■FOOTBALL
Steelers acquire Leftwich
The Pittsburgh Steelers have acquired veteran quarterback Byron Leftwich from Tampa Bay, the NFL club said on Tuesday, in a move providing insurance for the possible loss of Ben Roethlisberger for the start of the season. Pittsburgh sent a seventh-round pick in this week’s NFL Draft to the Buccaneers in exchange. Roethlisberger could face a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy even though charges were not filed against him after allegations of a sexual assault were made by a 20-year-old college student in Georgia. Leftwich, 30, played with the Steelers in 2008, completing 21 of 36 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns.
■FOOTBALL
Saints to host opener
Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints will kick off the 2010 National Football League season by hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a Thursday night game on Sept. 9, the league said on Tuesday. The rematch of the NFC title game launches a 17-week, 256-game regular season that will feature more divisional games in the closing weeks to enhance the potential for more of those games having playoff ramifications. The regular season concludes on Sunday, Jan. 2, with all 16 contests being division games.
■BASEBALL
Volquez on drug suspension
Former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher Edinson Volquez of the Cincinnati Reds was suspended for 50 games on Tuesday following a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug. Volquez said in a statement he received a prescription in the Dominican Republic as part of treatment to start a family with his wife. He said the drug was banned by the MLB. “Although I understand that I must accept responsibility for this mistake and have chosen not to challenge my suspension, I want to assure everyone that this was an isolated incident involving my genuine effort to treat a common medical issue,” he said. Volquez’s suspension started yesterday. The 26-year-old pitcher was already out of action — he’s recovering from reconstructive surgery on his elbow and was expected to rejoin the Reds around midseason.
■ASIAN GAMES
Japan to send biggest team
Japan plans to send its biggest ever team of athletes to the Asian Games in November after an expansion of the regional Olympics program, a report said yesterday. The Japanese Olympic Committee estimates it will send at least 680 athletes to the quadrennial Games in Guangzhou, China, in November, the Sankei newspaper reported. The number is expected to rise even further as the committee will negotiate with national federations governing three sports making their Asiad debut — cricket, roller sports and dragon boat — the daily said. The board game “go” will also be added to the chess category of events, which made its Asiad debut at the last Games in Doha in 2006. The previous Japanese record was the 678 athletes it sent to the 1994 Games in Hiroshima.
■SOCCER
Essien could sit out season
Chelsea’s Ghana midfielder Michael Essien could miss the rest of the season as he struggles to recover from a knee injury sustained at the African Nations Cup in January, the London club said on Tuesday. “The Ghanaian’s participation in the remainder of the campaign is now in doubt, with only four games to play including the FA Cup Final [against Portsmouth] on May 15,” the Premier League club said on its Web site.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and