■ATHLETICS
US team may lose gold
Crystal Cox of the US 4x400m gold-medal relay team at the Athens Olympics has accepted a four-year suspension and disqualification of her results for doping. Cox, who ran in the preliminaries for the team led by Sanya Richards, admitted to using anabolic steroids and agreed to the penalty on Friday, the US Anti-Doping Agency said. She almost certainly will have her gold medal stripped, while the consequences for her teammates aren’t yet known. Richards ran the final along with Dee Dee Trotter, Monique Henderson and Monique Hennegan. Moushaumi Robinson joined Cox in the preliminary heat. Russia won the silver medal, and Jamaica the bronze. Britain was fourth. Marion Jones’ relay teammates from the Sydney Games lost their medals after Jones admitted to doping, but they are fighting to have the medals restored. A relay gold medalist from the same year, Jerome Young, was stripped of his gold medal for doping, but a move to strip the entire team was rejected. Young only ran in the preliminary for the 4x400m team.
■BASEBALL
Angels re-sign Saunders
The Los Angeles Angels have avoided arbitration with former All-Star pitcher Joe Saunders by signing him to a new contract, the team said on Friday. Terms were not announced, but local media reported the one-year deal would earn the left-handed Saunders US$3.7 million. Saunders posted a 16-7 record with a 4.60 earned run average last year with the Angels despite missing many games with shoulder problems, Major League Baseball reported on its Web site. Saunders’ deal leaves catcher Jeff Mathis and shortstop Erick Aybar as the Angels’ two remaining arbitration-eligible players.
■OLYMPICS
Hughes to carry flag
Speed skater Clara Hughes, the only Canadian to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Games, has been selected to carry her country’s flag into the opening ceremonies of next month’s 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. A five-time Olympian with five medals, Hughes will defend the 5,000m title she won at the Turin Games, where she also took a silver in the team pursuit. The 37-year-old Winnipeg native was also a bronze medalist in the 5,000m at the 2002 at Salt Lake City Olympics and won bronze medals in cycling’s road race and time trial at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Hughes, who speaks both of Canada’s official languages, English and French, is equally admired for her humanitarian work, donating US$10,000 to the Right to Play after her gold medal victory in Turin. The opening ceremonies, the first for a Winter Games to be staged indoors, are scheduled for BC Place on Feb. 12.
■FORMULA ONE
McClaren launch car, team
Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button unveiled McLaren’s car for the Formula One season Friday in their first public appearance as teammates. Button’s MP4-25 car is adorned with the No. 1, and he seemed to take the upper-hand at the launch despite the presence of the 25-year-old Hamilton, who won the 2008 championship. “You never know what to expect going into a new team, not knowing what the atmosphere will be,” said Button, who won last year’s title with Brawn. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised.” Both Button and Hamilton are eager to forget last season — for very different reasons. While Button doesn’t want to dwell on ending his long wait for a first title, Hamilton had a difficult third season, finishing 46 points behind his new teammate.
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