Only days 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 had used erythropoietin (EPO) for two weeks before the 1998 event, saying he had acquired it himself and used it without the knowledge of his team.

Ronaldinho added a Copa Libertadores title to his collection of honors as Brazil's Atletico Mineiro defeated Paraguay's Olimpia in a penalty shootout to win the continental club championship on Wednesday.

Trailing 2-0 after the first leg, Atletico needed an 87th-minute goal by defender Leonardo Silva to draw level, after striker Jo had scored at the start of the second half.

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.

Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 2-0 on Wednesday in a preseason friendly that pitted Pep Guardiola's new side against his former team.

Philipp Lahm scored with a header in the 14th minute and halftime substitute Mario Mandzukic added another goal three minutes from time, giving Guardiola a victory in his first game at Bayern's stadium.

"Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon can expect some late nights at home as a proud new papa.

A representative says Fallon and his wife, Nancy Juvonen Fallon, welcomed a baby daughter Tuesday morning.

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday he is nominating former first daughter Caroline Kennedy as U.S. ambassador to Japan, offering the most famous living member of a prominent American family a new role of service to country.

Kennedy, an attorney and bestselling book editor, is being rewarded for helping put Obama in the White House, where her father served until his assassination 50 years ago. If confirmed, she would be the first woman in a post where many other prominent Americans have served to strengthen a vital Asian tie.

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved continuing the National Security Agency's secret collection of hundreds of millions of Americans' phone records after a fierce debate pitting privacy rights against the government's efforts to thwart terrorism.

Wednesday night's 217-205 vote was unlikely to be the final word on government intrusion to defend the U.S. and Americans' civil liberties.

The broadcaster who has delivered British football results to global radio listeners for 40 years in a distinctive style has announced his final score.

James Alexander Gordon is retiring from the BBC because his voice is no longer strong enough following surgery to treat throat cancer, the broadcaster said Wednesday.

Barcelona fans were not the only ones surprised by the club's decision to appoint Gerardo Martino as coach.

Even the little known Argentine, who will replace Tito Vilanova, said he was caught off-guard when the club came calling.

A French inquiry into sports doping has uncovered proof that 1998 Tour de France champion Marco Pantani and runner-up Jan Ullrich used a banned blood booster to fuel their performances.

France's senate, after a five-month investigation focused on fighting sports doping, released a report Wednesday that demonstrates what many have long suspected: use of the banned substance EPO was rife in cycling in the late 1990s, before a test for the drug had been developed.