Redskins’ Portis May Be Ready

In a surprise announcement, Coach Joe Gibbs said Saturday that he believes Clinton Portis will be a backup in the Washington Redskins’ Monday night opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Gibbs was testy as he wrapped up a week of mystery over whether his star running back had recovered sufficiently from a partially dislocated left shoulder. Portis was upgraded from questionable to probable, although Ladell Betts remains set to start.

“If I had to say, I think Ladell will start and Clinton will play a backup role in the game,” Gibbs said. “That’s the way I think it’s going to go. I think that’s what we’ve tried to accurately portray during the week.”

It isn’t what Portis has portrayed. On Thursday, Portis all but ruled himself out of the game and said he was only 75% healthy. On Friday, he said he wasn’t even sure he would return in time for the Week 2 game at Dallas, then joked that he was up to 83%. On Saturday, Portis changed his tune.

“I’m about 93.9% right now,” he said. “I’ve still got two more days to get to 100%.... At the rate things have been increasing, it looks pretty good.”

The NFL fined Minnesota Vikings Bryant McKinnie and Fred Smoot for their participation in the boat party scandal last October.

McKinnie, a left tackle, and Smoot, a cornerback, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in May and were ordered by the court to pay $1,000 in fines and do community service.

They are the only current Vikings to plead guilty to any wrongdoing stemming from the cruise on Lake Minnetonka.

The NFL confirmed that it has fined each player one game check, which is about $41,000 for McKinnie and $82,000 for Smoot.

SOCCER

Juventus Manages Tie in Second-Division Debut

In its first game in Italy’s second division, disgraced Juventus was held to a 1-1 tie at Rimini, a team that played much of the way with 10 men.

This was an ominous beginning for Juventus, which was banished from the top division for its involvement in the country’s game-fixing scandal. It was playing a team that finished 17th in Serie B last season.

American goalkeepers Brad Friedel and Tim Howard earned shutouts in the English Premier League.

Howard, who is on loan from Manchester United, helped Everton beat Liverpool, 3-0, in the 204th Merseyside derby.

Friedel, who started for the U.S. team at the 2002 World Cup but has since retired from international soccer, saved late penalty kicks by David Unsworth and Rob Hulse in Blackburn’s 0-0 tie with Sheffield United.

MISCELLANY

Powell Powers Up in Final 50 at German Meet

Asafa Powell managed enough of a finishing kick at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany, to clinch a record 12th sub-10-second race and remain unbeaten in his 22 races at 100 meters this season.

“The legs are really tired. I wish I could have done a lot more,” Powell said after winning in 9.89 seconds.

The Jamaican started slowly before charging through the last 50 meters to edge Leonard Scott by 0.02. Tyson Gay finished another 0.01 back.

American Jeremy Wariner has also won every 400 race this year, clocking 44.02 to fall only 0.03 shy of joining his manager, Michael Johnson, as the only athletes to post four sub-44 races in a season.

Floyd Landis’ attorney wants U.S. doping authorities to drop their case against the Tour de France winner, contending there were “inconsistencies” in the way the drug tests were handled.

Attorney Howard Jacobs said he plans to submit a formal request Monday to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that it dismiss evidence showing the cyclist tested positive for testosterone after winning the sport’s showcase race in July.

“In our review of the documents detailing the tests on both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ sample, we have found evidence that supports our request for USADA to drop the doping charges against Landis,” Jacobs said in a statement on Landis’ website Friday.

Nate Adams won the freestyle motocross at the Toyota Challenge in San Jose, taking the lead in the Dew Action Sports Tour’s season points standings.