ATHLETICS
Sprinter Simpson testifies
Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson, who tested positive for banned substance oxilofrine last year, told a disciplinary panel on Tuesday that she saw no “red flags” before taking a supplement supplied by her trainer. Simpson, who faces a two-year ban if found guilty of a doping violation, testified in front of a three-member panel for more than three hours and said a supplement provided by her Canadian trainer was responsible for her positive test. The Olympic 4x100m relay silver medalist said she was not familiar with one of the five supplements given to her, but that nothing on the bottle of Epiphany D1 appeared during her online search of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list. “No alarm bell. No red flag,” she told the panel. However, a lawyer for the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission said that there is no evidence to suggest oxilofrine is contained in Epiphany D1 and that Simpson was negligent not to have consulted a doctor. The lawyer also said Simpson did not disclose that she was using Epiphany D1 along with three of the other four supplements, but Simpson, who said they were new additions to her regimen and that she could not recall their names, insisted she was “not a cheat.”
CRICKET
Steyn fit to face Aussies
Fast bowler Dale Steyn is to undergo rehabilitation on a fractured rib, but will be fit for the home series against Australia which begins next month, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Tuesday. Steyn was injured two weeks ago while fielding in the second Test against India, but played on to take nine wickets as South Africa claimed a series win with a 10-wicket victory. “Dale dived while fielding a ball on day one of the second Test against India in Durban and complained of slight pain of his right anterior chest region,” Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee said in a CSA statement. “He continued playing and bowling with mild discomfort for the rest of the Test. When the discomfort persisted after the match, a scan was performed which detected a small undisplaced fracture to his right eighth rib. He will follow a strict rest and rehabilitation program for the next three to four weeks, and we are confident he will be fit for the tour against Australia.”
SOCCER
AS Roma sign Nainggolan
Serie A title-chasers AS Roma beat a number of rival clubs in the race to sign Radja Nainggolan from Cagliari, the club said in a statement on Tuesday. Roma are paying 3 million euros (US$4.1 million) for Nainggolan to play the rest of the season on a temporary basis and 6 million euros from the 2014-2015 season when he will be hired permanently. The contract runs out in 2018. Nainggolan, born in Belgium to an Indonesian father and Belgian mother, has played four times for his national side.
SOCCER
Lyon reject Gonalons offer
Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas on Tuesday said that he had rejected a big-money offer from Serie A club SSC Napoli for captain Maxime Gonalons. Aulas told French radio station RMC that Napoli had offered 17 million euros for the midfielder, but stated that Gonalons would not be allowed to leave in this month’s transfer window. “Regarding his departure, my response is no. I have just spoken with the president of Napoli to warn him. Max will stay at Lyon,” Aulas said. The 24-year-old Gonalons hinted at the weekend that he was interested in the idea of a move to Naples. “When big European clubs show an interest in you, you have to ask questions,” he said.
BOXING
Mares rematch postponed
Abner Mares has suffered a rib injury in training that has forced a postponement of his WBC featherweight title rematch with fellow Mexican Jhonny Gonzalez, promoters said on Tuesday. The title bout, which had been set for Feb. 15 at Los Angeles, will be rescheduled once Mares is allowed to resume training. Mares, a former bantamweight and super bantamweight world champion, won the WBC featherweight crown in May last year with a ninth-round stoppage of Mexican southpaw Daniel Ponce de Leon. However, in August last year, Mares suffered the first loss of his career when Gonzalez knocked him out 2 minutes, 55 seconds into the first round. Mares, 28, is 26-1-1 with 14 knockouts and four years younger than Gonzalez, who carries a record of 55-8 with 47 knockouts.
BASKETBALL
Bayless traded to Celtics
Jerryd Bayless joined the Boston Celtics from the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday as part of the three-team NBA trade deal that also included the Oklahoma City Thunder. The move saw the Grizzlies obtain guard Courtney Lee and a second-round pick in the 2016 NBA draft from the Celtics in exchange for adding Bayless to the backcourt. Also as part of the swap, the Grizzlies sent a second-round draft pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for the Thunder sending forward Ryan Gomes to Boston, where he was then released in a salary cap move. Bayless, 25, has averaged 8.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists with the Grizzlies this season. He has career averages of 8.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists with Portland, New Orleans, Toronto and Memphis. Lee averaged 7.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists off the Boston bench this season and has career averages of 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists with Orlando, New Jersey, Houston and Boston. Gomes, an eight-year veteran, has played only 34 minutes over five games for the Thunder this season, scoring six points and grabbing four rebounds.
BASKETBALL
Anderson out with injury
Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2012, will be out of action indefinitely with a back injury, the team announced on Tuesday. Anderson, a 25-year-old power forward, suffered a herniated disk. He was taken off on a stretcher after colliding with Boston’s Gerald Wallace in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 95-92 victory in Boston. In 22 games this season, Anderson is averaging 19.8 points and 6.5 rebounds. At 15-17, the Pelicans rank 11th in the Western Conference, three games behind the Dallas Mavericks for third place in the Southwest division.
ICE HOCKEY
Sweden names roster
Sweden will go to the Sochi Olympics with a roster almost entirely made up of NHL players, including six from the Detroit Red Wings. Goalie Jonas Gustavsson, defenders Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson, and forwards Johan Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson and Henrik Zetterberg lead the list. Sweden coach Per Marts also picked brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, Niclas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals and Henrik Tallinder of the Buffalo Sabres. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers will be competing in his third Olympics. Forward Jimmie Ericsson of Swedish Hockey League team Skelleftea was the only non-NHL player in the 25-man roster announced Tuesday. Sweden won the gold medal at the 2006 Olympics, but was knocked out in the quarter-finals four years later in Vancouver.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was