ah, sto se co´j´k nalaga.... ma jasta je nego uzimao zabranjene substance.....

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis on Thursday denied taking banned substances during the three-week race and said he would do all he could to prove his innocence after excessive levels of testosterone were found in his body following a dope test.

When questioned over whether he had taken any banned substances during the Tour, Landis replied with an emphatic "no".

"I don´t know what the explanation for it is, whether it was a mistake or whether it´s an occurance from some other circumstances that go on in the race or something I did, but it was not from an exogenous outside source of testosterone" he said.

Landis acknowledged irreparable damage to his reputation and to the sport may have already been done, even if the second result clears his name.

"Unfortunately, I don´t think this is ever going to go away no matter what happens next," he admitted.

"Most of the public has an idea about cycling because of the way things have gone on in the past. I know a lot of people are going to think I´m guilty before I have a chance to defend myself.

"I think there´s a possibility I can clear my name. That´s what I want to do, that´s my objective now. But regardless of whether that happens or not I don´t know if this will ever really go away."

The positive test came after the American´s sensational victory in the Alps on stage 17, where he made back most of the ten minutes he had lost on his rivals after spectacularly cracking the day beforehand in the ascent to La Toussuire.

The event is just the latest in a long line of doping scandals to hit the sport. The previous leader of Landis´ Phonak team, Tyler Hamilton, was found guilty of a homologous blood transfusion in 2004, while Tour of Spain winner Roberto Heras tested positive for EPO last November.

On the eve of this year´s Tour de France, nine riders including Tour favourites Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo were banned from participating in the race after their involvement in the &lsquoOperacion Puerto´ blood doping scandal in Spain.

ovo je bez Americkih sportista, jer Tiger Woods je prvi na svijetu u vezi toga....

1 Michael Schumacher
Auto Racing - Germany
$80,000,000

2 Valentino Rossi
Motorcycle Racing - Italy
$30,000,000

3 Ronaldinho
FC Barcelona (Soccer) - Brazil
$29,100,000

4 Maria Sharapova
Pro Tennis Russia
$25,421,283

5 David Beckham
Real Madrid (Soccer) Great Britain
$23,000,000

6 Ichiro Suzuki
Seattle Mariners (MLB) Japan
$22,500,000

7 Roger Federer
Pro Tennis Switzerland
$22,137,018

8 Ronaldo
Real Madrid (Soccer) Brazil
$21,600,000

9 Hideki Matsui
New York Yankees (MLB) Japan
$21,000,0009

10 Christian Vieri
Sampdoria (Soccer) Italy
$20,000,000

Driver Teams Time
1 K. Raikkonen (FIN) McLaren 1:14.070
2 M. Schumacher (GER) Ferrari 1:14.205
3 F. Massa (BRA) Ferrari 1:14.569
4 J. Button (GBR) Honda 1:14.862
5 G. Fisichella (ITA) Renault 1:14.894
6 R. Barrichello (BRA) Honda 1:15.272
7 F. Alonso (ESP) Renault 1:15.282
8 R. Schumacher (GER) Toyota 1:15.923
9 P. De La Rosa (ESP) McLaren 1:15.936
10 D. Coulthard (GBR) Red Bull 1:15.326

Ferrari´s Michael Schumacher cruised to his third consecutive victory in his home German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on Sunday ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren). Championship leader Fernando Alonso (Renault) lost six points to the German after struggling through to fifth.

It was a Ferrari 1-2 straight from their dominant days when Schumacher and Ferrari won five consecutive titles each with the seven time champion taking the lead when Raikkonen pit in early and never losing it again.

The last ten or so laps was just routine for the Scuderia, lapping in the high 1min18sec and beyond, completely pressure-free, while their rivals squabbled for the remaining points.

"It was a superb weekend - our car just functioned really great," said Schumacher. "It was a surprise being that much in front but we´ll take it, we´ll really take it! It´s the right moment in time that we need to keep climbing and keep pressure on in the championship.

"There was nothing bad during the race. Because we had such a margin we could drive safely. Off-line the track was pretty dirty, so the other cars probably had trouble and we didn´t have to deal with that."

Massa once again proved he could match the champion, despite not needing to push, in another clean second - just what Schumacher wanted from his team-mate.

"That was our target," said Massa, "To put Ferrari up the front."

Raikkonen had some troubles yesterday in qualifying, but still managed to keep pole position and, as the only front-runner on a three-stop strategy, put in a superb effort as he chased down Williams´ Mark Webber and Jenson Button (Honda) to take the final podium spot.

"We had some problems yesterday - when we were fuelling there really was really not as much fuel as we wanted," he said. "But today shows we have definitely improved the car, although we are still off the Ferrari´s pace."

Olympic and world 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin will attend a hearing before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in the near future after failing a drugs test for testosterone.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement on Sunday it would monitor the case and if USADA procedure confirmed the violation Gatlin would receive a life ban.

Gatlin, joint world record holder for 100 metres with Jamaican Asafa Powell, announced on Saturday he had tested positive after a relay race in Kansas in April.

The 24-year-old American has denied ever knowingly using a banned substance or authorising anyone else to administer one to him.

IAAF president Lamine Diack said on the governing body´s Web site: "Although it is a matter of deep regret that one of the biggest stars of our sport is facing serious doping charges, I would take this opportunity to emphasise the IAAF´s total commitment to the fight against doping.

"In order to defend the credibility of our sport, we will engage all our efforts, in co-operation with partners such as USADA, to defend the majority of athletes who are clean, against those who break our anti-doping rules."

Gatlin, also the 200 metres world champion, was banned for two years in 2001 after testing positive for an amphetamine but was given early reinstatement by the IAAF, who accepted the result was due to medication prescribed to treat an attention deficit disorder.

1 (1) Roger Federer (Švi) 7260
2 (2) Rafael Nadal (Špa) 4930
3 (3) David Nalbandian (Arg) 3185
4 (4) Ivan LJubicic (Hrv) 3125
5 (5) James Blake (SAD) 2340
6 (6) Nikolaj Davidenko (Rus) 2175
7 (7) Tommy Robredo (Špa) 2050
8 ( Mario Ancic (Hrv) 1985
9 (9) Radek Štepanek (Češ) 1925
10 (10) Andy Roddick (SAD) 1885

Michael Johnson has rubbished claims from Justin Gatlin´s coach Trevor Graham that the sprinter´s failed drugs test was a case of deliberate sabotage.
Graham said an aggrieved masseur rubbed testosterone cream into Gatlin´s legs believing the sprinter had him sacked.

But BBC pundit Johnson said Graham could not be taken seriously as several of his clients were serving drugs bans.

The US track legend told the Daily Telegaph: "It´s a new twist on an old excuse. Graham has no credibility."

Olympic and world 100m champion Gatlin, 24, has protested his innocence after announcing that he had tested positive at the Kansas Relays in April.


He faces a lifetime ban for a second offence following a positive test for an amphetamine at the 2001 US Junior Championships which was later overturned but not annulled.

He should learn his fate within a week in a hearing before the United States Anti-doping Agency (USADA).

However, Graham is insistent his athlete is the victim of sabotage.

He told the Washington Post: "We know who the person is who actually did this.

"We are trying to make sure we can prove his innocence, and we hope this individual has the guts to come forward and say he did it."

But Johnson, a five-time Olympic gold medallist, wrote: "Graham has had several athletes who have tested positive or been banned from track and field.

"Yet Gatlin has continued his association with Graham knowing it would probably taint him.

"Even if Gatlin is innocent, he will be suspected forever and is about to see the danger of his continued association with Graham."

Graham, who also coached the disgraced former world record holder Tim Montgomery, was the whistle-blower who launched the Balco steroid investigation in California.

He sent in the syringe to the authorities that sparked the scandal that rocked American athletics.

And Johnson, a nine-time world champion, said: "I was always disappointed that more people did not ask the question: where did he get the syringe from?"

The world 200m and 400m record holder added: "With a confirmed A and B sample... Gatlin should be banned for life unless he can quickly come up with proof that he did not knowingly take a banned substance.

"Circumstantial evidence produced by Gatlin, his coach and his lawyers that someone else is responsible should not be nearly enough.

"Graham should also be banned for life due to his involvement with an alarming number of athletes who have tested positive while training under him."

Athletics´ governing body the IAAF on Monday re-iterated its policy of an athlete´s "strict liability".

A spokesman said: "Whatever is found in an athlete´s body when tested is his or her responsibility alone.

"We have been advising athletes for many years now of this strict liability policy and encouraged them to be very cautious when receiving any form of treatment."

Controversial athletics coach Trevor Graham has been banned from using US Olympic training facilities, the US Olympic Committee said on Thursday. The action was taken after the USOC realised Graham has been involved with an “unusual number of athletes who have been convicted of doping offences.”

Graham has coached more than a dozen athletes, including 100 metres world record holder Tim Montgomery, who have been suspended for doping offences.

The latest in the long list of Graham´s team to touch on controversy is Olympic and world 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin, although the has yet to be suspended. He could however, face a life ban should he be found guilty.

The snub comes hard on the heels of some earlier bad news for Graham, who was told on Thursday that his athletes would not be invited to the Berlin Golden League meeting early next month.

Francuski reprezentativac i sad vec bivsi igrac Juventusa Patrick Vieira potpisao je cetverogodisnji ugovor sa Interom vrijedan 9,5 milijona eura.Zelim mu sve najgore kao svakom onom igracu koji je napustijo ili ce napustii Juve a to je povreda da se vise nikad ne vrati na teren

[Edited by asmir on 04-08-2006 at 13:40 GMT] 

A few days after pledging his future to Marseille, France midfielder Franck Ribery said on Friday he wanted to leave the French club. "My wish is to leave Marseille," France´s top prospect told French television.

"I want to play the Champions League and to keep improving. The (Marseille) club officials know where I want to go and the club I wish to sign for also know it. Now they (both clubs) have to reach an agreement."

Ribery had said on Monday that he planned to stay at Marseille for the next four years. The next day, Marseille chairman Pape Diouf said Ribery would definitely play for Marseille for at least another season.

The gifted 23-year-old burst into the limelight at the World Cup, helping France reach the final. He has been courted by French champions Olympique Lyon and several European clubs including Manchester United.