The new leader of USA Track and Field analyzed the team's underwhelming performance at the Beijing Olympics — including dropped batons and a record-low men's gold medal count — and judged the federation's overall performance to be "seriously deficient."

After watching both U.S. relay teams drop the baton in the 400-meter preliminaries and seeing the U.S. men win only four gold medals, CEO Doug Logan has decided to form a panel of former athletes and coaches to analyze USATF's high-performance programs.

"This will probably be an uncomfortable exercise," Logan wrote yesterday in his blog on the USATF Web site. "But, this is not a 'knee jerk' reaction, or a 'witch hunt,' or an attempt to castigate anyone. Indeed, this panel may determine that the factors leading to less-than-optimal performance were beyond anyone's control."

The Americans took home 23 medals from Beijing — most of any country — but the results were still disappointing on many levels.

Bernard Lagat (1,500 and 5,000), Reese Hoffa (shot put), Tyson Gay (100 and 200), Brad Walker (pole vault) and Jeremy Wariner (400) were the 2007 world champions who failed to defend their Olympic titles.

Lagat and Gay, who were fighting injuries, joined Walker and Hoffa in failing to win medals. Sanya Richards (400), Allyson Felix (200) and Lolo Jones (100 hurdles) were other favorites who did not win. Wariner was beaten by another American, LaShawn Merritt, in the 400.

Logan did his own analysis of the results and the numbers were no better.

Not counting relays, he said there were 66 individual performances in men's competition and 65 in women's. Only seven of the men (10.6 percent) and 11 of the women (16.9 percent) performed at their peak level for 2008 in Beijing.

BASKETBALL

SHOCK IS EAST NO. 1 SEED

Deanna Nolan scored 17 points and Kara Braxton added 15 as the Detroit Shock beat the Washington Mystics, 78-66, last night at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Shock (21-12) clinched the WNBA East's top seed when Connecticut lost at San Antonio.

After finishing the regular season Sunday in New York, the Shock will play fourth-seeded Indiana in the first round.

GOLF

TWO TIED ATOP LPGA

China's Shanshan Feng shot a 5-under 67, playing a four-hole stretch in 5 under, for a share of the first-round lead yesterday with fellow LPGA Tour rookie Anna Rawson in the Bell Micro LPGA Classic at Mobile, Ala.

Feng opened with five straight pars, then birdied the par-4 15th, hit a 3-wood to 15 feet to set up an eagle on the par-5 16th and closed her first nine with birdies on the par-3 17th and par-4 18th. She had two birdies and two bogeys on the final nine holes on The Crossing course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Magnolia Grove complex.

Fourth in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in July, Feng has missed the cut in 11 of her 19 tour starts this season.

Rawson, a former Southern California star from Australia who got into the field last week when Natalie Gulbis withdrew, has missed the cut in seven of her nine tour starts this year.

SUMO

WRESTLER SUES TO RETURN

A Russian sumo wrestler banned for life by the Japan Sumo Association for marijuana possession is suing for back pay and a return to the ring.

The lawsuit was filed in the Tokyo District Court on behalf of the wrestler formerly known as Wakanoho. It seeks payment of the wrestler's monthly salary of $12,000 and to have him reinstated as a sumo wrestler in the association.

The sumo association placed its first-ever lifetime ban on an active wrestler last month when the Russian, whose real name is Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana.

"If you look at past punishments against other sumo wrestlers, the ban was too harsh," his lawyer, Makoto Miyata, said.

Miyata said examples include three Japanese wrestlers who were arrested on suspicion of beating a junior wrestler to death last year but were only suspended, and a wrestler in the top division who hit and killed a pedestrian while driving in Osaka in 2000 but was only forced to sit out one tournament.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Patrick Roy will have his No. 33 retired by the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 22 before the team's game against the Boston Bruins. Roy, who previously had his number retired by Colorado, is the NHL's only three-time winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. ... Top-seeded Richard Gasquet of France defeated Victor Crivoi of Romania, 6-3, 6-2, yesterday to reach the quarterfinals of the BCR Open Romania at Bucharest.