FOOTBALL

TEXANS FIRE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

The Houston Texans fired offensive coordinator Chris Palmer yesterday following the team’s second straight embarrassing loss. Palmer will be replaced by offensive line coach Joe Pendry, according to a source who asked not to be identified because the team had not yet made the announcement.

Palmer, who has been the offensive coordinator since the team’s inception, also called the plays. The Texans lost to Pittsburgh 27-7 on Sunday after losing to Buffalo 22-7 in the opener. Houston has averaged the fewest yards (170.5), fewest passing yards (66.5), and points (7) in the NFL through its first two games. In Sunday’s game, quarterback David Carr was sacked eight times – the most since the expansion year in 2002 and one shy of the most in the team’s 50-game history.

CYCLING

GOVERNING BODY DENIES ARMSTRONG LEAK

Cycling’s governing body denied yesterday that its president supplied a French sports newspaper with documents used to accuse Lance Armstrong of doping at the 1999 Tour de France. The International Cycling Union also said yesterday that World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound was blocking its investigation by withholding information. UCI said Pound must be held accountable and “conduct of this type will not be tolerated.”

Pound said last week he received a letter from UCI president Hein Verbruggen saying he had provided L’Equipe with forms indicating Armstrong had tested positive for EPO during the first of his seven Tour victories. UCI then released a statement, saying that Pound’s “transparently erroneous statements about the UCI being the source of the forms are difficult to explain, except that they appear to be an attempt by Mr. Pound to draw attention away from his efforts to obstruct and delay the UCI investigation.”

The UCI said it was conducting an investigation at WADA’s request, and it urged WADA to either censure its chief or assign someone else to this case. Last month, L’Equipe published evidence allegedly showing that six of Armstrong’s frozen urine samples from 1999 came back positive for endurance-boosting EPO when they were retested last year.

– Associated Press