In brief: Armstrong: Jury would have sided with Landis

Lance Armstrong believes an American jury surely would have ruled in favor of Floyd Landis, unlike the arbitrators who found him guilty of doping.

The seven-time Tour de France winner lamented the consequences of the panel disregarding “shoddy” lab work in his first public comments about last month’s decision to ban Landis for two years and strip him of his 2006 Tour de France title.

“I didn’t follow Floyd’s case that much, but I will tell you, if that’s a jury trial in the United States of America, with eight or 10 or 12 of our fellow citizens, you get off every time. Not that you get off, but you’re vindicated,” Armstrong told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Armstrong, who has endured doping accusations throughout his career, has criticized the French lab where Landis’ tests were conducted.

“When you are giving someone the death penalty, which they essentially did, you cannot tolerate shoddy work, which they clearly did,” he said.

Auto racing

Franchitti switches

Dario Franchitti’s much-anticipated move to stock cars will begin Friday with an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The 2007 Indy 500 winner has agreed to a multiyear deal to replace David Stremme in the No. 40 Dodge for NASCAR’s Chip Ganassi Racing.

“The Indianapolis 500 purse will be at least $13.4 million next year, an increase of $2.7 million from this year’s record payout and the biggest one-year jump in the race’s 91-year history.

“NASCAR was finalizing a deal with Nationwide Insurance to sponsor its No. 2 series beginning in 2008. Nationwide will replace Anheuser-Busch, which has sponsored the Busch Series for 26 seasons.

Miscellany

Moncrief joins Warriors

Five-time NBA All-Star Sidney Moncrief was hired as a shooting coach by the Golden State Warriors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

“Tree Rollins will remain the coach of the Washington Mystics. The team removed the interim tag.

“Former Northern Colorado backup punter Mitch Cozad was sentenced in Greeley, Colo., to seven years in prison for stabbing a rival in what prosecutors said was a brutal attempt to take over the starter’s role.

“Defending champion Stanislav Pozdniakov won his fifth individual world fencing championship gold medal, beating Olympic champion Aldo Montano of Italy 15-11 in men’s saber final in St. Petersburg, Russia.