Report: Gibbons received steroids, HGH

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons received performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone after both substances were banned by baseball, SI.com reported yesterday. Gibbons is the latest athlete to be linked to the Florida pharmacy under investigation for illegally distributing prescription medications. Major League Baseball asked Friday to meet with St. Louis's Rick Ankiel and Toronto's Troy Glaus after two reports said they received performance-enhancing drugs from Signature Pharmacy several years ago. Between October 2003 and July 2005, Gibbons got six shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic human growth hormone), two shipments of testosterone, and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), SI.com said, citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list. SI.com said its information dealt only with receipt of the drugs, not use. Gibbons didn't immediately return a message left on his cell phone by the Associated Press. Prescriptions that were written in Gibbons's name were sent to a Gilbert, Ariz., address that traces to the Baltimore outfielder, SI.com said. The 30-year-old Gibbons underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month to repair a torn labrum. The procedure ended his worst year in the majors - he batted .230 with only six homers and 28 RBIs in 84 games.

The Orioles placed American League strikeout leader Erik Bedard on the 60-day disabled list, opting to end his season rather than wait for the injured lefthander to rebound from a strained muscle near his right rib cage. Bedard finishes 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and a club-record 221 strikeouts. He has not pitched since Aug. 26. The Orioles replaced Bedard on the 40-man roster with righthander Victor Zambrano, whose minor league contract was purchased from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash . . . Tigers manager Jim Leyland said the team will probably shut down righthander Jeremy Bonderman because of a nagging elbow injury that is not getting better. Bonderman gave up six runs and seven hits in 1 1/3 innings - matching the shortest outing of his five-year career - in yesterday's 14-7 loss to Seattle. Bonderman is scheduled to have his elbow examined today . . . The Yankees recalled lefthanders Sean Henn and Kei Igawa and righthanders Matt DeSalvo and Jeff Karstens from Triple A Scranton. The Yankees also called up outfielder Bronson Sardinha from their Triple A club and purchased the contract of righthander Ross Ohlendorf.

Dario Franchitti topped off the season with an unlikely victory at Chicagoland Speedway at Joliet, Ill., winning his first IndyCar Series title in what might be his farewell to open-wheel racing. The difference for Franchitti in the PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 was his ability to squeeze out half a lap more than Scott Dixon on their final load of fuel, with the New Zealander running out of ethanol while leading two turns from the end of the 200-lap race. "It's been a crazy season," said Franchitti. "There were times when we thought we were looking really good and times when things just wouldn't go right. But we got some of our mojo back from the middle of the season, so I couldn't be happier." The 34-year-old Franchitti is expected to leave the IndyCar Series for NASCAR in 2008, joining rival team owner Chip Ganassi's Nextel Cup team . . . Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, beating Lewis Hamilton and closing to within three points of his McLaren teammate at the top of the drivers' standings. With four races left, Hamilton leads the standings with 92 points, while Alonso has 89. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third, is third with 74 points. Alonso, the two-time defending Formula One champion, won for the fourth time this season. He beat Hamilton by more than six seconds, completing 53 laps in 1 hour 18 minutes 37.806 seconds.

Brazil overcame a tentative start, shimmying and weaving around defenders and getting a go-ahead goal on Ronaldinho's free kick late in the second half to rally past the United States, 4-2, in a wide-open exhibition game in Chicago. It was the fifth straight defeat for the US, its longest losing streak since 1994, and the Americans dropped to 1-12 against Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion ranked No. 1 in the world. Carlos Bocanegra and former Revolution star Clint Dempsey scored for the US . . . Mexico defeated Panama, 1-0, on an own-goal by Felipe Baloy in an exhibition game in Puebla, Mexico, that was abandoned after the first half because of heavy rain. Mexico will play Brazil in Foxborough Wednesday . . . Maykel Galindo scored two goals and Chivas USA ran its MLS unbeaten streak to five games with a 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls at Carson, Calif. . . . Nigeria won the under-17 World Cup soccer championship for the third time, beating Spain in Seoul in a penalty-kick shootout after a scoreless tie. Nigeria scored three goals in the shootout . . . Victor Nunez's penalty kick turned out to be the winner as Costa Rica beat Honduras in an FIFA-sanctioned exhibition game in East Hartford.

Nastia Liukin of the US saved her best for last, winning the balance beam title, while teammate and new all-around champion Shawn Johnson won the floor exercise to add yet another gold medal to her collection from the world gymnastics championships in Stuttgart, Germany. That gives the US women four of the six gold medals at worlds, and they won seven medals overall, including Liukin's silver on the uneven bars and Alicia Sacramone's silver on floor and her bronze on vault. Sacramone, of Winchester, dazzled in her floor routine, but a slight skid at the end of one tumbling pass was the difference between silver and gold. She finished .025 behind Johnson . . . Former Houston Rockets guard Vassilis Spanoulis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead Greece over Croatia, 81-78, at the European basketball championships at Madrid. Earlier, Joao Gomes had 23 points and 11 rebounds to help Portugal beat Israel, 94-85 . . . Italian Leonardo Piepoli won the ninth stage of the Spanish Vuelta in Cerler, edging 2005 champion Denis Menchov, who took the overall lead. Piepoli won the 104-mile stage in 3:28:21.