Briefly

That greaser out there on the ice at Boardwalk Hall just might be the next U.S. men’s figure skating star at the Olympics.

Coming off a rapid rise in the sport last season, Evan Lysacek could be the top American threat for a medal at February’s Turin Games. Following a third-place finish at the 2005 world championships after winning Four Continents and finishing third at nationals, Lysacek leads a strong men’s field at Skate America beginning tonight at Atlantic City, N.J.

He’ll glide into the first event of the Grand Prix series dressed in a custom-designed black leather jacket that is a copy of something Elvis Presley once wore. Lysacek will portray Danny Zuko instead, as he skates to music from “Grease.”

It’s a fun program that should get the crowd rocking. Lysacek, who has adapted well to the new points scoring system now in use on all major levels, also thinks the judges will approve.

“The new judging system had some part of my success, but most of it was just going out as many times as I could,” Lysacek said. “Something I do really like about it is there’s a certain amount of strategy involved. You can go out and plan to get an exact score. Depending on your execution, you can get it.

“Last season … at least for me, the results I saw were a lot more accurate than in years past.”

Lysacek’s main competition at Skate America figures to be France’s Brian Joubert and American Tim Goebel, who has struggled since winning a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Olympics

Canada’s list includes Crosby

Pittsburgh Penguins top draft pick Sidney Crosby and fellow rookies Jeff Carter, Michael Richards, Dion Phaneuf and Cam Ward are among the 81 potential players for Canada’s men’s hockey team at the Turin Olympics in February.

The list, released by Hockey Canada on Tuesday in Toronto, includes nine goaltenders, 23 defensemen and 49 forwards.

•At Lake Placid, N.Y., World Cup skeleton champion Noelle Pikus-Pace broke her left leg when an American four-man bobsled slammed into her during a competition in Canada.

Soccer

MLS finalists announced

Dwayne De Rosario of San Jose, Jaime Moreno of D.C. United and Taylor Twellman of New England are finalists for Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player award, the league announced from New York.

San Jose, which had the best record during the regular season, placed a team member in six finalist categories.

•The United States remained seventh in the October FIFA rankings, the first to be released after the latest round of World Cup qualifiers.

Brazil remained No. 1 in the list released in Zurich, Switzerland. The Netherlands are second, followed by the Czech Republic, Argentina, France and Mexico.

Drugs

Anti-doping treaty moves forward

A United Nations treaty to fight doping in sports was unanimously approved, but it requires additional steps before governments can begin testing and penalizing athletes.

The International Convention Against Doping in Sport was approved by all 191 UNESCO member states. However, the accord will not be enforced until at least 30 member governments ratify it, and only those that ratified will be bound by it.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is hoping the treaty will be put into effect before the Feb. 10 start of the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The accord seeks to draw governments into adopting uniform rules and sanctions similar to the world anti-doping code used by all Olympic sports federations.

Auto racing

Unser faces gall bladder surgery

At Albuquerque, N.M., Al Unser remained hospitalized with pancreatitis, and his wife said the four-time Indianapolis 500 champion will stay through next week for gall bladder surgery.

•At Daytona Beach, Fla., a National Stock Car Racing Commission panel unanimously upheld the two-race suspension and other penalties handed down by NASCAR to Todd Berrier, Kevin Harvick’s crew chief.

•David Coulthard is set to return next season as the No. 1 driver for Red Bull Racing’s Formula One team.

Miscellany

Mayweather lands opponent

After a potential bout with Winky Wright and other rumored fights fell through, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is happy to have found a willing opponent.

Mayweather, the WBC super-lightweight champion, will face Sharmba Mitchell on Nov. 19 in a 12-round welterweight bout at Portland’s Rose Garden Arena.

•The threat of Hurricane Wilma has forced the cancellation of the Nationwide Tour’s Miccosukee Championship in Miami, the final full-field event of the season.

•The Royal Canadian Golf Association saved the Canadian Women’s Open from dropping off the LPGA Tour schedule, agreeing to a three-year sponsorship deal with Canadian National Railway, it was announced in Montreal.

•Andy Roddick blew a match point and lost 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) to Ivo Karlovic in the second round of the Madrid (Spain) Masters. Roddick, seeded second, was playing his first tour match since losing in the first round of the U.S. Open.