Cycling
EPO positives at Astana ‘extremely serious’
PARIS – The governing body of cycling said two “extremely serious” doping positives at Astana raise questions about ethics and management at the team that also has the Tour de France champion in its squad.
In a statement, the International Cycling Union said it will talk to Astana “to see whether we are satisfied that they are doing all they can to ensure their riders do not use performance-enhancing drugs.”
This comes after brothers Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy tested positive for the banned performance-enhancer erythropoietin (EPO).
The UCI called those failed tests “an extremely serious situation and one which raises questions about the management of the team and the ethics which are upheld within it.”
Maxim Iglinskiy was one of Vincenzo Nibali’s teammates when the Italian won the showcase Tour in 2014.
MLB
Beckett, 34, hurls a no-no in 2014, then retires
LOS ANGELES – Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett, facing surgery for a torn labrum in his left hip that caused him to miss most of the last three months of the season, retired at 34, ending a 14-year career that included two World Series championships – with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and the Boston Red Sox in 2007.
Beckett threw a no-hitter in May, but he landed on the disabled list for the third time in early August with a left hip impingement after being on the DL in July for the same injury. He was 6-6 with a 2.88 earned-run average in 20 starts, including the no-hitter May 25 at Philadelphia.
NFL
Broncos’ tight end fined $8,286 for chop block
ENGLEWOOD – A person with knowledge of the penalty said Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas was fined $8,268 for his chop block on Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the fine hadn’t been announced yet by the NFL. ESPN first reported the fine, the first of Thomas’ four-year career.
Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians called the chop block Sunday the worst play he’s seen in his 37 years of coaching and hoped Thomas would be suspended for as long as Campbell is out.
Campbell is expected to miss several weeks with a strained right medial collateral ligament. Thomas, who leads the NFL with seven touchdown catches, expressed remorse for hurting Campbell.
Peterson goes to court for felony child-abuse case
CONROE, Texas – Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson arrived in a Texas courtroom Wednesday to face a charge of felony child abuse for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son earlier this year.
Peterson, who was put on paid leave by the Vikings under a special roster exemption from the NFL commissioner, was expected to plead not guilty during his first court appearance since being indicted last month. If convicted, Peterson faces up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine in a case that surfaced as the NFL grapples with several players facing domestic violence allegations.
It’s official: Pegulas peg the Bills for $1.4B
NEW YORK – Admitting it was a dream come true, Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim, unanimously were approved by NFL owners Wednesday as new owners of the Buffalo Bills.
The Pegulas, who already own the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, expect the sale to be finalized by the end of the week.
Longtime Bills owner Ralph Wilson died in March, prompting the sale, which went for a record $1.4 billion.
Associated Press
