Cycling
LONDON – Three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome says the anti-doping system is “open to abuse” by letting athletes take banned substances as medication.
Froome, whose two officially approved “therapeutic use exemptions” in his career were revealed by hackers this month, writes on Twitter “I know that I have to not only abide by the rules but go above and beyond that to set a good example both morally and ethically.”
Bradley Wiggins, another British Tour de France winner, has been criticized over TUEs. Hackers leaked that Wiggins got intramuscular injections of a strong corticosteroid days before three big races, including the 2012 Tour.
MLB
MIAMI – Somber Miami Marlins players and personnel escorted a hearse carrying the body of star pitcher Jose Fernandez from the team’s ballpark Wednesday, as the farewell for their beloved teammate marched on.
As players and fans honored Fernandez’s memory, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio sought a safety probe into the rock jetty where a boat crash claimed the lives of the baseball star and two friends.
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, manager Don Mattingly, hitting coach Barry Bonds and the players including Marcel Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton wore white T-shirts emblazoned with Fernandez’s image and the letters “RIP” as they slowly walked the hearse away from Marlins Park in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Many in the crowd of about 1,000 chanted “Jose! Jose!” and some waved Cuban flags in honor of the popular Cuban-American player.
NEW YORK – The Boston Red Sox won the AL East, clinching the division championship when the Toronto Blue Jays lost to Baltimore.
David Ortiz and the Red Sox, who had already secured at least a wild-card spot in the playoffs, will open their postseason schedule Oct. 6 seeking a second World Series crown in four years.
HOUSTON – The Houston Texans placed star defensive end J.J. Watt on injured reserve.
The move came Wednesday, one day after a person familiar with Watt’s condition told The Associated Press he had re-injured his back and that the Texans expect him to be sidelined until at least December – and possibly the entire season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t discussed his injury.
Watt, who has won Defensive Player of the Year for the past two seasons, missed training camp and Houston’s four preseason games after surgery in July to repair a herniated disk in his back. He started each of the team’s three regular-season games and got hurt again Thursday against the Patriots.
The Texans signed veteran defensive end Antonio Smith to take his spot on the roster.
FRISCO, Texas – Dez Bryant has a slight hairline fracture in a bone in his right knee, though Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the receiver might not miss a game.
Bryant didn’t practice Wednesday, three days after getting hurt in a win over Chicago, and the same day the team got back results of an MRI.
Garrett said he has been told that some players never miss time with that kind of injury.
Bryant injured the knee on his first catch on the opening series against the Bears, but came back in the first quarter.
Bryant missed seven games last year after breaking his foot in the opener. He also dealt with knee and ankle injuries last season.
Associated Press
