ODDS AND ENDS

Cycling: Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (2007, ’09) will retire next month after riding in the Spanish Vuelta. Contador, 34, is second only to five-time Tour winner Miguel Indurain in Spanish cycling lore.

Motorsports: Antron Brown raced to his fourth Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday night at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Seattle. Brown beat Terry McMillen in the final round with a 3.776-second pass at 326.48 mph. His second win in three events moved him into the Top Fuel points lead. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) also won their categories.

NHL: Players with NHL contracts, even those in the minors, will not be allowed to participate in the Winter Olympics in February, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. The NHL announced in April that for the first time since 1994, it won’t schedule a break in its season to allow players to go to the Olympics.

Olympics: Australian Betty Cuthbert, the only runner to win Olympic gold medals in the 100-, 200- and 400meter sprints, died Sunday in Perth of multiple sclerosis. She was 79. Cuthbert was 18 when she won the 100-200 double and anchored Australia’s winning 4x100-meter relay at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. She was injured in the 1960 Olympics and retired for 18 months before returning and winning the gold medal in the 400 at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Soccer: Vivianne Miedema scored twice Sunday as the Netherlands beat Denmark 4-2 to win its first Women’s European Championship.