Baseball-No players voted to Hall of Fame, Bonds and Clemens snubbed

Jan 9 (Reuters) - No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, with all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens snubbed over suspicion they used performance enhancing drugs.Bonds was named on 36.2 percent of the ballots, and Clemens 37.6, well short of the 75 percent of ballots required in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association...

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No players voted to Hall of Fame, Bonds and Clemens snubbed

(Reuters) - No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, with all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens snubbed over suspicion they used performance enhancing drugs.Bonds was named on 36.2 percent of the ballots, and Clemens 37.6, well short of the 75 percent of ballots required in voting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.Closest...

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Bonds, Clemens rejected; no one elected to BB Hall

NEW YORK (AP) — Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa were denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame, with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades. In a vote that keeps the game's career home run leader and one of its greatest pitchers out of Cooperstown — at least for now — Bonds received just 36.2 percent of the vote and Clemens 37.6...

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NFL-Steelers cut Rainey after domestic violence arrest

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut rookie running back Chris Rainey following his arrest for a domestic battery, the National Football League team said on Thursday."Chris Rainey's actions this morning were extremely disappointing," said Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert in a statement on the team's website. "Under the circumstances and due to this conduct, Chris will no longer...

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AP Source: Browns meet 2nd time with Whisenhunt

CLEVELAND (AP) — A person familiar with the meeting says the Cleveland Browns are having a second interview with former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt about their vacancy.Whisenhunt, who was recently fired after six seasons with the Cardinals, is meeting with the Browns on Thursday, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the search....

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Apple CEO visits China for second time in less than a year

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Chief Executive Tim Cook is meeting with partners and government officials in China on his second visit to the firm's second-largest market in less than a year.China is Apple's fastest-growing market, with the maker of the popular iPhone and iPad opening a raft of retail stores last year. Last month, Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in the country in just...

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American Football-Alabama's Saban shoots down talk of move to NFL

MIAMI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, showered with acclaim after a fourth national title, said on Tuesday he has no desire to return to the National Football League and that the college game is where he belongs.Saban's Crimson Tide won their second successive national title on Monday and third in four years with a 42-14 hammering of Notre Dame.The win confirms the...

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Alabama's Saban shoots down talk of move to NFL

MIAMI (Reuters) - University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, showered with acclaim after a fourth national title, said on Tuesday he has no desire to return to the National Football League and that the college game is where he belongs.Saban's Crimson Tide won their second successive national title on Monday and third in four years with a 42-14 hammering of Notre Dame.The win confirms the 61-year-old...

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Norwegian kicker dreams of NFL after viral video

Aside from his ability to boot the ball through the uprights from almost kind of angle or distance, Havard Rugland is a complete stranger to the American version of football. And yet the 28-year-old Norwegian, without having played a single game at any level of the sport, is suddenly pursuing a shot at making it to the NFL. And it's all because of a YouTube video. Sound incredible? Well, so are some...

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What It's Like as a Rival NFL Fan Living in the Bay Area

Football fans stay fans for life, but occasionally in life, people move. Despite relocation, fans stay true to their hometown team. It must be difficult for a fan to remain loyal when living in rival or enemy territory. But with the San Francisco Bay Area home to both the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, there are plenty of rival fans around. Here's what a few of them had to say about...

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Indy hoping to make most of 2nd chance at playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis allowed one postseason-clinching chance to slip away at Houston.It doesn't intend to let the same thing happen again at Kansas City."It's the playoffs. This is the playoffs," interim coach Bruce Arians said before Wednesday's practice began.For the Colts (9-5), this is a rare second chance in a league where players and teams risk being left behind any time they miss...

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NFL-Giants' Cruz calls Newtown visit a revelation

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Dec 19 (Reuters) - A visit with the grief-stricken family of a six-year-old victim from last week's Connecticut elementary school massacre has left New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz looking at life through a different lens.The National Football League player said on Wednesday the 75-minute visit to the home of six-year-old Giants fan Jack Pinto, who was a buried in a replica...

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Giants' Cruz calls Newtown visit a revelation

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) - A visit with the grief-stricken family of a six-year-old victim from last week's Connecticut elementary school massacre has left New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz looking at life through a different lens.The National Football League player said on Wednesday the 75-minute visit to the home of six-year-old Giants fan Jack Pinto, who was a buried in a replica...

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NFL-Giants, Ravens feel the urgency of Sunday's showdown

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens, both coming off one-sided losses, are looking forward to Sunday's playoff-calibre showdown with a sense of urgency running through both teams.The Super Bowl champion Giants need to win their last two games, including a regular season finale against Philadelphia, to ensure a place in the playoffs, while the Ravens,...

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IOC strips 4 medals from 2004 Athens Olympics

By By STEPHEN WILSON | Associated Press – Wed, Dec 5, 2012 * Email0 * Share0 * * Share0 * Print LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Eight years after winning Olympic medals in Athens, four track and field athletes from eastern Europe were ordered to hand them back Wednesday because of positive doping tests. Lance Armstrong, meanwhile, can hold onto his bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney...

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Patriots back on top of AP Pro32 power rankings

NEW YORK (AP) — See ya, Houston. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have taken over the top spot in the AP Pro32 NFL power rankings. Hours after routing the previous No. 1 Texans 42-14, the Patriots were back on top of the rankings for the first time since Week 2. Houston held the No. 1 spot for a month before tumbling to fourth following its second loss of the season. Peyton Manning and the...

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Earnhardt Jr. gives 2013 car solid review at test

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR spent almost the entire year developing its 2013 car in hopes the "Gen 6" model will dramatically improve the racing. After his first test drive Tuesday, NASCAR's most popular driver approved of the car. "This sport is going to be revolutionized again with this car," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. That's a ringing endorsement for NASCAR, which stumbled out of the gate with...

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Tagliabue overturns Goodell on Saints suspensions

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In a sharp rebuke to his successor's handling of the NFL's bounty investigation, former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned the suspensions of four current and former New Orleans Saints players in a case that has preoccupied the league for almost a year. Tagliabue, who was appointed by Commissioner Roger Goodell to handle the appeals, still found that three of the players engaged...

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NHL, union to return to bargaining, with mediators

TORONTO (AP) — NHL labor negotiations will resume Wednesday, with mediators rejoining the talks at an undisclosed location in an effort to save the hockey season. The Canadian Press on Tuesday reported the restart of bargaining between the league and union, citing unidentified people on both sides of the lockout. U.S. federal mediators Scot Beckenbaugh and John Sweeney are to return to the process....

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Film "Lincoln" gets record 13 Critics Choice nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" landed a record-breaking 13 nominations for the Critics Choice Movie Awards on Tuesday, ahead of musical "Les Miserables" and indie comedy "Silver Linings Playbook". "Lincoln", starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, was nominated for best picture and best director, while actors Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones...

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