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Cycling
AIGLE, Switzerland – Italian cyclist Luca Paolini has been banned for 18 months after testing positive for cocaine at the Tour de France last year.
The UCI announced on Wednesday that Paolini was “guilty of a non-intentional anti-doping rule violation.”
Paolini acknowledged he used cocaine but said he didn’t do so with the intention of improving his cycling performance.
Paolini was thrown out of the Tour when the positive test was announced on July 10, three days after being tested on the day of the fourth stage. He was dismissed from Russian team Katusha.
With the ban dated retroactively to July 10, Paolini’s ban will end in January.
The 39-year-old Paolini won the Gent-Wevelgem one-day classic last season, and has stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta.
MLB
ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Marco Gonzales will have season-ending Tommy John surgery.
General manager John Mozeliak announced the decision Wednesday, and said he expects Gonzales, who is from Fort Collins, to have the operation Friday.
Gonzales injured his elbow during spring training.
The 22-year-old Gonzales was limited to one start for the Cardinals last season because of shoulder problems.
Gonzales was 4-2 with a 4.15 earned-run average in 10 games as rookie in 2014 after being selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2013 draft. He continued his strong play in the postseason, going 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in six games.
The standard recovery from Tommy John surgery is 12-15 months.
Soccer
PORTLAND, Ore. – Court records show U.S. soccer star Abby Wambach pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants Tuesday in a county courtroom in Portland.
The Oregonian reports the plea means Wambach could have her charges dismissed within a year by enrolling in a diversion program available to first-time offenders. A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge also ordered a breathalyzer be installed in Wambach’s vehicle and that she undergo drug and alcohol treatment, the Oregonian reported.
The 35-year-old retired soccer player and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested April 2 after police said she ran a red light in downtown Portland and failed field sobriety tests. Her blood alcohol content was .13 percent, above Oregon’s limit of .08 percent.
Wambach was later released on her recognizance and has since apologized.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Shkelzen Gashi scored his first MLS goal in the 82nd minute, and the Colorado Rapids beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Gashi followed as Dillon Serna’s 35-yard knuckler crashed off the crossbar and finished the rebound with a left-footed roundhouse kick. The Rapids (3-2-1) acquired Gashi as a designated player prior to the season.
Luis Solignac gave Colorado the early lead, slotting one past goalkeeper Tim Melia inside the near post in the 41st minute. Marco Pappa picked Lawrence Olum at midfield and set up Solignac on the right side of the 18-yard box.
Sporting KC (4-2-0) tied it in the 77th minute when Dom Dwyer slipped away from the defender Bobby Burling in the middle of the area for an open header off Connor Hallisey’s diagonal cross. It was Dwyer’s fourth goal of the season.
Associated Press
