FOOTBALL

NFL SUSPENDS TANK JOHNSON FOR EIGHT GAMES

Tank Johnson is the latest NFL player to feel the impact of com missioner Roger Goodell’s crack down on off-field misbehavior.

The Chicago Bears’ defensive tackle was suspended yesterday for the first eight games of the 2007 NFL season, the third player sidelined this offseason under Goodell’s toughened personal conduct policy.

Johnson, who recently spent two months in the Cook County jail for violating probation on a gun charge, joins Tennessee’s Adam “Pacman” Jones, suspended for the entire season, and Cincinnati’s Chris Henry, out eight games Jones, who’s appealing his suspension, has been arrested five times and had 10 interviews with police since being drafted in April 2005 Henry is one of nine Bengals ar rested last year — one of the reasons Goodell, with the approval of the players union and newly established players’ council, established his “get tough” policy.

BASEBALL

PINIELLA’S SUSPENSION SET AT FOUR GAMES

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella’s suspension was set at four games Monday by Major League Baseball for his weekend dirt-kicking tantrum against an umpire.

“I will serve it and I will learn from this experience,” Piniella said before Monday night’s game at Milwaukee. “These things won’ happen again.”

The commissioner’s office origi nally planned to suspend Piniella for five games. The penalty was reduced by one game after Piniella spoke with John McHale Jr., MLB’s executive vice president for administration.

HORSE RACING

TEAM GIACOMO RETURNS FOR BELMONT TRY WITH TIAGO

Two years ago, Mike Smith won his first Kentucky Derby aboard Giacomo. The Hall of Fame jockey believes he can win his first Belmont Stakes on Saturday with Giacomo’s half brother, Tiago.

Smith says Tiago has distance in his favor so the 1 1/2 -mile Belmont — the longest race most horses ever run — should suit him just fine.

“He never seems to get tired,” Smith said. “And he’s handling the track well. You can feel pretty brave with a horse like that.”

OLYMPICS

PYEONGCHANG GETS BEST REVIEW ON 2014 OLYMPIC BIDS

Once seen as the front-runner, Salzburg has a lot of work to do in the final month of the race for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The Austrian city in the heart of the Alps came in for some pointed criticism Monday in an International Olympic Committee report assessing the three bid cities — without even a mention of the doping scandal that has dogged the Austrian campaign.

The South Korean city of Pyeongchang received the best overall critique, while the Russian resort of Sochi drew some cautionary comments in the 87-page report by the IOC evaluation commission.