Off the Wire

Off the Wire

FOOTBALL

Report: Gordon fails drug test

The Cleveland Browns say they are disappointed about a report that troubled wide receiver JoshGordon has failed another drug test and could be facing a one-year NFL ban. ESPN, citing anonymous sources, first reported Gordon's failed test. Pro Football Talk said Gordon tested positive for alcohol. In a statement on Sunday, the Browns declined further comment due to "the confidential nature of the NFL's substance abuse policy." The Browns said they have not been notified by the league of a failed test. Gordon, 23, was suspended for 10 games last season for another violation of the league's drug policy. He appeared in just five games and was suspended by the Browns for violating team rules before the season finale. The 23-year-old led the league with 1,646 yards receiving in 2013. League spokesman BrianMcCarthy and agent DrewRosenhaus each declined comment.

Aaron Hernandez once seemed to be a man with a bright future. At age 23 he had a Super Bowl appearance under his belt and a $40 million contract as a tight end with the New England Patriots. This week, prosecutors will paint a different picture: of a man they say orchestrated the shooting of Odin Lloyd in June 2013. Lloyd's bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park near Hernandez's mansion in the Boston suburbs. Hernandez's trial kicks off in earnest with opening statements this week. He has pleaded innocent. The case will be laid out in the courtroom just as Hernandez's old team prepares for Sunday's Super Bowl, the Patriots' first appearance in the game since 2012 -- when Hernandez helped get them there.

BASEBALL

Banks died of heart attack

Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks died after a heart attack, an attorney representing the Hall of Famer's family said Sunday. With Banks' widow standing nearby at a news conference at a downtown hotel, Mark Bogen said Banks had the heart attack Friday in Chicago and died later that day. He did not provide any other details. Bogen said the family is still planning a funeral and that details would soon be released. "I want you to know that he was very beloved and he is going to be dearly missed by family, friends and all his fans," Liz Banks said. Banks spent his entire 19-year career with the Cubs. He hit 512 home runs, was twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was the team's first black player and is still considered the greatest Cubs player by many and the club's most beloved player. That has been evident in the days since Banks' death. In tribute after tribute, people from around the city and the nation have praised Banks not just for his play, but for his remarkably sunny disposition during his career and in the years since he retired. "Ernie Banks was a great player and an even better person," Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. "He was a kind gentle man who loved his fans as much as they loved him."

• Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun said his right hand feels significantly better following an offseason procedure to fix nerve damage near his thumb. The veteran slugger said Sunday that he started hitting a little earlier than he usually does in the offseason. Braun had a procedure known as cryotherapy in early October to address the lingering injury. He hit .266 with 19 home runs and 81 RBI in 135 games in 2014. The team missed the playoffs last year after a September collapse, due mainly to hitting woes. The Brewers and Braun say his first real test will come when the former NL MVP begins facing live pitching at spring training next month.

BASKETBALL

Jennings out for season

Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings will miss the rest of the season after he ruptured his left Achilles tendon. Jennings was injured in the third quarter of Saturday night's 101-86 loss at Milwaukee. It's a huge blow for Detroit, which had rebounded after a terrible start. Jennings had an MRI on Sunday that confirmed the injury, which will require surgery. The Pistons say "team medical personnel will work with Brandon and his representatives in determining the next course of action," and no timetable is being placed on Jennings' return at this time. Jennings, 25, averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 assists in 41 games this season. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Saturday night that D.J. Augustin will have to play a bigger role with Jennings out.

AUTO RACING

Ganassi wins Rolex 24

Scott Dixon drove a gritty and long final leg to lead Chip Ganassi Racing and its "star car" to a record sixth victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The three-time IndyCar champion relieved NASCAR's reigning rookie of the year, Kyle Larson, with 3 hours, 32 minutes remaining in the twice-round-the-clock endurance race. Dixon was tasked with conserving fuel and making no mistakes, and he delivered. The team of Dixon, Larson, Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray and Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan beat defending race winner Action Express Racing by 1.33 seconds. McMurray became just the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and the Rolex, joining AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti. Ganassi has six victories in 12 attempts.

• Fox Sports will use a rotation of drivers, including Jeff Gordon, in its coverage of NASCAR's second-tier XFINITY Series this season. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast 12 races this year while two will be on Fox. Adam Alexander will do play-by-play alongside Michael Waltrip and current Sprint Cup drivers that include Gordon, reigning champion Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Fox did not specify which races the four-time champion will call. Gordon said Thursday that this season will be his last as a full-time driver, but promised he'd remain active in NASCAR. He did not reveal what he would do, though, after 2015.

• Defending world rally champion Sebastien Ogier of France began his title defense with a victory at the season-opening Monte Carlo rally Sunday, finishing ahead of Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway as Volkswagen swept the podium places. Ogier led Latvala by 42.8 seconds overnight and increased his lead after Sunday's three stages to finish 58 seconds ahead of Latvala and more than two minutes clear of Mikkelsen. Ogier, 31, was only interested in protecting his lead and drove cautiously, failing to win a stage Saturday or Sunday. Citroen driver Mads Ostberg of Norway finished fourth. Retired nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb of France -- driving as a guest at the race -- won Sunday's penultimate stage and finished eighth overall.

SKIING

Vonn captures 64th title

Lindsey Vonn provisionally won a super-G on Sunday for a record-extending 64th World Cup victory. The American star mastered a tricky gate-setting to complete the course in 1 minute, 23.55 seconds. Anna Fenninger of Austria was runner-up for a seventh time this season, 0.24 back as the only racer to finish within a second of Vonn. Nicole Hosp of Austria was third, 1.10 behind Vonn. Tina Maze of Slovenia and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein were both caught out by the second-last gate, failing to make a tight left-hand turn when challenging for a top-three finish. Vonn now leads the super-G standings from Fenninger, who is also second to Maze in the overall points race. The result was unofficial as lower-ranker racers were yet to start.

Sports on 01/26/2015

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