CYCLING: More Tour doping woes
Tour de France rider Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for a banned blood transfusion after winning last weekend’s time trial, prompting his Astana team to pull out of the race yesterday.
The Kazakh rider, a one-time favorite to win cycling’s premier event, was tested after his victory in the 13th stage time trial on Saturday. Vinokourov also won Monday’s 15th stage. He was 23rd in the overall race standings. The Tour finishes in Paris on Sunday.
* Denmark’s Olympic Committee has backed the Danish cycling union’s decision last week to drop Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen from the national team for failing to tell anti-doping officials of his whereabouts for drug-testing.
HOOPS: Mejia signs with Pistons
Second-round draft choice Sammy Mejia, who attended Roosevelt H.S. in The Bronx, signed with the Pistons yesterday. Detroit drafted the 24-year-old with the 57th pick of the June draft.
The 6-6 Mejia averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 123 games at DePaul, where he earned second-team All-Big East honors as a senior.
* Mattee Ajavon of Rutgers scored 24 of her game-high 27 points in the second half to help the U.S. defeat host Brazil 79-66 and win its first Pan American Games women’s title since 1987. Cuba won the bronze medal.
* Former 76ers and Ohio State coach Randy Ayers was hired by the Washington Wizards as an assistant.
GRID: Jury says no to Weis
A Boston jury found against Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis in his malpractice lawsuit against two doctors he claimed botched his care after he had gastric bypass surgery five years ago.
Weis, 51, accused the surgeons of negligence, saying they allowed him to bleed internally for 30 hours before performing a second surgery to correct the complication. Weis nearly died after the 2002 surgery. He testified that he still has numbness and pain in his feet and sometimes has to use a motorized cart.
BASEBALL: Barrett appeals 1-game ban
The Padres’ Michael Barrett was suspended for one game and fined $1,500 yesterday, two days after he was ejected from a game against Philadelphia. Barrett asked the players’ union to appeal the penalty.
* The Angels placed Bartolo Colon on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right elbow. Colon left Monday night’s game after one inning against the A’s.
* Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter had reconstructive elbow surgery yesterday, an operation likely to sideline him for at least a year. The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, out since opening day, had surgery in early May to remove bone spurs and was on a rehab assignment when he developed swelling and stiffness on July 8.
BOXING: Ex-Brit champ shot in face
Former Commonwealth Games medalist and British heavyweight champion James Oyebola, 46, was in critical condition in a London hospital after being shot in the face outside a nightclub where he worked as a bouncer.
Oyebola was shot early Monday after asking three men to stop smoking inside the club in London’s Fulham district. Three suspects, aged between 19 and 25, ran from the club in different directions.