FOOTBALL
Welker suspended for PEDs
Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker has been suspended for the first four games of the 2014 season for violating the National Football League’s (NFL) performance-enhancing drug (PED) policy. The league never makes public what substances athletes test positive for, but the Denver Post reported it was the banned stimulant Adderall, a drug prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The news comes just five days before the Broncos, who lost last season’s Super Bowl, begin their season with a home game against the Indianapolis Colts. In an e-mail to the Post, Welker said he was “as shocked as everyone” and would fight to clear his name. “I would NEVER knowingly take a substance to gain a competitive advantage in any way... I now know that [drug-policy procedures] are clearly flawed, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they are corrected, so other individuals and teams aren’t negatively affected so rashly like this.”
FOOTBALL
Brent may be allowed back
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent, found guilty of intoxication manslaughter for a 2012 car crash that killed former teammate Jerry Brown, has a reinstatement path to the National Football League. The league on Tuesday said that Brent could be conditionally reinstated to the NFL if he completes a 10-game suspension. He would be able to visit the Cowboys training camp after the sixth week of the season and to practice with the team in the ninth week. However, that requires Brent to meet several conditions, including evaluations, counseling and treatment. The league would then consider his case based upon a report from the league substance abuse program. Brent was sentenced to 180 days in jail and given 10 years of probation as a result of the auto accident that claimed the life of Brown, who was also his teammate in college. The first time Brent might be in the Dallas lineup would be Nov. 23 at the New York Giants. Any alcohol-related incidents would likely bring an immediate suspension.
BULLFIGHTING
Bogota ban lifted
A ban on bullfighting in Colombia’s capital was lifted on Tuesday by the country’s highest court, which ruled that the prohibition violated the “right to artistic expression.” Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro, a former leftist congressman and guerrilla fighter, had barred bullfighting nearly two years ago on grounds it was cruel to the animals. However, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that the ban violated “the right to artistic expression” by people who loved a tradition that was “legally regulated.” Colombians are among the most avid fans of bullfighting in Latin America and the court ruling followed a suit filed by a company that organizes bullfights in Bogota. The city government now has six months to resume bullfights. In December 2012, Petro had rescinded a contract that allowed bullfights in Bogota’s bull ring called La Santamaria — one of the most important such arenas in Colombia.
CYCLING
No doping at Tour de France
There were no positive dope tests at this year’s Tour de France, world cycling’s governing body the UCI announced on Tuesday. “All the samples collected were systematically analyzed to detect stimulants and erythropoiesis,” said the UCI, the latter being the process that produces red blood cells. “Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry was also analysed in a certain number of samples, in particular to detect testosterone abuse and its precursors.”
SOCCER
Russia to keep Cup: FIFA
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has reiterated that Russia’s hosting of the 2018 World Cup is not up for discussion. “We are not placing any questions over the World Cup in Russia,” he told an event near Kitzbuehel, Austria, Deutsche Presse-Agentur said. “We are in a situation in which we have expressed our trust to the organizers of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups,” he added. “[A boycott] has never achieved anything.” There have been calls from politicians for the tournament to be taken elsewhere because of Russia’s alleged role in the Ukraine crisis and its occupation of Crimea. Asked last week whether there was any risk that Russia could lose its right to hold the tournament due to the complicated political situation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I hope not. FIFA has already said soccer and sport are outside politics and I think that is the right approach.” Russia is to host the 2018 World Cup at 12 stadiums in 11 cities, including two venues in Moscow. The 2022 World Cup is to be played in Qatar, which has also been criticized because of its alleged maltreatment of migrant workers in the construction industry. FIFA’s ethics committee is investigating the bidding process which led to the awarding of both tournaments in December 2010.
RUGBY UNION
Ex-All Black faces ban
Former All Blacks squad member Ben Tameifuna faces a lengthy ban for shoving a referee during a provincial match in New Zealand. The 140kg prop was cited for “acting against the spirit of good sportsmanship” when he pushed referee Glen Jackson out of the way while defending on the try line during Waikato’s win over North Harbour on Saturday. Video footage of the incident shows Tameifuna, who plays for the Waikato Chiefs in Super Rugby, defending a drive for the line by North Harbour and knocking Jackson off his feet, while keeping his eyes fixed on a ruck. His judicial hearing is scheduled for today.
CRICKET
NZ coach extends contract
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson signed a two-year contract extension yesterday in a major vote of confidence for the young Black Caps’ mentor. Hesson, 39, took over in mid-2012, with New Zealand in the doldrums after a poor run of defeats, and soon created controversy by axing the popular Ross Taylor as captain in favor of Brendon McCullum. However, his appointment has paid dividends, with the Black Caps winning their past three Test series against India at home and the West Indies at home and away. New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said Hesson’s contract, which had been due to expire in April next year after the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, had been extended to April 2017.
CRICKET
McGrath to train Indians
Former Australia Test paceman Glenn McGrath is to have a hand in coaching India’s promising fast bowlers after the Indian cricket board signed an agreement with his Chennai-based bowling academy. “It has been a wonderful couple of years for me at the MRF Pace Foundation,” McGrath said in a statement. “I now eagerly look forward to working with India’s best at the foundation.” The 44-year-old McGrath is now to oversee the progress of several fringe and upcoming pace bowlers for India’s national team, including Varun Aaron and Ashok Dinda.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier