Round and round: Five of Lance Armstrong’s former teammates have accepted six-month doping suspensions, reduced because they provided evidence that helped the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency make the case to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles. George Hincapie, Tom Danielson, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie all would have received at least two-year sanctions had they not helped the USADA with its case. As part of their deals, all agreed not to participate in the Olympics this year. In June, all but Danielson announced they were withdrawing themselves from Olympic consideration, but they did not give an explanation. All the suspensions run through next February. Hincapie has said he’s retiring at the end of 2012.
Off air: The folksy ESPN college football commentator Carroll “Beano” Cook has died. The 81-year-old commentator had worked for the sports network since 1986 and was the sports information director at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, from 1956 to 1966. The university announced today that Cook had died in his sleep. “He was one of a kind,” ESPN Executive Chairman George Bodenheimer says. “There never was and never will be another Beano. His combination of humor, passion, love of college football, and his engaging personality left an indelible mark on the sport and touched anyone who knew him.” Read the full story here.
The road it may be rocky: With the World Cup qualifying standings a mess, the U.S. national team has found a way to simplify things: win and win. There are other ways the United States could reach the final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but the Americans are fixating now on the route that sounds easiest but will be the most difficult. If the Americans win their next two games, starting with a road test against Antigua and Barbuda on Friday night, they will move on no matter what happens in the other remaining Group A matchups. Sputter in those games, though, and the Americans could be ousted long before anyone expected. The full story is here.
