McGary tests positive for marijuana, heads to NBA

Michigan sophomore Mitch McGary is entering the NBA draft, saying he had little choice after testing positive for marijuana during an NCAA tournament he couldn't play in because of an injured back and because he was facing a one-year ban.

''I am ready to move on to the next stage in my life and enter the NBA draft,'' the 6-foot-10 McGary said in a statement released by the school Friday. ''Being a part of a program that values integrity, it is important to let everyone know of a poor decision I recently made. I tested positive for marijuana during the NCAA tournament. We were notified of that result after the Final Four. I regret thoroughly disappointing my family, coaches and administration.''

McGary was terrific in the 2013 tournament as a freshman, helping Michigan reach the national title game, where the Wolverines lost to Louisville. He considered jumping to the NBA then, but instead came back for his sophomore year and was a preseason All-American.

But McGary played only eight games this season. He was bothered from the start by a back problem and eventually had surgery. He was shut down shortly after a Dec. 14 matchup with Arizona.

It was unclear how his future would be impacted by the injury. Was his draft stock still high enough for him to leave, or would he need to come back to Michigan in 2014-15? McGary is old for his class, turning 22 in June, but his injury made his decision a difficult one - until the flunked drug test.

''I feel I'm ready, but this pushed it overboard,'' McGary told Yahoo Sports.

The NCAA says its year-round testing program generally does not involve street drugs or stimulants, but its NCAA championship testing program - which includes events such as the basketball tournament - may include tests for those drugs. NCAA rules say that a positive test results in ineligibility for a calendar year.

Athletes at Michigan are subject to random, year-round drug testing under the school's policy, but if McGary had been caught under that program, the penalty could have been much less severe. Under Michigan's rules, a first offense calls for an immediate one-week suspension from team activities. In addition, the athlete ''must sit out the next 10 percent of the maximum allowable contests during the traditional competitive season or postseason of their respective sport.''

McGary's departure leaves Michigan facing major personnel losses for a second straight season. The Wolverines lost guards Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the NBA after the 2012-13 Final Four run, but they won the Big Ten anyway this year behind Nik Stauskas, Caris LeVert and Glenn Robinson III. Michigan reached the NCAA quarterfinals before losing to Kentucky.

Now Stauskas, Robinson and McGary are all leaving early for the pros. The frontcourt looks particularly thin for next season, with Jon Horford transferring and McGary declaring for the draft.

The Wolverines will still have the rapidly improving LeVert in the backcourt, and both Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin return after contributing this season as freshmen.

McGary averaged only 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in his two-year career at Michigan, but his potential is tantalizing. In Michigan's six NCAA tournament games in 2013, he averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds.

Although he was injured most of this season, he remained a fan favorite and an energetic presence on the Michigan bench.

''Mitch has had a tremendous impact on our program from the moment he committed to us,'' coach John Beilein said. ''The progress he has made on and off the court has been outstanding. His willingness to face a personal issue head on and his positive work ethic during his recent injury have helped him to grow in many ways.''

Historic day as Northwestern players decide union

In a historic vote, Northwestern University football players cast secret ballots Friday on whether to form the nation's first union for college athletes - a decision that could change the landscape of American amateur sports.

''You got to give the people what they want!'' one of the players shouted at reporters, who were kept away from the players as they entered a campus building to vote. Some waved and another showed off some dance moves.

The results of the closely watched vote will not be known for some time. After two rounds of voting on this 19,000-student campus, the ballot boxes were sealed and will remain so for weeks, months, perhaps even years as the university challenges the effort to unionize the team.

Still, some of those behind the push were already celebrating, saying that even if a union is voted down, the campaign has the power to change things.

''We're one step closer to a world where college athletes are not stuck with sports-related medical bills, do not lose their scholarships when they are injured, are not subject to unnecessary brain trauma and are given better opportunities to complete their degree,'' said former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, who helped lead the effort with the help of the United Steelworkers.

The full National Labor Relations Board has agreed to hear the Northwestern's appeal of a regional director's March ruling that the players are university employees and thus can unionize. Ballots will remain impounded until that process is finished, and perhaps until after any court fight that might follow a decision.

Supporters say a union would help athletes obtain better compensation, medical care for injuries and other benefits. One day before the vote, the NCAA endorsed a plan that would give big schools like Northwestern much more autonomy to address such issues for its athletes.

None of the players participating in the voting stopped to talk with reporters, but the excitement of some was evident as they waved or thrust their arms into the air in view of TV news cameras. Sophomore Michael Odom, 20, said he quit the team a couple months ago because the demands of playing football were detracting from his studies for a journalism degree. Though he wasn't eligible to vote, he called a union ''long overdue'' and had heard from his former teammates they felt pressured to vote against it.

''I don't know if intimidation is the word I'd use. I think that's a little strong. I know a lot of my teammates have been influenced by former players as well as coaches and officials at the university,'' Odom said, adding that parents got emails from university officials urging them to press their children to vote no.

''It seems like things are kind of leaning toward 'no,''' he said of the overall vote. ''I think a lot of them have been successfully talked out of voting yes.''

Last month's decision by NLRB's regional director sent shockwaves through college sports, prompting criticism from the NCAA, Northwestern and athletic departments nationwide. While the ruling would apply only to private universities - they are subject to federal labor law while public schools are under state law - many saw the decision as a first step toward the end of the traditional ''student-athlete'' era.

Seventy-six scholarship football players were eligible to cast ballots. The rules under which the ballots were impounded don't even allow them to be counted, so it was not known how many actually voted.

Colter had hoped to be an official voting observer for the College Athletes Players Association, which would represent the players at the bargaining table if the pro-union side prevails. He left after attorneys for Northwestern objected, said union attorney John Adam, leaving the union without a representative during the first session.

Ramogi Huma, president of CAPA, said just having the vote take place was a victory.

''The NCAA cannot vacate this moment in history and its implications for the future,'' he said.

Donald Remy, chief legal officer for the NCAA, said the organization remained steadfast that college athletes are not employees.

''Whatever concerns or issues one may have with college athletics, turning student-athletes into employees and changing the relationship between students and their universities is certainly not the answer,'' he said. ''For nearly three years, NCAA member schools have worked on specific proposals designed to enhance the student-athlete experience and support their success in the classroom, on the field and in life.''

Huma, a former UCLA linebacker, had accused the university of using scare tactics to thwart the effort. Northwestern sent a 21-page question-and-answer document to the players outlining the problems it sees with forming a union. In it, Northwestern said it hoped unionization would not lead to player strikes in the event of a dispute - but that if it did, replacement players could be brought in to cross picket lines.

Northwestern spokesman Alan Cubbage denied any suggestion that the university engaged in an unfair campaign of intimidation, saying the school was careful to stick to NLRB guidelines while getting across its position.

Cubbage noted that Northwestern already offers its football players four-year scholarships and medical benefits that are extended to cover players for a year after they've left the team and sometimes longer.

''We are truly serious about continuing the conversation,'' he said. ''Regardless of what happened today on the vote, our intention is that - or our hope certainly is - that Northwestern is going to be a leader in discussing those issues that have come to the forefront.''

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY - APRIL 25TH

1876 - Chicago Cubs 1st NL game, beats Louisville 4-0 (1st NL shutout).
1901 - Erve Beck hits American League's 1st home run.
1901 - In last of 9th, Detroit Tigers, trailing by 13-4, score 10 runs to win 

one of greatest comebacks in baseball (First game in Detroit).
1904 - NY Yankee Jack Chesbro's 1st of 41 wins this year.

1932 - Meadowlark Lemmon, basketball star (Harlem Globetrotter) is born.

1950 - Chuck Cooper becomes first black to play in NBA.

1976 - Tim Duncan, NBA forward (San Antonio Spurs) is born.

1978 - Phillie Phanatic makes first appearance.

1997 - Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr hits his 250th HR.

1999 - Lord Killanin, Irish International Olympic Committee president (b. 1914) dies.

Pineda banned 10 games for pine tar, won't appeal

In this April 23, 2014 photo taken from video and provided by ESPN, home plate umpire Gerry Davis touches the neck of New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda in the second inning of the Yankees' baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston. Pineda was ejected after umpires found a foreign substance on his neck. (AP Photo/ESPN)

New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games Thursday after being caught using pine tar. He said he won't appeal the penalty that will cost him two starts.

''I accept it,'' Pineda said before Thursday night's game at Fenway Park. ''I know I made a mistake.''

The commissioner's office announced the ban, which started immediately.

Pineda was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday night's 5-1 loss at Fenway Park after umpires found the pine tar on his neck.

After the game, Pineda admitted he used the pine tar to help him grip the ball on a cool, windy night.

''I feel so bad,'' Pineda said Thursday.

Pineda said he had never used pine tar before this season.

The ejection set off a debate in the baseball world about pitchers who try pine tar, and whether it should be allowed in certain circumstances. Many former aces said they had done it, albeit in a more discreet manner.

Rule 8.02(b) prohibits pitchers from altering the ball to gain an unfair advantage, and forbids them from having a foreign substance on them or in their possession on the mound.

Pineda wasn't seen with the pine tar in the first inning, when the Red Sox roughed him up. Boston manager John Farrell asked plate umpire Gerry Davis to check Pineda after two fast outs the next inning.

Davis went to the mound, touched Pineda's neck and ejected him.

Earlier this month, Pineda pitched well against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Television cameras showed a substance on his hand during that outing - Pineda said it was dirt, not pine tar.

Pineda said he didn't use pine tar in a start against the Chicago Cubs, in between his Red Sox outings.

Among other suspensions of pitchers for pine tar in the past decade, Tampa Bay's Joel Peralta was penalized eight games in 2012, the Angels' Brendan Donnelly 10 days in 2005 and St. Louis' Julian Tavarez 10 days in 2004. The suspensions of Donnelly and Tavarez were cut to eight days after they asked the players' association to appeal, and Peralta dropped his challenge with no reduction.

Kosar believes he's off TV for slurred speech

Former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar believes he's been unfairly sacked as a TV broadcaster.

Kosar has been removed as a color commentator for Cleveland's preseason games by the team. The Browns said Wednesday night he was being replaced by Solomon Wilcots, who will work with play-by-play announcer Jim Donovan.

Kosar contends he's been removed because of slurred speech he attributes to ''a direct result of the many concussions I received while playing in the NFL.''

''This is very unfortunate,'' he said in a statement, ''as I believe my football acumen and ability to describe what is happening on the field, has been well received by Cleveland Browns fans.''

The 50-year-old Kosar estimates he has had more than a dozen documented concussions. He has been in pain for more than a decade, but said last year he found some relief through treatments at a wellness facility in Florida.

In announcing their decision, the Browns said they were in discussions with Kosar about ''potential new roles'' on pregame telecasts and on the team's website.

''We want Browns fans to look forward to seeing and hearing his continued contributions and analysis,'' team president Alec Scheiner said.

Kosar played for Cleveland from 1985-92 and retired in 1996. The gangly quarterback from Boardman, Ohio, led Cleveland to three AFC title games. He remains one of Cleveland's most beloved sports figures.

''I love to put the personal touch, pride in the Browns, and pride in our Cleveland community into the broadcast,'' he said. ''Being able to share these preseason games with my fellow Cleveland Browns fans is truly one of the remaining joys in my life.

''I would hope that WKYC would reconsider utilizing my in-game talents and overlook my concussion-induced impairment. I want everyone to know that I still bleed Brown and Orange.''

Last summer, Kosar drew criticism for in-game comments about former St. Louis third-string quarterback Kellen Clemens, the Rams' receivers and assistant coach Ray Sherman.

St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher said of Kosar: ''I lost a lot of respect for him. It's highly unlikely he knew anything about our football team, but felt the need to make those comments. I don't think they were justified.''

The Browns apologized to the Rams and reprimanded Kosar.

Suspended Cooke apologizes for kneeing Barrie

Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Cooke apologized Thursday for the knee-to-knee hit on Tyson Barrie that sidelined the Colorado Avalanche defenseman for at least a month, saying he did not intend to injure him.

Cooke drew a seven-game suspension Wednesday from the NHL, removing him from the remainder of this first-round series and more. Cooke addressed reporters after taking part in the Wild's pre-game skate prior to Game 4, reiterating his past insistence that he is not a reckless player.

He did not take questions, which team spokesman Aaron Sickman said was ''out of respect for the process.'' Cooke didn't answer when asked as he stepped off the podium whether he would appeal the punishment.

Starting somberly straight ahead and speaking deliberately for about 90 seconds, Cooke again referenced his recent drop in penalty minutes as evidence he's committed to playing a clean game.

''First and foremost, I want to say that I'm disappointed and sorry that Tyson Barrie can't play for the Colorado Avalanche tonight. I wish that he could,'' Cooke said. ''Unfortunately, it was not my intent to collide with him knee on knee. I think it was my intent to finish my check. Playoffs are a hard, physical time, and it's my job to be physical. I led my team in hits all three games, and it's an intense time. I've led my team this year in hits and in this series.''

This is Cooke's sixth career suspension for various safety violations, bringing his total of games banned to 34, including playoffs. He has also been fined four times. This was his first suspension in more than three years, since an elbow to the head in 2011 at New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh got him banned for the final 10 regular-season games and the first round of the playoffs that year.

Cooke referenced the date of that incident and said he's ''a changed player'' since then.

''I think differently about the game. The stats that I've collected over those three seasons prove that I'm a changed player, and the plays that I make and the plays that I don't make prove that point as well,'' Cooke said. ''At the end of the day, this situation was not my intent.''

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy wasn't exactly heartened by the news of the suspension.

''We were very confident the league would make the right decision in that case,'' Roy said. ''No matter how many games, that does not replace the player. Tyson is very valuable to us, very important to us, and it doesn't matter if it's five games, 15 games, 20 games: We won't play with Tyson.''

Wild coach Mike Yeo declined to comment further on Cooke, whose hit in the second period of Game 3 has dominated discussion the past few days.

''We always definitely respect and accept what the decision is from the league, and with that it's just real important that we all put it behind us,'' Yeo said.

Marshall hires LA assistant Dan D'Antoni as coach

Marshall has hired Los Angeles Lakers assistant Dan D'Antoni as its men's basketball coach.

Athletic director Mike Hamrick announced D'Antoni's hiring Thursday. The 1970 Marshall graduate is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference on Friday.

The 66-year-old D'Antoni is the older brother of Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni. He spent the past two seasons on the Lakers' staff and has had stints as an assistant with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks.

D'Antoni has no college coaching experience. He spent 30 years as coach at Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, S.C., before leaving in 2005. D'Antoni replaces Tom Herrion, who resigned last month after an 11-22 season.