Gap, France ? Alberto Contador has finally put the hammer down at the Tour de France — and now, the race is really on.

Minutes behind the race leader, the defending champion surprised key rivals with a brazen attack on a relatively easy climb in the Alpine foothills in Tuesday’s Stage 16, won by Thor Hushovd of Norway in a breakaway.

Contador, baring his teeth as his tires sizzled on the rain-slick roads, surged out of the pack on the mid-grade Col de Magne climb, and held on through a treacherous downhill to the finish of the 101-mile ride from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap.

“I knew I needed to attack,” Contador said. “I couldn’t care less if someone kept on my wheel — I knew one of them would fail. I’m so happy. It has been a major gap, much bigger than I expected.”

The unexpected surge by the Spaniard shook up the leaderboard at cycling’s greatest race, which ends Sunday in Paris after a jaunt today into Italy, then two days in the Alps, and a time-trial Saturday in Grenoble.

NBA

2011-2012 schedule released

New York — The NBA champion Dallas Mavericks will open the season — if it begins on time — at home on Nov. 1 against MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago, then host Miami in a finals rematch Christmas Day.

The NBA released its complete 2011-12 schedule Tuesday despite being in a lockout that could last months and cause it to be scrapped.

Owners and players are still well apart in negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expired June 30, and there is a fear that regular-season games could be lost to a work stoppage for the second time in league history.

If not, Utah will host Houston in the Rockets’ first game under Kevin McHale and without Yao Ming, and Oklahoma City will visit new coach Mike Brown and the Lakers to conclude the opening-night schedule.

Most teams begin Nov. 2, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh starting their second season together on the Heat and facing a Knicks team led by Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

Shaq: ‘Big 2’ will lead Miami

Miami — Shaquille O’Neal’s debut as a full-fledged NBA analyst had him raving about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

As for Chris Bosh?

Apparently, Shaq’s not a big fan of his work.

During NBA TV’s show Tuesday to announce the league’s schedule for the 2011-12 season — one jeopardized by a lockout — O’Neal referred to the Heat as having a “Big 2.” Since Bosh, Wade and James teamed up in Miami, they’ve been called the “Big 3” in many circles.

“The Miami Heat, they’ve got a lot of great players, the ‘Big 2.’ They will be back,” O’Neal said from Louisiana during the broadcast, when discussing the NBA finals and how Dallas was able to beat Miami for the title. “LeBron James is taking a lot of criticism, but I know LeBron very well. He hears everything that everyone is saying, so I think he’s going to come back and have an MVP year this year.”

After the discussion turned to O’Neal’s health and his decision to retire, the talk was steered back to his “Big 2” comment.

College athletics

NCAA gives LSU 1-year probation

Baton Rouge, La. — LSU committed major violations while recruiting a junior college football player, but won’t be slapped with any postseason bans or future scholarship reductions, the NCAA ruled Tuesday. The governing body decided to place the school on probation for a year and cited a former assistant coach for unethical conduct.

The investigation found that ex-assistant coach D.J. McCarthy improperly arranged for transportation and housing for former defensive lineman Akiem Hicks in 2009, then later tried to cover up those actions.

The NCAA accepted LSU’s self-imposed reduction of two scholarships during the 2010-11 academic year, as well as a 10 percent reduction in official visits and reductions in recruiting calls. LSU already had begun reducing official visits during 2010-11, but the NCAA expanded the punishment to include 2011-12.

McCarthy resigned in December 2009. Hicks never played for the Tigers before he left LSU.

MLB

Rangers plan to raise railings

Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers plan to make all the protective railings at their stadium the same height, raising some as much as a foot to make their stadium safer following the death of a fan during a recent game.

Rangers executive vice president Rob Matwick said Tuesday that the team’s intention is for all rails in the front of seating sections to be 42 inches throughout Rangers Ballpark.

Baseball

Royals farm club gets no-no — again

North Little Rock, Ark. — One night after Luis Mendoza tossed a no-hitter for the Kansas City Royals’ Triple-A affiliate, Will Smith and Kelvin Herrera combined to do the same for their Double-A team.

Smith went the first seven innings in Northwest Arkansas’ 1-0 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night. He even got some help from the first triple play in club history in the sixth inning. Herrera then pitched the final two innings to preserve the team’s first no-hitter.

Mendoza’s performance Monday night came in Omaha’s 4-0 win at Memphis.

The official scorer in that game wavered on an error call, at one point changing it to a hit. It was ultimately changed back to an error after the game, giving Mendoza his second minor league no-hitter.