Expansion spices Big Ten gathering

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez understands the public would like some answers. Just don't ask him for any when it comes to the Big Ten and expansion.

Alvarez said the decision rests with school presidents, not with the league's athletic directors. Even so, expansion was the hot-button topic as conference coaches and administrators gathered Monday in Chicago for three days of meetings.

"People want to know what's going on, but nobody has any answers for them," Alvarez said. "None of us do, anyway."

The Big Ten is deciding whether to expand from its current 11 members to extend the reach of its lucrative TV network and add a championship football game.

Last week, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany e-mailed conference officials to refute a rumor that Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Rutgers had been invited to join. Texas, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Maryland have all been mentioned as possible targets, too.

Michigan to release response to NCAA

Michigan will release its response to NCAA allegations of major rules violations against coach Rich Rodriguez next week and will impose sanctions on itself, school officials said.

"I'm doing well," Navratilova said in a conference call organized by the Tennis Channel. "I am in fact cancer-free. ... I just started radiation last week."

She said she will undergo treatment while doing commentary work for the Tennis Channel during the French Open, which starts May 23 in Paris.

Woods puts British Open on list Tiger Woods has added the British Open to his summer schedule, posting the plan on his website.

Woods has a chance to become the first player in the 150-year history of the British Open to win three times at St. Andrews, where golf's oldest championship will be held July 15-18.

There was no indication whether Woods' neck pain had subsided enough for him to play or practice.

NYRA President Charlie Hayward said the state must give financial help or Belmont Park won't be able to run a full meet. He did not give a timetable for a possible closing. His comments appeared in several New York newspapers Monday.

The final leg of the Triple Crown is June 5. Belmont runs through July 18 before racing shifts to Saratoga in upstate New York on July 23.

Hockey: Denmark reached the quarterfinals of the hockey world championship in Cologne, Germany, for the first time, joining Canada and Finland in the final eight. Denmark advanced despite a 2-1 loss to Belarus, and Finland earned its spot with a 5-2 win over Slovakia. Canada moved on even though it didn't play because other results gave it enough qualifying points.

Cycling: Matthew Goss of Australia won the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish, and Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan kept the overall lead. ... Brett Lancaster of Australia surged ahead in the waning meters and won the rain-soaked second stage and the overall race lead in the Tour of California. Lance Armstrong finished in the lead group.

Soccer: Germany captain Michael Ballack will miss the World Cup because of torn ligaments in his right ankle.