UPI NewsTrack Sports

German skater's doping ban upheld

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Claudia Pechstein, who has won nine speed skating Olympic medals for Germany, will miss the 2010 Winter Olympics because of a doping ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a two-year suspension levied on Pechstein following accusations she participated in blood doping during the World Speedskating Championships last February. The ban by the International Skating Union will run through February 2011, meaning Pechstein will be ineligible for the Feb. 12-28 Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Pechstein had appealed the ISU action, claiming data collected were unreliable and the blood analysis machine used in the testing wasn't calibrated correctly. The CAS Wednesday rejected those contentions.

Vancouver would have been the sixth Olympics for Pechstein, 37. She won her first Olympic medal in the 1992 Games, taking the bronze in the 5,000 meters. She won gold medals in that event three times (1994, 1998 and 2002), took a silver medal in the 5,000 in 2006 and had a second-place finish in the 3,000 in 1998. In 2002, she won the 3,000 meters and she was part of the German team that won the pursuit in 2006. She was also third in the 3,000 in 1994.

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Three players make PSAs with president

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has partnered with three NFL players in holiday PSAs about the importance of children being active.

The 90-second announcements, part of the league's PLAY 60 campaign on youth health and fitness to fight obesity, air during the Detroit-Green Bay, Dallas-Oakland, and N.Y. Giants-Denver contests on Thanksgiving Day, Sunday's 12 games, and Monday's New England-New Orleans game.

They were done by NFL Films in conjunction with the "United We Serve" initiative on the White House lawn earlier this month.

The players are Drew Brees, DeMarcus Ware and Troy Polamalu.

"Through United We Serve, I have challenged all Americans to roll up their sleeves and engage in sustained service to strengthen our communities," the president said in a statement. "For some of us that means volunteering at a soup kitchen or cleaning up a local park. For others, it means taking time to build a playground or volunteering your time to improve the life of a child."

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Soderling first through to ATP semifinals

LONDON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Robin Soderling defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets Wednesday and earned a semifinals berth at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Soderling was a late injury replacement in the eight-man Finals field, taking the place of Andy Roddick, and responded with a straight-set win over world No. 2 Rafael Nadal on Monday and the 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory over the third-seeded Djokovic on Wednesday.

Soderling fired 10 aces at Djokovic and dropped just two points on serve in the second set when he won six consecutive games. He improved to 2-0 in Group B and Djokovic dropped to 1-1.

Nadal was to face Nikolay Davydenko

later Wednesday. Both are 0-1 in round-robin play, meaning the loser of that match would be eliminated from semifinals consideration.

Group A play wraps up Thursday when Andy Murray (1-1) plays Fernando Verdasco (0-2) and Roger Federer (2-0) takes on Juan Martin del Potro (1-1). Federer's win over Murray on Tuesday assured him of a year-ending world No. 1 ranking.

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Stafford named top NFC Offensive player

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Detroit rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford is the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing five touchdown passes against Cleveland.

The top overall pick in this year's NFL draft completed 26-of-43 passes for 422 yards, making him the youngest player in league history to pass for 400 yards in one game.

His fifth touchdown went to tight end and fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew on the game's final play to give the Lions a 38-37 victory.

Stafford becomes the Lions' first offensive player of the week since former quarterback Joey Harrington in 2003.

He was joined in the NFC by New York Giants linebacker Michael Boley (defense) and New Orleans punter Thomas Morstead (special teams).

Boley made a team-high 13 tackles (11 solo) and one sack in the Giants' 34-31 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Morstead had a 46-yard net average on four punts in the Saints' 38-7 win at Tampa Bay.

All three players are first-time weekly award honorees.