MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

(Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports."This agreement addresses critical drug issues...

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Baseball-Japan to stick with lucky 'Spiderman' pants

TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japan will stick with their lucky red Spiderman-style pants in their bid to win a third successive World Baseball Classic (WBC) title, head coach Koji Yamamoto said on Monday."We'll be wearing the red pants," Yamamoto told reporters, looking forward to his side's opening game against surprise qualifiers Brazil on March 2 in Fukuoka."Brazil have good pitching. The first game...

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Japan to stick with lucky "Spiderman" pants

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will stick with their lucky red Spiderman-style pants in their bid to win a third successive World Baseball Classic (WBC) title, head coach Koji Yamamoto said on Monday."We'll be wearing the red pants," Yamamoto told reporters, looking forward to his side's opening game against surprise qualifiers Brazil on March 2 in Fukuoka."Brazil have good pitching. The first game will...

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PREVIEW-NFL-49ers' Kaepernick move gets test against Packers

Jan 10 (Reuters) - A bold mid-season quarterback change will get a high-profile test when Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers against Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.Kaepernick replaced signal caller Alex Smith, after the former top draft pick came out with a concussion in Week 10 and San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh decided to make the...

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49ers' Kaepernick move gets test against Packers

(Reuters) - A bold mid-season quarterback change will get a high-profile test when Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers against Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.Kaepernick replaced signal caller Alex Smith, after the former top draft pick came out with a concussion in Week 10 and San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh decided to make the switch...

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AP Sources: Browns meet 2nd time with Whisenhunt

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns are taking a second look at former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, who could rejoin Cleveland following a stint as an assistant 14 years ago.Two people familiar with the meeting said Whisenhunt had a second interview with the Browns on Thursday.Whisenhunt, recently fired after six seasons with the Cardinals, visited the Browns away from their headquarters in Berea, Ohio,...

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Play or Sit: the coaches' quandary

FL wild card playoff football game …more RELATED CONTENTEnlarge PhotoWashington Redskins quarterback …NEW YORK (AP) — At some point, an injured player, even a star like Robert Griffin III, is too hampered to help a team. Deciding when enough is enough is the problem.Redskins coach Mike Shanahan became the target of widespread criticism after Griffin reinjured his right knee in Sunday's 24-14 wild-card...

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Colts' Arians returns to Indy after hospital stay

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians returned to Indianapolis on Monday night after being released from a Baltimore hospital following a 36-hour stay for an undisclosed illness.Team owner Jim Irsay told The Associated Press in a text message that Arians was accompanied by two team doctors, had been medicated and appeared to be on the mend."He was in good spirits (and) is trending...

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UPDATE 2-American Football-Alabama crush Notre Dame to win championship

MIAMI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Alabama's 'Crimson Tide' swept aside Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game on Monday, dominating the 'Fighting Irish' 42-14 to win their third college football title in four years.Notre Dame, 12-0 in the regular season, had been looking for their first national title since 1988 but were all at sea against irresistible Alabama, who set the tone of the game with an utterly...

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Niners-Seahawks a late-season classic

Under normal circumstances, Seattle's CenturyLink Field rocks from the noise of the 12th Man.Imagine how far across Puget Sound the crowd's cheers will reverberate when the Seahawks host the 49ers on Sunday night.The NFL flexed this one to prime time, and it was a wise choice. Although the 49ers (10-3-1) still can win the NFC West even if they fall to Seattle — a win in the finale against Arizona...

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Super Bowl to be streamed online again

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Super Bowl will be streamed online for the second straight year.Last season's game attracted 2.1 million users through the Web. The TV audience was 111.3 million people.The simulcast of the CBS coverage will be available on NFL.com and CBSSports.com. It will also include additional camera angles and in-game highlights.The league said Wednesday that the Saturday wild-card games...

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Leeman Bennett and Jerry Glanville Selected as Head Coaches of the 88th East-West Shrine Game

Venerable coaches to lead teams in college football all-star game benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children.Tampa, FL (PRWEB) December 19, 2012Leeman Bennett and Jerry Glanville have been selected as head coaches of the 88th East-West Shrine Game® benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children®.“We are proud to have two coaches with distinguished careers and a wealth of knowledge of football through...

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Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Dec. 19

Dec. 19 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday:- - - -The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427- - - -National Football LeagueGo, AdrianTwo-thousand yards isn't the goal Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is chasing. He's shooting for Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 set almost 30 years ago. His next challenge - Houston's fifth-ranked rushing...

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Beck: Huskers to be in trouble if heads not right

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is still smarting from that 39-point loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game, and few people outside the state believe the No. 23 Cornhuskers are capable of beating sixth-ranked Georgia in the Capital One Bowl.The challenge for Bo Pelini and his coaches between now and Jan. 1 is to make sure the players have moved on emotionally."If we have a hangover," offensive...

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Athletes lose medals; Armstrong decision pending

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Eight years after winning Olympic medals in Athens, four track and field athletes from eastern Europe were ordered to hand them back Wednesday because of positive doping tests, while Lance Armstrong can hold onto his bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games a little while longer. The International Olympic Committee executive board disqualified four athletes whose 2004...

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Obama election tweet most repeated but Olympics tops on Twitter

(Reuters) - An election victory tweet from President Barack Obama -- "Four more years" with a picture of him hugging his wife -- was the most retweeted ever, but the U.S. election was topped by the Olympics as the most tweeted event this year. Obama's tweet was retweeted (repeated) more than 810,000 times, Twitter said as it published a list of the most tweeted events in 2012. (http://2012.twitter.com/) "Within...

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No. 2 Alabama places 4 on AP All-America team

NEW YORK (AP) — Alabama is No. 1 when it comes to All-Americans. The second-ranked Crimson Tide placed four players on The Associated Press All-America team released Tuesday. Among them was center Barrett Jones, who became a two-time first-team selection. No other team had more than two players selected to the first team. The Tide also led with six players chosen to all three teams. Notre Dame,...

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Tagliabue overturns Saints suspensions

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned the suspensions of four current and former New Orleans Saints players in the league's bounty investigation of the club. Tagliabue, however, found that three of the players engaged in conduct detrimental to the league. He said they participated in a performance pool that rewarded key plays — including hard tackles — that could merit...

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Tom Cruise defends role as "Jack Reacher"

LONDON (Reuters) - Tom Cruise has defended his role as Jack Reacher in the first of what could be a new action movie franchise, despite being much slimmer and shorter than the character created by author Lee Child in the original books. Cruise told Reuters Television at the world premiere in London on Monday of "Jack Reacher" that he would not have taken the part if British thriller writer Child...

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Messi edges Falcao at top of AP soccer rankings

LONDON (AP) — Lionel Messi narrowly stayed on top of AP's Global Soccer Rankings this week despite breaking the record for goals in a calendar year. The Barcelona great finished one point ahead of Spanish league rival Radamel Falcao, who scored five goals for Atletico Madrid. Barcelona lost its top spot in the team rankings to Manchester United, which beat Manchester City 3-2 to stay in first place...

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