As many as 104 major league baseball players could be subpoenaed by federal investigators in connection with the BALCO steroid distribution case after the United States attorney's office obtained positive steroid test results from 2003, according to a published report that appeared on ESPN.com yesterday.
The results, The New York Times reported, were part of the 2003 tests conducted by Major League Baseball that were intended to be anonymous. But through some deft legal maneuvering, the U.S. government seized the records from two different companies hired to provide the tests.
An anonymous source told the newspaper that the federal government plans to question all 104 players about their positive steroid tests and how they obtained whatever substance was found in their urine sample.
The potential list of suppliers named by the players would be sent to federal prosecutors around the country. The investigations that result from that information could lead to names of players being revealed in court documents.
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal defeated defending champion Roger Federer 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 to win the Hamburg Masters in Germany and add the only major clay-court title missing from his impressive collection.
It was the reverse of last year's final, when Federer won his fourth title in Hamburg and ended Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay.
Federer lost his seventh match of the year and has only one title so far, at a relatively minor clay-court tournament in Estoril, Portugal.
MORE TENNIS
Wayne Odesnik gave the United States a point at the World Team Cup in Duesseldorf, Germany, by beating Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1. The Americans trailed 1-0 after Tomas Berdych beat James Blake 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), but the 104th-ranked Odesnik brought the Americans even at 1-1 in the Red Group.
At the World Team Cup, eight teams are split into two groups. In a new format for 2008, each series consists of two singles matches and a doubles match played over two days, ensuring each team competes every day during the round-robin period. The winner of each group will meet in Saturday's final.
Jelena Jankovic overcame a pain in her neck and French teenager Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2 to win the Italian Open in Rome for the second straight year.
SWIMMING
Michael Phelps capped a busy afternoon by beating Aaron Peirsol in the 100-meter backstroke at the Santa Clara Grand Prix, the first time the six-time Olympic gold medalist has defeated Peirsol in a backstroke event. Peirsol, the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 back, got off to a strong start and was just behind race leader Matt Grevers at the turn while Phelps was in fourth, almost a half-second behind. But Phelps, who on Saturday lost to Peirsol in the 200 backstroke, made a charge down the stretch and overtook the leaders with 30 meters left on his way to the win. Phelps also picked wins in the 100 free and 200 IM.
TRACK AND FIELD
Jenn Stuczynski broke her American record in the pole vault and Tyson Gay swept the 100 and 200 meters at the adidas Track Classic in Carson.
Stuczynski cleared 16 feet, 0¾ inches to break the mark of 16-0 she set last year in the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Gay won his first 100 of the season in 10.05 seconds and the 200 in 20.08.
SPORTS AND COURTS
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on about 14 games he officiated in the 2006-07 season, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Goldberg said in a letter filed Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to charges he conspired to engage in wire fraud and transmitted betting information through interstate commerce. He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
CYCLING
Daniele Bennati won the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish (5 hours, 30 minutes, 6 seconds), and Giovanni Visconti kept the overall lead for a fourth day.
Bennati, who rides for Liquigas, concluded the mostly flat 135-mile leg from Civitavecchia to San Vincenzo, Italy, less than a half tire length in front of Paolo Bettini.
SOCCER
Edson Buddle had three goals, and the Los Angeles Galaxy scored four times in a span of 14 minutes in a 5-1 MLS victory over FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas. Buddle's second goal gave the Galaxy a 4-0 lead in the 39th minute. His final goal, in the 85th minute, was set up by David Beckham and Landon Donovan.
Beckham received a yellow card in the 76th minute after he got into a shoving match with Adrian Serioux and Arturo Alvarez of FC Dallas. Serioux, who brought Beckham down with a sliding tackle, was given a red card and ejected.
In international play: Spanish league champion Real Madrid capped a record-setting season with a 5-2 win over Levante as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Sergio Ramos scored two goals each and Wesley Sneijder added the other. . . . Inter Milan won its third straight Italian league title by beating Parma 2-0 on the final day of the season.
HOCKEY
Ilya Kovalchuk scored his second goal of the game in overtime, giving Russia its first world hockey title since 1993 with a 5-4 win over Canada in Quebec City.
Canada took a 4-2 lead into the third period, but couldn't hold off the Russians. Alexei Tereshchenko and Kovalchuk scored to tie it, setting the stage for the overtime winner.
MISCELLANY
Fred Roumbanis won the Bassmaster Elite Series' Carolina Clash on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C., using a five-fish limit of 17 pounds, 14 ounces to hold off Steve Kennedy . . . Two Step Salsa cruised to a three-length win in the $107,200 Lazaro S. Barrera Memorial Stakes at Hollywood Park.
– FROM NEWS SERVICES
