Expert: Tour champ Contador was doping

German authorities said Tuesday they have received documents from doping expert Werner Franke that he claims show Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was involved in doping.

Franke said he has documents from last year's Operation Puerto doping investigation in Spain showing Contador, a Spaniard who won the doping-marred Tour on Sunday, had taken HMG-Lepori as a testosterone booster and an asthma product called TGN.

Elsewhere in cycling:

• German cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz was fired by his T-Mobile team and acknowledged he "secretly" used a testosterone gel before failing a doping test in June.

Sinkewitz admitted to "incorrect conduct" just hours after being dismissed by his team for refusing to have his backup sample tested.

• Cristian Moreni, who tested positive for testosterone at the Tour, was called to a hearing before the Italian Olympic Committee. Moreni will face the panel's anti-doping prosecutor Aug. 8.

• The Astana cycling team will not race this month after the doping scandal involving Alexandre Vinokourov at the Tour.

PREDATORS SALE The local group of businessmen bidding to buy the Predators - and likely keep them in Nashville, Tenn. - are close enough to finalizing their offer that a letter of intent giving the group exclusive negotiating rights could be signed today.

The businessmen working with Predators owner Craig Leipold would like to complete the purchase before the season starts in October.

In other NHL deals:

• The Ottawa Senators and forward Chris Kelly avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.26 million contract.

• Brett Hull will become a special adviser for hockey operations for the Dallas Stars.

RODDICK ROLLS Andy Roddick fired off 18 aces and beat Tomas Zib 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Legg Mason tennis tournament in Washington.

In other tournaments:

• Sania Mirza used pressure at the net in the third set to pull off a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 upset of No. 12 seed Shahar Peer in the Acura Classic at Carlsbad, Calif.

• Sergio Roitman upset third-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Orange Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland.

PROSSER REMEMBERED Skip Prosser, the Wake Forest men's basketball coach who died suddenly Thursday of an apparent heart attack, was remembered in a Winston-Salem, N.C., funeral service as an engaging, congenial coach who brought integrity to the sport and reignited the students' passion for the Demon Deacons.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, former Virginia coach Pete Gillen and former Wake Forest guard Muggsy Bogues joined the 11 other Atlantic Coast Conference coaches - including Tobacco Road rivals Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Roy Williams of North Carolina - in packing a Catholic church where Prosser's funeral was held.

SHOCK WINS Plenette Pierson scored 22 points to lead the

WNBA's Detroit Shock to an 84-79 victory against the San Antonio Silver Stars in a meeting of conference leaders.

In other WNBA games:

• Mwadi Mabika scored 19 points to help the Los Angeles Sparks to a 73-63 victory against the New York Liberty, the latter's season-high seventh straight loss.

• Diana Taurasi scored 19 points to help the Phoenix Mercury to a 76-74 win against the Houston Comets.

• Katie Douglas scored 18 points to help the Connecticut Sun to a 74-56 victory against the Chicago Sky.

• Tan White scored 20 points to help the Indiana Fever to a 66-57 victory against the Washington Mystics.

FERRARI APPEAL Formula One's governing body will hear an appeal regarding its decision not to impose sanctions against McLaren for obtaining confidential information from rival Ferrari.

BOUT SET Undefeated middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (27-0-1, 17 knockouts) will defend his title against Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28 KOs) on Sept. 29 in Atlantic City, N.J.

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