Armstrong, Paris ready to make nice

When Lance Armstrong and France's anti-doping agency were at odds last spring over a surprise doping test, the seven-time Tour de France champion's return to the Tour appeared to fade.

Since then, tensions have eased. Armstrong is set for the start of the three-week race Saturday in Monaco, and Pierre Bordry, the president of anti-doping agency AFLD, said his drugs testers will treat Armstrong like any other rider.

"He is probably a great sportsman and from that point of view he is not a rider like any other," Bordry told the Associated Press in an interview at his office in Paris. "But he should be treated like the others when it comes to the fight against doping."

Just months ago, Armstrong and the agency were bickering.

In March, the AFLD said Armstrong did not fully cooperate with one of its testers who showed up at his home in France to collect blood, urine and hair samples. Armstrong at first reacted angrily and predicted the dispute would continue to escalate, anticipating "more antics out of the AFLD." He didn't return to France to train or compete.

Armstrong had been planning to race in the Criterium International in France but instead rode in the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon -- where he broke his collarbone in a crash that could have also derailed his Tour de France comeback hopes.

But in part because of a letter of good will that Armstrong sent to Bordry, the ill feeling eased.

Crawford, 31, blew away Charles Clark by .27 seconds to win his fourth national title, dating to 2001. Wallace Spearmon finished third to nab the final spot on the U.S. team heading to worlds later this summer.

Allyson Felix joined Crawford as America's other 200-meter champion, finishing in 22.02 (also wind-aided) to edge out Muna Lee. Marshevet Hooker finished third.

Crawford, the 200-meter Olympic champion in 2004, was awarded the 200 silver medal at the Beijing Olympics after two runners who finished ahead of him were disqualified for running outside their lanes. He never felt right about that, so he returned the medal -- even though the sport did not remove him from the record book.

Mahorn wins his first as a coach Rick Mahorn recorded his first victory as a head coach when the Detroit Shock beat the Sacramento Monarchs 86-72 in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Shavonte Zellous' 18 points led the Shock, which ended a four-game losing streak. Rebekkah Brunson scored 16 points for Sacramento, which lost its fifth in a row.

Tennis: Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport has given birth to her second child, a girl named Lauren Andrus Davenport Leach, on Saturday morning in California. She and husband Jon Leach already have a 2-year-old son, Jagger.

Football: North Carolina State linebacker Nate Irving has been charged with careless and reckless driving in Raleigh, N.C., after a wreck that left him with a broken leg and a collapsed lung. Police said Irving's vehicle ran off the road twice around 4:40 a.m., striking two trees. Highway Patrol Capt. Everett Clendenin said troopers believe Irving may have fallen asleep at the wheel.