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2B – Daily News – Wednesday, July 7, 2010 Bumpy 3rd stage of Tour GIRLS ARENBERG, France (AP) — Just four days into the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong is off to a rough start. On the cobblestones in Tues- day’s third stage, on which he had been expected to excel, the seven- time champ instead popped a tire, lost time changing it, and fell back of his main rivals. The 132-mile ride from Wanze, Belgium, to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut in France was the most dreaded stage of Week One — with seven sections of bone-jarring cob- blestones that threatened injury, bike damage or lost time for title contenders. Thor Hushovd of Norway, lead- ing a six-man group, won the stage in a final sprint. Fabian Cancellara, the Swiss rider who won the pro- logue, was right behind — and recovered the leader’s yellow jer- sey he had ceded Monday to Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel. For Armstrong, the bigger threats are riders such as defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain, 2009 runner-up Andy Schleck of Luxembourg and two- time runner-up Cadel Evans of Australia. They all leapfrogged the 38- year-old Texan. They will be tough to overcome when the next big challenges await in the Alps in Week Two and a punishing four- day run in the Pyrenees in Week Three. ‘‘Our chances took a knock today,’’ Armstrong said. ‘‘I’m not going home, we’ll stay in the race and keep trying.’’ Astana team leader Contador avoided disaster, and rode the last 18 miles with the brake jammed against his rear wheel. ‘‘I knew that if I changed the bike would be much worse and I preferred to continue with the wheel braking,’’ he said. ‘‘I could- n’t stand up, but hey, we saved the day.’’ Schleck was fifth in the stage, clocking the same time as Hushovd: 4 hours, 49 minutes, 38 seconds. In the splintered pack, Contador was 13th, 1 minute, 13 seconds back. Armstrong placed 32nd — 2:08 behind. Overall, Cancellara leads Geraint Thomas by 23 seconds, and two-time Tour runner-up Evans is third: 39 seconds back. Contador is ninth, 1:40 back, Schleck is sixth, 1:19 back and Armstrong sank to 18th, 2:30 back, after enter- CUP (Continued from page 1B) Besides the loss to Argentina in ’78, the Nether- lands fell in its only other appearance in the final, to West Germany in 1974. Both of those title-game defeats came during the golden period of Dutch soc- cer, and in the opposition’s homeland. No such worries this time, and no country out- side of Africa has had as much fan support as the Netherlands. Inside Green Point Stadi- um it looked like a Florida orange grove. Outside, a Netherlands fan in a blue and white bodysuit stood on stilts and played a vuvuzela — badly. It was about the only thing that didn’t measure up for the Dutch. And a tournament that looked like a South Ameri- ing the day in fifth overall. The cobblestones stage, the first at the Tour since 2004, followed two straight stages marred by crashes on slick roads that caught up Contador, Schleck and Arm- strong. Organizers took a gamble by running the riders over the treach- erous, roughhewn stones, hoping to inject drama to the race. The move appeared to be vindicated. ‘‘I’m not sure I’m a fan of the cobblestones in the Tour de France,’’ said Bjarne Riis, the Saxo Bank team manager, ‘‘but it was a spectacular race. Armstrong, who has dealt with cancer, will have to prove that at 38, he’s still got some fight in him if he wants to win. Armstrong began the stage ahead of his general classification rivals. Now, he trails them: Conta- dor is 50 seconds ahead, Evans is nearly 2 minutes ahead. Britain’s Bradley Wiggins has 41 seconds on Armstrong. They’re likely to pounce if Arm- strong tries to get in the front now. It’s a far cry from his heyday, when he methodically worked to ensure his rivals were eating his dust from the outset. ‘‘Bad luck,’’ Armstrong said of his mishap. Some had worse luck: Andy Schleck’s brother Frank, in the middle of the Sars-et-Rosieres patch — the fourth run of cobbles — hurtled off his bike and onto the side of the road, and did not get up, crouching in pain on the ground. He was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken left collarbone. After that spill, the pack splin- tered. Armstrong had a small lead over Contador after the fifth sec- tion, but then he punctured his tire in the sixth and the Spaniard’s group rumbled by him until the Texan got a replacement. ‘‘It’s very frustrating,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m not going to make any excus- es. I was in good position ... there was the crash that split the group, we hung tough and tried to come back and just got a flat tire at the wrong moment.’’ ‘‘A 45-second wheel change, and they’re gone, he added. ‘‘It was very difficult to come back.’’ Armstrong had predicted ‘‘car- nage’’ during the stage, and many riders anticipated that some ambi- tions of victory could be all but lost. can fiesta early on will end in a European showdown for the second straight World Cup. Sneijder and Robben made sure of that. Sneijder’s goal came somewhat unexpectedly because Uruguay had shut down the Dutch offense for much of the second half. His left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area barely ticked the leg of defender Maximiliano Pereira and, with Robin van Persie almost deflecting it again, the ball skidded past goalkeeper Fer- nando Muslera. Then Robben sent a cross from Dirk Kuyt past a flat- footed Muslera with a bril- liant header. His teammates piled on in an Oranje Crush celebration, and Robben came up from it muddied and merry — and with the knowledge that, ahead 3-1, the Netherlands was likely headed to the championship match. Uruguay was without dangerous striker Luis Suarez, whose handball on the goal line in the final sec- onds of extra time against Ghana saved his team in the quarterfinals. He drew a red card for that, and spent his suspension on the bench watching his undermanned teammates come up just short. Pereira made the Nether- lands sweat with a goal in injury time, and Stekelen- burg’s late save preserved the biggest Dutch win in decades. The Dutch have now won 10 straight and are unbeaten in their last 25 games. Robben was replaced late in the match, and at the final whistle he fell flat to the turf as he ran back onto the pitch. Mark van Bommel hustled over to where the ball came to rest, picked it up and Among the contenders, Arm- strong lost out most on the day. The big winners were Evans, who jumped to the front of race con- tenders who are expected to far well in the mountains, and Conta- dor — whose abilities on the cob- blestones were uncertain. Armstrong had no hard feelings that the pack didn’t wait for him like it had on Monday, when he and several other top contenders crashed — prompting the Cancel- lara-led bunch to slow down. ‘‘It’s pro bike racing, it’s dog eat dog,’’ Armstrong said. ‘‘One day you’re the peace maker and the rational mind, and the next day you’re taking advantage of every opportunity.’’ Cancellara, a teammate of the Schlecks who won the opening-day prologue, expressed ‘‘mixed feel- ing’’ about the day but was delight- ed to retrieve the leader’s jersey. ‘‘Yesterday I gave it up, today I took it,’’ he said. ‘‘We can call it a good day for Saxo Bank despite the loss of Frank, a great friend.’’ Seven riders broke away early. Getting out front in such a stage doesn’t just improve chances for a stage victory, it also can help avoid crashes — which are more likely in the frenzied pack. Armstrong’s RadioShack team led the pack over the first bumps, with crowds getting up close but respecting a safe enough distance for the riders to get through. At the second patch, dust flew as some riders sought to evade the cobblestones by riding on the dry dirt on the side — but again, no rid- ers went down. This time, the crowds kept back. Chavanel wore the yellow jersey for Tuesday’s ride into his home country, but he had to cope with two flat tires, along with a mechan- ical problem, and lost time on Can- cellara. The pack could get a more rest- ful day on Wednesday, with a most- ly flat 95-mile course from Cam- brai to Reims, the capital of Cham- pagne country. Despite his setback Tuesday, Armstrong noted there’s still a lot of racing left in the three-week race, which heads toward the Alps and later the Pyrenees before the Paris finish on July 25. ‘‘It’s the nature of the sport,’’ he said. ‘‘Sometimes you’re the ham- mer, sometimes you’re the nail. Today I was the nail. I have 20 days now to be the hammer.’’ hugged it. His teammates then began a joyous stroll around the field, some of them barechested, as the vuvuzelas blared and Dutch flags waved in the stands. ‘‘This is very special,’’ Van Marwijk said. ‘‘After 32 years we play the final again. Such a small country! We can be very proud of this.’’ The Jabulani ball Van Bommel grabbed has been a source of criticism for its unpredictability, particularly the way it can soar. When Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, a true defensive halfback, puts one in from 30 yards off the far goalpost, well, let the debate begin again. The Dutch captain gave his team the lead in the 18th minute, and the Oranje pressed for more, but when they let up slightly on defense, the superb Diego Forlan pounced. He was given far too much open Scoreboard WORLD CUP Semifinals Tuesday’s result Netherlands 3, Uruguay 2 Today’s match Germany vs. Spain, 11:30 a.m., ESPN Third Place Saturday’s game Uruguay vs.Germany-Spain loser, 11:30 a.m. Championship Sunday’s game Netherlands vs.Germany-Spain winner, 11:30 a.m. MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 46 39 .541 4 A’s 49 34 .590 — 41 43 .488 8.5 Seattle 34 48 .415 14.5 East Division WL Pct GB New York 51 31 .622 — Tampa Bay 50 33 .602 1.5 Boston 49 35 .583 3 Toronto 41 43 .488 11 Baltimore 25 58 .301 26.5 Central Division Detroit WL Pct GB 45 37 .549 — Minnesota 45 38 .542 .5 Chicago 43 38 .531 1.5 Kansas City 37 46 .446 8.5 Cleveland 33 50 .398 12.5 ——— Monday’s late results New York 3, Oakland 1 Kansas City 6, Seattle 4, 10 innings Tuesday’s results New York at Oakland, late Detroit 7, Baltimore 5, 11 innings Minnesota 7, Toronto 6 Tampa Bay 3, Boston 2 Texas 12, Cleveland 1 Kansas City at Seattle, late Los Angeles at Chicago, late Today’s games New York (A.J.Burnett 6-7) at Oakland (G.Gonzalez 7-5),7:05 p.m.,CSNC Baltimore (Bergesen 3-5) at Detroit (Scherzer 5-6), 4:05 p.m. Minnesota (Slowey 8-5) at Toronto (Rzepczynski 0-0), 4:07 p.m. Boston (Wakefield 3-6) at Tampa Bay (Price 11-4), 4:10 p.m. Cleveland (Talbot 8-7) at Texas (C.Lewis 7-5), 5:05 p.m. Los Angeles (J.Saunders 6-8) at Chicago (F.Garcia 8-3), 5:10 p.m. Kansas City (Davies 4-6) at Seattle (Fister 3-4), 7:10 p.m. West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 49 34 .590 — Dodgers 45 37 .549 3.5 Colorado 45 38 .542 4 GIANTS 43 40 .518 6 Arizona 32 52 .381 17.5 East Division WL Pct GB Atlanta 49 35 .583 — New York 47 37 .560 2 Philadelphia 43 39 .524 5 Florida 39 43 .476 9 Washington 37 47 .440 12 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 48 37 .565 — St. Louis 45 38 .542 2 Chicago 37 47 .440 10.5 Milwaukee 37 47 .440 10.5 Houston 33 51 .393 14.5 Pittsburgh 30 53 .361 17 ——— Tuesday’s results San Francisco 6, Milwaukee 1 Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 3, 11 innings Chicago 6, Arizona 4 Colorado 12, St. Louis 9 Houston 6, Pittsburgh 2 New York 3, Cincinnati 0 Washington 6, San Diego 5 Florida at Los Angeles, late Today’s games San Francisco (Lincecum 8-4) at Milwaukee (Narveson 7-5),5:10 p.m.,CSNB Atlanta (Medlen 5-1) at Philadelphia (Moyer 9-7), 4:05 p.m. San Diego (Garland 8-5) at Washington (J.Martin 0-4), 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati (Arroyo 8-4) at New York (Niese 6-2), 4:10 p.m., ESPN Pittsburgh (D.McCutchen 1-3) at Houston (Moehler 1-4), 5:05 p.m. St. Louis (J.Garcia 8-4) at Colorado (Cook 3-5), 5:40 p.m. Chicago (Dempster 6-7) at Arizona (E.Jackson 6-6), 6:40 p.m., WGN Florida (Jo.Johnson 8-3) at Los Angeles (Kuroda 7-6), 7:10 p.m. GOLDEN Golden League North Division WL Pct. GB OUTLAWS 30 9 .769 — Edmonton 22 16 .579 7.5 Calgary 20 18 .526 9.5 Victoria 18 20 .474 11.5 St. George 14 25 .359 16 South Division Maui Yuma WL Pct. GB 22 15 .595 — 23 17 .575 .5 Tucson 19 21 .475 4.5 Orange Co. 17 20 .459 5 Tijuana 7 31 .184 15.5 ——— Monday’s late result Yuma 10, Tucson 2 Tuesday’s results Chico at Tucson, late Calgary at Orange County, late St. George at Yuma, late Tijuana at Edmonton, late Victoria at Maui, late Today’s games Chico at Tucson, 7 p.m. Tijuana at Edmonton, 6 p.m. St. George at Yuma, 6:30 p.m. Calgary at Orange County, 7:05 p.m. Victoria at Maui, 9:35 p.m. WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Atlanta 13 5 .722 — Washington 12 5 .706 .5 Indiana 10 6 .625 2 Connecticut 10 7 .588 2.5 Chicago 8 10 .444 5 New York 7 9 .438 5 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Seattle 16 2 .889 — San Antonio 6 9 .400 8.5 Phoenix 7 11 .389 9 Minnesota 5 11 .313 10 Los Angeles 4 13 .235 11.5 Tulsa 3 13 .188 12 ——— Tuesday’s results Indiana 58, Chicago 51 Phoenix 98, Los Angeles 89 San Antonio 79, Connecticut 66 Seattle 78, New York 70 Today’s game Connecticut at Atlanta, 4 p.m. WPS Women’s Professional Soccer WL T Pts GF GA FC Gold Pride 8 3 1 25 19 10 Philadelphia 6 4 3 21 21 17 Sky Blue FC 5 4 2 17 12 13 Washington 4 3 4 16 17 14 Chicago 3 5 4 13 8 10 Boston Atlanta ——— Today’s games Washington at Sky Blue FC, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. DEALS Major League Baseball American League BALTIMORE—Placed RHP Kevin Millwood on the 15-day DL.Activated OF Felix Pie from the 15-day DL. TEXAS—Optioned RHP Omar Beltre to Oklahoma City (PCL). Recalled RHP Doug Mathis from Oklahoma City. National League CINCINNATI—Placed RHP Aaron Harang on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July 1. Recalled LHP Matt Maloney from Louisville (IL). PHILADELPHIA—Activated LHP J.A. Happ from the 15-day DL and assigned him to Lehigh Valley (IL). Golden Baseball League CALGARY—Signed LHP Daniel Morari. Major League Soccer MLS—Suspended LA Galaxy D Omar Gon- zalez one game for accumulating five yellow cards. TORONTO—Signed F Mista for the remain- der of the season. 2 5 4 10 9 13 1 6 3 6 5 15 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. National Basketball Association DETROIT—Signed c-f Greg Monroe. L.A.CLIPPERS—Agreed to terms with Vinny Del Negro to become the coach. National Hockey League DETROIT—Re-signed F Drew Miller to a one-year contract. N.Y. RANGERS—Agreed to terms with D Ryan McDonagh. ST. LOUIS—Signed G Jaroslav Halak to a four-year contract. TAMPA BAY—Re-signed D Mike Lundin and RW Teddy Purcell to one-year contracts. WASHINGTON—Signed C-RW Boyd Gor- don to a one-year contract. College GEORGIA—Named Frank Crumley interim athletic director. STANFORD—Promoted Ricky Brackett to assistant communications director. But the South County (Continued from page 1B) scored on a passed ball that rolled up in the air off of the backstop. The lead was extended to 6-1 in the fourth inning on more South County pickoff errors. Abbey Bundy reached on a walk then came all the way around to score after South County tried to pick her off at first base and a pair of throws went wild. The next batter, Dunham, walked as well. She stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored when South County attempted to pick her off at third base. girls showed heart in their half of the fourth inning when they battled back to make it a game. Mariela Sanchez reached on a dropped third strike to start the inning and then Sarah Grine drew a walk. Brose put a ball into play that was misplayed in the infield that allowed Sanchez to score. Grine then scored on a passed ball and Shelby Bac- cala hit an RBI groundout to score Brose and make the game 6-4. They wouldn’t get any closer as they couldn’t tack on another run in the fourth inning and couldn’t get the third Cottonwood out of the fifth inning. JaMarcus Russell arrest stems from a 2-month investigation MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The arrest of JaMarcus Russell for alleged possession of codeine syrup resulted from a two- month undercover investigation that could result in more arrests. Mobile County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lori Myles said Tuesday that the investigation wasn’t targeting the former Oakland Raiders quarterback but that his name and home address had come up several times. The 2007 No. 1 draft choice was arrested Monday at his home and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Myles says forensic tests to determine the amount of codeine syrup involved sometimes take 5-7 days Russell has a bond hearing Wednesday and his trial is scheduled for July 20. Russell did not return a call from The Associated Press Tuesday. A business partner of Russell’s agent said they had no comment. Clippers reach deal with Del Negro LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers reached an agreement in principle with Vinny Del Negro to become the team’s head coach. The team said Tuesday night in an e-mail that more details would be announced Wednesday. Del Negro was fired by the Chicago Bulls in May after going 82-82 in two seasons and making two postseason appearances. Mike Dunleavy quit as Clippers coach in early February to focus exclusively on his general manager duties, then he and the team severed ties completely on March 8. His assistant, Kim Hughes, finished the season as interim coach before being dismissed on April 15. The Clippers had a 29-53 record last season, missing the playoffs for the 15th time in 17 years. They were 8-33 on the road, their worst mark away from home since 1999-2000, when they went 5-36. Del Negro’s hiring comes with the Clippers having significant salary cap space in their attempt to lure free agent LeBron James from Cleveland. Whether they’re successful in landing James should be known Thurs- day night, when he is expected to announce where he will play next season. Without James, Del Negro will oversee a roster featuring Blake Griffin, last year’s No. 1 draft pick who got hurt and missed all of last season. He’ll also have All-Star center Chris Kaman, former All-Star guard Baron Davis and Eric Gordon. space in the middle of the field and, from just under 30 yards, his left-footed drive went off goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg’s hand and into the net. Stekelenburg was screened just enough by defender John Heitinga and didn’t get a good view of the ball until it was too late. While several Dutch players threw up their hands in frustration, Forlan cele- brated his fourth goal of the tournament with a suave wave of his arm. Suarez leaped off the bench in jubi- lation. Forlan left in the 85th minute and coach Oscar Tabarez revealed after the match that his star played with a painful thigh. ‘‘From minute one he had a problem,’’ Tabarez said. ‘‘I’m not dumb enough to take him out at 3-1 when the match wasn’t lost. He was injured and could not contin- ue.’’ Tabarez said the better team won. ‘‘We did what we could, we accept the defeat,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re sad because even though nobody gave us a chance, we were close.’’ Van Bronckhorst was in his accustomed role early in the second half when he headed a long shot by Alvaro Pereira away from the net after Stekelenburg was caught out chasing a stray back pass. And the Dutch defense was under siege in the final minutes as Uruguay sought to tie it. The Celeste will head to Saturday’s third-place game, not bad for the last team to qualify. But not nearly what they wanted. The Dutch and their fans have that.