Cyclist Armstrong Endures Additional Cancer Surgery
World cycling star Lance Armstrong, who announced two weeks ago that he is battling testicular cancer, underwent surgery Thursday in Indianapolis to remove two small cancerous lesions on his brain.
The lesions were discovered during tests last week in Austin, Texas, said the American rider’s agent, Bill Stapleton. The cancer had spread to Armstrong’s abdomen, lungs and brain, Stapleton said.
Armstrong, 25, the country’s top road-racing cyclist, announced Oct. 8 that he had undergone surgery to have a cancerous testicle removed.
“We did have good news,” Stapleton said. “When they did the CT scan and found the lesions in the brain, the cancer found in the lungs was already smaller. So he is responding to the [chemotherapy] treatment so far.”
Soccer
Standing-room tickets for World Cup qualifying matches were banned by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, in the wake of the Guatemala disaster. On Oct. 16, 84 people died in a stampede at a qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica. FIFA also said only tickets for numbered seats could be sold. Admission to Guatemala City’s stadium was oversold by thousands, though officials have blamed overcrowding on ticket counterfeiters.
World Cup veterans Alexi Lalas, Tab Ramos, John Harkes and Eric Wynalda were among 24 players selected to the preliminary national squad for qualifying games for the 1998 tournament. Coach Steve Sampson took 18 players who played in the first season of Major League Soccer, which ended Sunday. They include Cobi Jones and Greg Vanney of the Galaxy, Eddie Pope, Preki and Martin Vazquez. The players will train at Chula Vista before the squad is trimmed to 18. Qualifying begins Nov. 3 against Guatemala in Washington.
Tennis
Pete Sampras coasted to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Felix Mantilla in the Eurocard Open at Stuttgart, Germany, and into a quarterfinal match against Andre Agassi, who defeated Richey Reneberg, 6-4, 6-2. They will meet for the first time since mid-February.
Chile’s Marcelo Rios upset Richard Krajicek, 6-4, 6-1. Boris Becker, Michael Chang, Goran Ivanisevic, Magnus Gustafsson and Jan Siemerink also advanced.
Top-seeded Anke Huber of Germany needed three sets to defeat unseeded Alexandra Olsza of Poland, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, in the second round of the Seat Luxembourg Open.
Miscellany
Rain and gusty winds scrubbed any runs in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert on Thursday, where Craig Breedlove is hoping to regain the world land speed record he last held 31 years ago. Breedlove pushed his jet-powered “Spirit of America” to 448 mph just before darkness fell Wednesday. . . . Florida Marlin owner H. Wayne Huizenga has hired an architecture firm to help determine whether to renovate Pro Player Stadium north of Miami or build a new baseball-only stadium. . . . The Orix BlueWave beat the Yomiuri Giants, 5-2, to win the Japan Series in five games. . . . Learning-disabled swimmer Chad Ganden sued the NCAA, claiming it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by refusing to let him compete for Michigan State this year. Ganden, 18, has a normal IQ but has difficulty translating letters into words.
Names in the News
Jack Sprague broke the Phoenix International Raceway lap record in winning the pole for Saturday’s GM Goodwrench-Delco Battery 300 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Sprague lapped the one-mile superspeedway in a Chevrolet at 126.957 mph, breaking Mike Skinner’s year-old mark of 125.257. . . . Laura Halldorson became the highest-paid women’s hockey coach in the nation when she signed a four-year contract for $61,000 annually to run the first women’s hockey program at the University of Minnesota.
Services for Tom Mallory, starting blocking back on USC’s 1931 national championship football team and longtime coach at Pasadena Junior College, will be held Monday at Sierra Madre Congregational Church. Mallory, 88, died Saturday. Mallory coached at Pasadena from 1937 to ’41 and 1946-48, compiling a 50-30-4 record.
