NEW YORK — Melky Cabrera ended the debate over whether a suspended drug cheat should be able to win a batting title. The San Francisco outfielder asked Major League Baseball officials to disqualify him and on Friday they agreed.With less than two weeks left in the regular season and Cabrera on track to win the National League batting championship, MLB and the players' association reached a deal on a one-season-only change in the rule governing the individual batting, slugging and on-base percentage champions.Serving a 50-game suspension, Cabrera entered Friday with a league-leading .346 average, seven points ahead of Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen. Cabrera, the All-Star Game MVP, was suspended Aug. 15 for a positive test for testosterone and is missing the final 45 games of the regular season."He was just manning up and saying he was wrong," said McCutchen, who is four points ahead of San Francisco's Buster Posey. "It was man of him to do that. I guess he thought that was the right thing to do, and I commend him for doing that."Cabrera had 501 plate appearances, one short of the required minimum, but would have won the title under section 10.22(a) of the Official Baseball Rules if an extra hitless at-bat were added to his average and he still finished ahead. With Friday's agreement, that provision won't apply this year to a player who "served a drug suspension for violating the Joint Drug Program."The process for the change was set in motion Wednesday evening when Cabrera's agent, Seth Levinson, sent an email to union head Michael Weiner with an attached letter from Cabrera in English and Spanish."I ask the Players Association to take the necessary steps, in conjunction with the Office of the Commissioner, to remove my name from for the National League batting title," Cabrera wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press."To be plain, I personally have no wish to win an award that would widely be seen as tainted, and I believe that it would be far better for the remaining contenders to compete for that distinction," Cabrera wrote. "So too, the removal of my name from consideration will permit me to focus on my goal of working hard upon my return to baseball so that I may be able to win that distinction in a season played in full compliance with league rules. To be plain, I plan to work hard to vindicate myself in that very manner."Lawyers from MLB and the union finished drafting the change on Friday."Major League Baseball will comply with Mr. Cabrera's request," commissioner Bud Selig said. "I respect his gesture as a sign of his regret and his desire to move forward, and I believe that, under these circumstances, the outcome is appropriate, particularly for Mr. Cabrera's peers who are contending for the batting crown."On Wednesday morning, Selig had said "we generally don't interfere" in the batting title issue.Cabrera then took the initiative."It goes without saying that the last couple of months have been painful for Melky and he has certainly paid a significant price for the mistake that he made," Levinson wrote in the email, also obtained by the AP. "He wants to show the baseball world that he is remorseful and worthy of a second chance."
Showing posts with label pulls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pulls. Show all posts
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
NFL pulls ref for being Saints fan
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — The NFL removed a replacement official from the New Orleans-Carolina game because it discovered he's a Saints fan.The NFL made the decision just hours before kickoff."He was replaced because of the information that surfaced disclosing that he is a Saints fan," league spokesman Michael Signora said.The league will look further into the matter. It received several phone calls and emails about Brian Stropolo, who is from New Orleans and posted several photos of himself in Saints gear tailgating at a preseason game on his Facebook page.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Nishikori pulls out of French Open
PARIS — Kei Nishikori pulled out of the French Open on Tuesday having failed to recover from a stomach injury, the world No. 18 revealed on his Facebook page.The 22-year-old made history earlier this year when he became the first Japanese man to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals, but his preparations for Paris were effected by the injury he suffered in Barcelona in April.He was subsequently forced to skip the Madrid and Rome Masters."I am very disappointed that I won't be able to play in Paris this year," said Nishikori."Following the last Grand Slam, I was looking forward to playing in the second Grand Slam of the year. I will continue my rehab and plan to be back on the Tour as early as I can."Nishikori is the second top 20 player to pull out of the French Open after American No. 10 Mardy Fish opted not to play because of fatigue.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Japan pulls out of skiing event
Oberstdorf, Germany — Japan pulled out of a Nordic combined World Cup team event Saturday after Yoshito Watabe suffered a fall in the ski jump.The Japanese team of Yoshito and Akito Watabe, Yusuke Minato and Taihei Kato was sixth going into the cross country, due to start 1.6 seconds behind leader Austria.Watabe, however, injured his knee after a jump of 122 meters, forcing Japan to withdraw.Norway came from behind to win the 20-km cross country in 51 minutes, 36.7 seconds, one-tenth of a second ahead of Germany.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Mao pulls out of GP Final as mother falls critically ill
QUEBEC CITY — Mao Asada hastily returned to Japan on Friday evening after withdrawing from the Grand Prix Final in Canada because her mother Kyoko is in a critical condition.
Medal contender: Risa Shoji competes in the short program at the Grand Prix Final on Thursday. Shoji is in fourth place heading into Friday's free skate. KYODOAccording to her management company IMG, Mao's 48-year-old mother is suffering from visceral disease and her health has been deteriorating since last summer.The Vancouver Olympic silver medalist, also a two-time world champion, walked through Narita airport without answering questions from reporters.Her coach Nobuo Sato, who accompanied Mao to Japan, said, "A phone call woke me up in the morning and I was told to be ready in 30 minutes, so I rushed to the airport (in Canada) without washing my face.""Mao had just one practice session in Quebec and she was in good form. But now there is nothing we can do about the competition. I told her we'll get over this crisis together first," he said.Mao was going to skate for her third Grand Prix Final title after having finished second at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo in mid-November and first at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow two weeks later."The Japan Skating Federation informed the International Skating Union this morning of the withdrawal of Japanese skater Mao Asada," ISU spokeswoman Selina Vanier said."Miss Asada received news early this morning that her mother (Kyoko) is in a critical condition in Japan and she has decided to return home to Japan accompanied by her coach Mr. (Nobuo) Sato.""On behalf of the ISU and the skating family we would like to express our deepest concern and wish the Asada family all the best at this difficult time and thank the Japan Federation for their care and concern for their athletes," she said.JSF official Yoshiko Kobayashi quoted Mao as saying she had "really caused trouble," by withdrawing from the event. Kobayashi did not give any details on the nature of Mao's mother's illness."I got a call from Mao's manager at about 5:20 this morning telling me that her mother's condition had suddenly deteriorated and she went home this morning," Kobayashi said."Mao has been skating well this season, she got this far and this event really meant so much to her," she added.The announcement opened a news conference for ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta, who said that the women's competition would be contested by five finalists as it was too late to bring in reserves.The women's short program is scheduled for Friday followed by the free program on Saturday. Akiko Suzuki is the other Japanese representative in the women's event.Americans Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner and Russia's Adelina Sotnikova were listed as the three substitutes."I wish first of all to reconfirm our sentiments toward the Asada family for this situation but it is my duty to take the matter under a sport point of view," said Cinquanta.Mao was looking to complete a meteoric rise from the ashes in what would have been her first Grand Prix Final appearance since 2008.The 21-year-old failed to win a single event in the worst season of her competitive career in 2010-2011, but headed into the final with confidence sky high after a pair of strong performances in November.Mao finished second behind Suzuki at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo before ending a three-year GP title drought at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, despite leaving out her trademark triple axel jump.QUEBEC CITY — Risa Shoji placed fourth after the women's short program at the Junior Grand Prix Final on Thursday.Shoji, 15, under-rotated a triple lutz and had relatively low scores on her spins to score 51.53 points. Russian's Julia Lipnitskaia led with 59.98, followed by compatriot Polina Shelepen with 54.99. American Vanessa Lam was third with 54.34."I had a few minor mistakes but I feel I moved well and am quite relieved," said Shoji, who narrowly missed out on a medal at this event last year in Beijing."I was still green when I competed last year but I feel a bit more used to being in this event now. I did well in the short program and hopefully I can build on that in the free skate."In Beijing, Shoji and China's Li Zijun both finished with a total of 149.82, but Li took the bronze medal after placing fourth with a better score in the free skate, one position higher than Shoji.QUEBEC CITY — Reigning world champion Patrick Chan of Canada apologized Thursday for comments he made in an interview suggesting he would be more appreciated if he skated in China than Canada.Chan was quoted in a Reuters story Thursday as saying he felt more Canadian several years ago but was "slowly feeling more Chinese." He said he should appreciate where he has come from because of the support he gets from the Chinese community in Canada.Speaking to reporters after practice at the Grand Prix Final, Chan said, "I would like to apologize . . . It's not like me to say those things. I know that it was a mistake and it was taken out of context . . ."
Medal contender: Risa Shoji competes in the short program at the Grand Prix Final on Thursday. Shoji is in fourth place heading into Friday's free skate. KYODOAccording to her management company IMG, Mao's 48-year-old mother is suffering from visceral disease and her health has been deteriorating since last summer.The Vancouver Olympic silver medalist, also a two-time world champion, walked through Narita airport without answering questions from reporters.Her coach Nobuo Sato, who accompanied Mao to Japan, said, "A phone call woke me up in the morning and I was told to be ready in 30 minutes, so I rushed to the airport (in Canada) without washing my face.""Mao had just one practice session in Quebec and she was in good form. But now there is nothing we can do about the competition. I told her we'll get over this crisis together first," he said.Mao was going to skate for her third Grand Prix Final title after having finished second at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo in mid-November and first at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow two weeks later."The Japan Skating Federation informed the International Skating Union this morning of the withdrawal of Japanese skater Mao Asada," ISU spokeswoman Selina Vanier said."Miss Asada received news early this morning that her mother (Kyoko) is in a critical condition in Japan and she has decided to return home to Japan accompanied by her coach Mr. (Nobuo) Sato.""On behalf of the ISU and the skating family we would like to express our deepest concern and wish the Asada family all the best at this difficult time and thank the Japan Federation for their care and concern for their athletes," she said.JSF official Yoshiko Kobayashi quoted Mao as saying she had "really caused trouble," by withdrawing from the event. Kobayashi did not give any details on the nature of Mao's mother's illness."I got a call from Mao's manager at about 5:20 this morning telling me that her mother's condition had suddenly deteriorated and she went home this morning," Kobayashi said."Mao has been skating well this season, she got this far and this event really meant so much to her," she added.The announcement opened a news conference for ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta, who said that the women's competition would be contested by five finalists as it was too late to bring in reserves.The women's short program is scheduled for Friday followed by the free program on Saturday. Akiko Suzuki is the other Japanese representative in the women's event.Americans Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner and Russia's Adelina Sotnikova were listed as the three substitutes."I wish first of all to reconfirm our sentiments toward the Asada family for this situation but it is my duty to take the matter under a sport point of view," said Cinquanta.Mao was looking to complete a meteoric rise from the ashes in what would have been her first Grand Prix Final appearance since 2008.The 21-year-old failed to win a single event in the worst season of her competitive career in 2010-2011, but headed into the final with confidence sky high after a pair of strong performances in November.Mao finished second behind Suzuki at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo before ending a three-year GP title drought at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, despite leaving out her trademark triple axel jump.QUEBEC CITY — Risa Shoji placed fourth after the women's short program at the Junior Grand Prix Final on Thursday.Shoji, 15, under-rotated a triple lutz and had relatively low scores on her spins to score 51.53 points. Russian's Julia Lipnitskaia led with 59.98, followed by compatriot Polina Shelepen with 54.99. American Vanessa Lam was third with 54.34."I had a few minor mistakes but I feel I moved well and am quite relieved," said Shoji, who narrowly missed out on a medal at this event last year in Beijing."I was still green when I competed last year but I feel a bit more used to being in this event now. I did well in the short program and hopefully I can build on that in the free skate."In Beijing, Shoji and China's Li Zijun both finished with a total of 149.82, but Li took the bronze medal after placing fourth with a better score in the free skate, one position higher than Shoji.QUEBEC CITY — Reigning world champion Patrick Chan of Canada apologized Thursday for comments he made in an interview suggesting he would be more appreciated if he skated in China than Canada.Chan was quoted in a Reuters story Thursday as saying he felt more Canadian several years ago but was "slowly feeling more Chinese." He said he should appreciate where he has come from because of the support he gets from the Chinese community in Canada.Speaking to reporters after practice at the Grand Prix Final, Chan said, "I would like to apologize . . . It's not like me to say those things. I know that it was a mistake and it was taken out of context . . ."Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Klitschko pulls out of Mormeck bout
FRANKFURT — Wladimir Klitschko's management company says the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight champion has pulled out of his fight against French challenger Jean-Marc Mormeck after having an operation to remove a kidney stone.The fight had been scheduled for Saturday in Duesseldorf.Klitschko suffered abdominal pains at his training camp in Austria on Friday. The 35-year-old was taken to Innsbruck for initial treatment before being transferred to a Duesseldorf hospital. The stone was removed on Saturday but Klitschko returned to the hospital on Sunday before a scheduled television appearance.
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