Hockey
MARIO COMMITTED TO GAMES: Mario Lemieux still isn't sure when he will resume practicing with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but hasn't changed his mind about playing for Canada in the Winter Olympics.
Lemieux, who has missed all but three of the Penguins' last 18 games with a hip injury, said Friday he will rest for at least another week then re-evaluate his condition.
He said the hip is improving and the pain is not a great as it was when he stopped playing after a game Nov. 14 against the New York Islanders. But he doesn't plan to return until he's pain-free.
NYET TO RUSSIAN KEEPER: San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov is ineligible to play for Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the International Ice Hockey Federation ruled Friday.
Russian hockey coach Slava Fetisov, backed by the Russian Olympic Committee, wanted to select Nabokov for the Feb. 8-24 Salt Lake City Games.
"Nabokov, although he is a Russian citizen, cannot be picked because IIHF rules stop players from representing more than one country during their career," IIHF spokesman Szymon Szemberg said.
Bobsled
WORLD CUP: Christoph Langen of Germany won another World Cup bobsled race Friday at Igls, Austria, with Todd Hayes of the United States second in the two-man event.
Langen, an Olympic champion, recorded his third straight victory since the World Cup returned to Europe on Dec. 1.
He and brakeman Markus Zimmermann were the fastest in both runs for a total time of 1 minute, 45.97 seconds. Langen was not completely happy with the result, saying the start was too slow.
U.S. SLEDDER SUSPENDED: A member of the U.S. Bobsled Team who also competed in track and field events was suspended from both sports for two years after failing two drug tests.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Friday that Jeff Laynes, 31, of Oakland, Calif., tested positive on two occasions for the anabolic steroid stanozolol; once at the Reunion International Meet in Spain on July 14, and at the International Lausitzer Meet in Germany on July 18, while competing in track and field. The substance is prohibited under International Association of Athletics Federations rules.
Laynes also tried to change data on three forms that must be completed with the drug test on Aug. 26 at an out-of-competition test in Alberta, Canada, and Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 at the U.S. National two- and four-man bobsled team trials in Park City.
Nordic combined
WORLD CUP: Felix Gottwald of Austria won a World Cup Nordic combined event Friday at Zakopane, Poland, beating World Cup leader Ronny Ackermann of Germany.
Todd Lodwick finished fourth after winning the previous World Cup event Sunday. He is the top medal hope in the Nordic combined for the United States at the Winter Olympics.
Gottwald, who was third after the 10-kilometer race, clinched the victory by finishing fifth in ski jumping and earning a total of 233.7 points.
Ackermann was fifth in the cross-country race and fourth in the K120 hill ski jumping. He finished .4 points behind Gottwald.
This was the third top-three finish in four World Cup events for Ackermann, who won the two season-opening events in Finland last month.
Biathlon
GERMAN WOMEN WIN: German women easily won the first biathlon relay of the season Friday, a 30-kilometer race in the Austrian Alps at Hochfilzen.
The victory sets up Germany as a potential medal favorite for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in February.
The team of Uschi Disl, Katrin Apel, Martina Zellner and Martina Glasgow finished in 1 hour, 37 minutes, 09.1 seconds. In second place, 48.3 seconds behind, was the Russian world champion team of Olga Pyleva, Galina Koukleva, Anna Bogali and Svetlana Ishmouratova.
Bulgaria took third place with Pavlina Filipova, Irina Nikoultchina, Ekaterina Dafovska and Iva Karagiozova, finishing in 1:39.58.2. They were followed by Norway (Ann Elen Skjelbreid, Linda Tjoerhom, Gunn Margit Andreassen, Liv Grete Poiree) in 1:39:59.1.
Alpine skiing
WORLD CUP: Stephan Eberharter of Austria won a World Cup super-G for the first time Friday in a race at Val d'Isere, France, in which world champion Daron Rahlves of the United States finished 24th.
U.S. teammate Bode Miller crashed out after losing control on a jump, with Americans Thomas Vonn and Chad Fleischer in 31st and 32nd place in the first speed event of the Olympic season.
"It's a bit disappointing," Rahlves said. "I made a few small tactical mistakes at the top of the course that made me turn wide and lose speed."
Eberharter was timed on the classic Oreiller Killy course in 1 minute, 26.53 seconds. Swiss skiers Didier Cuche (1:26.57) and Silvano Beltrametti (1:27.18) were second and third.
VON GRUENIGEN HURT: Giant slalom world champion Michael Von Gruenigen of Switzerland broke his right shoulder blade during practice, but his team refused to rule him out for Sunday's race.
Team officials were unclear concerning the seriousness of the injury. It is suspected that Von Gruenigen was hit in the back with a gate Friday.
Swiss ski secretary Andrea Reubi said Von Gruenigen will decide Saturday if he can race the next day in the giant slalom in Val d'Isere.