Bolt outruns Powell in cold and wind

Usain Bolt rallied against cold, wind and Asafa Powell to win the 100 meters in 9.77 seconds yesterday at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels. Running against a strong headwind in his season finale, the three-time Olympic champion had a bad start and watched Powell go ahead. But Bolt pulled even and used his long strides to finish 0.08 off the world record he set at the Beijing Games. Powell, the only runner to defeat Bolt this season, finished second in 9.83. Nesta Carter made it a Jamaican sweep in 10.07 . . . The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear an appeal from the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee to return Churandy Martina's silver medal in the 200 meters. Martina finished second to world record-setter Bolt, but was disqualified for running out of his lane. The silver medal was awarded to American Shawn Crawford, and teammate Walter Dix received the bronze.

In the WNBA, Tamika Whitmore scored 17 points and Barbara Turner had 8 of her 16 in the fourth quarter to help the Connecticut Sun beat the Chicago Sky, 80-75, in Uncasville, Conn. The Sun (20-10) won their seventh straight game and moved a step closer to clinching the Eastern Conference regular-season title and home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs . . . In Phoenix, Diana Taurasi had 26 points and eight rebounds to help the defending champion Mercury avoid elimination from the playoff race with an 81-69 win over Sacramento . . . Janel McCarville scored 21 points to lead the playoff-bound New York Liberty to an 82-71 victory over visiting Atlanta Dream . . . Plenette Pierson scored 20 points and Deanna Nolan had 17 of her 19 points in the first half to help host Detroit beat Indiana, 90-68 . . . Edwige Lawson-Wade scored 14 points to help host San Antonio clinch a playoff spot with a 76-58 win over Los Angeles.

A contrite Mario Chalmers, sent home from the NBA's rookie symposium along with former Kansas teammate Darrell Arthur, apologized to the Miami Heat and several other parties, including NBA commissioner David Stern, but denied reports he was using marijuana. The two players were in a room with two women when security officials detected the scent of marijuana, although no drugs or paraphernalia were found. But having guests broke NBA policies and the players were banished by Stern . . . The Cavaliers signed center Lorenzen Wright to help offset the loss up front of forward Joe Smith.

Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich admitted he used marijuana and alcohol while on probation for an underage drinking charge. Lalich was arrested on the drinking charge July 13 and was given a deferred judgment provided he completes supervised probation. Lalich is scheduled for a Sept. 26 hearing on the latest charge. Lalich started Virginia's opener against Southern California last weekend . . . Winthrop basketball center Andy Buechert is out for the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Eagles coach Randy Peele said the 6-foot-9-inch player from Germany will have surgery next week. He was injured playing a pickup game last month . . . Rutgers senior basketball players Jaron Griffin and JR Inman were suspended indefinitely for breaking team rules. Scarlet Knights coach Fred Hill said they will continue to participate in team activities.

US boxing coach Dan Campbell retired after his attempt to remake the American team backfired in Beijing with its worst showing in Olympic history. The US team hadn't left the Olympics with fewer than two medals since 1948, when it won one silver. Heavyweight Deontay Wilder's bronze was the only prize for the US program . . . Four-time world champion gymnast Marian Dragulescu of Romania, who failed to win a medal in Beijing, is retiring because of health reasons and plans to become a trainer . . . The International Swimming Federation banned Brazilian star Rebeca Gusmao for life after she failed two drug tests . . . Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed an emergency regulation banning steroids for the state's thoroughbred and standardbred races. The new rules go into effect immediately and ban anabolic steroids from being present in the blood of any horse that is racing.