The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
League clears Manning of HGH allegations
The NFL says it found no credible evidence that Peyton Manning was provided with human growth hormone or other prohibited substances as alleged in a documentary by Al-Jazeera America last year.
The NFL says it found no credible evidence that Peyton Manning was provided with human growth hormone or other prohibited substances as alleged in a documentary by Al-Jazeera America last year.
The league said the quarterback and his wife, Ashley, fully cooperated in the sevenmonth investigation, providing interviews and access to all records sought by investigators.
The NFL is continuing its investigation into allegations made against other NFL players in the documentary, which the league said involves “different lines of inquiry and witnesses.” Those other players — all of them linebackers — provided the league with sworn affidavits, but the NFL wants to interview them in person.
In stark contrast, Manning, who retired a month after Denver’s 24-10 win over Carolina in Super Bowl 50, welcomed the probe.
In December, Al-Jazeera reported that an intern at an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic was secretly recorded suggesting that Manning’s wife received deliveries of HGH in 2011 while the quarterback was recovering from neck fusion surgery. The intern, Charles Sly, recanted his statements, which were recorded without his knowledge. He said they were fabricated in an attempt to impress a potential business partner.
Manning angrily denounced the report, calling it “completely fabricated, complete trash, garbage,” and insisting he never took shortcuts in his return to football after missing 2011 with neck problems.
At the time the allegations were levied, both the Broncos and the Colts, whom Manning played for from 19982011, issued statements in support of the five-time MVP.
Gordon reinstated
Josh Gordon’s curious and complicated career has taken a new turn.
He’s getting yet another chance.
The talented but troubled wide receiver has been reinstated on a conditional basis by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who met face to face with Gordon last week and said he believes the 25-yearold can “make the right choices” going forward.
Gordon has been banned since February 2015 for multiple violations of the league’s drug policies. He will be suspended for the first four games of the 2016-17 season, but he’s allowed to join the team in its upcoming training camp and can participate in meetings and conditioning work. The league said once Gordon meets clinical requirements, he can take part in preseason activities, including practices and games.
It’s a fresh start for Gordon, who emerged as one of the league’s rising stars in 2013 before several missteps led to his banishment.
As long as he stays clean, Gordon, who met with Goodell in New York on July 19, is eligible to return to the team on Oct. 3. During his four-game suspension, Gordon may participate in team meetings and other activities but can’t practice or play in games.
Gordon was suspended 10 games in 2014 and the entire 2015 season for substance violations, a pattern that began during his college career at Baylor and Utah. He was denied reinstatement in April after failing a drug test because of samples that also tested positive for marijuana.
Fatal crash
Four people died when their van turned left at a highway intersection in northwestern Arizona and collided with a bus carrying staffers but no players of the Dallas Cowboys football team, authorities said.
The vehicles heading in opposite directions Sunday on the main route between Las Vegas and Phoenix crashed as the van turned across U.S. 93 and onto a road, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
DPS spokesman Quentin Mehr said three females and one male in the van died, but he didn’t release their ages or names pending notification of relatives.
Nobody on the Cowboys bus was seriously injured, and the team said no players were on board. The group was headed for Las Vegas for a planned stop on a pre-season promotional tour.
“All on the bus came through OK with some bumps and bruises,” Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said in an email.
Additional information on the crash about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Kingman was not immediately available. The bus was seemingly intact and sitting upright in a field afterward, while the van appeared reduced to wreckage.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called the loss of life tragic.
“We as an organization are deeply saddened, and our thoughts, prayers and concerns at this time are with the family members and loved ones of all who were lost,” he said in a statement issued by the team.
Jennings retiring
Receiver Greg Jennings says he’s retiring after a decade in the National Football League.
Jennings, in a video posted on social media, says “football is over. I’m done.”
The 32-year-old Jennings finishes his career with 571 catches for 8,291 yards and 64 touchdowns. He spent last season with the Miami Dolphins.