Sports Briefs

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

UConn's Calhoun taking leave of absence

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said his back pain is so severe he will take a leave of absence and meet with doctors next week.

Calhoun, who turns 70 in May, told The Associated Press on Friday he has had back pain since last summer but thought physical therapy was helping him get through it. He said the pain was so bad in the past week or so he had trouble getting off a plane after a flight, but he tried to hide it.

The three-time national championship coach said he had told school president Susan Herbst he would try to get through the rest of the season. But Friday, he said he couldn't keep coaching in his current condition.

Calhoun said in a telephone interview, "I'm hurting. The bottom line is I'm going to need some work done."

• Senior starter Jeremiah Bowman has been indefinitely suspended from Longwood's men's team for a violation of the school's student-athlete code of conduct policy. Bowman is averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 assists.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Pitt to join Coastal, Syracuse to Atlantic

Pittsburgh will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division in football, the league announced.

When the Panthers actually begin playing in the ACC remains unknown, but athletics director Steve Pederson isn't ready to shut the door on 2012.

The ACC announced Pitt will join the Coastal with Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Duke and North Carolina. Pitt also would play Syracuse, another Big East program leaving for the ACC, every year, even though the Orange will join the Atlantic Division.

Pitt would like to leave the Big East before the 27 months' notice required in the conference bylaws. Pederson said he's keeping an eye on West Virginia's lawsuit against the Big East, as the Mountaineers are suing to play in the Big 12 in 2012.

CYCLING

Armstrong inquiry closed, no charges

Federal prosecutors closed their investigation of Lance Armstrong without charging him over allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at examining whether a doping program was created to keep the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates running at the head of the pack.

Armstrong has steadfastly denied he doped during his unparalleled career, but the possibility of criminal charges threatened to stain his legacy as the world's greatest cyclist and could have cast a shadow over his cancer charity work.

United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. announced in a press release his office "is closing an investigation into allegations of federal criminal conduct by members and associates of a professional bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong."

He didn't disclose the reason for the decision.

Investigators looked at whether a doping program was established for Armstrong's team while, at least part of the time, it received government sponsorship from the U.S. Postal Service. Authorities also examined whether Armstrong encouraged or facilitated doping on the team.

FIGURE SKATING

U.S. champ Abbott to miss Four Continents

Three-time U.S. figure skating champion Jeremy Abbott has withdrawn from next week's Four Continents because of a right hip injury.

Abbott was replaced by Richard Dornbush, who finished 13th at last week's U.S. championships but was fifth in the free skate. Dornbush was the silver medalist at the 2010 U.S. championships and was the top U.S. skater at the world championships, finishing ninth. Adam Rippon, who was second to Abbott at nationals, and Ross Miner, who was third, also will represent the United States.

Four Continents begins Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo. It draws skaters from the United States, Canada and Japan, including reigning world champion Patrick Chan.

ELSEWHERE

• Lukas Lacko beat seventh-seeded Robin Haase 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Zagreb (Croatia) Indoors. Lacko next faces Marcos Baghdatis, who defeated defending champion Ivan Dodig 6-4, 7-5. Michael Berrer also advanced, defeating Jurgen Melzer 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

• Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon, defending champion Gael Monfils and Philipp Kohlschreiber reached the semifinals at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. Berdych, seeded first, finished off Nicolas Mahut with his 14th ace, winning 6-3, 6-4. Simon, seeded second, edged wild card Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-2), 6-2. Simon will play third-seeded Monfils, who cruised past Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-3. Kohlschreiber, seeded seventh, served 18 aces in defeating fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

• Wayne Kelly, a boxing referee who officiated several notable bouts, has died. He was 63. The International Boxing Federation said Mr. Kelly died Wednesday from a heart attack. Mr. Kelly's career spanned more than two decades. He was remembered best for officiating the first fight between Riddick Bowe and Andrew Golota.

AROUND THE STATE

• Bridgewater earned the top spot in the ODAC preseason baseball poll by collecting seven first-place votes and 79 points in a survey of the league's 10 coaches. Randolph-Macon (three first-place votes, 69 points) was second. Hampden-Sydney (46 points) finished fifth.

• Longtime James Madison athletic administrator and former women's basketball coach Shelia Moorman will retire in June. A member of JMU's Athletic Hall of Fame, Moorman has spent the past 30 years at JMU. She coached the Dukes from 1982-97, winning more than 300 games and earning six NCAA tournament invitations.

From staff and wire reports