PARIS - Argentina's Mariano Puerta tested positive for a banned drug following his loss in the French Open final and faces a possible life ban for a second doping offense, the French sports newspaper L'Equipe reported.

Puerta tested positive for the stimulant etilefrine after his four-set loss to Spain's Rafael Nadal in the June 5 final, L'Equipe reported, without citing sources.

In August, L'Equipe reported that Lance Armstrong tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug EPO during the first of his seven Tour de France victories in 1999. Armstrong denied the accusations.

Puerta defeated U.S. qualifier Eric Taino 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Japan Open when rain led to postponements and a backlog of matches.

Oakland Athletics manager Ken Macha was out of a job after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.Macha led the A's to the AL West title in his first year as manager in 2003, the club's fourth straight playoff berth. But Oakland failed to reach the postseason the past two years despite a 91-win season in 2004 and 88 victories this year.Macha could become a candidate for the Pittsburgh Pirates' managerial job. Jim Tracy, who parted ways with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this week, was interviewed for two hours by phone by Pittsburgh general manager Dave Littlefield.

DALLAS - The television cameraman hospitalized following a tirade by the Texas Rangers' Kenny Rogers in June has sued the pitcher and the team.Larry Rodriguez, who works for Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW, alleged in a personal injury lawsuit filed in Tarrant County that Rogers injured him in an unprovoked attack on June 29.Videotape of the incident showed Rogers walking onto Ameriquest Field in Arlington for pregame stretching and throwing a camera to the ground, kicking it and threatening to do more damage. Rodriguez, one of two cameramen who were shoved, was hospitalized following the attack.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Yankees gave the Florida Marlins permission to speak with New York bench coach Joe Girardi for their manager opening.Girardi will try to interview with Florida general manager Larry Beinfest during an off day as the AL division series shifts to New York for Game 3 on Friday night.

CHICAGO - Baseball and its players are still negotiating over a tougher drug-testing agreement, commissioner Bud Selig said, one week after union head Donald Fehr testified a new agreement could be in place before the end of the World Series.In an April 25 letter to the union, Selig called for a 50-game suspension for an initial positive test, a 100-game ban for second-time offenders and a lifetime ban for a third violation. But Fehr rejected that proposal, saying it was meant to quiet criticisms of baseball's current policy, not deter steroid use. Instead, Fehr said players are willing to accept a 20-game penalty instead of 10 days for first-time steroid offenders along with tests for amphetamine use.

KIRKLAND, Wash. - St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz says the infection that hospitalized him late last week involves his heart and is getting worse.He expects to miss practice the next two days.Martz. 54, said doctors believe he has endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart's inner lining or the heart valve. He was hospitalized last Friday with what doctors believed was a sinus infection.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Detroit wide receiver Charles Rogers was suspended for four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, the latest setback to an injury-plagued career.The suspension is the latest in a series of problems for the second overall choice in the 2003 draft, who missed much of his first two seasons after breaking his right collarbone twice.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Vinny Testaverde is the new starting quarterback for the New York Jets, a move coach Herman Edwards hopes will spark his floundering club.The 41-year-old Testaverde, signed a week ago when Chad Pennington went out for the season, watched from the sideline as third-stringer Brooks Bollinger started in a 13-3 loss to Baltimore on Sunday.Testaverde makes his first start this Sunday against Tampa Bay, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 1987.