DONOVAN NETS 2, US IN GOLD CUP FINAL: ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The United States advanced to the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 3-1 win over Honduras on Wednesday, with Landon Donovan scoring two goals and setting up another. Sunday’s final will pit the U.S. against Panama, which beat Mexico 2-1 to prevent the expected U.S.-Mexico final. He dribbled the ball then powered a shot past the goalkeeper to put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute. In the 27th minute, Donovan controlled a short chip off his chest and poked a shot past the keeper. Nery Medina headed in a cross to pull a goal back for Honduras in the 52nd minute, but Donovan restored the two-goal lead a minute later. In the later game, Roman Torres’ glancing header from a Gabriel Torres corner proved the winner as Panama upset Mexico.
CYCLIST ADMITS DOPING IN ’98 TOUR: A day after retiring from professional cycling, Stuart O’Grady admitted to using a blood-booster during the scandal-plagued 1998 Tour de France. The 39-year-old Australian rider, a six-time Olympian who wore the leader’s yellow jersey for a total of nine days in 17 Tours de France, announced his retirement earlier this week after the 100th edition of the race. He admitted he used erythropoietin (EPO) for two weeks before the 1998 event, saying he acquired it himself and used it without the knowledge of his team.
 DILLON WINS NASCAR’S RETURN TO DIRT: ROSSBURG, Ohio (AP) — Austin Dillon grabbed the golden shovel and scooped a pile of dirt. His dirty work over, Dillon dumped the black clump in a small jar, a nice souvenir for a victory four decades in the making.  Dillon left the rest of the field in his dust to win NASCAR’s return to dirt racing in the Truck Series races at Eldora Speedway. He pulled away in the green-white-checkered finish Wednesday night to complete a thrilling return to the muck of the clumpy dirt track.
 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: With a nod to Marilyn Monroe, Svetlana Romashina won her third gold medal of the swimming world championships with a victory in the synchronized solo Wednesday. Romashina easily took the top spot with 97.340 points, increasing her career haul to 13 world championship golds dating to 2005. China’s Huang Xuechen won silver with 95.720, while Spain’s Ona Carbonell took bronze before the home crowd at the Palau Sant Jordi arena with 94.290.