HOCKEY

TORONTO (AP) — The NHL’s sole obstacle to being back in business is as easy as an empty-net goal.

Players overwhelmingly supported the sixyear deal in balloting, with 464 of 532 (87 percent) voting in favor of it. Now it is all but certain the board of governors will sign off, too.

Approval by the 30 owners Friday will end the lockout, bring labor peace at last to the league that has already lost one season and turn the focus back to the ice. CYCLING

MENDE, France (AP) — Lance Armstrong easily retained his overall lead after a tricky 18th stage of the Tour de France, won by Spain’s Marcos Serrano.

Armstrong finished in a group with Ivan Basso of Italy, Jan Ullrich of Germany and Cadel Evans of Australia. The six-time champion’s lead over Basso, his closest challenger, remained unchanged at 2 minutes and 46 seconds. GOLF

EVIAN, France (AP) — Annika Sorenstam shot a 6-under 66 to climb into contention at the Evian Masters, two strokes behind secondround leaders Paula Creamer and Christina Kim.

Creamer and Kim each shot 4-under 68s and share the lead at 8-under 136. Sorenstam stood alone in second at 6 under. Michelle Wie, a 15year-old amateur, rebounded from her poor first round with a 70, but remained nine shots back at 1 over.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ben Crane, who was atop the leaderboard when thunderstorms interrupted the first round of the US Bank Championship, continued his birdie bombardment on Brown Deer Park after a nearly 5-hour delay.

His 8-under 62 made him the clubhouse leader when play was suspended for the day after a second rain delay of about an hour. Ninety-three golfers in the field of 156 were still on the course — or waiting to tee off.

Kenny Perry, the 2003 winner, shot a 63.

ABERDEEN, Scotland (AP) — Loren Roberts made his Champions Tour debut with a 1-over 72 at Royal Aberdeen to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Senior British Open.

He had a one-shot lead over Craig Stadler, Des Smyth and four others.

Roberts stole the show from Greg Norman, another 50-year-old in his senior debut. Norman, coming off a tie for 60th last week in the British Open at St. Andrews, struggled in the wind and shot 76.

EAGLE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. Women’s Open runner-up Morgan Pressel lost in the third round of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur, the second time in a month the 17-year-old was beaten by an opponent’s late chip.

Pressel, who finished second at the Women’s Open on June 26 after Birdie Kim chipped in from a greenside bunker, was eliminated when Juliana Murcia Ortiz of Columbia chipped in from 40 feet on the first extra hole.

LONGMEADOW, Mass. (AP) — Bob Tway’s son beat Arnold Palmer’s grandson in a secondround match and won his next match 3 and 1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Kevin Tway, son of the 1986 PGA champion, defeated medalist Sam Saunders, Palmer’s grandson, 4 and 3. In the third round at Longmeadow Country Club, the 16-year-old Tway eliminated Russell Henley, 3 and 1. TENNIS

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two-time defending champion Andy Roddick recorded his 12th consecutive victory at the RCA Championships, advancing into the quarterfinals along with three other Americans.

Roddick beat Israel’s Noam Okun, 6-3, 6-3.

Roddick joined No. 4-seed Taylor Dent, Robby Ginepri and Paul Goldstein in advancing to the next round at the Indianapolis Tennis Center.

Three other Americans were ousted in the second round. Second-seeded Nicolas Kiefer of Germany defeated Kevin Kim 6-1, 6-2. Mardy Fish, seeded 16th as a wild-card entry, retired because of a wrist injury after taking a 2-1 lead in the first set of his match with George Bastl of Switzerland.

Karol Beck of Slovakia ousted Rajeev Ram 62, 6-4.

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — French Open champion Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 31 matches, beating doubles partner Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the Mercedes Cup.

He was joined in the quarterfinals by secondseeded Nikolay Davydenko and third-seeded Gaston Gaudio.

No. 4-seeded Tommy Robredo and No. 6 Jiri Novak were both upset.

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva was upset by Japan’s Akiko Morigami 6-3, 6-2 in the Cincinnati Women’s Open.

Third-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia also advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 win over qualifier Sybille Bammer of Austria.

AMERSFOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Mariano Puerta and Fernando Gonzalez advanced to the Priority Telecom Open quarterfinals with identical 6-2, 6-2 wins in rain and wind.

Top-seeded Puerta of Argentina defeated qualifier Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica. Second-seeded Gonzalez of Chile beat Robin Vik of the Czech Republic.

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — Italy’s Flavia Pennetta beat Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Palermo International.

Martina Muller of Germany upset fourthseeded Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach her first quarterfinals of the year. TRACK AND FIELD

LONDON (AP) — U.S. Olympic officials won their appeal to uphold the victory of Michael Johnson and his teammates in the 1,600-meter relay at the 2000 Sydney Games.

The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a decision by track’s world governing body to disqualify the entire team because of Jerome Young’s positive drug test in 1999.

In a binding decision that brings a protracted legal case to a close, the court ruled that international rules at the time of the Sydney Olympics did not allow for a whole relay team to be penalized.

Only Young should be stripped of his medal, the three-man panel said.

That means Johnson and the other team members — Antonio Pettigrew, twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison and Angelo Taylor — keep their golds