pettigrew and Jerome Taylor.
Young is not covered by the USOC appeal. The five believed only Young should be stripped of the gold medal and not the rest of the team.
MLB battles company over Nationals name
A company that says it owns the trademark rights to the name Washington Nationals baseball club answered a lawsuit brought by Major League Baseball with countercharges of its own.
Bygone Sports LLC said it filed papers in U.S. District Court in Manhattan challenging claims brought last month by Major League Baseball Properties Inc. and Baseball Expos L.P.
The baseball entities had asked the court to declare that the trademark does not belong to the company because its sole purpose in filing for a trademark was to capitalize on the naming of the new baseball team, formerly the Montreal Expos.
Bygone Sports asked the court to block the retailing arm of Major League Baseball from using the Washington Nationals trademark in any way that interferes with the use of it by Bygone. It also sought unspecified damages and an accounting of all sales and profits obtained by Major League Baseball by using the name.
Brother of NHL player killed in car crash
Donny O'Neill, the 33-year-old brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff O'Neill, was killed Thursday morning in a car crash north of Toronto. The crash occurred at 4:30 a.m. on a ramp connecting two major highways. O'Neill was not wearing a seat belt.
Ohio State probe
Ohio State is investigating whether quarterback Troy Smith broke another NCAA rule when he attended a football camp sponsored by Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair this summer. NCAA rules allow players to attend educational or charitable activities as long as they don't miss class and have written permission from the school's athletic director.
Sadler team penalized
NASCAR penalized Elliott Sadler's Busch series team for rules infractions at New Hampshire International Speedway. Sadler was docked 25 points, Robert Yates lost 25 car-owner points, and crew chief Todd Parrott was fined $10,000 and placed on probation until Sept. 21 for using unapproved shock absorbers. The infraction was discovered during the postrace inspection Saturday.
Surgery for Welch
Air Force senior Nick Welch had surgery for a broken bone in his left foot, but school officials said he should be fully recovered before the first team practice Oct. 15. He was hurt in a pickup basketball game July 1 at home in Fort Worth, Texas.
-- Sun wire services
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