Off the wire

OLYMPICS

IOC, USOC subpoenaed

United States prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas in a far-reaching investigation of international sports corruption, seeking new information about some of the biggest sports organizations in the world -- including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee -- as well as the people who have successfully lobbied to host top global competitions. The Justice Department is exploring possible racketeering, money laundering and honest services fraud charges related to two track and field world championship events and the business executives who have consulted on bids for various other elite competitions, according to one of the subpoenas, which was obtained by The New York Times. The subpoenas, delivered in January, have solicited documents, testimony and financial records dating to 2013. Since that time, the United States has won bids to host two major sports events: the 2021 track and field world championships, in Eugene, Ore., and the 2028 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. The subpoena did not explicitly refer to the Los Angeles Olympic bid. Of particular interest to the Justice Department, according to the subpoena, is the world governing body for track and field, known as the IAAF. That federation awarded the sport's 2019 world championships to Doha, Qatar, and the 2021 event to Eugene. The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York.

IOC to use old bottles

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has recommended to the International Olympic Committee that it use 2016 doping sample bottles for the upcoming Winter Olympics after the agency's inquiry into the 2017 version showed the bottles could be re-opened after a sample was produced. The IOC said it was "very concerned" about claims the new sample bottles, provided by Swiss manufacturer Berlinger, could be opened, and the Swedish anti-doping agency said it would stop using them. WADA said in a statement Wednesday it had confirmed that a proportion of the new generation of BEREG-KIT Geneva security bottles were "susceptible to manual opening without evidence of tampering, whether they have been frozen or not." Those security bottles were introduced in September 2017. WADA said it had sourced enough of the 2016 doping sample bottles, which were first used at the Rio Olympics, to cover the entire testing program for the Pyeongchang Games, which start Feb. 9 in South Korea.

BASKETBALL

Cousins has surgery

The New Orleans Pelicans said front-court All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has had surgery to repair his ruptured left Achilles tendon. The operation was performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Los Angeles. Ferkel said the surgery "went very well" and that Cousins is expected to make "a full recovery and be able to return to basketball after an intensive rehabilitation program." The Pelicans said Cousins will miss the remainder of this season but no timeline for his return has been announced. Cousins, 27, has averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season and is due to become a free agent this offseason.

BASEBALL

Avila, D'backs do deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized an $8.25 million, two-year contract with free agent catcher Alex Avila. Avila fills a roster spot vacated by Chris Iannetta, who shared the catching duties last year and left for an $8.5 million, two-year deal with Colorado. Avila, 31, a son of Detroit general manager Al Avila, hit .264 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI last year for the Tigers and Chicago Cubs, who acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline. He is a .243 hitter in nine major league seasons. Avila joins Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as the Diamondbacks' catchers. Arizona opened a roster spot by designating outfielder Rey Fuentes for assignment on Wednesday.

Oscar Gamble, 68, dies

Oscar Gamble, an outfielder who hit 200 home runs over 17 major league seasons, has died of a rare tumor of the jaw. He was 68. Gamble, recognizable during his playing days for an Afro that spilled out of his helmet, died Wednesday at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., according to his second wife, Lovell Woods Gamble. She said he was diagnosed with a benign tumor of the jaw, ameloblastoma, about nine years ago. It became ameloblastic carcinoma in 2016 and he had the first of several operations that August. He entered the hospital on Jan. 22. She said he never chewed tobacco. Gamble spent seven seasons with the New York Yankees in two stints, playing for AL pennant winners in 1976 and 1981. He lived in Montgomery.

All 30 teams extend nets

Watching a baseball game will be safer in all major league ballparks during the 2018 season. The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays announced on Wednesday they would extend the protective netting behind the dugouts in their ballparks in time for opening day, meaning all 30 teams have decided to exceed the recommendations for enhanced safety issued by Commissioner Rob Manfred in December 2015. The announcement came a day before Manfred was expected to issue a mandate at baseball's quarterly owners meetings in Los Angeles that all teams must extend their netting to at least the far end of the dugouts by the beginning of the coming season. A league spokesman said the announcements by the Diamondbacks and the Rays on Wednesday rendered a commissioner's mandate unnecessary.

TENNIS

Azarenka gets wild card

Victoria Azarenka has been awarded a wild card into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open after being off the tour for months because of a custody dispute involving her son. She will return to the California desert after missing last year's tournament following the birth of her son. The former top-ranked player won at Indian Wells in 2012 and 2016. Azarenka had requested wild cards into Auckland and the Australian Open to start the year, but she withdrew from both events. The custody dispute had limited her travel. She will have a protected ranking when she returns. Azarenka has reunited with coach Slava Konikov, who resigned last week as Sacramento State men's coach to work with her. He coached Azarenka from 1998-02, when she was the world's top-ranked junior player.

NCAA

Modifications to transfer rules under consideration

Sweeping changes could be coming to college athletics, ones that could possibly allow athletes to transfer schools without restrictions if their coach was fired or left to take a new job.

The proposal, first reported by Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com on Tuesday, is just an early recommendation and not in any way the final opinion of the Division I Transfer Working Group, which has been working since last fall to come up with a suitable way to modify the existing NCAA transfer model.

The current version of the transfer rules forces a player to sit out an academic year if they chose to transfer schools. Players must also receive permission from their current school to transfer and even if permission is granted, a coach can establish restrictions on where they can continue their careers.

It’s a controversial piece of legislation that’s been scrutinized over and over again, especially lately with the increased turnover among coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Twenty schools made coaching changes in 2017 with 15 of those moves made after Nov. 12.

Critics question the validity of punishing an athlete for a change of heart while coaches have the ability to move around basically without impunity.

The recommendation, which was submitted by the Big 12, would be tied to academics.

Some of the situations in the proposal that would permit a student-athlete to transfer are:

The student-athlete earned a baccalaureate degree at the original institution.

The student-athlete’s head coach at the original institution resigned or was fired during or after the most recent season of competition, except that the student-athlete is not immediately eligible at another institution at which the head coach is employed.

Sanctions have been imposed on the original institution that limit postseason competition in the student-athlete’s sport.

The student-athlete did not receive athletically related financial aid at the original institution.

The Division I Transfer Working Group is expected to push its recommendations in June, possibly making it available for the 2018-19 season or later.

Sports on 02/01/2018

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