US women's title on line in Marathon

USA Track and Field has designated the 2007 Boston Marathon as the USA Women's Marathon Championship. The 111th running of the race, April 16, will be part of a yearlong build-up to the 2008 US Olympic Team Trials Women's Marathon, which will be held one day before next year's Boston Marathon. As the USA Women's Marathon Championship, the 2007 Boston Marathon will feature an additional prize purse for top American female finishers, and two of the five team positions for the 2007 IAAF World Marathon Championship and World Cup Marathon in September will be selected.

A company that uses computer imaging claims baseballs had a larger rubberized core and a synthetic rubber ring in 1998, including the ball Mark McGwire hit for his 70th homer. Universal Medical Systems Inc. said that with the assistance of Drs. Avrami S. Grader and Philip M. Halleck from The Center for Quantitative Imaging at Penn State, it took images of 1998 baseballs. "Examining the CT images of Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball, one can clearly see the synthetic ring around the core -- or 'pill' -- of the baseball," UMS president David Zavagno said. "While Mark McGwire may or may not have used illegal steroids, the evidence shows his ball -- under the governing body of the league -- was juiced." Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said the core of the ball has been unchanged for decades. Rawlings has been the exclusive supplier of baseballs to the major leagues since 1977 . . . Hall of Fame pitcher Rollie Fingers owes Wisconsin more than $1.4 million in income taxes and is the seventh-biggest tax delinquent in the state . . . The Orioles reached an agreement on a $1,825,000, one-year contract with righthander Daniel Cabrera . . . Infielder Jamey Carroll and the Rockies reached agreement on a $4 million, two-year contract.

Mario Lemieux and other members of the Penguins' ownership group met with Kansas City officials, increasing speculation the team might leave Pittsburgh. Michael Roth, a spokesman for Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group, which will operate the new Sprint Center, issued a statement confirming meetings were scheduled with the ownership group of the Penguins and his organization. Company officials declined to comment further, but a news conference was planned for today in Kansas City . . . The Providence Bruins fell to the host Hartford Wolf Pack, 4-1, with Kris Versteeg getting the Bruins' lone goal . . . Jonathan Toews scored three times in a shootout to lift Canada over the United States, 2-1, in the World Junior Championship semifinals in Mora, Sweden.

The Charlotte Sting, an original WNBA franchise, folded yesterday, three weeks after the Bobcats gave up control of the team. The Sting were owned and operated by the Charlotte Hornets when the WNBA formed in 1997. The Sting stayed in Charlotte when the Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002, and Bob Johnson took control of the team when he was awarded the Bobcats' expansion franchise in 2004. The Sting struggled to draw fans in recent years . . . Van Chancellor, who led the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA championships, is resigning, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Chancellor has coached the Comets since 1997. . . The Nets sent veteran guard Jeff McInnis to the Bobcats for swingman Bernard Robinson . . . The Brandeis men's team made its debut in the d3hoops.com Top 25 rankings when the Judges, off to a 10-1 start, were ranked No. 23 in this week's poll.

Sports announcer Jim Lampley was arrested in Encinitas, Calif., for investigation of domestic violence. Lampley, 57, also was booked for investigation of violating a restraining order and dissuading a witness, said Captain Glenn Revell of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Lampley was released after posting $35,000 bail. No details were immediately available about the accusations against Lampley, whose broadcasting career began with ABC in the mid-1970s. He later worked for CBS and NBC and more recently as a boxing commentator for HBO . . . Clint Dempsey, who is awaiting approval of his transfer from Major League Soccer to Fulham FC, will not participate in the US national team training camp starting today in Carson, Calif. Fulham, a Premiership club based in West London, has agreed to an MLS-record $4 million transfer for Dempsey, who played for the Revolution for three seasons . . . Williams senior defender/forward Dana Leary was named the NSCAA/adidas National Division 3 Player of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Leary anchored a back line that allowed only eight goals in 17 games in the Ephs' 14-1-2 season . . . No. 1 women's tennis player Justine Henin-Hardenne withdrew from the Australian Open (and next week's Sydney International) for undisclosed personal reasons . . . Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson was charged with two felonies for drug possession and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs in Arizona, and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he will try to jail Tyson because of his criminal background . . . Defending champion Edwin Valero defeated Michael Lozada in Tokyo to retain the World Boxing Association super featherweight title . . . Mike Perham, 14, of Britain became the youngest person to sail solo across the Atlantic Ocean, reaching the Caribbean island of Antigua after a six-week voyage . . . Don Massengale, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, died in Conroe, Texas, Tuesday night of a heart attack, the Tour said. He was 69.