Wednesday's sports briefs

Brian Joubert of France botched his quad combination yet still won the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The 2007 champion finished with 84.40 points, putting him 1.7 ahead of Evan Lysacek going into today's free skate.

Patrick Chan, Canada's up-and-comer, is third.

"I want to focus myself on speed, footwork, skating and confidence," Joubert said. "I don't want to do only jumps. The score is good today."

Disgraced as pro, Palmeiro honored Rafael Palmeiro, who infamously wagged his finger at Congress four years ago while denying he used steroids and then tested positive a few months later, was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Palmeiro, a four-time major league All-Star whose reputation was tainted by the positive test, was one of 10 former players and coaches elected for the hall's fourth induction class.

Palmeiro starred at Mississippi State from 1983 through '85 and was the first Triple Crown winner in Southeastern Conference history. He went on to get more than 500 major league home runs and 3,000 hits, but his chance of making that Hall of Fame is in jeopardy because of his positive steroids test.

The current system "leaves nearly half of all the teams in college football at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to qualifying for the millions of dollars paid out every year," the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights said in a statement announcing upcoming hearings.

Not surprising is that the main push comes from Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. People there were furious that Utah was bypassed for the last national championship despite going undefeated in the regular season.

The subcommittee's statement said Hatch would introduce legislation "to rectify this situation." No details were offered.

IOC and jumpers miss connections Female ski jumpers suing to get into the 2010 Vancouver Olympics figured the International Olympic Committee told them to go take a giant leap.

The IOC said, however, that President Jacques Rogge didn't receive their request for a face-to-face meeting until too late.

Female jumpers want the IOC to reconsider its decision to bar them from the 2010 Olympics.

Armstrong still on for Tour Lance Armstrong was resting after surgery Wednesday, but he wasn't letting up a bit on plans to race the Tour de France in July.

Surgeon Doug Elenz inserted a steel plate and 12 screws to stabilize Armstrong's collarbone, broken in four pieces in a racing accident Monday.

"This was a challenge. It was a hard case," Elenz said.

Armstrong, 37, said he even intends to race in the Giro d'Italia in May.

Armstrong will begin training on a stationary bike in a few days. "Lance is going to be a patient who is going to push the envelope," Elenz said.

• Boxer Giovanni Parisi, a former Olympic and world champion, died in a car accident in northern Italy. He was 41. Parisi won the featherweight gold medal at the 1988 Olympics and held WBO lightweight and junior welterweight belts in the '90s.