Sports briefs

Ratings solid for new Monday Night Football

(AP) - Dennis Miller changed his game plan.

Through three preseason "Monday Night Football" broadcasts, the irreverent comedian-turned-commentator seemed to be saying each and every thing that popped into his rapid-fire mind.

When the game counted for the first time, though, he appeared to have hit upon a new and winning formula: moderation.

During the Super Bowl-champion St. Louis Rams' 41-36 victory over the Denver Broncos in the regular-season opener for both the teams and ABC's program, Miller refrained from too much over-the-top esoterica, picking his spots to go for laughs.

The network could not have asked for a better contest and the ratings brought good news for ABC, considering the game was played on Labor Day (the NFL has said it will start its season after the holiday in the future).

The overnight Nielsen rating for the broadcast was a 15.9 with a 26 share, down just slightly from last year's 16.1/27 for the opener. More impressively, Monday's preliminary rating was 9 percent higher than the last time the NFL opened on Labor Day weekend, in 1998.

Despite slow start, U.S. crushes Spain

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) - Maybe it was the jet lag, maybe it was the food. Whatever the case, it took the U.S. Olympic team longer than they would have liked to shake off the blahs and knock off Spain.

After staying even for 10 minutes and leading by just 11 at halftime, the Americans opened the second half with an 18-0 run that included another highlight-reel dunk by Vince Carter to defeat the Spanish Olympic team 95-66 Tuesday night at the Super Dream Games 2000.

Taking the court just a little more than 24 hours after arriving in Asia and bunking down at a five-star hotel, the U.S. team looked lethargic and out of sync for the first 20 minutes.

It was a different story in the second half, though, as the Americans trampled a team that is expected to contend for a medal in Sydney.

Carter, Ray Allen, Gary Payton and Allan Houston led the U.S. team with 10 points apiece.

Cyclist Armstrong injured in accident

(AP) - Two-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong broke a vertebrae in his neck when he collided with a car last month but still plans to race at the Sydney Olympics.

The injury, which caused Armstrong to drop out of two races in Europe next weekend, was detected Monday after he had an MRI at a clinic in Monaco.

Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, had complained of pain around his neck, prompting the additional tests. He said he can train "on a limited basis but that is very painful."

Armstrong, 28, is scheduled to compete in the Olympic road race on Sept. 27, and the individual time trial, where he is among the favorites, three days later.

He will miss Saturday's Paris-Brussels race and Sunday's Grand Prix Fourmies, but plans to compete in the GP des Nations, a time trial event, on Sept. 16.

After that, Armstrong will make a final decision on whether to ride in Sydney.