DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Lance Armstrong made the most of a ninth-place finish Friday.
The 32-year-old Texan maintained his slim lead over Jens Voigt after the fifth stage of the Tour de Georgia.
Armstrong raced from Dalton to Dahlonega in 5 hours, 41 minutes, 9 seconds, keeping his lead over Voigt for a second day at .24 seconds.
Jason McCartney, a 20-year-old from Coralville, Iowa, was a surprising winner of the 139.4-mile leg in 5:40:16.
Armstrong, who seeks an unprecedented sixth straight Tour de France title in July, had started racing when the U.S. Postal Service, his team's sponsor since 1998, announced it won't renew after 2004.
HORSES: Jockeys want ads
Five jockeys scheduled to ride in the Kentucky Derby May 1, including Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey, sued the Kentucky racing authority for the right to wear advertising during the year's first Triple Crown race. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, claims the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's ban on jockeys wearing corporate advertising is vague, unreasonable and violates free speech. The other plaintiffs are Jose Santos, Alex Solis, Shane Sellers and John Velazquez.
OLYMPICS: Tae kwon do safety
Three American lawmakers have asked the U.S. Olympic Committee to review a tae kwon do rule that allows young black belts to disable their opponents with kicks to the head. In two letters sent Wednesday, Reps. Henry Waxman and Jesse Jackson Jr. and Sen. James Jeffords urged the USOC to look at a 2002 rule that lowered the minimum age for international competition from 14 to 12.
DOPING TESTS: The control laboratory in Seoul, South Korea, was suspended from carrying out steroid checks for six months because it failed to meet the international standard.
SOCCER: Maradona off respirator
Doctors removed Diego Maradona from a respirator, but he remained in intensive care for a sixth consecutive day battling severe heart and lung problems in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The medical team treating the 43-year-old said it "suspended" use of a breathing tube at midday, replacing it with a plastic mask to provide oxygen. The doctors said in a statement they continued to administer medicines to treat a heart inflammation and lung infection.
PELE SURGERY: Pele, 63, left a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a day after emergency surgery for a detached retina.
FINES: Columbus midfielder Frankie Hejduk, already fined $250 and suspended for a game for hitting an opponent, was fined another $500 by MLS. Hejduk hit Kansas City's Alex Zotinca in the mouth on Saturday. He was ejected and is not eligible to play today at Los Angeles.
TENNIS: Venus leads U.S. team
The United States begins its bid to regain the Fed Cup with a match against Slovenia today with one prominent absentee. Serena Williams is out with a knee injury, leaving sister Venus to lead the squad in the first round of World Group play in Portoroz, Slovenia. Lisa Raymond, who played in last year's final, is back along with 47-year-old Martina Navratilova and Laura Granville. The Americans lost last year's final 4-1 to France, playing without the Williams sisters, Lindsay Davenport or Jennifer Capriati.
KOURNIKOVA CASE: Anna Kournikova is countersuing her parents, seeking to remove their names from the deed of a $5-million waterfront home in Miami Beach. She sued Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Last week Sergei and Alla Kournikova sued their daughter in the same court, saying they want to be paid for what they claim are their shares in the home. All three are listed as owners of the seven-bedroom, seven-bath home, according to property records.
MONTE CARLO MASTERS: In Monaco, Marat Safin beat Alberto Martin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to advance to a semifinal match with Guillermo Coria, who beat David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-3.
ET CETERA
FOOTBALL: The St. Petersburg Sharks (9-1) host the Tampa Barracudas (8-2) in a Southern States League playoff opener at 7:05 tonight at the 31st Street Sports Complex.
WINTER SPORTS: Art Devlin, a former U.S. Olympic ski jumper and sports broadcaster, died of cancer at 81 at his home in Lake Placid, N.Y.
