NCAA tells Justice Department to talk to BCS about college football playoff

NCAA President Mark Emmert told the Justice Department on Wednesday that its questions about the lack of a playoff system for college football are best directed to another group: the Bowl Championship Series.

Other than licensing the postseason bowls, “the NCAA has no role to play in the BCS or the BCS system,” Emmert wrote in a letter to the department’s antitrust chief, Christine Varney. He added that short of member colleges and universities discontinuing the BCS and proposing an NCAA championship, “there is no directive for the [NCAA] to establish a playoff.”

In a letter two weeks ago, Varney told Emmert that “serious questions continue to arise suggesting the current Bowl Championship Series system may not be conducted consistent with the competition principles expressed in the federal antitrust laws.” Critics who have urged the department to investigate the BCS contend that it unfairly gives some schools preferential access to the title game and other lucrative, top-tier bowls.

Emmert’s comments about the role of the NCAA were in response to Varney’s questions about why a playoff system is not used in major college football, unlike in other sports, and what steps the NCAA has taken to create one.

SOCCER

Landon Donovan rumors discounted

Rumors linking Galaxy forward Landon Donovan and Aston Villa midfielder Michael Bradley to a move to AS Roma of Italy’s Serie A have been discounted by agents for the two U.S. national team players.

Donovan, 29, is the all-time scoring leader for the U.S. and leads Major League Soccer in goals this season. He would be an obvious target for a move when the European transfer window opens in July.

But even though AS Roma reportedly is willing to offer MLS $14 million for Donovan and also would match his $2.3-million Galaxy salary, his agent, Richard Motzkin, has questioned why his client would want to switch leagues.

Similarly, Alberto Faccini, the agent for Bradley, 23, said he doubted there is “much truth to these rumors” and said they probably stemmed from the fact that a majority share of AS Roma was recently purchased by Boston businessman Thomas DiBenedetto.

— Grahame L. Jones

Heather O’Reilly had a goal and an assist and Amy Rodriguez also scored as the U.S. women beat Japan, 2-0, in an exhibition game at Cary, N.C.

ETC.

Tiger Woods will drop out of top 10

Tiger Woods is about to fall out of the top 10 in the world for the first time in 14 years. Woods, whose last win came 18 months ago at the Australian Masters, will be at best No. 11 in the next world ranking, to be published Monday. It will be the first time he is out of the top 10 since he was No. 13 on April 6, 1997, the week before he won the Masters for the first of his 14 majors.

Woods started the year at No. 2 and has been steadily dropping points. Woods, who tied for fourth at the Masters last month, withdrew from the Players Championship last week because of injuries. He said on his website Monday that he will try to return June 16-19 at the U.S. Open.

Farmers Insurance announced that it has signed on for another year as title sponsor of the single Los Angeles stop on the ATP Tour. Along with keeping a sponsor, the Farmers Classic tournament, scheduled for July 25-31 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA, got a big-name commitment.

Juan Martin del Potro, 23, the winner of the 2009 U.S. Open after an upset of Roger Federer, announced he will be in the field. The 6-foot-6 Del Potro, who sat out the majority of last season after wrist surgery, has been moving up in the rankings this season. He has won two tournaments (Del Rey Beach and Estoril) and his ranking has climbed from around 500 to No. 27. After winning the U.S. Open, Del Potro, from Argentina, was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world before his injury.

He is the only player outside of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Federer to have won a Grand Slam title since the 2005 French Open. Del Potro, who was to have played in Los Angeles last year until his surgery, won the 2008 event at UCLA by upsetting Andy Roddick in the final.

Del Potro’s U.S. Open win, his only Grand Slam championship, was memorable because he upset third-seeded Nadal in the semifinals and then came from two sets to one down in the final and beat top-seeded Federer in five.

— Diane Pucin

Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was upset by Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, at the Brussels Open. It was the latest setback on clay this spring for Jankovic, who failed to progress beyond the second round of three of the four tournaments she has played on the surface. Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva survived an early scare to beat Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, and advance to the quarterfinals, and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki opened her bid for the inaugural Brussels Open title by beating American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-4, 7-6 (5). … Top-seeded David Ferrer of Spain and No. 2 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic advanced to the Open de Nice quarterfinals after winning in straight sets at Nice, France. Ferrer beat Andreas Seppi of Italy, 6-3, 6-2, while Berdych won his second-round match against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 6-1, 6-4. … Top-seeded Marion Bartoli of France and No. 2 Andrea Petkovic of Germany reached the quarterfinals of the Strasbourg International at Strasbourg, France. … Mardy Fish and John Isner gave the United States a 2-1 win over Kazakhstan at the World Team Cup by defeating Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3, 7-6 (10) in doubles at Duesseldorf, Germany. The United States will play Argentina, which defeated Sweden, 2-1, to decide the winner of the Red Group and the right to play in the final against the Blue Group winner Saturday.

Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez signed a contract to fight Manny Pacquiao for a third time Nov. 12, most likely in Las Vegas, said Todd DuBoef, president of Pacquiao’s promotional company, Top Rank.

Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a draw in 2004, then battled to a split-decision won by Pacquiao in 2008. Part three of the trilogy appears destined for MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization welterweight belt on the line.

Pacquiao, considered the world’s top pound-for-pound boxer, has dominated Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto since edging Marquez. His three consecutive unanimous decisions over Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley have been landslides.

Meanwhile, Marquez has lost only to the far bigger and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. since his narrow defeat against Pacquiao, ascending to become world lightweight champion and insisting that his style will give Pacquiao fits. A 144-pound catch weight has been agreed upon.

“These guys have fought like gladiators over the course of their last 24 rounds together, and I believe we have another 12 more like that ahead of us,” said DuBoef

Marquez will receive a guaranteed $5 million, plus an unspecified “upside” of pay-per-view sales. Pacquiao’s U.S. business advisor met with Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum on Tuesday, and the Filipino star boxer could sign the deal — likely to be in the neighborhood of $20 million guaranteed — this month in the Philippines.

— Lance Pugmire

The California State Athletic Commission denied an appeal by former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen to have his indefinite suspension — for elevated testosterone use in an August 2010 fight in Oakland — lifted.

State attorney Karen Chappelle said Sonnen’s discipline could also possibly be extended until June 2012 after his appeal was denied by a 4-1 vote. State commissions typically refuse to license fighters whose licenses are expired in another state. The decision may also hurt Sonnen’s plans to participate as a coach on the organization’s “The Ultimate Fighter” reality television series.

— Lance Pugmire

UCLA had a two-stroke lead over Virginia, and the Cavaliers’ Brittany Altomare shot a three-under-par 69 in windy conditions for the lead in the individual standings after the first round of the NCAA women’s golf championship at Bryan, Texas. The Bruins’ Glory Yang (68) and was tied for second, and UCLA shot one-over 289 total as a team.

Tiffany Lua shot a 71 for UCLA, Lee Lopez had a 73 and Stephanie Kono opened with a 75. Ani Gulugian’s 78 didn’t count in the team total.

French rider John Gadret used a late attack to win the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia, and dedicated his victory to rider Wouter Weylandt on the day of the Belgian’s funeral in his native country. Alberto Contador retained the overall lead. Gadret attacked on the uphill finish with a few hundred meters to go and clocked 3 hours 33 minutes 11 seconds over the hilly, 89-mile route from Tortoreto Lido to Castelfidardo, Italy.