CYCLING
Armstrong cover-up alleged
A former teammate of Lance Armstrong alleged on TV’s 60 Minutes on Sunday that cycling’s world governing body had helped the seven-time Tour de France winner cover up a positive drugs test. Tyler Hamilton told the US version of the show, broadcast on CBS television, that Armstrong had told him he tested positive for EPO (erythropoietin) during the 2001 Tour of Switzerland, but escaped punishment after the International Cycling Union intervened on his behalf. Armstrong has always insisted he has never failed a dope test and Hamilton’s comments drew an immediate rebuke from Armstrong’s lawyer. “I know he’s had a positive test before,” Hamilton said. “He told me. He was so relaxed about it and he kind of said it off the cuff and laughed it off. People took care of it. I don’t know all the exact details, but I know that Lance’s people and the people from the other side, the governing body of the sport, figured out a way to make it go away.”
BASEBALL
Colon treatment gets interest
One of the doctors who assisted in a procedure last year on New York Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon said that other pitchers have expressed interest in undergoing the treatment that is being scrutinized by MLB. Leonel Liriano said in a Dominican TV interview that about 10 pitchers between the ages of 21 to 37 have contacted him about the possibility of getting the controversial medical treatment. The doctor did not disclose the identities of the athletes during his interview with the Sport Week program on Channel 13. Liriano is the medical director for US-based Regenocyte in the Dominican Republic. The company specializes in the use of stem cells for regenerative therapy. He has denied the treatment that the 37-year-old Colon received last year involved the use of banned substances and stressed his medical team consulted with Colon’s agent and lawyers in New York before beginning the treatment in the pitcher’s native Dominican Republic.
RUGBY UNION
Wallabies’ Elsom hurts ankle
Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom faces another spell on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in his first match of the season for the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby at the weekend. The 28-year-old flanker was to undergo scans yesterday to determine the seriousness of the injury he sustained in the second half of the Brumbies’ 13-13 draw with Western Force on Saturday. A six-week spell out could signal the end of Elsom’s time at the twice-Super Rugby champion Brumbies, who have four matches left to play and no hope of making the playoffs. Elsom has not yet decided on his future after his contract with the Brumbies and Australian Rugby Union expires at the end of the year. Saturday’s match in Perth was Elsom’s first for six months after he recovered from a hamstring injury.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Sam Faust dies of leukemia
Former North Queensland National Rugby League (NRL) forward Sam Faust lost his battle with leukemia and died aged 26 in Townsville, Australia, yesterday, the club said. Faust played 24 matches for the Cowboys in 2007-2008, before his rugby career was cut short when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2009. In recent months, NRL players and fans raised money for Faust, a father of three, to travel to the US for medical treatment. “I know everyone connected with our club, and with rugby league in general, will be saddened by this news,” Cowboys chief executive Peter Jourdain told reporters.
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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