DETROIT — Two Detroit-area businessmen were charged Wednesday with paying and giving gifts to basketball and football players at the University of Toledo to take part in a point-shaving scheme, according to a federal indictment.

Six former Toledo players also were accused of taking part in the alleged scheme by either affecting the outcomes in games or giving the two businessmen information so that they could place wagers on the games.

PHOENIX — The National Hockey League is planning a showdown in court over the Phoenix Coyotes' filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the proposed sale of the team to Blackberry boss Jim Balsillie.League spokesman Frank Brown said Monday attorneys for the NHL would appear in federal bankruptcy court in Phoenix on Thursday.Balsillie, co-CEO of Blackberry maker Research In Motion, said his $212.5 million offer is contingent on moving the team to southern Ontario.

VENICE, Italy — Lance Armstrong lashed out Monday at Kazakh officials who let his Astana team fall into a financial crisis on the eve of his first Giro d'Italia.The American cyclist even suggested his Livestrong cancer foundation might be able step in and bail out the team, but that seemed to be a long shot.Upon his arrival in Venice for the Giro, which begins Saturday, Armstrong had told a small group of reporters that he hoped to find some funding to get the team through the end of the year.