Sports

In brief

Nardiello won't join any team

By wire services
Published January 26, 2006

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In his eyes, U.S. skeleton coach Tim Nardiello was vindicated by one small victory - then finished by one massive defeat.

He'd beaten sexual harassment allegations when an arbitrator found no evidence that he made inappropriate, innuendo-laden comments. The accusers, including two women who failed to make the Olympic team and a man who had only minimal contact with Nardiello as a coach, apparently lacked a compelling case.

Even so, he'll watch the Turin Olympics from home.

A costly, monthlong battle to clear his name fell short Tuesday when the U.S. Olympic Committee decided not to send him to Italy after all, citing violations of ethical standards and other indiscretions while coaching the American sliders.

His apparent undoing: a relationship with Kelly Moffat, a skeleton athlete from New Zealand.

The USOC's decision had left open the possibility that he could coach for another country. But on Wednesday, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT) said it chose someone else to lead its team of "small nations" athletes because it couldn't keep waiting for the Nardiello saga to end.

And with that ended Nardiello's chance at becoming an Olympic coach this year.

"I spent two years' salary fighting the first fight, and that's $36,000 a year times two," Nardiello said. "It's definitely not any fun anymore. My funds are gone. This thing has wiped me out. I have no means to take on another big fight. And I'm not going to dip into the kids' college fund. But even now, I regret nothing."

BLOOM LEADS U.S. TEAM: Jeremy Bloom headlined the group of 14 skiers picked for the U.S. Olympic freestyle team. Bloom, a receiver and kick return specialist at Colorado who will head for the NFL scouting combine after the games, is considered a favorite in the moguls competition. He'll be joined by 2002 silver medalist Travis Mayer, Toby Dawson and Travis Cabral. As a sign of the depth of the American team, Nate Roberts, who spent most of the winter ranked among the top 10 in the world, was left off the squad.

GERMAN COACHES AXED: Germany dropped three officials, all coaches, from its Olympics team because of ties to the former East Germany's secret police.

WORLD CUP: Bode Miller, who will head the U.S. alpine team, will miss his first World Cup race in almost four years when he skips this weekend's downhill and super-G at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. U.S. officials said Miller is taking a break, ending his streak of competing in 136 straight Cup races. ... American Rachel Komisarz was a double winner at the opening of the short course championships, taking the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly at Moscow.

BOXING: De La Hoya's wish? Winky

Oscar De La Hoya has not fought in 16 months but he plans to return this year for two more bouts before retiring. First, he is to meet Ricardo Mayorga in a light middleweight title fight May 6. "(Then) I will go out ... in September," De La Hoya said in a phone interview. "That's it. I want to fight the best fighter out there and go out with a bang. "(St. Petersburg's) Winky Wright and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are at the top of my wish list."

SOCCER: MLS unveils "1836'

Houston's new Major League Soccer franchise is called Houston 1836, commemorating the year of the city's founding. The team, formerly the San Jose Earthquakes, relocated from Texas last month.

UNITED REACHES FINAL: Louis Saha scored the winning goal in the second half as Manchester United overcame a missed penalty shot to beat Blackburn 2-1 at home and reach the final of League Cup.

ET CETERA

AUTOS: Newly-retired NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace was named lead analyst for ESPN and ABC, which will broadcast 17 Nextel Cup races beginning in 2007.

GOLF: Tiger Woods has completed a $38-million purchase of 10 acres of residential property stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway on Jupiter Island. The transaction marks the largest single residential sale in Martin County history.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 14:33:14]