Storm sweeps Dream to win its second WNBA title

The Seattle Storm are champions again.

Seattle completed its undefeated march through the postseason, beating the Atlanta Dream, 87-84, on Thursday night at Atlanta for a three-game sweep in the WNBA Finals.

The Storm won each of its seven postseason games for its second WNBA title. The Storm also won the 2004 championship.

Swin Cash scored 18 points to lead a balanced offense as Seattle overcame 35 points by Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry. Lauren Jackson, who had 26 points in each of the Storm’s first two wins in the series, had 15 points and nine rebounds and was voted MVP of the Finals.

McCoughtry, who set a WNBA playoff record with 42 points in the Dream’s Eastern-Conference-finals-clinching win over the New York Liberty, tried to rally Atlanta with nine points in the final 2:30. But McCoughtry and Coco Miller missed three-pointers in the final six seconds.

The Storm became the first team to win the championship without a postseason loss since the Sparks went 6-0 in 2002, when the Finals were a best-of-three series.

French antidoping official offers to cooperate with U.S. investigation of Armstrong

The head of France’s antidoping agency is ready to cooperate fully with a U.S. federal investigation into seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

Pierre Bordry said he will hand over Armstrong’s “B” samples from the 1999 Tour to Jeff Novitzky if the Food and Drug Administration agent makes an official request.

The French sports daily L’Equipe reported in 2005 that Armstrong’s backup “B” samples from 1999 contained EPO — a banned blood-boosting hormone. Armstrong was later cleared by an independent panel.

Novitzky and a federal prosecutor have been handling an inquiry into allegations of organized doping in professional cycling, including whether Armstrong and members of his United States Postal Service team may have been involved. Six of Armstrong’s record seven Tour wins came with the team.

Speaking at a news conference about drug testing in France, Bordry said he is impressed by the work done by Novitzky and the U.S. antidoping agency in Armstrong’s case.

“They can ask us anything, we will do it,” Bordry said. “We can either send them the samples or do the testing ourselves.”

After Armstrong announced his comeback to competition two years ago, Bordry offered him the chance to retest his urine samples from the 1999 Tour in order to quash the doping allegations, but the American rejected the offer.

Armstrong’s attorney, Mark Fabiani, said the issue of the 1999 samples is “more old news, in an inquiry that is already chock full of stale news.”

“This matter was fully investigated by an independent expert starting in 2005, who delivered a 130-page report in 2006, accompanied by hundreds of pages of exhibits, that completely vindicated Armstrong,” Fabiani said in a statement.

There was no reliable test for EPO in 1999, but urine samples were preserved and analyzed later when the technology was available.

Bordry said he was not allowed to order a retest of the samples because of the eight-year statute of limitations in the World Anti-Doping Agency code.

Bordry, however, said U.S. federal prosecutors wouldn’t be subject to this rule as they are not working on a disciplinary case.

Drug charges against Heat’s Haslem dropped

Prosecutors in Florida dropped marijuana possession charges against Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, saying the case could not be proven.

Haslem’s attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, told the Associated Press that he received a call with the decision Thursday afternoon.

“The State Attorney’s Office will not be able to file charges,” Assistant State Attorney Errol Portman wrote in what is known as a “no action” memo.

Portman wrote that Haslem’s fingerprints were not on the container of marijuana found in the vehicle, and as such, it could not be proved that Haslem was in possession of the item.

The Heat forward was arrested Aug. 15 after he was clocked driving 78 mph in a 60 mph zone on the Gratigny Parkway in Miami-Dade County. A search of his 2008 Mercedes turned up marijuana, which passenger Antwan Fleming claimed ownership of when questioned by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Fleming’s fingerprints were found on the container, Portman wrote.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel first reported the case’s dismissal.

Haslem was facing one third-degree felony count of marijuana possession and four misdemeanor counts of having drug paraphernalia. The felony charge could have carried maximum punishments of a $5,000 fine and a five-year prison sentence. …

A judge in San Diego County ordered Kevin Mitchell, the 1989 National League MVP, to stand trial on charges of battery and assault. Mitchell, who is accused of punching a man several times in the head in July at Bonita Golf Club, faces four years in prison if convicted of the charges. His trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 3. Mitchell, 48, has pleaded not guilty and is free on $25,000 bail.

Penguins’ Stall will miss start of season

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jordan Staal needs five to six weeks to recover from the latest procedure on his injured right foot and will miss the start of the NHL season. A tendon on the top of Staal’s foot was sliced when Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban stepped on it during a playoff game April 30. Staal had surgery and returned to play in less than a week. …

The Chicago Blackhawks gave Coach Joel Quenneville a three-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season. Chicago defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals last season, ending a 49-year championship drought.

Nadal clinches year-end No. 1 ranking

Rafael Nadal has clinched the ATP World Tour’s year-end No. 1 ranking for the second time in three years. The 24-year-old Spaniard, who won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year, also finished at the top of the ATP rankings in 2008.

“It has been an incredible season — one of my best ever, if not the best,” Nadal said in a statement. “I worked very hard to get back to the top and it feels really good to know I will end the year as No. 1.”

Nadal leads the rankings with 12,025 points, almost 5,000 more than second-ranked Novak Djokovic, who has 7,145. Roger Federer is third with 6,735.

Rockets will limit Yao’s playing time

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming will be limited to playing no more than 24 minutes in each game next season as he returns from injury, the team’s athletic trainer said. Keith Jones told the Houston Chronicle the time limit would be applied strictly and that Yao would sit out lots of practice sessions to limit the impact on his left foot.

“Twenty-four is his number all year,” Jones was quoted as saying. “Playoffs come, things could change. We’re trying to get him through April. We’re trying to give him the best chance to play the whole season by limiting stress.”

Yao missed all of last season after breaking a bone in his left foot.