The chief organizer of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics withdrew his threat to resign Thursday after resolving a dispute with government officials over control of the games.
After meeting with International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Valentino Castellani said he was satisfied with a deal clarifying the division of powers between himself and Mario Pescante, the government-appointed games supervisor.
The 2006 Olympics will be held the same year national elections are to take place, and Berlusconi's government hopes to avoid any possible embarrassment.
Castellani, a former mayor of Turin, said last week he intended to resign because he felt Pescante's role conflicted with his own. But Castellani said Thursday "a page had been turned" and he would remain head of the organizing committee through the games in February 2006.
"We have put it in black and white -- there is now an equal distribution of duties and powers," he said.
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Most New Yorkers want the city to host the 2012 Olympics but don't believe a $1.4-billion stadium is needed to win the bid, according to a poll.
The Quinnipiac University poll found 64% of respondents supported the city's Olympics ambitions while 30% were opposed. Only 39% said the city must build a new stadium on the West Side to secure the games compared with 47% who disagreed.
New York faces four European rivals for the Games -- Paris, London, Moscow and Madrid. The IOC will select the host city in July.
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Germany could lose its Olympic gold medal in the equestrian team jumping event to the United States because a horse's backup doping sample tested positive for banned substances.
The German riding federation said that the backup sample confirmed the initial positive result for Goldfever, ridden by Ludger Beerbaum of Germany's gold medal-winning quartet in Athens.
If Germany loses the gold, it will go to U.S. riders Chris Kappler, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward and Peter Wylde.
Golf
Grace Park birdied the last three holes in a six-under-par 66 that left her in a four-way tie after the first round of the LPGA Tournament of Champions at Mobile, Ala.
Juli Inkster, Laura Diaz and Christina Kim also took advantage of soft conditions from overnight rain to shoot opening 66s.
Soccer
Major League Soccer and its players' union tentatively agreed on a five-year labor contract, ending nearly 18 months of negotiations.
