Landis Results Due This Week

Tour de France champion Floyd Landis, whose initial doping tests turned up positive, gets another chance to clear his name when a second set is expected to be released Saturday.

However, the 30-year-old cyclist and his lawyer have previously acknowledged that they expect the “B” sample to show the same elevated ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone found in the “A” sample last week.

Michael Henson, a spokesman for the cyclist, confirmed Tuesday that a urine test on Landis after the tour’s 17th stage turned up an 11:1 ratio -- far above the 4:1 limit allowed. A 1:1 ratio is average.

The “A” sample was provided July 20 by the cyclist after he raced his way back into contention by winning a tough Alpine leg with a ride that will long be remembered by race fans.

Landis has insisted that his body’s natural metabolism -- not doping -- caused the elevated result, and said he would undergo further tests to prove it.

But a New York Times report cast doubt on that defense. The newspaper cited a source from the UCI, cycling’s international federation, saying that a second analysis of the “A” sample, called a carbon isotope ratio test, had detected synthetic testosterone in Landis’ system.

TENNIS

Agassi Is Ousted by Stoppini, 6-4, 6-3

Andre Agassi was upset by Andrea Stoppini, 6-4, 6-3, as three of the top nine seeded players at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic fell in the second round at Washington.

Sixth-seeded Sebastien Grosjean lost to Wesley Moodie, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Kenneth Carlsen defeated ninth-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Unable to break Stoppini’s serve, the fourth-seeded Agassi lost in his opening match for only the fourth time in 17 appearances in the Washington event, which he has won five times.

Martina Hingis was rarely tested in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Meilen Tu at the Acura Classic in Carlsbad.

No. 2-seeded Maria Sharapova, ranked fourth in the world, was pushed hard early before she rebounded to win 10 of the final 11 games in a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Vasilisa Bardina.

Ai Sugiyama, the runner-up to Mary Pierce in last year’s final, was bounced in the first round with a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Vera Zvonareva.

Third-seeded Gaston Gaudio rebounded from an early break in the third set, winning five games in a row to defeat Boris Pashanski, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-4, and advance to the second round of the Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland.

PRO FOOTBALL

Patriots’ Brady Returns to Practice

New England quarterback Tom Brady returned to the field after missing three practices in a row, but the team didn’t say why the quarterback had been absent.

Brady participated in all four practices Friday and Saturday, the first two days of camp, before sitting out Sunday’s single session and both sessions Monday.

New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey missed practice in Albany, N.Y., with post-concussion headaches. The three-time Pro Bowler suffered the mild concussion Monday when he took a shot from safety Will Demps.

The Atlanta Falcons’ Michael Vick left practice with a tweaked hamstring, but Coach Jim Mora doesn’t expect the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback to sit out more than two days.

MISCELLANY

Four Miami Players Suspended for Opener

Four Miami Hurricanes players, including running back Tyrone Moss and receiver Ryan Moore, were suspended for the Sept. 4 against Florida State because they violated team policy. Linebacker James Bryant and receiver Rashaun Jones also were suspended.

The NCAA will consider expanding its ban of championship events in South Carolina, possibly disallowing baseball and football teams from playing host to postseason games, because the Confederate flag is displayed on Statehouse grounds.

Paul Eells, the voice of the Razorbacks whose trademark call of “Touchdown, Arkansas!” endeared him to generations of sports fans, was killed in a car accident. He was 70.

Alfio Basile is the new coach of Argentina’s national soccer team, the second time he has held the job.

James Harney, a New Jersey state trooper who has been charged with running a massive gambling ring with retired hockey standout Rick Tocchet and another man, is due in court Thursday. They were charged in February.

Italy’s soccer season will begin two weeks late because of the fallout from the Serie A match-fixing scandal.

James Wilson of Nease High in St. Augustine, Fla., who is regarded as one of the nation’s top prep offensive lineman, orally committed to USC.

-- Gary Klein

Barry Collier resigned as Nebraska’s basketball coach to become athletic director at Butler, where he coached for 11 years.

Tyler L. Davis, a 15-year-old high school football player, died from heat stroke in Atlanta after collapsing one day earlier following an off-season workout.

Ed Kezirian, who has been UCLA’s assistant athletic director for academic services, has been named associate director of athletics for academic and student services.

The field for the postseason National Invitation Tournament has been reduced to 32 schools from 40, its number for the last five years.