Armstrong in Good Position

Lance Armstrong was edged at the line in the second stage of the Tour de Georgia. No problem. His strongest part of the race is still to come.

Armstrong positioned himself for a second straight Tour de Georgia victory, even though he finished behind Austria’s Peter Wrolich and Italy’s Manuel Quinziato on Wednesday.

The race now moves to the stages where Armstrong excels: a time trial today, followed by a couple of grueling legs through the north Georgia mountains.

South Africa’s Robert Hunter and Wrolich both have a cumulative time of 10:34:11. Armstrong is in fifth place, six seconds behind.

Pro Football

The Raiders agreed to a trade with the New York Jets that would send tight end Doug Jolley to the Jets and give Oakland a first-round pick in this weekend’s NFL draft.

Jolley and a second-round pick would go to New York in exchange for the Jets’ 26th overall pick, two sources said on condition of anonymity.

The Raiders also said they received second- and third-round picks from the Houston Texans for their trade of cornerback Philip Buchanon.

The Seattle Seahawks are ready to release linebacker Chad Brown to create salary-cap room for free agent Jamie Sharper, said Tim Ruskell, the team’s president and general manager.... The Carolina Panthers signed linebacker Chris Draft and punter Tom Rouen, a sign that punter Todd Sauerbrun’s days with the team are probably coming to an end.... Shane Matthews re-signed with the Buffalo Bills, accepting the role to be the team’s third-string quarterback.

College Football

Holiday Bowl officials got the go-ahead from the NCAA to stage a second bowl game in San Diego. The game, expected to be called the Poinsettia Bowl, will be played Dec. 22 at Qualcomm Stadium and will match a team from the Mountain West Conference against an at-large team. The Holiday Bowl will be played on Dec. 29.

The Silicon Valley Football Classic in San Jose won’t return next season.

Miscellany

USC received a signed letter of intent from power forward Jeremy Barr, considered one of the nation’s top 30 high school players at his position according to recruiting service Rivals.com.

Barr, 6 feet 7 and 254 pounds, is from the Bahamas but played at Houston’s Westbury Christian High, where he averaged 13 points and six rebounds as a senior.

Top-seeded Marat Safin was upset by Jose Acasuso, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of the Open Seat Godo at Barcelona, Spain. Defending champion Tommy Robredo also was ousted, 6-1, 6-4, by Alberto Martin.

Top-seeded Andy Roddick defeated unseeded Robby Ginepri, 7-6 (6), 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Houston.

With strong rounds from junior Susie Mathews and senior Charlotte Mayorkas, UCLA defended its Pacific 10 Conference women’s golf title with a four-shot victory over Arizona State at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, Calif.

Mathews carded a two-under-par 70 to finish at seven under for the tournament and second place overall.

Mayorkas had a final-round 71 for the Bruins, the defending NCAA champions.

Vitali Klitschko, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, underwent back surgery in Los Angeles that will prevent him from fighting until at least September.