ICE HOCKEY
Canada’s Ouellette to retire
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Caroline Ouellette has announced her retirement from Canada’s national women’s team, Hockey Canada said on Tuesday. Ouellette, 39, is the third-highest scorer for the team with 242 points in 220 games. “What a privilege it was to play for Canada, I cherished every moment and loved every minute of it,” Ouellette said in a statement. “I shared my passion for hockey with great teammates, coaches and staff members that will remain lifelong friends.” Ouellette made her national debut in 1998 and went on to win a gold medal in each of her four Olympic Games appearances in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. The Montreal-born forward also represented Canada at 12 Women’s World Championships, where she won six gold and six silver medals. Ouellette had not suited up for the national team since 2015, but has been part of the program on the coaching side.
BASEBALL
Osuna charges withdrawn
Domestic violence charges against Houston Astros pitcher Roberto Osuna were withdrawn in Toronto on Tuesday after the victim in the case declined to testify. Osuna, who was banned for 75 games earlier this year through a suspension linked to the case, has agreed to a one-year peace bond. Under the terms of the bond, Osuna is barred from contacting his victim without her consent for one year and must undergo counseling. Osuna, 23, issued a statement welcoming the conclusion of the case. “Now I can begin to put these allegations behind me and focus on baseball,” he said. Osuna was charged with assault after an alleged altercation with the mother of his three-year-old son. The woman later returned to Mexico after the incident and has not returned, prosecutors told the court.
FOOTBALL
Griffen out for mental health
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen remains away from the team indefinitely because of mental health trouble that boiled over the past week. Coach Mike Zimmer on Tuesday said that Griffen would not travel with the Vikings for their game today against the Los Angeles Rams. Griffen was held out because of a knee injury on Sunday when the Vikings lost to the Buffalo Bills, but he was in no condition to play after a scary series of incidents on Saturday last week. According to police in Minnetrista, the suburb where he lives, Griffen was acting erratically and making comments about people trying to kill him. He was eventually transported by ambulance to an area hospital for evaluation.
FOOTBALL
Raiders’ Ball in a coma
Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Neiron Ball is in a medically induced coma following an aneurysm that burst in his brain, multiple reports said. The 26-year-old Ball has reportedly been in the coma since Sept. 16. Ball has battled a rare blood vessel disorder called arteriovenous malformation, which is an abnormality in the connection between arteries and veins in the brain or spine. The diagnosis was made after he experienced headaches in 2011 as a member of Florida’s team. Ball was a fifth-round pick of the Raiders in the 2015 NFL Draft and played in six games. He drew two starts and had nine tackles and one sack before his season was cut short by a knee injury.
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
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