Olympic sprint champion Justin Gatlin has appealed his four-year doping suspension in an attempt to return to the track for the Beijing Games in August.

The notice was filed Monday to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the international body that has the final say in such matters.

A U.S. arbitration panel earlier this month reduced the 25-year-old sprinter's potential eight-year ban to four, but Gatlin wants a further reduction.

He tested positive for excessive levels of testosterone at the Kansas Relays in 2006, his second doping offense. The first came in 2001 when Gatlin tested positive for amphetamines, part of a prescribed medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder.

Gatlin wants the 2001 offense erased. That would make Gatlin's 2006 case his first offense, clearing the way for a further reduced ban. First doping offenses often result in a two-year ban, which would make him eligible to run in May, a month before the U.S. Olympic trials.

Phil Mickelson said he's feeling better and plans to make his season debut at the Buick Invitational this week after spending three days on antibiotics and bed rest because of a respiratory ailment. Mickelson has been bothered by congestion, shortness of breath and fatigue since October.

Because attorneys for West Virginia's Board of Governors electronically filed a response Sunday, a motion that added a breach-of-contract claim into a case where both sides are making that contention, Rich Rodriguez's side doesn't have to answer for another 10 days, at least.

West Virginia's Sunday filing in federal court means that the earliest lawyers for the ex-Mountaineers coach -- from whom his former employers seek to gain a $4 million buyout per his final contract -- must respond is Feb. 1, said a member of Rodriguez's legal team. And that response focuses on the venue of the case, Northern District federal court in Clarksburg or Monongalia County court in Morgantown, W.Va., where university lawyers first filed the lawsuit Dec. 27 seeking a judge's decision in the matter.

• Mike Kelly retired yesterday after 27 years as football coach at Dayton. Defensive coordinator Rick Chamberlin will take over as head coach.

Anguilla's World Cup qualifier against El Salvador will be played March 26 in Washington, D.C., because the Caribbean island does not have a stadium that meets FIFA's new requirements on safety, security and quality.

• Egypt opened the defense of its African Cup of Nations title by defeating Cameroon, 4-2.

Breeders' Cup Classic winner Curlin swept Horse of the Year and 3-year-old male honors at the 37th annual Eclipse Awards Monday night.

Mon Valley Thunder players Gary Klapkowski of Pittsburgh and K.C. Hahey of Latrobe are the co-Mid-Atlantic Hockey League players of the week. Last week, Klapkowski recorded nine points and Hahey had 10 points.

The 2008 Pennsylvania Golden Gloves tournament will get under way in the Pittsburgh-Erie district Feb. 9. Registration and weigh-in will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Third Ave. Gym on 304 Ross St. in Pittsburgh and at the Lower Eastside gym at 318 East 6th St. in Erie. For more information, visit www.pagoldengloves.com.