Seven-time pitcher of the year Roger Clemens was one of the most prominent players identified on Thursday in Major League Baseball's (MLB) long-awaited investigation into doping, linked along with more than 80 players to performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark next to some of US baseball's biggest moments.
Home run record holder Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about doping, former player of the year Miguel Tejada and former All-Star Andy Pettitte were also identified on Thursday in MLB's most notorious moment since the "Black Sox" scandal.
The Black Sox were so branded when eight players of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series championship.
Known as the Mitchell Report after its author -- former US Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell -- the 20-month investigation was commissioned by MLB commissioner Bud Selig to examine doping in US baseball.
Seven player-of-the-year award winners were identified in the report along with a supporting cast good enough to field an All-Star at every position.
Clemens, who had denied the allegations, was singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on Clemens came from former New York Yankees strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee.
"The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records."
MLB has never adhered to international doping rules. Players and club owners agreed to testing late in the 2002 season. The program has been modified since then to include more substances and penalties have been increased for violations.
While records by the offenders identified are unlikely to be voided, several of those mentioned could see their chance for enshrinement in the US Baseball Hall of Fame diminished.
"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite