Report: Steroids testimony questioned

June 9, 2008

Baseball may still have a steroids problem. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform plans to send letters to commissioner Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, executive director of the player's union, seeking answers to what chairman Henry A. Waxman called "misinformation," the New York Times reported on its website last night. The committee was not told at a 2005 hearing that 2004 testing for performance-enhancing drugs, with positive results significantly lower than they were in the previous year, had been partly shut down for much of the season because of a federal investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative steroid ring, the Times reported. Players who apparently tested positive in 2003 were not tested in 2004 until the final weeks of the season, and might have been notified beforehand. Spokesmen for Selig and Fehr said they testified truthfully.

Two players selected by the Red Sox in last week's amateur draft earned trips to the College World Series. Catcher Tim Federowicz, chosen in the seventh round, drove in three runs for North Carolina, which beat Coastal Carolina, 14-4, to win the Cary (N.C.) Super Regional and reach the CWS for the third straight year. In Houston, reliever Bryan Price, the draft's 45th overall pick, allowed one hit and struck out three in 2 1/3 innings to earn the victory as Rice ousted Texas A&M, 6-5. In other Super Regionals, host Georgia advanced with a 17-8 victory over North Carolina State, host Florida State reached the CWS with an 11-4 victory over Wichita State, host Miami earned its berth with a 4-2 win over Arizona, and host LSU scored five runs in the ninth to beat UC Irvine, 9-7, and stave off elimination . . . Oakland Athletics designated hitter/first baseman Mike Sweeney will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Wednesday and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks . . . Dayan Viciedo, 18, one of Cuba's top prospects, defected and settled in South Florida in hopes of playing in the major leagues. The third baseman began playing in the Cuban majors when he was 15 and was on the roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic . . . Blue Jays outfielder Shannon Stewart was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained ankle, and outfielder Joe Inglett was recalled from Triple A Syracuse . . . Former Red Sox lefthander John Halama earned the win, allowing three runs and four hits over six innings as the Buffalo Bisons defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium. Devern Hansack (2-8), who allowed three earned runs in five innings, lost his fourth straight decision.

Dominik Hasek is expected to announce his retirement, a person in the NHL told the Associated Press last night. The Detroit Red Wings scheduled a news conference for this morning without revealing details. Hasek, 43, won six Vezina Trophies as the NHL's top goaltender and two Hart Trophies as the league's MVP. The star from the Czech Republic lost his job during Detroit's run to the Stanley Cup, being replaced by Chris Osgood in the first round.

Landon Donovan became the fourth youngest player (26 years, 3 months, 4 days) to make 100 international appearances. Donovan played 90 minutes to help the United States tie Argentina, 0-0, in a friendly before 78,682 fans in East Rutherford, N.J. According to the US Soccer Federation, the youngest to make 100 appearances was South Korea's Cha Bum Kun, who was 24 when he reached 100 in 1977. US keeper Tim Howard made four spectacular point-blank saves on Julio Cruz. The Americans open World Cup qualifying against Barbados Sunday in Carson, Calif. . . . Brian Ching scored twice, helping the Houston Dynamo beat visiting Toronto FC, 3-1, in an MLS game . . . Lukas Podolski, who was born in Poland but came to Germany in his childhood and became a German citizen, scored both goals to give Germany a great start at the European Championship with a 2-0 win over Poland in Klagenfurt, Austria. In Vienna, Luka Modric scored on a penalty kick in the fourth minute, and Croatia held on to edge Austria, 1-0.

Dwyane Wade believes his knee will be ready for the Beijing Olympics. The Miami Heat guard, who missed the final 21 games of last season because of chronic soreness in his surgically repaired left knee, said he's been playing 5-on-5 games for about a week with "no problems." . . . Asjha Jones scored 16 points, and the host Connecticut Sun opened the second half with a 19-0 run en route to an 87-79 WNBA victory over the Washington Mystics. In other games, the visiting Sacramento Monarchs beat the New York Liberty, 70-63, and the host Minnesota Lynx beat the San Antonio Silver Stars, 90-78 . . . Seattle Seahawks receiver Bobby Engram, who had a team-record 94 receptions last season, is threatening to skip Seattle's training camp next month. The 35-year-old has skipped voluntary minicamps because he wants more than the final year and $1.7 million he has remaining on his two-year deal . . . Kosuke Kitajima of Japan set a world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, finishing in 2 minutes 7.51 seconds at the Japan Open in Tokyo to take almost a second off the mark set by American Brendan Hansen in 2006. It is the 38th world record set by a swimmer using Speedo's LZR Racer swimsuit since it was introduced in February. Kitajima is contracted to wear a Mizuno swimsuit at the Beijing Olympics, but the Japan Swimming Federation will meet tomorrow to discuss the contract . . . Brad Walker broke an 8-year-old American pole vault record at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., clearing 19 feet 9 3/4 inches to break the record held by Jeff Hartwig (19-9 1/4). Also at Eugene, Liu Xiang of China, the 110-meter world-record holder, was disqualified with a false start . . . Horst Skoff, 39, a former Austrian tennis player who won four ATP Tour titles, died during a business trip to Germany. Austria's tennis federation said Skoff died Saturday of a heart attack.