Contador to race in Tour despite doping hearing

BARCELONA, Spain -- Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador will compete in this year's cycling showcase despite an upcoming hearing that could result in a doping ban.

Contador spokesman Jacinto Vidarte on Sunday confirmed to The Associated Press reports that the Spaniard will be at the start when the race begins July 2.

[+] Enlarge Luk Benies/AFP/Getty ImagesAlberto Contador, riding last month in the Giro d'Italia, could become the first rider to win the Giro-Tour double since 1998.

"Yes, I will go to the Tour de France," Contador told Spanish newspaper Deia. "It is the best race, where the best riders are."

Contador is scheduled to appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Aug. 1, a week after the Tour ends. The International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency are challenging the Spanish cycling federation's decision to clear Contador of doping after he tested positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol in last year's Tour, accepting his explanation that he consumed the drug in contaminated beef.

The CAS originally had planned to hear the case June 6-8, aiming to issue a verdict by the end of the month. That would have either exonerated Contador or barred him from starting the Tour, but the dates were pushed back to Aug. 1-3 give both sides more time to prepare.

Despite the uncertainty in his career, Contador has won a series of stage races this season, including the three-week Giro d'Italia last month.

He could become the first rider to win the Tour-Giro double since Marco Pantani in 1998.

"From now until the beginning of the race I am going to base everything on rest," Contador said. "I prefer to even lose my form if it means I arrive rested."

Contador won the Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

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Liriano flirts with perfection as Twins stay hot

Francisco Liriano got off to a rough start, but since throwing a no-hitter on May 3, he's turned his season around and been lights out.

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Yanks put Colon on DL with strained hamstring

Updated: June 13, 2011, 1:36 AM ETBy Mike Mazzeo
Special to ESPNNewYork.com
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NEW YORK -- New York Yankees right-hander Bartolo Colon was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a strained left hamstring.

Outfielder Chris Dickerson has been called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Colon's spot on the team's 25-man roster.

Colon underwent an MRI at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Saturday night, but did not know the grade of the sprain. Manager Joe Girardi said the results of the MRI were "pretty good," but Colon will still need to be shut down for at least two weeks.

"I feel good, I just have a little bit of pain," Colon said through a translator. "I'm on the DL now, but I hope to be back after 15 days. ... After the 15 days, I should be back."

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Colon will continue to work on other parts of his body, but doesn't know when he'll be able to start rehabbing his legs.

"I feel bad because the team needs help and I got hurt," Colon said. "But there's nothing I can do about it."

The 38-year-old suffered the injury while trying to cover first base and left Saturday afternoon's game with two outs in the seventh inning.

Colon (5-3, 3.10 ERA) ended up winning for the third straight start on Saturday afternoon, going 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Yankees shut out the Cleveland Indians, 4-0, at Yankee Stadium. In his last 21 innings, Colon has surrendered just three earned runs.

Hector Noesi, who was summoned from Triple-A to replace Amauri Sanit (disabled list, elbow), could make Colon's next scheduled start on Thursday afternoon against the Texas Rangers, according to Girardi. The right-handed Noesi threw six innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen on Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox before being sent down to the minors.

In four Triple-A starts, Noesi went 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA, allowing nine earned runs and 25 hits over 20 2/3 innings.

"I was a starter (in the minors) and it's normal for me to throw six, seven or eight innings," said Noesi, who was unaware that he might have to step into the rotation. "It's just (easier)."

Although he wouldn't commit to Noesi, Girardi said he's thrown 75 pitches and could conceivably give the Yankees 80-85 if need be. Other internal minor league options to take Colon's turn could be Adam Warren (4-2, 3.53), D.J. Mitchell (4-5, 3.04) or David Phelps (4-4, 2.95).

Colon was en route to snag first baseman Mark Teixeira's flip to retire right fielder Shin-Soo Choo on a grounder, but he came up lame and walked gingerly off the field.

Colon lost out of the fifth spot in the Yankees' rotation coming out of spring training and began the season in the bullpen, but emerged out of nowhere with ace-like dominance after right-hander Phil Hughes was placed on the DL in mid-April with right shoulder inflammation.

Third baseman Alex Rodriguez called general manager Brian Cashman's free agent signing of Colon in February "the signing of the century."

"He's been consistently great all year. 1-A stuff," Rodriguez said Saturday.

Colon's loss couldn't come at a worse time for the Yankees, who are already dealing with a depleted bullpen due to the losses of Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte due to various injuries.

Hughes is slated to make his first minor league rehab start on Tuesday for the Gulf Coast Yankees, but the Yankees don't know when he'll be back.

Colon's weight -- 265 pounds -- could be an issue as he begins rehab, but Girardi said "he's pretty quick for how big he is."

"I think you worry (more) about if a guy's favoring something that he could be hurting his arm," Girardi said.

Colon's success with the Yankees this season comes on the heels of an unorthodox offseason shoulder surgery that involved stem cells being injected into his painful shoulder and elbow.

The doctor who performed the surgery has given HGH to other patients, though he claims that he did not give it to Colon. The surgery is being investigated by Major League Baseball.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. ESPNNewYork.com's Matt Ehalt contributed to this report.

 

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Thunder's Robinson cited for public urination

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nate Robinson is apologizing to fans after police caught him urinating in public in a New York City suburb.

Robinson

White Plains police say an officer spotted Robinson urinating on a sidewalk outside a bookstore just before 2 a.m. ET Friday.

Authorities told reporters that Robinson was taken to police headquarters, issued a summons and ordered to show up in court June 22. The offense normally carries a $50 fine.

Robinson posted a message on Twitter on Friday saying he made a "silly mistake." He promised it wouldn't happen again.

Robinson had played for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics before going to the Thunder in 2010.

Thunder spokesman Brian Facchini says the team is aware of what happened but would have no comment.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

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Guillen: Konerko will make Hall the 'right way'

Updated: June 12, 2011, 5:39 PM ETBy Sahadev Sharma
ESPNChicago.com
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CHICAGO -- White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko has never won an MVP, home run or RBI crown or led the league in batting average, but that didn't stop his manager from stumping for his place among the greatest to ever play the game.

"He will be in the Hall of Fame," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said Sunday. "And by the way, PK did it clean, there's no doubt he did it the right way."

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Konerko is coming off a 2010 campaign that was the best of his career. At age 34, he posted career highs in on-base percentage (.393), slugging percentage (.584), and total bases (320). So far this season, Konerko is backing up his amazing 2010 -- he had 20 home runs, 51 RBIs, a .320 average and a .953 OPS entering Sunday. He is a strong candidate to make his fifth All-Star Game.

The Hall of Fame will have to change the way it evaluates players, Guillen said, since the previously accepted standards of excellence may not be reached as often.

"The Hall of Fame can be too picky, there's not that many good players out there anymore," Guillen said. "You're not going to see the 3,000 hits, the 500 home runs and 300 wins."

With a few more years, Konerko could get well over 400 home runs and possibly make a push for 500. Konerko, who is signed through the 2013 season, currently sits at 381 home runs, good for 60th all-time.

For his part, Konerko doesn't concern himself with Hall of Fame talk or the fact that he's rarely mentioned in the same breath as other great American League first basemen such as the Red Sox's Adrian Gonzalez and the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera.

"If it's outside the lines, it's meaningless to me," Konerko said.

Guillen said that Konerko is a rare breed in today's game.

"This man represents the game in different ways, the right way," Guillen said. "With the media, with his teammates, with the organization, on the field and with the community; that's a lot."

On the topic of future Hall of Famers, Guillen had a few thoughts on a sure-fire entrant -- New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

"You're talking about God now, you're not talking about a baseball player, you're talking about God," Guillen said. "Besides Jim Thome, he represents this game better than anybody. That guy is a baseball icon, great player, a winner, never been in trouble, and dates beautiful women."

Jeter moved within seven hits of 3,000 with a multihit game Sunday. Guillen said he hoped Jeter would accomplish the rare feat at Wrigley Field because it would be great to have such a historic moment at a historic park. Jeter would be the 28th player to join the 3,000 hit club. The Yankees play a three-game set with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley starting Friday.

Sahadev Sharma covers the White Sox and Cubs for ESPNChicago.com.

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Damon, Longoria HRs lead Rays past Orioles

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BALTIMORE -- Johnny Damon hit a familiar brand of home run to give Tampa Bay a lead it would never lose.

Seven innings later, Evan Longoria sealed the victory with a rare kind of trip around the bases. Damon had his 27th career leadoff blast, Longoria hit an inside-the-park homer and three RBIs, and the Rays cruised past the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 Sunday. Justin Ruggiano had three hits for the Rays, who won two of three from Baltimore to clinch their first winning road trip of 11 or more games since 2003. Tampa Bay is 6-4 on a four-city, 11-game journey that concludes with a makeup game in Detroit on Monday. Damon had two hits and scored twice. The 37-year-old has reached base in a career-best 37 consecutive games, tying the club record set by Ben Grieve in 2001. "I'm in a position where I'm comfortable," Damon said. "For a while, we were test-driving a lot of leadoff hitters. I think this could be our best situation with me at the top and (Ben Zobrist) in the two hole." Longoria's first career inside-the-park homer came in the eighth with a man on and put Tampa Bay up 9-5. His liner to center curled past a hard-charging Adam Jones, and the ball rolled to the wall as Longoria circled the bases. "I had a shot at it. I just missed the ball," Jones said. Longoria reached the plate well ahead of the final relay throw. It was the third inside-the-park homer in the 20-year history of Camden Yards; Butch Davis did it for Texas in 1993 and Detroit's Shane Halter hit one in 2003. "You hit balls like that in batting practice all the time, where it comes off the bat and has that knuckle action," Longoria said. "But it doesn't happen too often in games." It did this time, and the hit was huge. "I saw he had his glove up so I thought he was going to catch the ball," Longoria said. "As soon as I saw it take that left turn, I put my head down. As soon as I went around second I knew I was going home. I was gassed by the time I got around third, but I was able to keep chugging and beat the throw." Asked to recall the last time he hit an inside-the-park homer, Longoria replied, "I haven't had one since Little League when they didn't have fences." Tampa Bay starter Wade Davis (5-5) allowed five runs, four earned, and eight hits in six-plus innings. He's 4-0 lifetime in Baltimore and 2-2 overall against the Orioles this season. J.P. Howell got three outs for his first save. Kyle Farnsworth was not available because of the flu. Jones, Vladimir Guerrero and Luke Scott hit solo homers for Baltimore. Fifteen of the Orioles' last 21 home runs have been solo shots. Making his third start since returning from the disabled list with an oblique injury, Brian Matusz (1-1) gave up four runs, five hits and four walks in 1 1/3 innings. Riding a seven-game winning streak that started last August, the left-hander retired only three of the 13 batters he faced. "From the get-go I didn't get a good feel, (not even) warming up in the bullpen," Matusz said. "It was just one of those days where you've got to be able to battle without your good stuff. They were able to find some holes and get some things going early, and I just wasn't able to get on track today." The Rays batted around in the first inning, getting four hits and stealing four bases, yet they scored only three runs. After Damon hit his eighth homer, Zobrist and Ruggiano singled before Longoria hit a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Sean Rodriguez got an RBI when Mark Reynolds misplayed his grounder to third. Orioles manager Buck Showalter was more livid at Matusz about the stolen bases than the hits he yielded. "It's been a challenge for him," Showalter said about Matusz's inability to hold runners. "Maybe we'll be able to get his attention a little bit more." Jones and Guerrero connected in succession in the bottom half, the second time this season the Orioles hit back-to-back homers. The only out Matusz got in the second inning came when Damon was caught stealing on a questionable call. Tampa Bay then loaded the bases before Showalter summoned Alfredo Simon, who gave up a sacrifice fly to B.J. Upton. A double by Casey Kotchman and an RBI single by Damon made it 5-2 in the third. Baltimore got an unearned run in the bottom half, but Reynolds' second error of the game and 14th of the season provided Tampa Bay with two unearned runs in the seventh for a 7-3 lead. In the Baltimore half, after singles by Ryan Adams and Craig Tatum chased Davis, Nick Markakis and Jones hit run-scoring groundouts. Game notes
Reynolds left in the seventh with a bruised forearm after being struck with a ball hit by Rodriguez in the fifth inning. ... Activated from the disabled list after Saturday's game, Rays shortstop Elliott Johnson (knee sprain) went 0 for 3 with a walk. ... The season series is tied at 6. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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MLB talks switching NL team to AL, sources say

A simple form of realignment being seriously considered has been raised in the labor talks between Major League Baseball and the players' association, according to four sources: two leagues of 15 teams, rather than the current structure of 16 teams in the National League and 14 in the American League.

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As the realignment discussion goes forward, it's the union that is viewed as the driving force behind the idea of two 15-team leagues, writes ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. Blog

According to a highly ranked executive, one consideration that has been raised in ownership committee meetings is eliminating the divisions altogether, so that 15 AL and 15 NL teams would vie for five playoff spots within each league. Currently, Major League Baseball has six divisions.

A source who has been briefed on the specifics of the labor discussions says that the players' union has indicated that it is open to the idea of two 15-team leagues, but that the whole plan still hasn't been talked through or presented to the owners.

Sources say the talks are serious, and while one executive believes the odds of change are less than 50-50, another says this is the type of discussion that can gather momentum and become a reality.

A sticking point involves interleague play. Because of the odd number of teams in each league, it is possible that a team in contention late in the season will have to be playing its final games in interleague play.

One of the biggest issues that would have to be resolved in any realignment resulting in two 15-team leagues is which of the National League teams would switch to the American League.

Two highly ranked executives believe the Houston Astros would be a possibility, because a switch to the AL for Houston would foster a rivalry between the Astros and the Texas Rangers.

The Marlins could be another candidate, a source suggested.

"There are still a lot of details that would have to be discussed," one source said.

Buster Olney is a senior MLB writer for ESPN The Magazine.

 

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