Briefs: Armstrong "hated" racing near end of career

Cycling

Armstrong "hated racing": Lance Armstrong, retired seven-time Tour de France winner, says he does not miss competitive cycling and hated the sport during the final few years of his storied career.

"I don't miss it at all," Armstrong said in a wide-ranging interview in the latest issue of Men's Journal. "I miss the training. I miss the team atmosphere. I miss my guys.

"But the last couple of years I would even say I hated racing. The only peaceful times were when I was at training camps, alone or with a few teammates, or at the races, in the hotel room, at the dinner table with my guys.

"That's the stuff I really love. I won't miss the Tour."

Armstrong, 34, quit cycling last year after winning the Tour a record seventh consecutive time.

He backpedaled a bit on his claim he will not miss the world's most famous cycling race, which begins on July 1.

"I mean, in July I may start pulling my hair out, 'cause it's the one race that I lived for," he said in the interview with former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw. "But I suspect not. I know that I can never go back."

Paper stands by allegations: The French sports newspaper that accused Armstrong of doping stood by its reporting, a day after an investigator cleared the Tour de France champion.

"There is nothing to retract from the revelations," L'Equipe said in an editorial.

NFL

Taylor avoids jail: Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor reached an agreement with prosecutors in Miami to drop felony charges against him and pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in an assault case, avoiding any jail time that may have derailed his career.

The deal calls for Taylor to be placed on 18 months' probation, talk about the importance of education at 10 Miami-Dade County schools and contribute $1,000 for scholarships to each of those schools. He must also pay $429 in court costs.

The 23-year-old Taylor had been scheduled to go to trial on July 10. He had faced a maximum of 46 years in prison if convicted on three aggravated assault charges and one misdemeanor charge stemming from a confrontation last June after his all-terrain vehicles were taken.

Plummer pleads not guilty: Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer pleaded not guilty to municipal charges in a road-rage dispute.

The plea, entered by his attorney Harvey Steinberg, allows Plummer to skip a hearing scheduled for today. A trial date has not been set, Steinberg said.

Plummer allegedly was involved in an altercation April 20 with motorist Douglas Stone of Denver.

Nicholson to face charges: Cincinnati Bengals linebacker A.J. Nicholson will travel to Florida on Saturday to face charges of burglarizing the apartment of a former Florida State teammate.

Nicholson, a fifth-round draft pick last April, has been participating in offseason workouts at Paul Brown Stadium this week.

Eagles gunning for Gatlin: Sprinter Justin Gatlin's agent, Renaldo Nehemiah, said the Philadelphia Eagles have made several inquiries the last three weeks to see if his client was interested in playing football. But Nehemiah said Gatlin has only one summer plan: a long-anticipated race with Asafa Powell in a matchup between the two 100-meter world-record holders.

Boxing

Dykes dies at 77: Bobby Dykes, a boxer in the 1940s and 1950s who fought Kid Gavilan and Sugar Ray Robinson, died Wednesday at 77. Dykes had Lou Gehrig's disease for about eight years.

Calzaghe calls off fight: Joe Calzaghe called off the July 8 defense of his WBO and IBF super-middleweight titles after re-injuring his left hand during training in London.

Softball

Osterman strikes out record 18: Cat Osterman had 18 strikeouts to break the Women's College World Series record for a seven-inning game in Texas' 2-0 victory over Arizona State in the opening round of the eight-team tournament in Oklahoma City.

Osterman (38-2) allowed one hit — Bianca Cruz's second-inning single — and did not walk a batter. After Cruz's hit, Osterman retired the final 18 batters in a row.

The 6-foot-2 senior left-hander broke the World Series strikeout record for a regulation game of 17 that she shared with Northwestern's Lisa Ishikawa.

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