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In brief
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 8, 2003
NBA players on the U.S. Olympic team shouldn't expect a 4 a.m. knock on the door for random drug tests, but they must be careful about ingesting banned substances -- even those in soft drinks.
Rules adopted this week at an international anti-doping conference in Copenhagen call for the disqualification of any team that has two anti-doping violations during the Olympics. Caffeine is one of many banned substances, with a content of 12 or more micrograms per milliliter constituting a doping violation.
The NBA players' union has expressed concern with the scope of the testing, though a spokesman for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Friday that some of those concerns were unfounded.
Players technically will be subject to random testing at any time and any place.
"Most of the time we're going to work with their schedules, and we're not going to knock on doors at 4 a.m.," USADA spokesman Rich Wanninger said. "The possibility is there, but it probably won't happen."
The new policies are similar to those employed last year when the United States sent a team to the World Championships. Although that tournament did not begin until August, some American players were tested as early as April.
Tampa's Mardy Fish beat Alberto Martin 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals of the International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach. Fish faces third-seeded Marcelo Rios, and Jan-Michael Gambill and Robert Kendrick play in the other semifinal. ... Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the semifinals in the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz., defeating Spaniard Alex Corretja, 6-4, 6-2. Hewitt faces American Taylor Dent. Also joining Hewitt in the semifinals was Mark Philippoussis, who upset third-seeded David Nalbandian and plays Mariano Zabaleta. ... Top-seeded Kim Clijsters moved into the third round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif., with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Fabiola Zuluaga. Daniela Hantuchova, returning to the site of her only WTA Tour victory, also advanced.
The United States successfully defended its grand prix show jumping championship against Ireland and Canada in the Nations Cup at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington. Sydney Olympic participant and Florida native Margie Goldstein-Engle clinched the title with a fault-free second round to edge the Irish team by one point. The U.S. team finished two rounds with a score of eight faults, the Irish were second with nine and Canada finished third with 38.
SOCCER: The 2014 World Cup will be held in South America, returning to the continent for the first time since 1978. The United States intended to bid for the 2014 tournament.
CYCLING: Lance Armstrong finished two seconds behind winner Erik Zabel in the third stage of the Tour of Murcia in Caravaca, Spain, a tuneup in his bid for a fifth straight Tour de France title. Armstrong finished 61st and remained 42nd in the overall standings in the field of 131 riders for the five-stage race.
SAILING: Peter Bromby and crewman Martin Siese won the Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta, the second time in the past three years that the team from Bermuda has won the event.
SPEED SKATING: Russia's Yevgeny Lalenkov and Canada's Cindy Klassen won World Cup 1,500-meter speed skating titles in the final meet of the season in Heerenveen, Netherlands. American Derek Parra finished 14th and was second in the men's overall standings, and Jennifer Rodriguez was second and finished third in the women's standings.