jurisprudence

Montgomery sentenced 46 months for check fraud

Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery was sentenced to 46 months in prison Friday for his part in a multimillion-dollar fake-check scheme.

The former track star, 33, hung his head as Judge Kenneth Karas imposed the sentence.

Montgomery pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy in the bank fraud and money laundering plot. Prosecutors said he had a hand in depositing bogus checks worth $1.7 million.

track and field

Amputee wins right to try for Olympic spot

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 21-year-old South African is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes, overturning a ban imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

tennis

Federer, Nadal reach Hamburg semifinals

Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the Hamburg (Germany) Masters by defeating Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic also made the final four, downing Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic will face Rafael Nadal, who defeated Carlos Moya, 6-1, 6-3.

Nadal and Djokovic will play for the No. 2 ranking. If Nadal loses, Djokovic would replace him. The Spaniard has been ranked second for a record 147 consecutive weeks.

Defending champion Federer plays unseeded Andreas Seppi in the other semifinal. Seppi reached his first semifinal of the year by defeating Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.

Serena Williams pulls out of Italian Open, Venus loses: At Rome, Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match at the Italian Open due to a back problem and older sister Venus Williams was beaten by defending champion Jelena Jankovic.

Jankovic will next play second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who rallied past 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 to gain the semifinal with her 300th career win.

Golf

Byrd shoots another 66, leads AT&T by three

Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the AT&T Classic at Duluth, Ga.

Bean, Goodes share lead at Regions Charity Classic: Andy Bean and Monday qualifier Mike Goodes shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Regions Charity Classic at Hoover, Ala.

Rain halts Sybase Classic: Second-round play was wiped out in the LPGA Tour's Sybase Classic at Clifton, N.J., after rain created conditions that would have forced players to compete on two very different courses if the round had been suspended until today.

Tournament officials wiped out play, rescheduled the second round to today and reduced the $2 million tournament from 72 holes to 54.

Lorenzo-Vera leads Irish Open: France's Michael Lorenzo-Vera shot a 2-under 70 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Irish Open at Adare, Ireland.

pro football

Owners may opt out of labor deal next week

NFL owners could opt out of their agreement with the players union next week, leaving open the possibility of a 2010 season without a salary cap.

The labor agreement is on the agenda for the league meetings in Atlanta on Tuesday. Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, said that if it doesn't happen Tuesday, it will happen soon.

college basketball

BYU's Plaisted signing with agent

Brigham Young center Trent Plaisted, who announced last month he was entering his name for the NBA draft, has agreed to sign with Priority Sports to represent him and should be officially signed within a day or two.