Sports Briefs: Mountaineers lose standout defender with a knee injury

Dominique McDuffie, a freshman who has started at cornerback in all three games for Appalachian State, is out for the season as result of a torn ACL in his right knee.

Coach Jerry Moore said that McDuffie injured the knee in last Saturday's game at James Madison and an MRI this week revealed the tear. He said that McDuffie will be eligible to apply for a medical hardship and count this year as a redshirt season.

"Dominique has been playing very well, particularly as a freshman, and in three games he had certainly picked up a lot of valuable experience," Moore said of McDuffie, who had 10 tackles and three pass breakups. "The positive is he can get a medical hardship and get this year back."

Jared Reine, a sophomore, will likely start in McDuffie's spot at right cornerback on Saturday against Presbyterian. But Moore said that Ed Gainey, a freshman from Winston-Salem who played at Mount Tabor, will see increased playing time.

The Mountaineers had already lost running back Devon Moore and defensive end Tony Robertson to injuries from last Saturday's James Madison game.

"It really has been a tough week," Moore said. "But we'll be able to handle it. Guys like Jared Reine and Ed Gainey, they're good players. We've been fortunate with injuries over the last few years and now we've had about three major ones in one week. But that's part of the business. Hopefully, we've got those behind us."

-- Tommy Bowman

Cycling

■ Lance Armstrong can try for an eighth Tour de France title -- if his team is clean in the run-up to cycling's premier race.

A day after Armstrong confirmed his comeback with the Astana squad, Tour director Christian Prudhomme cleared up any doubts over whether the team would be allowed to race next year. Astana was barred from the 2008 Tour because of past doping violations.

"They should be there if there are no ethical problems," Prudhomme told The Associated Press in a telephone interview yesterday. "They weren't at any of our races in 2008. If nothing happens in the coming months, they should be at our races in 2009."

To help persuade any doubters that he is clean, Armstrong said yesterday in he's hired Anti-doping expert Don Catlin to test him anytime, anywhere -- and to post the results online for the world to see.

Prudhomme said he isn't sure whether Armstrong can still win after three years away from the sport or how next year's race will play out with the Texan -- so dominant in winning seven straight from 1999 through 2005 -- back in the cycling pack.

But this much Prudhomme is certain of: Almost everyone is talking about the cancer survivor's surprise comeback, even in remote regions of France, a country where Armstrong has long stirred mixed emotions.

Basketball

■ The Charlotte Bobcats and FSN South have announced their 2008-09 television schedule. FSN South along with SportSouth will televise a total of 70 games, 39 on FSN South and 31 on SportSouth.

Regular-season coverage begins October 30 at 7 p.m. on SportSouth, when the Bobcats visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition to 70 regular season games, the networks will also televise two preseason games, October 8 against the Orlando Magic at 7 p.m. on FSN South and October 18 against the Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. on SportSouth.

■ The Houston Rockets matched the Charlotte Bobcats' three-year, $9 million offer sheet for restricted free-agent Carl Landry yesterday, keeping the forward in Houston.

The Rockets took less than 24 hours to make the move, leaving Charlotte still searching for frontcourt depth before the start of training camp next week.

Soccer

■ Top-ranked Wake Forest's men's team will travel to College Park, Md., to play the second–ranked Maryland Terrapins tonight in a key ACC game.

Wake Forest won last season's game 2-0.

Coach Jay Vidovich of the Deacons said: "Maryland and Wake Forest traditionally have a great rivalry in terms of quality of play. The games are usually very closely contested.

"They have one of the best soccer environments in the country. Not many teams go in there and get a win. Hopefully our team will be ready."

Maryland is 2-0 in conference play and is coming off a 4-0 win over American.

Wake Forest is 7-0 and 1-0 in the ACC.

Olympics

■ One of the Chinese gymnasts whose age has been called into question is blaming the discrepancy on a slip of the tongue.

International gymnastics officials have expanded their investigation into the eligibility of the Chinese women's team at the Beijing Olympics to include members of the 2000 squad, the bronze medalists in Sydney.

One, Yang Yun, said in a June 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 at the Sydney Games. But Yang, who also won a bronze on uneven bars in Sydney, said yesterday that was a mistake.

Gymnasts must be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible to compete.

"Everyone has misspoken before. On television shows, there are always slips of the tongue," Yang told the Associated Press, declining to comment further.

Another, Dong Fangxiao, did not deny that her blog says she was born in the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, which would be 1985. But Dong refused to answer any questions about her age, telling the AP, "I've left the gymnastics team."

"If the FIG wants to investigate this matter," she added, "I will provide every form of documentation."