In brief: Gonzalez suspended by Japanese baseball
Former major leaguer Luis Gonzalez was suspended for one year by Japanese baseball for failing a drug test.
Gonzalez, an infielder with the Yomiuri Giants who once played with the Colorado Rockies, tested positive for amphetamines. Amphetamines are banned by Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball.
“This is a big setback,” Japanese baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro said Monday. “What we need to do is to handle the matter properly in order to prevent something like this happening again.”
Soccer
FIFA bans Iraq
Iraq’s soccer federation was suspended from international competition for one year because of the decision by its government to disband all national sports governing bodies.
FIFA’s executive committee made the decision and said it would revoke the ban if it received by Thursday “written confirmation from the Iraqi government that the decree has been annulled.”
Horse racing
Big Brown recovering
Twelve days before the Belmont Stakes, hoof specialist Ian McKinlay began repairing a quarter crack to the left front hoof of Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown.
He carved a little trench along the slight crack and stitched it up with stainless steel wire. It was another step in a several-days process that would allow Big Brown to resume training as early as Wednesday for his attempt to become the first Triple Crown champion in 30 years.
“Divine Park rallied to beat even-money favorite Commentator by two lengths in the $600,000 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in New York.
Alan Garcia was aboard as Divine Park won the biggest race of his career, earning $360,000 for James J. Barry.
Divine Park, the 2-1 second choice of the holiday crowd of 12,562, paid $6.50, $3.40 and $2.70. Commentator returned $3.10 and $2.60. Lord Snowdon paid $5.90 to show.
Miscellany
Singh out of Memorial
Vijay Singh withdrew from the Memorial golf tournament because of a rib injury sustained last week, and Ernie Els said on his Web site he won’t be playing until next week.
That would leave the Memorial with six of the top 10 golfers from the world ranking. Tiger Woods, recovering from April 15 surgery on his left knee, did not enter last week and Adam Scott decided not to play.
“Virginia’s Somdev Devvarman won his second straight NCAA men’s singles title by beating Tennessee’s J.P. Smith 6-3, 6-2 in Tulsa, Okla.
Georgia Tech’s Amanda McDowell defeated 2005 champion Zuzana Zemenova 6-2, 6-3 to win the women’s singles tennis title.
“Syracuse won its 10th NCAA men’s lacrosse championship in Foxborough, Mass., beating defending champion Johns Hopkins 13-10 behind three goals from Dan Hardy.
“Ridouane Harroufi won the Bolder Boulder 10k run with a time of 28 minutes, 32 seconds in Boulder, Colo.