DOPING
Drug firm pleads guilty
Chinese drug producer GeneScience Pharmaceutical Co pleaded guilty on Wednesday to smuggling Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is used to enhance sporting performance, US officials said. The company and chief executive Lei Jin forfeited US$4.5 million in assets and will also pay US$3 million dollars “to finance a clean competition fund designed to counter the effects of illicit doping in sports,” the US Justice Department said in a statement. The company had previously forfeited US$2.7 million linked to its smuggling activities. Jin through GeneScience marketed HGH on the Internet under the brand name Jintropin and was bought in the US for distribution. “GeneScience never obtained approval from the FDA to market Jintropin in the US, where HGH is available only through doctor’s prescription for strictly defined uses,” officials said.
GOLF
Miyazato tries to widen lead
World No. 1 Ai Miyazato was trying to gain ground on South Korean money leader Shin Ji-yai and claim a sixth title this year at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Alabama, yesterday. Miyazato and world No. 3 Cristie Kerr of the US were playing in the US$1.3 million event, the start of a six-week LPGA trek to two US events plus Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Mexico. “Right now, it might be a little bit more difficult. Situations are constantly changing,” Miyazato said. “The top five players are very close and in contention all the time.” Shin, the South Korean who sets the pace at US$1.46 million and Yani Tseng of Taiwan, the world No. 2 who ranks second with US$1.42 million this season, are both taking the week off. So is US star Michelle Wie. That opens the door for Miyazato, who has US$1.37 million in 16 events this season.
GOLF
McDowell to join US Tour
Europe’s Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell confirmed on Wednesday that he will be joining the USPGA Tour next year. The US Open champion, who beat Hunter Mahan in the final Ryder Cup singles match to clinch victory for Europe on Monday, is among nine members of the victorious team competing in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. “Yes, I am joining the US Tour,” the Northern Irishman told a press conference. “I took out my card in 2006 and got injured at the start of the season and never really got a chance to experience it. So I want to give it a go next year, because it’s a non-Ryder Cup year and I would like to try the FedEx Cup playoffs.”
ATHLETICS
IAAF suspends Fraser
Olympic and world 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser has been suspended for six months by the IAAF for a doping violation, the world governing body said on Wednesday. Fraser tested positive for the painkiller oxycodone at May’s Shanghai Diamond League meeting. She will be eligible to compete again on Jan. 7, the IAAF said on its Web site. In July, Fraser said she had taken tooth painkiller before the event and neglected to list it on a doping form. Fraser, a role model for Jamaican youth, said then she had mixed emotions about the positive test. “I take some responsibility because athletes are supposed to be responsible for what they take, but I am upset because everybody is starting to assume I am taking drugs ... My reputation is ruined somewhat,” she said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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