FOOTBALL
Two banned for illegal hits
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Cincinnati Bengals safety George Iloka were both hit with one-game bans for incidents in Monday’s bruising divisional showdown, the NFL said. Smith-Schuster was given a suspension after a brutal block on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who left the game on a stretcher following the hit. The Steelers receiver followed his hit by standing over and taunting Burfict as he lay stricken on the turf. NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Smith-Schuster that the Steelers rookie had “celebrated” hitting a defenseless player. “Your conduct following the hit fell far below the high standards of sportsmanship expected of an NFL player,” Runyan wrote. Iloka was sanctioned for hitting Antonio Brown in the head and neck area after the Steelers receiver scored a touchdown with 3 minutes, 55 seconds remaining. “The competition committee has clearly expressed its goal of ‘eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game’ and has encouraged the league office to suspend offenders for egregious violations such as the one you committed last night,” Runyan wrote.
RUGBY UNION
Itoje fractures jaw in loss
England forward Maro Itoje could miss the start of the Six Nations after fracturing his jaw playing for Saracens. Itoje left the field during his club’s loss to Harlequins on Sunday in the English Premiership after picking up the injury following a collision with England teammate Mike Brown. “Scans have confirmed that Saracens forward Maro Itoje fractured his jaw in Sunday’s round 10 Aviva Premiership clash against Harlequins,” Saracens said in a statement on Tuesday. “Itoje will now see a second specialist later this week to confirm his return to play schedule.” Similar injuries have ruled players out for about two months and England coach Eddie Jones faces a nervous wait, with his team’s opening Six Nations match against Italy on Feb. 4. Itoje played every game in England’s victorious Six Nations campaign this year and three Tests for the British and Irish Lions as they drew with New Zealand. He was nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award.
SOCCER
FIFA extends Guerrero ban
Peru striker Paolo Guerrero has had a 30-day ban for doping extended by a further 20 days, the Peruvian Football Federation announced on Tuesday. Federation president Edwin Oviedo told reporters in Lima that FIFA had informed them of the extension over the weekend. The extension means the Flamengo player is to miss the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Argentina’s Independiente, the first leg of which was scheduled for yesterday. “We have learned from FIFA that there has been an extension of 20 days for an evaluation by the disciplinary commission,” Oviedo said. Guerrero, 33, missed Peru’s World Cup playoff games against New Zealand last month after an “abnormal result” from a drug test from a qualifying match against Argentina in October. Guerrero’s lawyers appeared before FIFA’s disciplinary committee in Zurich, Switzerland, a few days ago to present the player’s case. Guerrero, formerly of Bayern Munich and Hamburg SV, denied having used drugs.
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