League Notes: Lance Armstrong Doping Probe Budgeted To Cost $3.3M

Cycling’s ruling body is prepared to spend 3M Swiss francs ($3.3M) "on an inquiry into how it oversaw doping controls during Lance Armstrong’s career, a probe that includes a former war crimes investigator." The Int'l Cycling Union disclosed the budget "in an e-mailed response to questions." It is "the second attempt by the UCI to look into its treatment of Armstrong" (BLOOMBERG, 1/12). ... China’s table tennis federation "should give foreign players more access to its coaches to ease the country’s stranglehold on the sport and attract more television and sponsor interest." In the men’s game, Chinese players "have won seven of the past eight biennial world championships, while China’s women have claimed the last 10 titles" (REUTERS, 1/12).