Irandaily | No. 4416 | Sports

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Armstrong’s Lawyer:

No Talks With Anti-Doping Agencies

Lance Armstrong’s attorney denied his client was in discussion with the US or world anti-doping agencies following a report by The New York Times that the disgraced cycling icon was contemplating publicly admitting he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Attorney Tim Herman in an email to CNN Sports late Friday did not address whether Armstrong told associates--as reported by the newspaper--that he was considering the admission as a way to restore his athletic eligibility.
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life last year after the US Anti-Doping Agency found there was overwhelming evidence that he was directly involved in a sophisticated doping program.
Armstrong has repeatedly and vehemently denied that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs as well as illegal blood transfusions during his cycling career.
In the past, Armstrong has argued that he took more than 500 drug tests and never failed. In its 202-page report that detailed Armstrong’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions, the USADA said it had tested Armstrong less than 60 times and the International Cycling Union conducted about 215 tests.
The agency did not say that Armstrong ever failed a test, but his former teammates testified as to how they beat tests or avoided the tests altogether.
The New York Times, citing unnamed associates and anti-doping officials, said Armstrong has been in discussions with USADA officials and hopes to meet with David Howman chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The newspaper said none of the people with knowledge of Armstrong’s situation wanted to be identified because it would jeopardize their access to information on the matter.
Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, an athlete who confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs may be eligible for a reinstatement.
Armstrong has been an icon for his cycling feats and celebrity, bringing more status to a sport wildly popular in some nations but lacking big-name recognition, big money and mass appeal in the United States.
He fought back from testicular cancer to win the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He raised millions via his Lance Armstrong Foundation to help cancer victims and survivors, an effort illustrated by trendy yellow “LiveSTRONG” wristbands that helped bring in the money.
The cyclist’s one-time high-profile relationship with singer Sheryl Crow also kept him in the public eye.
But Armstrong has long been dogged by doping allegations, with compatriot Floyd Landis--who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test--making a series of claims in 2011.
Armstrong sued the US Anti-Doping Agency last year to stop its investigation of him, arguing it did not have the right to prosecute him. But after a federal judge dismissed the case, Armstrong said he would no longer participate in the investigation.

No. 1 Azarenka Ruled Out by Foot Problem

World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka suffered a blow in the preparations to her Australian Open title defense on Friday, pulling out of a much-anticipated rematch with Serena Williams due to a toe problem.
The Belorussian was due to play her US Open final conqueror in the semis of the Brisbane International, her first top-level warm-up event for the season’s opening grand slam--which starts on January 14, BBC wrote.
World No. 2 Maria Sharapova is also battling to be fit for Melbourne, having withdrawn before the beginning of the Brisbane tournament due to a collarbone problem.
“It’s a right toe infection--it’s been there for about 10 days and it’s been getting worse,” Azarenka told reporters.
“I had to take action on it, which I did yesterday--it was a minor surgery, I had to take something out of my toe. And unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to recover to be able to play the semifinals today.”
The 23-year-old won her first grand slam title in Melbourne last January before going on to top the rankings and become the WTA Tour’s leading prize money winner for 2012.
“I had to make sure I could be fully recovered and ready for the Australian Open. It’s a compromise I kind of had to take,” she said.
“The doctor had told me I wouldn’t be able to play for three, four days, but today I saw him in the morning and he said it was actually much better than he thought--he expected a much worse outcome. So maybe two days and I can start slowly.”
Williams, who last month also had toe surgery, will play Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday’s final.
“I had that toe problem just a couple of weeks ago and it’s painful--God, it’s so painful. Doesn’t sound painful, but it is. You can’t walk with that. I hope she gets better fast,” the American said.
“I’m definitely doing enough to prepare and be ready. I feel like even though I didn’t play a match tonight I played some really good matches here.”
Pavlyuchenkova ended the dream run of Lesia Tsurenko, a 116th-ranked Ukrainian who only made it into the main draw as a lucky loser from the qualifiers.
“What can I say about Serena? There’s so much to say--she’s just a great champion,” the world No. 36 said of the Olympic and Wimbledon titleholder.

Sneijder Open to Premier League Move

Wesley Sneijder would consider moving to a top Premier League club but is “absolutely not interested” in joining QPR, says his agent Soren Lerby.
Sneijder has not played for Inter Milan since September because of a contract wrangle and has been linked with QPR.
Lerby told BBC Sport, “He is absolutely not interested in QPR and we haven’t heard directly from anyone there.
“England probably has the top league in Europe, so it could appeal, but Wes would want to play for a top team.”
Inter Milan have told Sneijder, 28, that they will not play him unless he agrees to a big salary cut. The Dutch midfielder has refused, meaning he has not played since 25 September, despite having been fit for the past two months.
Lerby, who represented Ajax, Bayern Munich, Monaco and Denmark during an illustrious playing career, described the links with QPR as “just rumors from an agent”.
He added: “Wesley is one of the best midfielders in Europe. He is fully recovered from injury and just loves to play football, so we need to find a solution to his situation with Inter.
“It’s a very, very strange situation for all of us. We should know a lot more in the next week to 10 days.”
QPR boss Harry Redknapp admitted there was little prospect of signing Sneijder, although he claimed to have been offered the player by an agent.
“I took [the offer] with a pinch of salt,” he said. “What chance have we got of getting Wesley Sneijder? He wouldn’t be coming to QPR, would he?”
Redknapp says he is targeting midfielders Mohamed Diame from West Ham and Jake Livermore from Tottenham.
Diame reportedly has a £3.5m release clause written into his contract at the Hammers.
Redknapp believes the Senegal international would strengthen his team, who are bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety.
“He’s a good player,” said Redknapp. “You’d love to have him here but he belongs to West Ham. If he has a clause in his contract, he’s a player we’d like to have.”
Livermore, who made his England debut against Italy in August, has been made available for loan in the January transfer window and Redknapp is keen to be reunited with a player he managed at Tottenham.

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