SPORTS BRIEFS

Spain lead rankings

ZURICH (AP):

World Cup champion Spain head the latest FIFA rankings, while African champion Egypt have returned to the top 10.

Spain, World Cup finalist the Netherlands and Brazil fill the top three spots. The leading nine positions were unchanged after a quiet month for European and South American teams.

Egypt climbed one place to number 10 despite not playing, because Russia fell to number 13 as earlier results lost ranking points in the four-year assessment cycle.

Australia climbed one to number 20 and lead the Asian nations. France fell three to number 21.

The United States lead the CONCACAF region at number 24, four places ahead of Mexico.

Oceania's best, New Zealand, fell eight to number 59.

Pinola banned for spitting

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP):

Nuremberg midfielder Javier Pinola has been banned for four Bundesliga matches for spitting at Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The German football federation imposed the ban yesterday for "glaring unsportmanlike conduct".

Pinola spat at Schweinsteiger late in the first half of Nuremberg's 3-0 loss to Bayern last Saturday. The referee missed the incident, but Schweinsteiger reported it in post-match interviews.

Pinola called on Sunday to say sorry to Schwein-steiger, who accepted the apology.

US investigators talk to French police

LYON, France (AP):

A French police official says a US delegation investigating doping in cycling has held a second day of meetings at the headquarters of the international police agency Interpol.

The senior official tells The Associated Press that the Americans interviewed French police officers who specialise in doping in sports. The official spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the talks publicly.

On Tuesday, the delegation questioned representatives of the French anti-doping agency that has stored some of Lance Armstrong's samples from the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong won the Tour seven times and has figured prominently in the American investigation.

The official says the US group talked yesterday to people involved in a French investigation of syringes and transfusion equipment found in a trash container after the 2009 Tour.

Patrick frustrated

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP):

Danica Patrick's always going 200mph. This year, she added 13 Nationwide dates to her IndyCar schedule, and she concludes her rookie NASCAR season this weekend in Homestead, Florida.

The results, she says, left her crying on a few friendly shoulders. Her average Nationwide finish has been 29th. She has yet to crack the top 20 and in the past four races has settled for 36th, 30th, 27th and 32nd.

Patrick denies she's stretched too thin, and rejects the idea she should honed her stock-car skills in lower series than Nationwide.