Landis decision due at end of September?

The decision in Floyd Landis' doping case may finally be issued by the arbitrators the end of September. US sports TV network ESPN reported that it had a copy of a memo from the arbitration panel chairman Patrice Brunet indicating that the decision would be issued the end of September.

In the memo, Brunet, chairman of the three-man panel, told lawyers for both sides that the panel will meet with Dr. Francesco Botre, its own scientific expert, on September 12. Botre is the head of the WADA lab in Rome. After that meeting, the panel expects to formally close the hearing and would then have 10 days to issue its decision.

"The panel remains acutely mindful of the timing issues in connection with this case; however, the Panel also needs to verify an important volume of technical information, which is at the very core of this arbitration," the memo stated. The final decision can be appealed by either side to the Court of Appeals for Sport (CAS).