World champion sprinter banned
World 100-metre champion Christian Coleman will miss next year's Tokyo Olympics after being banned for two years for breaching whereabouts rules, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Tuesday. Coleman, who narrowly escaped a ban last year for missing three doping tests, was provisionally suspended by the AIU in June. “We regret to say that we do not think there is any mitigation which can fairly be relied upon to reduce the sanction from the two-year period,” the AIU said. “Unfortunately, we see this case as involving behaviour by the athlete as very careless at best and reckless at worst.” The American sprinter claimed at the time of his provisional suspension that anti-doping officials had not followed procedure when he missed them after going Christmas shopping on Dec. 9, 2019, at a time when he had said he would be at home. Doping control officers testified before a disciplinary tribunal that they were present during the whole of the allotted hour of 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 9 in front of his house. Coleman, in turn, testified he had arrived home from Christmas shopping shortly before the end of the one-hour period. However, shopping receipts showed Coleman had purchased 16 items from a Walmart Supercenter at 8:22 p.m., the AIU said. “We do not accept the athlete's evidence,” the AIU added. “It is obvious that in fact the athlete did not go home until after making his 8:22 p.m. purchase. We are comfortably satisfied that this is what happened.” The AIU said Coleman's ban would end on May 13, 2022, and that he could appeal the tribunal's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Bears QB claims he didn't criticize coach
A quarterback controversy is breaking out in Chicago, but it involves only one player: starter Nick Foles. During the Monday Night Football broadcast of the Los Angeles Rams' victory over
the Bears, analyst Brian Griese opened a can of worms when he shared that Foles knows some of head coach Matt Nagy's incoming play calls are destined for failure. “We were talking to Nick Foles yesterday, and he said, `You know, sometimes play calls come in and I know that I don't have time to execute that play call. You know, I'm the one out here getting hit. Sometimes the guy calling the plays, Matt Nagy, he doesn't know how much time there is back here,'” Griese said. Foles said after Monday's 24-10 loss to the Rams that his comments to Griese were not a dig at Nagy and more of a “miscommunication” to Griese. “That was definitely a miscommunication with Brian and I,” Foles said. “When coach Nagy and I talk on
the sidelines, we'll go through plays and different situations and go through the defence. I'll be honest, like, `Hey, right now, maybe get the ball out quicker. They're bringing some pressures and whatnot.' Those are actually conversations coach Nagy and I have on the sidelines so that when we go to the field we're ready to roll.”
Coyotes forward Hanzal retires
Veteran forward Martin Hanzal has officially retired after 12 NHL seasons and multiple back surgeries. Hanzal, 33, registered 127 goals and 338 career points in 673 games with the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (2007-17), Minnesota Wild (2017) and Dallas Stars
(2017-18). His last game was with the Stars on Dec. 23, 2018, against the New York Islanders, nine months after undergoing spinal fusion surgery. Hanzal also had back surgeries in 2008 and 2015. “It's a little bit of a relief because the last couple of years I wasn't sure if I'd play another NHL game or be healthy again, so now it's official: I am retired from the NHL,” Hanzal told AZ Coyotes Insider on Sunday. “If I was healthy, I would probably still be playing, but after three back surgeries, and especially after the last one, I just can't do it anymore.”
Avs sign defenceman Toews for four years
The Colorado Avalanche have signed defenceman Devon Toews to a four-year contract through the 2023-24 season. The team did not disclose terms of the deal announced Tuesday, but Sportsnet pegged the value at $16.4 million, or $4.1 million per season. Colorado acquired the 26-yearold Toews earlier this month in a trade with the New York Islanders, who received second-round picks in the 2021 and 2022 drafts in exchange. Toews played in all 68 games for the Islanders in 2019-20, finishing second among the team's defencemen in goals (six) and points (28). He added 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 22 post-season games. Toews has 46 career points (11 goals, 35 assists) in 116 games since making his NHL debut in December 2018.