Times wires
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Cycling
Report: Armstrong pushed doping
Lance Armstrong and other team leaders encouraged, promoted and took part in a doping program in an effort to win the Tour de France in 1999 and beyond, former teammate Tyler Hamilton said during a report aired Sunday on 60 Minutes.
Hamilton said he saw Armstrong take performance-enhancing drugs, EPO and testosterone and saw him receive a banned blood transfusion in 2000.
"I feel bad that I had to go here and do this," Hamilton said in his first public admission of doping. "But I think at the end of the day, like I said, long term, the sport's going to be better for it."
Team leaders, including doctors and managers, encouraged and supervised doping, Hamilton said.
Armstrong, who won the Tour each year from 1999 to 2005, has denied doping and has never tested positive.
On Sunday, his attorney, Mark Fabiani, released a statement deriding the CBS report.
"Throughout this entire process, CBS has demonstrated a serious lack of journalistic fairness and has elevated sensationalism over responsibility," Fabiani said. "CBS chose to rely on dubious sources while completely ignoring Lance's nearly 500 clean tests and the hundreds of former teammates and competitors who would have spoken about his work ethic and talent."
Tour of California: Chris Horner, 39, won the title in Thousand Oaks, holding off RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer by 38 seconds.
Giro d'Italia: Alberto Contador extended his lead, and Mikel Nieve Ituralde won the 15th stage in Val di Fassa. Contador leads Michele Scarponi by 4:20 in the overall standings.
Boxing
At 46, Hopkins oldest to capture major title
Bernard Hopkins, 46, became the oldest fighter to win a major world championship, taking the WBC light heavyweight title by unanimous decision from Jean Pascal, 28, late Saturday in Montreal.
Hopkins (52-5-2) broke the age record set by George Foreman in a heavyweight title victory over Michael Moorer in 1994. Hopkins won at 46 years, 4 months, 6 days. Foreman was 45 years, 10 months.
"I won't retire until I'm 50," said Hopkins, who won the WBC, IBO and Ring magazine titles as Pascal (26-2-1) made his fifth defense.
Et cetera
Horses: Preakness winner Shackleford and Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom could meet in the Belmont Stakes on June 11. Dale Romans said he wants to watch Shackleford train for a couple of days before deciding on whether to run in the 1½-mile Belmont in New York. Graham Motion plans to give Animal Kingdom a week to see how he comes out of his latest race. … With nine wins in 23 races at Churchill Downs, Ready's Rocket became the first horse with that many victories at the historic track in Louisville, Ky., since 1991, the first year Equibase gathered detailed information.
Gymnastics: The world championships will be Oct. 7-16 in Tokyo as planned, despite earlier concerns about radiation levels after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the International Gymnastics Federation said.
Soccer: Blackpool and Birmingham were relegated from the English Premier League. Blackpool lost 4-2 at Manchester United, and Birmingham conceded a last-minute goal at Tottenham to lose 2-1. West Ham had already been demoted. The loss of television revenue means relegation costs a club about $65 million. … Carlo Ancelotti was fired as Chelsea manager after a season without a trophy, leaving a year after he led the club to EPL and FA Cup titles.
Times wires