IOC to act on disqualifications for Jones

The International Olympic Committee, which opened an investigation into Marion Jones after she was linked to the BALCO steroids scandal in 2004, can act now that she has confessed and surrendered her medals. "We now need to have the official process of disqualification and maybe other measures like non-eligibility for future Games and so on," said IOC vice president Thomas Bach. After long denying she ever had used performance-enhancing drugs, Jones admitted Friday that she'd taken the designer steroid "the clear" from September 2000 to July 2001. Jones returned her five Sydney Olympic medals Monday, and international Olympic and track and field officials are prepared to wipe her name officially from the record books, strip her of her world championship medals, pursue her for prize money and appearance fees, and possibly ban her from future Olympics in any capacity. The IOC will also spend the next two months examining how to adjust the medal standings for more than 40 athletes who competed with and against Jones in Sydney . . . A man was charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Rodney Lydale Lockhart, a University of Mississippi sprinter, police said. Christian C. Bonner, 20, is accused of killing Lockhart, 20, who was found dead Sept. 29 at his apartment near the Oxford campus.

James Blake rallied past Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-3, in the first round of the Stockholm Open, the first step in his bid to win the tournament three straight years. John McEnroe and Boris Becker each won four times, but never three in a row. Blake is 11-0 in Stockholm since 2005 . . . Top-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Robby Ginepri, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the second round of the BA-CA Tennis Trophy in Vienna . . . Marat Safin struggled to beat qualifier Denis Matsukevitch, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, but advanced to the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

After a disastrous season filled with wrist injuries, a feud with Annika Sorenstam, and only one round under par, Michelle Wie said her biggest mistake was not taking the year off to get healthy. "The only thing that I would do differently [is] I wouldn't have played this year. It's as simple as that," she said at the Samsung World Championship in Palm Springs, Calif., her final LPGA appearance of the season. "The only thing that I did wrong this year is that I did not take my injuries as seriously as I should have." The Samsung World Championship is Wie's sixth and final exemption on the LPGA Tour.

A fourth man was charged with murder in the shooting of a football player on the University of Memphis campus during a botched robbery, authorities said. Devin Jefferson, a 20-year-old student at the school, was arrested last night on allegations he told three other men the player was carrying a large amount of cash. Authorities said Taylor Bradford, 21, was rumored to have won more than $3,000 at a nearby casino the night before police found him Sept. 30 in his car, which had crashed into a tree a few blocks from his campus apartment. Jefferson was charged with first-degree murder . . . UCLA quarterback Ben Olson will be sidelined 3-4 weeks with a partial tear of the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee . . . Kansas State discovered possible rules violations in its football program and is cooperating with the NCAA in an investigation. Athletic director Tim Weiser said the probe is focused on a former university employee, three former football players, and two current members of the team regarding improper benefits . . . Quarterback Tim Tebow said he received hundreds of threatening messages on his cellphone leading up to Florida's 28-24 loss at LSU last Saturday.

The Wheaton women's soccer team set a school record for goals and extended its conference unbeaten streak to 81 games with a 14-0 victory over Coast Guard at Norton . . . The Boston College women climbed from ninth to seventh while the BC men vaulted from 19th to 11th in their respective NCAA/adidas national soccer polls . . . Freddy Adu, who played his only game for the US national team last year, was among 21 players picked for the initial roster by coach Bob Bradley for the Oct. 17 exhibition in Switzerland.

The Tour de France yellow jersey of Floyd Landis will be awarded to second-place finisher Oscar Pereiro. The Spanish cyclist will receive the 2006 winner's jersey in a ceremony Monday in Madrid. Pereiro takes over as the champion because Landis tested positive for high levels of synthetic testosterone after the race . . . The World Anti-Doping Agency called for a ban against cyclist Alessandro Petacchi for using an asthma drug, joining the appeal by the Italian Olympic Committee. Petacchi registered a "non-negative" test for salbutamol after winning the 11th stage of the Giro d'Italia May 23 . . . Sacramento Kings center Spencer Hawes, the 10th overall pick in the NBA Draft, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. No timetable was given for his return . . . Ricky Rudd will get back behind the wheel of the Robert Yates Racing No. 88 Ford this week at Lowe's Motor Speedway after missing five weeks with a separated shoulder . . . IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti will make his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway Oct. 20. Franchitti, who also won the Indianapolis 500 this season, made his stock-car debut in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend and finished 17th . . . Veteran defenseman Bryan Berard signed a one-year, $725,000 deal with the New York Islanders after coming to training camp without a contract. A roster spot opened for the Woonsocket, R.I, native when former Boston University defenseman Freddy Meyer was claimed off waivers by Phoenix.