Mandarich says he faked drug test for ’88 Rose Bowl

Former NFL draft bust Tony Mandarich says he used steroids at Michigan State and faked a drug test before the 1988 Rose Bowl.

He also said during an interview on “Inside the NFL” that will air tonight on Showtime that he did not use steroids in the NFL but was addicted to alcohol and painkillers.

Mandarich, whose autobiography will be released in March, said he provided a fake urine sample to evade detection before the 1988 Rose Bowl in which Michigan State beat USC, 20-17. Mandarich said he couldn’t confirm a report that other players did the same.

The offensive lineman was the No. 2 overall pick in 1989 by the Packers. He lasted only three years with Green Bay amid rumors of steroid use.

“I got to the point where it was a struggle to work out three or four times a week because the priority of getting high was above the priority of working out,” Mandarich said in the interview.

SOCCER

Manchester United, Arsenal get victories

Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor each scored twice as Arsenal beat Porto, 4-0, at London in the Champions League, and Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov got two goals in a 3-0 win over Aalborg at Denmark.

Arsenal, which has never won Europe’s elite club competition, moves ahead of Porto atop Group G. Three days ago, it had suffered a stunning home defeat to Hull City in England’s Premier League.

Wayne Rooney scored in the first half from a pass by Ryan Giggs, and Berbatov had two clean finishes after the break to give Manchester United its first win in Group E after a disappointing 0-0 draw with Villarreal in its opener.

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The women’s World Cup in 2011 in Germany will open in Berlin, with the championship game in Frankfurt.

The 16 teams will play in Augsburg, Berlin, Bochum, Dresden, Frankfurt, Leverkusen, Moenchengladbach, Sinsheim and Wolfsburg. Magdeburg and Bielefeld did not make the cut.

The tournament will start June 26 in Berlin and end July 17 in Frankfurt.

HOCKEY

Penguins’ Gonchar out at least four months

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will have arthroscopic surgery on his dislocated left shoulder Thursday and miss four to six months of the season.

Gonchar, one of the NHL’s top offensive defensemen, has cartilage and ligament damage and had hoped to avoid surgery.

He was hurt on a hit by Tampa Bay’s David Koci in an exhibition against Tampa Bay on Sept. 20.

Buffalo Sabres center Paul Gaustad will miss up to the first three weeks of the regular season after he had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb.

MOTOR RACING

Driver Menard will move to Yates Racing

Paul Menard, son of hardware-store billionaire John Menard Jr., will drive for Yates Racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series next season and bring sponsorship from family-owned Menard Inc. with him.

Menard, 28, will drive a Ford Fusion for Yates, which has an alliance with Roush Fenway Racing.

Menard is 28th in the Sprint Cup standings and has one top-10 finish and one pole position since he started driving full-time on the circuit for Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season.

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AJ Allmendinger will not finish the season with Red Bull Racing, giving up his seat to Mike Skinner and Scott Speed for the final seven races of the year.

Allmendinger is not returning to the No. 84 Toyota next year, and the team is letting him go early to pursue another job. He finished a career-high ninth in his Red Bull finale Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Skinner will drive the car the next two weeks at Talladega and Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

MISCELLANY

Venus Williams defeats Groenefeld

Venus Williams made a successful return to the Porsche Grand Prix after 10 years, advancing to the second round by beating Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-1, 6-2, at Stuttgart, Germany.

The sixth-seeded Williams next plays qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko, who rallied to upset 15th-ranked Flavia Pennetta, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Eight-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska swept past Sandra Zahlavova, 6-3, 6-2.

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The U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors could pick the successor for chairman Peter Ueberroth when it meets Thursday.

Ueberroth’s term on the board ends this year, and though he will stay with the USOC as an honorary president, the federation must select a new leader.

Among the newest candidates are Ursula Burns and Larry Probst, who were added to the board earlier this month to take the places of Ueberroth and Erroll Davis, whose term is also expiring.

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The European Tour will require its golfers to play in at least 12 events next year, increasing the minimum by one event as more players contemplate whether to join for the $10-million Race to Dubai.

Phil Mickelson is among those who might join in 2009 when the tour season concludes with the top 60 players eligible for the Dubai World Championship. A separate $10 million in bonus money will be awarded, similar to the FedEx Cup on the U.S. tour.

Tiger Woods has said he does not plan to take up European tour membership.

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The Toronto Raptors signed free-agent forward Jamal Sampson, a five-year NBA veteran who has played for the Lakers, Charlotte, Denver, Milwaukee and Sacramento.