LONDON — Cyclists will be offered a chance to confess to past doping offenses without fear of retribution in an attempt to uncover the full scale of the Lance Armstrong scandal and drug use in the sport.
Cycling agrees
to amnesty for doping confessions
LONDON — Cyclists will be offered a chance to confess to past doping offenses without fear of retribution in an attempt to uncover the full scale of the Lance Armstrong scandal and drug use in the sport.
The UCI agreed Friday to introduce a “truth and reconciliation” commission with the World Anti-Doping Agency, cutting out the independent panel established to investigate the governing body’s links to Armstrong.
UCI President Pat McQuaid said he wants to ensure cycling has “drawn a line in the sand finally — and for the last time” on doping scandals that have tarnished the credibility of the sport.
ND pres defends handling of Teo
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Top administrators at Notre Dame decided within hours of hearing about the Manti Teo dead girlfriend hoax that it did not involve a crime and within two days had concluded there was no NCAA violation, according to a letter sent by the university president to board of trustee members on Friday.
The Rev. John Jenkins told trustees that despite “the unrelenting scrutiny of hundreds of journalists and countless others — and repeated attempts by some to create a different impression— no facts relating to the hoax have been at odds with what Manti told us” on Dec. 27-28.
Penn State says Sandusky settlements close
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Penn State’s negotiator for civil claims involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky says the school is in talks with 28 people who have brought claims, 18 more than were connected to his criminal case.
Ken Feinberg told The Associated Press on Friday that the talks could produce settlements in the coming weeks. Feinberg says nobody has pulled out of the negotiations, and he thinks they will be successful in the near future.
Penn State announced in September it was bringing in Feinberg, who helped resolve claims from the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Virginia Tech massacre.
Sandusky, the school’s former assistant football coach, is pursuing appeals after being convicted of sexual abuse of 10 boys.
Minnesota women’s hockey sets NCAA unbeaten mark
MADISON, Wis. — The top-ranked Minnesota women’s hockey team beat Wisconsin 2-0 on Friday, extending its NCAA-record winning streak to 33 and grabbing sole possession of the NCAA mark for consecutive games without a loss or tie.
Hannah Brandt scored just 4:28 into the game and Mira Jalosuo added another goal at 18:02. Minnesota goaltender Noora Raty (23-0-0) had 25 saves in posting the shutout.
Minnesota’s streak began on Feb. 18, 2012, with a 5-2 win over North Dakota in the final regular season game of the year. The Gophers had shared the unbeaten streak of 32 games with Wisconsin, which did it twice: 28-0-4 from Nov. 25 to Oct. 14, 2007, and 30-0-2 from Dec. 4, 2010, to Oct. 14, 2011.
Timberwolves’
Rubio apologizes
for outburst
WASHINGTON — Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio said Friday he has apologized to acting coach Terry Porter for an outburst over the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Rubio was upset that he sat out the final minutes of the Timberwolves’ 91-83 loss Wednesday night. He was especially agitated after he went to check into the game around the 4-minute mark but was called back to the bench when Porter decided to keep J.J. Barea in the game.
“I apologized to him because it came out like I was saying something against him, and I never went against him,” Rubio said following a morning shootaround ahead of Friday night’s game with the Washington Wizards. “It was something against me, by myself, because I was frustrated with me because I didn’t play. It was something that didn’t have to be against him or the team.”
Rubio is on a strict limit of 28 minutes per game since returning last month from reconstructive left knee surgery. He had 4 minutes left on his allotment against the Nets, but Barea hit a 3-pointer while Rubio was waiting at the scorer’s table.
Davis-White post career-best score
in short dance
OMAHA, Neb. — With no competition in the United States, Meryl Davis and Charlie White have to settle for beating themselves.
The Olympic silver medalists and 2011 world champions posted a career high in the short dance Friday in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Their score of 79.02 points topped not only the 76.17 they scored at the 2011 Grand Prix final, but their 76.89 from last year’s U.S. championships.
The International Skating Union only recognizes scores from its events as official records.
No surprise, the monster score put Davis and White well in front. Evan Bates and Madison Chock are more than eight points back (70.80) while 2012 runners-up Maia and Alex Shibutani were third (69.63). The free dance is Saturday, and Davis and White are all but guaranteed a fifth straight title just by showing up.
Delonte West
joins Dallas’ D-League affiliate
FRISCO, Texas — Guard Delonte West was acquired by the Texas Legends on Friday, setting him up in the NBA Development League three months after Dallas released him following a pair of suspensions.
West can sign with any NBA team while playing for the Legends, just as he could have as a free agent after the Mavericks let him go. The Legends acquired him because they were next in line to pick up players from the D-League player pool when West joined it.
White Sox agree to deal with RHP Lindstrom
CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox say they have agreed to a one-year contract with reliever Matt Lindstrom that includes a club option for 2014.
The deal was announced on Friday. Lindstrom will receive $2.3 million next season. The White Sox can then pay him $4 million in 2014 or buy him out for $500,000.
The 32-year-old right-hander was 1-0 with a 2.68 ERA and 40 strikeouts over 46 games with Baltimore and Arizona last season. He was traded to the Diamondbacks on Aug. 26 for left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders and a player to be named later.
Injured Venus Williams out
of Paris, Fed Cup
PARIS — Venus Williams has pulled out of next week’s Open GDF Suez tournament and the upcoming Fed Cup against Italy because of a back injury.
The 26th-ranked Williams said in a statement Friday that she had hoped to take part in the WTA tournament in order to improve her ranking, but that “unfortunately I have a pain in my back which obliges me to rest and so to miss the Parisian event as well as the Fed Cup the week after.”
Pro Bowl won’t
be blacked out
on TV in Hawaii
HONOLULU — The Pro Bowl will avoid a television blackout in Hawaii.
NFL officials said Friday the game set for Sunday has sold enough tickets to allow the game to air live in the state. Officials say there are a limited number of tickets left for the game set for 2 p.m.
By wire sources