Montgomery gets five years in prison

Disgraced former Olympic track star Tim Montgomery, once dubbed “the world’s fastest man,” was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for dealing heroin to an informant.

“I was blind -- I never had a job in my life,” Montgomery told U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman in Norfolk, Va. “I did the wrong thing.”

Montgomery, 33, will serve the five-year sentence after he completes a 46-month prison term for an unrelated conviction in New York.

Under an agreement with the government, he pleaded guilty in July to possession and distribution of more than 100 grams of heroin. He received the minimum term under federal sentencing guidelines.

Montgomery won an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter relay at the 2000 Olympic Games and a silver in the same event four years earlier.

A federal judge sentenced former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas to six months of home confinement for lying to a grand jury about her steroid use.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston rejected a federal prosecutor’s request that she be sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, noting the ringleaders at the center of the BALCO doping investigation received four months in prison or less.

Thomas was the first person connected to the BALCO case to go to trial. She is appealing her conviction.

Jose Canseco was held for nearly 10 hours by immigration authorities after agents said they stopped the former baseball star with a fertility drug as he returned from Mexico, his lawyer said.

Canseco was detained at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing Thursday after agents searched his vehicle and said they found human chorionic gonadotropin, which is illegal without a prescription, said his attorney, Gregory Emerson.

Emerson declined to say if Canseco had the drug, which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for use in males. The drug helps restore production of testosterone lost in steroid users. Canseco was not charged with a crime.

Helio Castroneves can leave the country for an IndyCar event this month in Australia after a federal judge agreed to modify bail conditions on tax charges the driver is facing.

HORSE RACING

Trainer Dutrow gets favorable ruling

Kentucky racing officials plan to challenge a recommendation that there’s insufficient evidence to suspend Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow, for violating doping rules.

The order by hearing officer James Robke indicated the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission was unable to prove Dutrow’s horse, Salute The Count, had an excessive amount of the drug Clenbuterol in his blood after finishing second May 2 in the Aegon Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs. That was one day before Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby.

Clenbuterol allows horses to breathe easier while exercising. Its use is legal at low levels.

MOTOR SPORTS

Kyle Busch wins in Nationwide Series

Kyle Busch cruised to a win in the Nationwide Series’ Dollar General 300 at Concord, N.C.

The victory was the ninth for Busch in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

He has won eight Sprint Cup races and three more in the Craftsman Truck Series this year.

Busch started 16th, but his superior No. 18 Toyota was on display early. He quickly moved to the front and led 137 of the 200 laps.

ISCELLANY

USC dealing with Stepheson paperwork

With the start of USC basketball practice only a week away, NCAA officials said Friday they had yet to receive a waiver application that would determine forward Alex Stepheson’s eligibility.

The news came as a surprise given that Stepheson and USC coaches have talked about expecting a decision from the NCAA any day.

Stepheson would normally have to sit out a year after transferring from North Carolina, but he is seeking to play immediately on grounds that he returned to Los Angeles to be close to his father, who is suffering an undisclosed illness.

Universities are responsible for applying on behalf of their athletes. USC officials said they are gathering additional information and hope to have the completed paperwork submitted next week.

The NCAA’s membership services staff decides on applications. Schools then have the option of appealing to a committee.

“We try to make a decision in as timely a manner as possible,” NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said. “We don’t want student-athletes to miss practice or competition if at all possible.”

-- David Wharton

Jelena Jankovic defeated Flavia Pennetta, 7-6 (6), 6-3, to advance to the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

She will face Elena Dementieva, who beat Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6).

The Indiana Pacers traded forward Shawne Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for 14-year veteran Eddie Jones, future draft picks and cash.

Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will be sidelined two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.