DAYTONA BEACH - Crew chief Todd Berrier was suspended for two more races Tuesday for violations on Kevin Harvick's car, bringing his total events missed this season to seven.
NASCAR found several violations in the trunk of Harvick's No.29 Chevrolet after he qualified second at Talladega Superspeedway. The car was disqualified and Berrier was thrown out of the weekend's events.
Berrier's banishment was extended until Oct.19. He also was fined $10,000 and placed on probation until Dec.31.
NASCAR suspended Berrier for four races earlier this year when Harvick's fuel tank was found rigged in Las Vegas.
Three other crew chiefs also were penalized Tuesday for infractions at Talladega.
Tony Gibson was fined $10,000 for using an unapproved air directional device and unapproved wheel spacers on Michael Waltrip's car. Tony Eury Jr. ( Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team) and Dustin Smith ( Morgan Shepherd's) were both fined $2,500 for using unapproved fuel cell foam.
JOHNSON TO BLAME: Jimmie Johnson acknowledged he was at fault for an eight-car crash at Talladega. Johnson denied responsibility immediately after Sunday's accident, claiming he was pushed into leader Elliott Sadler by Earnhardt. But after watching tape, Johnson said he realized he ran into the back of Sadler to start the wreck, which cost both himself and Mark Martin valuable ground in the race for the Nextel Cup title.
NBA: Curry trade gets okay
The league approved a trade that sends Eddy Curry and veteran center Antonio Davis from Chicago to New York for forwards Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney and Jermaine Jackson, ending Curry's dispute with the Bulls. Trades require that all players pass a physical, and in Curry's case it will involve tests to determine whether an irregular heartbeat that forced him to miss the last 13 games of last season and the playoffs was an isolated incident or an indication of a more serious problem. The Bulls had demanded Curry take a DNA test to see if he is susceptible to cardiomyopathy, but Curry refused, saying the test violated his privacy. The Knicks said they couldn't give Curry a DNA test because of New York's privacy and employment laws.
As part of the trade, the Knicks also will give the Bulls a conditional first-round draft pick in 2006, two second-round selections in the next four years and the option of exchanging first-round picks with New York at a later draft.
OLYMPICS: Softball receives hope
International Softball Federation president Don Porter said he and six players had "a very good meeting" with IOC president Jacques Rogge in Switzerland in an effort to reinstate softball for the 2012 Games. The IOC voted in July to drop softball and baseball after 2008, the first sports cut from the Olympics since polo in 1936. Porter said Rogge told him the "door is open" for another vote, but only if the IOC members request it at their session in February on the eve of the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
TENNIS: ITF to guide drug tests
The International Tennis Federation will take control of drug testing in the men's game starting next year. The agreement with the ATP Tour will create a program that complies with the World Anti-Doping Agency's code. The program will start in January and run through 2010, covering about 600 tests a year at ATP tournaments. That's in addition to the 500 tests conducted on male players at events run by the ITF. Players also face out-of-competition testing. ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti said he hopes the women's tour will follow suit.
ET CETERA
SAILING: America's Cup defender Alinghi won Act 8 of the Louis Vuitton warmup regatta despite its first two defeats of the year. France's K-Challenge sailed to a 35-second win over Alinghi in the day's opening series and American rival BMW Oracle beat the Swiss boat by 1 minute, 32 seconds in the final match race of Act 8. After six days of racing at Trapani, Sicily, four teams finished with nine points and Alinghi won the tiebreaker due its better record against the other teams.
SOCCER: Bob Bradley was fired as coach of the MetroStars, ending a run of nearly three years with no playoff victories and an MLS team consistently hovering near the .500 mark. Assistant coach Mo Johnston will take over for the interim.
