Sports briefs for July 29, 2005

Friday, July 29, 2005 | 10:01 a.m.

Armstrong loses ruling in libel suit

The Sunday Times newspaper in London won a ruling allowing it to defend a libel lawsuit brought by Lance Armstrong by claiming its allegations related to performance-enhancing drugs were in the public interest.

Armstrong, who won his record seventh Tour de France championship last week, is suing Times Newspapers Ltd. and two journalists over a June 2004 article claiming an unauthorized book about the cyclist would raise "fresh questions" about the possibility he had taken blood-boosting substances or other drugs. A trial is due to start later this year.

The Court of Appeal today ruled that Times Newspapers should be allowed to use a "qualified privilege" defense against the claim, overturning an earlier decision by the High Court. The defense allows publishers to evade liability for defamatory statements if they can show the matter reported was in the public interest and that they acted responsibly in printing it.

"The detailed history of the article and its preparation and the quality of the research material was a matter for witness statements and disclosure, not for summary disposal," Lord Justice Henry Brooke wrote in the judgment.

The Garland Police Department in Texas said it found evidence that could link B.J. Mathis to an apartment where a woman said she was assaulted on March 24, according to documents filed in 4th District Court in Provo.

Teen dies after playing basketball

A 17-year-old high school basketball player from Niagara Falls, N.Y., dropped dead after playing a summer league game in Los Angeles.

Miguel Respress was stricken Thursday after playing basketball with several of his Niagara Falls High School teammates in a tournament at Loyola Marymount University. He was taken to a hospital were he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Doctors were not sure how Respress died.

"We won the game, come out after the game, we were just sitting in the courtyard and giving the kids Gatorade and he just opened the Gatorade and he just passed out," Niagara Falls coach Jeff Bishop told KCAL-9 TV in Los Angeles.

"We don't know what happened. I talked with his parents and he'd had no prior health issues."

CBS hires Gannon

Rich Gannon will join CBS Sports as an NFL game analyst.

Gannon, who turns 40 in December, has not officially retired from the Oakland Raiders. But the NFL's 2002 MVP has sustained numerous injuries. Last season, he fractured a vertebra in his neck in the third week after a helmet-to-helmet collision with Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks.

Gannon will team with Craig Bolerjack on "The NFL on CBS."

Cayeux leads in European event

At Stockholm, Sweden, Marc Cayeux of Zimbabwe shot an 8-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the $1.92 million Scandinavian Masters.

England's Barry Lane was a shot back. Mark Hensby of Australia, who tied for fifth at the Masters in April and shared third last month at the U.S. Open, shot 65 and shared third with Sweden's Robert Karlsson.

Puerta upset in second round

At Kitzbuehel, Austria, Romania's Victor Hanescu upset second-seeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina 6-4, 6-3 at the Generali Open.

In the quarterfinals, Hanescu will meet Fernando Verdasco after the unseeded Spaniard ousted local favorite Juergen Melzer, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1.

-- Sun wire serivices