INDIANAPOLIS -- NFL sacks champion Robert Mathis admits he made a mistake late last season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Jersey . Now its going to cost him -- four games and four paychecks. The Colts career sacks leader was suspended Friday by the NFL after violating the leagues ban on performance-enhancing substances. What exactly Mathis tested positive for remains a mystery but the linebacker said in a statement he was seeking fertility assistance. He acknowledged that he and his wife are expecting a baby. "I am deeply saddened that this situation will prevent me from contributing to my team for four games, and I regret that I didnt cross check what my doctor told me before I took the medication, " Mathis said. "I hope that my fans will understand the unique circumstances involved here and continue to know that I am a man of integrity who would never intentionally circumvent the performance enhancing substance policy agreed to by the NFL and my union." Mathis said Commissioner Roger Goodell denied Mathis request to not issue a suspension based on the circumstances. The league issued a statement Friday night about the case: "As Mr. Mathiss agent acknowledged today, his client failed to follow the protocols in the policy that the NFL and NFLPA agreed upon to address precisely these kinds of claims," the NFL said. "That policy also prescribes the disciplinary consequences of a positive test. The policy does not provide - nor should it provide - for the commissioner to override the policys procedures and assess discipline on an after-the-fact, ad hoc basis. Here Mr. Mathis actually withdrew his appeal and accepted discipline at the unions suggestion. His hearing took place only after the Players Association requested that the appeal be reinstated. "The drug for which Mr. Mathis tested positive is not approved by the FDA for fertility in males and is a performance-enhancing drug that has been prohibited for years. Importantly, Mr. Mathis did not consult with the policys independent administrator, a physician jointly approved by the NFL and NFL Players Association. Nor did he consult with his team doctor, the teams training staff, the NFLPA, the league office or the hotline established under the policy to give confidential information to players. Each of these sources would have warned against using this substance. "A cornerstone of the program is that a player is responsible for what is in his body. Consistent application of the policys procedures is critical to the integrity of the program." If the NFLs decision stands, and they almost always do, Mathis would not be eligible to rejoin the Colts until Sept. 29. He is allowed to participate in the teams off-season workouts, training camp and preseason games. The Colts quickly issued a statement saying they would support Mathis, one of the teams elder statesmen and most respected leaders. Mathis set a single-season record with 19 1/2 sacks last season and also broke Dwight Freeneys franchise career record for sacks. In 11 NFL seasons, Mathis has 111 career sacks. "We nevertheless wish to assure Robert and our fans that he remains an honoured and cherished member of the Colts family and that we support him as he deals with this difficult challenge," Mathis said. Its another black eye for a franchise whose owner, Jim Irsay, was arrested near his suburban Indy home in March and preliminarily charged with four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanour driving while intoxicated charge. Irsay sought medical help two days later and did not return to the team until last weekends draft. Irsay has not spoken publicly about what happened. Mathis was considered an undersized defensive end when the Colts took him in the fifth round of the 2003 draft. It didnt take long, though, for Mathis and Freeney to form one of the NFLs most feared pass-rushing combinations. With Mathis developing his own spin moves to match Freeney, and Freeney developing his own tomahawks chop, imitating Mathis, the two close friends not only put quarterbacks on the ground, they forced fumbles at the leagues highest rate, too. Both emerged as perennial Pro Bowlers, but when they were asked to move to linebacker in new coach Chuck Paganos 3-4 defence, Mathis thrived and Freeney struggled. When the Colts announced last year that they would not re-sign Freeney, many thought Mathis would struggle. Instead, he had the best season of his career and became the first winner of the Deacon Jones Award. Defending that title might be next to impossible in 2014 -- unless he wins an appeal. "We are thrilled that we will be welcoming a new (family) member in several months, but I apologize to my teammates, coaches and Colts fans that I will not be able to contribute to my team for the first four weeks of the 2014 season," Mathis said. "I will work extremely hard during that time to stay in top football shape and will be prepared to contribute immediately upon my return."
http://www.bluejacketshockeyshop.us/Cam-Atkinson-Jersey/ . Stadler, who sits atop the leaderboard at 9-under-par 204, entered the day up by three shots, but the rest of the field could not shoot low enough to catch the American. Stadler is seeking his second win on the European Tour.
Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie is reporting the extension is worth $24 million. In 18 games with the Kings this season the 27-year-old Martinez has scored two goals and added five assists.SOCHI, Russia -- A Russia in search of global vindication kicked off the Sochi Olympics looking more like a Russia that likes to party, with a pulse-raising opening ceremony about fun and sports instead of terrorism, coddling despots and gay rights. And thats just the way Vladimir Putin wants these Winter Games to be. The worlds premier athletes on ice and snow have more to worry about than geopolitics as they plunge into the biggest challenges of their lives on the mountain slopes of the Caucasus and in the wet-paint-fresh arenas on the shores of the Black Sea. But watch out for those Russians on their home turf. A raucous group of Russian athletes had a message for their nearly 3,000 rivals in Sochi, marching through Fisht Stadium singing that theyre "not gonna get us!" Superlatives abounded and the mood soared as Tchaikovsky met pseudo-lesbian pop duo Tatu. Russian TV presenter Yana Churikova shouted: "Welcome to the centre of the universe!" Yet no amount of cheering could drown out the real world. Fears of terrorism, which have dogged these Games since Putin won them amid controversy seven years ago, were stoked during the ceremony itself. A passenger aboard a flight bound for Istanbul said there was a bomb on board and tried to divert the plane to Sochi. Authorities said the plane landed safely in Turkey. The show opened with an embarrassing hiccup, as one of five snowflakes failed to unfurl as planned into the Olympic rings, forcing organizers to jettison a fireworks display and disrupting one of the most symbolic moments in an opening ceremony. Some world leaders purposely stayed away, but U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and dozens of others were in Sochi for the ceremony. He didnt mention the very real anger over a Russian law banning gay "propaganda" aimed at minors that is being used to discriminate against gay people. But IOC President Thomas Bach won cheers for addressing it Friday, telling the crowd its possible to hold Olympics "with tolerance and without any form of discrimination for whatever reason." Also missing from the show: Putins repression of dissent, and inconsistent security measures at the Olympics, which will take place just a few hundred kilometres away from the sites of a long-running insurgency and routine militant violence. And the poorly paid migrant workers who helped build up the Sochi site from scratch, the disregard for local residents, the environmental abuse during construction, the pressure on activists, and the huge amounts of Sochi construction money that disappeared to corruption. For all the criticism, there was no shortage of pride at the ceremony in what Russia has achieved with these Games. The head of the Sochi organizing committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, captured the mood of many Russians present when he said, "Were now at the heart of that dream that became reality." "The Games in Sochi are our chance to show the whole world the best of what Russia is proud of," he said. "Our hospitality, our achievements, our Russia!" The ceremony presented Putins version of todays Russia: a country with a rich and complex history emerging confidently from a rocky two decades and now capable of putting on a major international sports event. Putin himself was front and centre, declaring the Games open from his box high above the stadium floor. Earlier, he looked down as the real stars of the Games -- those athletes, dressed in winter wear of so many national colours to ward off the evening chill and a light dusting of man-made snow -- walked onto a satellite image of the earth projected on the floor, the map shifting so the athletes appeared to emerge from their own country. As always, Greece -- the birthplace of Olympic competition -- came first in the parade of nations. Five new teams, all from warm weather climates, joined the Winter Olympics for the first time. Togos flagbearer looked dumbstruck with wonder, but those veterans from thhe Cayman Islands had the style to arrive in shorts.
http://www.bluejacketshockeyshop.us/Sergei-Bobrovsky-Jersey/. Canada entered midway through the march. Womens hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser carried the Maple Leaf to lead representatives from Canadas 220-athlete team. Its Canadas biggest team ever assembled for a Winter Games. "To represent the best of Canada is such an honour, its chilling," Wickenheiser said. "There is so much excitement." Canada looked sharp in outfits designed by Hudsons Bay, featuring a red coat with toggle style buttons and a black stripe adorning the hip line. The women in the Canadian contingent wore black mock turtlenecks and wool V-neck sweaters, while the men sported a tailored white dress shirt, wool cardigan and red and white striped ties. Black bottoms rounded out the ensembles "I wish our Olympians the best of luck as they take on the world in Sochi," Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted on his Twitter account. Canadas target is to finish first overall in the medal count after finishing third with 26 medals at home in 2010. Not all of Canadas athletes marched into Fisht Olympic Stadium. The mens hockey team hasnt arrived yet, figure skaters are in the middle of the team competition and skiers and sliders are staying too far away from the host city. The smallest teams often earned the biggest cheers from the crowd of 40,000, with an enthusiastic three-person Venezuelan team winning roars of approval as flag bearer and alpine skier Antonio Pardo danced and jumped along to the electronic music. Only neighbouring Ukraine, scene of a tense and ongoing standoff between a pro-Russian president and Western-leaning protesters, could compete with those cheers. That is, until the Russians arrived. Walking in last to a thundering bass line that struggled to overcome the ovations from the hometown crowd, the Russians reveled in all the attention. Their feeling could perhaps best be summed up by Russian singers Tatu, whose hit "Not Gonna Get Us" accompanied them to their seats. Russians place huge significance in the Olympics, carefully watching the medal count -- their dismal performance in Vancouver four years ago is on the minds of many. These Games are particularly important, as many Russians are still insecure about their place in the world after the end of the Cold War and the years since that have seen dominance of the United States and China. International politics were never far beneath the surface. One member of the VIP crowd carrying the Olympic flag was Anastasia Popova, a young televison reporter with the state-owned Rossiya TV channel, best known for her reporting in Syria. Putin and Russian state media have stood strongly behind Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Popovas coverage laid the blame for the Syrian civil war squarely on Syrian rebels. But back to that Russian pride. As Churikova rallied the crowd to scream "louder than ever," she told the fans in their cool blue seats their keepsakes from the night would last 1,000 years. When explaining the show would be hosted in English, French and Russian, she joked that it didnt matter, because in Sochi, everyone "speaks every language in the world." The moment of high pride came at the end, when Russian hockey great Vladislav Tretiak and three-time gold medallist Irina Rodnina joined hands to light the Olympic cauldron. Hes often called the greatest goaltender of all time by those who saw him play, she won 10 world pairs figure skating titles in a row. That was how it ended. At the top, the show -- and the Games -- easily avoided talking about prickly issues even when the women in Tatu took the stage. The duo, who put on a lesbian act that is largely seen as an attention-getting gimmick, merely held hands during their performance on this night, stopping short of the groping and kissing of their past performances. This time? Their lead-in act was the Red Army Choir MVD singing Daft Punks Grammy-winning "Get Lucky."
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