Heavyweight world champion Fury tests positive for cocaine – ESPN

Anthony Crolla v Jorge Linares WBA & WBC Diamond Lightweight Title’s

(Reuters) – Heavyweight world boxing champion Tyson Fury has tested positive for cocaine, ESPN reported on Friday citing a leaked letter sent by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).

Reuters was unable to immediately verify details of the report.

Representatives of Briton Fury, who last week pulled out of a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko for medical reasons, declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

ESPN said it had obtained a copy of a letter sent by VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman to representatives of Fury and Klitschko as well as the British Boxing Board of Control and the United States’ Association of Boxing Commissions on Thursday.

“This letter is to advise you that the ‘A’ sample urine specimen number 4006253 collected from Tyson Fury on September 22, 2016 in Lancaster, England through his participation in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) program has been analysed for anabolic agents, diuretics, beta-2 agonists, stimulants and drugs of abuse,” it read.

“The results of the analysis are as follows: Adverse. Urine specimen contains benzoylecgonine.

“Mr. Fury has the right to promptly request analysis of the ‘B’ sample at his expense.”

Benzoylecgonine is the main metabolite of cocaine.

VADA, which provides anti-doping programmes for boxing and mixed martial arts, does not release results of tests publicly unless requested to do so by athletes.

The World Boxing Association (WBA) said in a statement it would consider Fury’s case before making any decision.

“Regarding the VADA report, they sent a statement in which they inform that the result was positive. Now we are waiting to see if Fury’s team will request the opening of the B sample test,” Sky Sports quoted the WBA as saying.

Contacted late on Friday, no one was available at the British Boxing Board of Control or World Boxing Organization (WBO) to comment.

Earlier this year, Fury was charged with a doping offence by UK Anti-Doping after a urine sample from February 2015 – nine months before he beat Klitschko to win the WBA and WBO world titles – showed traces of the banned stimulant nandrolone.

At the time, Fury said he was innocent and is suing Britain’s anti-doping and boxing authorities.

(Writing by Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Read More

I planned animated celebration before victory, says McIlroy

PGA: Ryder Cup

By Tony Jimenez

CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) – Rory McIlroy was so excited to win his afternoon fourballs match at the Ryder Cup on Friday that he planned his animated celebration before the point was won and also had to apologise to a member of the opposition.

McIlroy clinched a 3 and 2 triumph alongside Belgian rookie Thomas Pieters against Americans Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar by holing a 20-foot eagle putt and then nodded mockingly to the crowd before letting out a thunderous bellow.

“I bowed to them and said, ‘You’re welcome for the show’, the Northern Irishman told reporters. “You get the minority of people that are cheering against the other team.

“Most are respectful and are cheering really hard for the U.S. team. That’s totally acceptable and exactly what happens in Europe but still it’s a hostile environment.

“I actually thought about the celebration before I hit the putt, I knew it had a good chance of going in. I just want everyone watching out there to know how much this means to us.”

McIlroy was so thrilled that he completely forgot to shake the hand of Johnson’s caddie, brother Austin, after victory was sealed.

Asked if there was anything intentional about the snub, the world number three replied: “No, not at all. I did not know that.

“I get on really well with AJ and all the Johnson family so I’ll have to go and apologise to him, I sort of got caught up in the moment. I would class AJ as a good buddy of mine on tour, along with DJ.”

The win by McIlroy and Pieters helped Europe reduce their overall deficit to 5-3 at the end of the day after being swept 4-0 in the morning foursomes.

McIlroy said he had been upset by the partisan home crowd’s reaction to foursomes partner Andy Sullivan finding water at the 17th hole as the European duo were beaten 1-up in that tussle by Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler.

“That was a little disappointing in my eyes,” added the four-times major winner. “But, again, it’s a minority and most people out there are being respectful of the etiquette of our game.

“We want this Ryder Cup to be played in a very sportsmanlike conduct that the late, great Arnold Palmer would be proud of,” said McIlroy, referring to the American who died at the age of 87 on Sunday.

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

Read More

Ex-manager Redknapp says players bet on result of match

York Dante Festival

LONDON (Reuters) – Former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp said his players bet on the result of one of their matches, according to the newspaper investigation that has seen England coach Sam Allardyce lose his job.

The Daily Telegraph’s undercover reporters filmed Redknapp discussing the game although the 69-year-old later told the paper he did not think it was against FA rules at the time.

However, FA rules ban players from betting on matches they are involved in and managers are expected to report any misconduct.

The Telegraph said lawyers for Redknapp said he was not aware of players betting on the match at the time.

The newspaper did not say which club was involved.

Former West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers manager Redknapp met reporters posing as representatives of a Far East firm that wanted to break into English football’s billion-pound transfer market.

Redknapp has denied any wrongdoing.

The newspaper’s revelations have so far led to Allardyce and Barnsley assistant manager Tommy Wright losing their jobs.

Allardyce was sacked on Tuesday after the FA said he had behaved inappropriately following secret filming that showed him offering advice to businessmen on how to circumvent rules on player transfers.

(Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Tony Jimenez)

Read More

Everton up to third despite being held by Palace

Everton v Crystal Palace – Premier League

Sept 30 (Reuters) – Everton moved up to third place in the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace as they kicked off the weekend programme in a feisty encounter on Friday.

Christian Benteke earned Palace a point when he powered a header into the net past helpless keeper Maarten Stekelenburg five minutes after the break from Joel Ward’s cross.

It was his fifth goal in six matches against Everton.

His Belgium team mate Romelu Lukaku had given the hosts the lead in the 35th when he bent a free kick over the wall after Damien Delaney was penalised for a high boot on Phil Jagielka, although the Everton defender had appeared to handle the ball.

Palace have proved lucky opponents for Lukaku, who has scored four goals in his last five top-flight appearances against the south London side who stay in seventh spot.

(Writing by Ken Ferris; editing by Martyn Herman)

Read More

Formula E plugs Jaguar in for an electric future

A Jaguar logo is seen on media day at the Paris auto show, in Paris

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) – Jaguar will leap back on to the world motorsport stage next week with the Indian-owned luxury marque looking to Formula E as a launch pad for the big cat’s electric ambitions.

Team director James Barclay says the battery-powered championship, whose third season starts in Hong Kong on Oct. 9, is moving into a “sweet spot” where manufacturers like Jaguar need to be.

“The timing for this programme couldn’t be better because we do have an electric future, we will have electric cars with Jaguar Land Rover in the near future and that’s where we’re at,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“I think fairly soon you will start to see the relevance of the race programme to our road programme coming through as well,” he added.

“It (Formula E) is a real world laboratory, a test bed for electrification technology. It has a real benefit if you talk about taking learnings from the racetrack and applying to our road cars.”

Media reports have indicated that Jaguar Land Rover is preparing to launch a compact electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), with photographs emerging of camouflaged and silent cars in testing.

Electric car prototypes and plans have dominated this week’s Paris auto show. Volkswagen pledged in June to achieve annual sales of between two and three million electric cars by 2025.

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth told Reuters separately that the firm, which built a third of Britain’s 1.6 million cars last year, could invest in a new electric battery and car plant in Britain if conditions were right.

Barclay said Formula E would help Jaguar learn about battery performance and heat management in the most demanding conditions.

“There’s some really exciting areas and our engineering team, and our head of engineering Nick Rogers, is incredibly excited about the learnings we will be able to take away from this programme to apply to our future road cars,” he said.

“Most major automotive manufacturers now have battery electric vehicles in their future plans and in the near future as well, so it’s kind of moving into the bullseye from our perspective.

“Everyone is going to be promoting their battery electric vehicles in the near future and the formula is perfectly placed to support that.”

Jaguar, now owned by India’s Tata Motors, join the likes of Renault, Citroen’s DS brand, Audi and BMW in the city centre-based championship that visits five continents and includes races in New York for the first time.

Barclay said Jaguar, who left Formula One in failure at the end of 2004, was realistic about what the team could achieve.

“Ultimately we are here to be successful,” he said. “We are very measured in our expectations for this year, and then after this year we start building up our expectations.”

Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag told Reuters that his series offered more opportunities for technology transfer than others.

“There are lessons you can learn on temperature management of the battery, which is a key element when you are driving an electric car, and in regeneration and recuperation of energy through braking,” he said.

“Those are lessons that can be immediately be used in the road cars. And then of course there are the hardware lessons, the motors, the transmission. Things are evolving incredibly fast in those technologies.”

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

Read More

Hot Ryder Cup start for U.S. on chilly morning

PGA: Ryder Cup

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) – England’s Justin Rose struck the first shot of the 41st Ryder Cup on a chilly Friday, finding the fairway off the tee at the par-four opening hole to launch the morning’s foursomes matches before the U.S. took early control.

Olympic champion Rose partnered British Open winner Henrik Stenson for holders Europe in the alternate-shot format while Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed led off for the United States in a mouth-watering matchup for the first of four encounters.

Rose, Stenson and Spieth were all dressed warmly in the crisp, overcast conditions but the burly Reed was in short sleeves when he teed off first for the U.S. and split the fairway.

All four players were given a rousing welcome by the fans packed around the first tee, chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole” and “USA, USA, USA” echoing across the course at Hazeltine National.

In a moving tribute to Arnold Palmer, who died on Sunday aged 87, the late golfing great’s Ryder Cup bag was placed on the first tee box in clear sight of the players and the fans.

Rose and Stenson, who went 3-0 when paired together at Gleneagles two years ago, were sent off first by captain Darren Clarke in a bid to give holders Europe a fast start.

However, they soon found themselves two down after Spieth sank a 12-footer to birdie the par-four second and followed with a five-footer at the par-five third.

In the second match out, fan favourites Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler were all square with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Englishman Andy Sullivan after two holes while Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson were level with Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Germany’s Martin Kaymer after one.

In the bottom match, English veteran Lee Westwood and long-hitting Belgian Thomas Pieters were one down to U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar after one hole.

Europe have won three consecutive Ryder Cups through a mixture of shrewd captaincy, consistently good team chemistry, often stellar play and an uncanny knack of sinking key putts at crucial moments.

The United States, who have a proud record on American soil with just four losses since the matches began in 1927, are bidding to end a run of eight losses in the past 10 editions.

Europe won the trophy for a third successive time with a crushing victory by 16-1/2 points to 11-1/2 at Gleneagles in 2014.

(Reporting by Tony Jimenez)

Read More

Spieth and Reed inspire U.S. foursomes sweep

PGA: Ryder Cup

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) – A fired-up Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed set the tone as the United States seized early control at the Ryder Cup on Friday with a 4-0 sweep of the opening foursomes matches against holders Europe.

Thunderous roars of “USA, USA, USA” echoed across the ultra-long Hazeltine National layout as twice major winner Spieth and fellow young gun Reed beat European heavyweights Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson 3&2 in the top match to secure the first point.

“Any time you are take on Rose and Stenson, it’s never simple,” Reed told reporters. “We had a great game plan coming in, we stuck with it.

“Just hit a lot of greens. In alternate shot you have to do that, give yourself opportunities. And we were lucky enough to be able to hit a lot of greens and have good looks.”

Soon after, U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar completed a 5&4 demolition of an out-of-sorts Lee Westwood of England and Belgian rookie Thomas Pieters in the anchor match.

PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson came from one down after 11 holes to beat Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Germany’s Martin Kaymer 4&2 before Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler delivered the most surprising point of the morning for the Americans.

Fan favourites Mickelson and Fowler were wayward off the tee for most of the session and trailed Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Englishman Andy Sullivan by two after 14 holes before scraping through a fluctuating contest to win one-up.

“It was a lot of heart, a heart that went out with two-down and four to go,” said Mickelson, competing this week in his 11th Ryder Cup.

“It was a match where I didn’t drive the ball well. It was a match where I felt more pressure in any Ryder Cup than I felt heading into this one because of the last two years and the build up.”

The United States, who have a proud record on American soil with just four losses since the matches began in 1927, are bidding to end a run of eight defeats in the past 10 editions.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez/Andrew Both)

Read More

Police to review corruption evidence before FA

Former England soccer manager Sam Allardyce leaves his home in Bolton

LONDON (Reuters) – Police have asked to see transcripts relating to an investigation into alleged corruption in English soccer before they can be released to the Football Association (FA), the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.

The newspaper said it still intended to provide the FA with “the relevant transcripts”, as it had stated it would earlier in the week.

“However, the police have asked to review this information first. The FA and the Premier League are aware of this,” the paper added in a statement.

The FA had earlier urged the newspaper to provide “full and unfettered disclosure of all available material” from the investigation.

The newspaper’s revelations have so far led to England manager Sam Allardyce and Barnsley assistant manager Tommy Wright losing their jobs.

The long-running investigation by the newspaper also suggested eight current and former Premier League managers had received ‘bungs’, or illicit payments, for player transfers.

Southampton assistant manager Eric Black was the latest to be named in the newspaper investigation and he has denied making any suggestion to undercover reporters that football officials should be paid during transfer negotiations.

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes told reporters on Friday that any wrongdoers should be named without delay.

“If there’s evidence certain individuals have been involved in things they shouldn’t have been, then it’s important those guys are named because if they aren’t then everybody else is guilty by association by virtue of being a manager or coach in football,” he said.

Second tier Queens Park Rangers said they were unable to proceed with an internal investigation into the conduct of manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink because of the lack of detailed information.

Hasselbaink said he was naive to be sucked into the scandal but “taking money is not what I stand for”.

“I have never done it, I would never do it just to get a player to the club so I can benefit from that. No. I want to win games,” the Dutchman told Sky Sports television.

QPR said in a statement: “We urge The Telegraph to provide full disclosure of all its information relating to the allegations, including video footage and a full transcript of the discussions that took place.

“The club believes this information should not be provided selectively, but unedited and unconditionally, in order for the club to view the full context and the sequence of what was said by all parties to include in its investigation.”

The FA said in its statement that it would be meeting with City of London Police next week.

“The FA treats any allegations of this nature seriously and is committed to investigating them thoroughly, in conjunction with any other appropriate body,” it added

Allardyce was sacked on Tuesday after the FA said he had behaved inappropriately following secret filming that showed him offering advice to businessmen on how to circumvent rules on player transfers.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London and Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru, Editing by Ed Osmond)

.
.
.
.
IN Categories:- #ContentProducedInBangalore, #CorruptionBriberyEmbezzlement, #England, #English, #EnglishSoccer, #EuropeSports, #Football, #GovernmentBorrowingRequirement, #GreatBritain, #Soccer, #Sport, #UnitedKingdom, #Updated, #WesternEurope

Read More