Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — TENNIS Russian fined $2,000

Nikolay Davydenko, already at the center of a betting investigation, was fined $2,000 for lack of effort in a loss at the St. Petersburg (Russia) Open. The ATP said Friday the fourth-ranked and top-seeded Russian was fined for lack of "best effort" in his 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 loss Thursday to Marin Cilic. Davydenko won the first set in 27 minutes, but drew a rebuke from chair umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq in the third set. Davydenko doublefaulted four times in the second set and six times in the third. The ATP is investigating a match involving Davydenko in August in which online gambling site Betfair voided bets because of irregular betting patterns. In that match in Poland, Davydenko won the first set 6-1, then withdrew against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set because of a foot injury.

Top-ranked Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, his hometown, by beating Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2. Federer gained three match points and won on his first when Kiefer hit a shot into the roof of the hall. Federer, who won three of four Grand Slams this year, beat Kiefer for the ninth consecutive time and is 10-3 against the German. If Federer repeats as champion, he also will end the year as No. 1 for the fourth consecutive season.

BASKETBALL

Griffin autopsy shows alcohol

Former NBA player Eddie Griffin had more than three times the legal alcohol limit in his system when he crashed his sport utility vehicle into a moving train and died this summer, according to an autopsy report released Friday. The Harris County (Texas) Medical Examiner's office said the 6-10 Griffin, 25, died of "multiple blunt force injuries." The medical examiner's office performed tests on Griffin's bile and blood from his heart and liver and determined his blood-alcohol level was 0.26. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08. Tests found no traces of cocaine, amphetamines or any other narcotics. Griffin was killed about 1:20 a.m. on Aug. 17. His injuries from the fiery crash included two collapsed lungs, a lacerated liver and kidney, four broken ribs and burns over most of his body.

Missouri senior forward Darryl Butterfield was charged Friday with peace disturbance, a little more than a week after he was arrested after an incident with his girlfriend. Butterfield was initially accused of third-degree domestic assault after his arrest in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 17, but that charge was never filed, said Andrea Hayes, assistant prosecutor for Boone County. Peace disturbance is a lesser charge, though both are misdemeanors. Butterfield faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail. Butterfield's girlfriend told Columbia police that he hit her in the face. He has said the contact was accidental. Butterfield, a reserve, remains indefinitely suspended from the team.

Diana Taurasi scored 20 of her 25 points in the first half to lead the U.S. select team into the gold-medal game with a 97-79 victory over UMMC Ekaterinburg on Friday in Ekaterinburg. Russia. Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Sue Bird added 13 points and Katie Smith 11. The U.S. team will face CSKA Moscow, which the Americans beat 81-72 in a preliminaryround game. CSKA Moscow beat China 103-56 in the other semifinal game.

GOLF

Romero leads Championship

Eduardo Romero, the Argentine starwho won the 2006 JELD-WEN Tradition for his lone title on the Champions Tour, shot a 4-under-par 68 for 12-under 132 and a one-stroke lead over Denis Watson and Jim Thorpe after the second round in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif.

Bob Estes and Tommy Armour shot 5-under-par 68s and share the lead at 14-under 132 in the second round of the PGA's Tour's Ginn sur Mer Classic in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Play was delayed an hour at the start by rain and then suspended because of darkness with 64 players still on the course. Daniel Chopra is next with 66-133. Bryce Molder (Conway) is at 8-under 138. He finished his first round at 6-under 67 with eight birdies and two bogeys, then shot 2-under 71 with four birdies and two bogeys in the second round. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot 1-under 72 with three birdies and a double bogey for 1-under 145. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) is at 2 under after nine holes in the second round and 3 under for the tournament. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) is at 3 under through 16 holes in the second round and at 1 under for the tournament. Craig Lile (Razorbacks) is at 1 under through nine holes in the second round and 1 under for the tournament.

Suzann Pettersen, seeking her third victory in four weeks, holed a 115-yard wedge shot for eagle on the par-4 13th and birdied the 18th in shooting 4-under-par 68 for 11-under 133 and a two-stroke lead in the Honda LPGA Thailand in Pattaya. Alena Sharp, winless in two full seasons on the tour, matched Pettersen's 68 and is second.

Robert-Jan Derksen and Jean-Francois Lucquin shot 5-under-par 65s to share the lead at 9-under 131 in the Mallorca Classic in Son Servera, Mallorca, with 54 players left on the course when the second round was suspended by darkness.

FOOTBALL Ex-receiver files motion

Former San Francisco 49ers receiver Antonio Bryant filed a motion Friday asking a federal judge to stop the NFL from disciplining him for allegedly violating the league's substance abuse policy. Bryant filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the NFL last week seeking to stop the league from requiring him to submit to drug testing, arguing the league's policy doesn't apply to him anymore because he is not currently a player. In the latest filing, Bryant's lawyer, Peter Schaffer, said Bryant received a letter from the NFL on Friday stating that it had set a hearing for Nov. 7 to discuss a positive test Aug. 16 and a failure to submit to a test July 12. Bryant was released in March, just one season after he signed a four-year, $14 million contract. Bryant caught 40 passes last season for a team-leading 733 yards. But he repeatedly clashed with Coach Mike Nolan and was suspended four games for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

BOXING U.S. fighters win

Light welterweight Javier Molina and bantamweight Gary Russell advanced in the World Boxing Championships on Friday in Chicago. The 17-yearold Molina needs one more victory to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Molina beat Azerbaijan's Emil Maharramov 27-10. Russell beat Peter Moyshenzon of Israel 21-1.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Felton kicks top scorer Brown off Georgia team

ATHENS, Ga. - Senior Takais Brown, Georgia's leading scorer last season who already was suspended for the first nine games this season, was dismissed from the team Friday.

Coach Dennis Felton said Brown was kicked off the team for a violation of team policies but can remain at Georgia as a student.

"I'm both disappointed and sad today to release Takais from the team," Felton said in a statement released by the school. "He can continue as a student here at Georgia and will remain on scholarship. It is my hope that Takais continues his work toward earning his degree, which is certainly within his reach this summer."

Brown, a forward from Flint, Mich., led Georgia with 14.2 points per game last season.

He and two other Georgia players were suspended earlier this month for violations of the school's new class attendance policy for student-athletes.

The violation of team policy thatled to Friday's dismissal of Brown apparently was different than the problems that led to the Oct. 11 suspensions of Brown, Mike Mercer for 15 games and Albert Jackson for six games.

When announcing those suspensions, Felton said the three had violated Georgia athletic association policy, not team policy.

The suspensions were the result of policy introduced by Athletic Director Damon Evans in his efforts to boost the graduation rate of Georgia's student-athletes. According to the policy enacted last January, student-athletes are fined$10 and suspended for unexcused absences from class and academic appointments.

Felton said the players he suspended earlier this month remain academically eligible by university, SEC and NCAA standards. While Felton freely discussed the earlier suspensions, he provided no detail on the team policy broken by Brown, according to team spokesman Tim Hix.