Autopsy: Chiefs LB drunk
at time of murder-suicide
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when he shot his girlfriend nine times and then killed himself in front of his coach and general manager, an autopsy released Monday showed.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner report on Belcher, 25, raised new questions about whether police should have done more before the Dec. 1 murder-suicide. Officers found Belcher sleeping in his idling car about five hours earlier, but let him go inside a nearby apartment to sleep it off.
At the time of the autopsy, Belcher’s BAC was 0.17, more than twice the limit of 0.08 percent for Missouri drivers, and it was likely higher when he shot girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, 22, at the couple’s Kansas City home.
A police report released previously said Belcher had gone out the night before with a woman he was dating on the side while Perkins attended a concert with her friends.
Chiefs introduce Dorsey
as new general manager
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs introduced longtime Packers executive John Dorsey as their new general manager Monday, turning over a team that was 2-14 to one of the men responsible for building Green Bay into a consistent winner.
Dorsey takes over for Scott Pioli, who was fired after four tumultuous seasons. The Chiefs announced the Dorsey had been hired on Saturday night, while the Packers were playing the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC playoffs.
Ex-major leaguer Enzo
Hernandez dies in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela — Former major leaguer Enzo Hernandez has died in an apparent suicide.
The 63-year-old played for the San Diego Padres between 1971-77 and finished his big league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1978.
He was found dead in his home in El Tigre in eastern Venezuela on Sunday. The Venezuelan sports newspaper Lider along with other news media in the country reported Hernandez had committed suicide. Police in the town confirmed Hernandez’s death but declined to provide details about the cause.
Jose Grasso Vecchio, president of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, said on Twitter that Hernandez as well as former Venezuelan major leaguer Dave Concepcion “shined with their gloves.”
Oakland gives manager Bob Melvin 2-year extension
OAKLAND, Calif. — Bob Melvin is staying put in his native Bay Area, right where he has said he wants to be well into the future.
The Athletics manager received a two-year contract extension Monday that takes him through the 2016 season after he led Oakland to a surprising AL West title last year.
Oakland became the first team in major league history to win a division or pennant after trailing by five games with less than 10 to play, sweeping three games against Texas to win the division over the Rangers.
Ginobili to miss 10-14
days with hamstring strain
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is expected to miss 10-14 days with a left hamstring strain.
The Spurs say Ginobili had an MRI on Monday after getting hurt in the second quarter of Sunday night’s game against Minnesota.
Ginobili didn’t play after halftime against the Timberwolves after scoring 12 points. He also had five assists in his 12 minutes. San Antonio won 106-88 for its 12th consecutive home victory.
The 35-year-old Ginobili has already dealt with back spasms, a left quadriceps bruise and a thigh bruise this season, his 11th in the NBA. In 36 games, he is averaging 12.9 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Nike announces
sponsorship deal with McIlroy
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are on the same team now — at least when it comes to sponsorship.
McIlroy officially made the switch to the swoosh on Monday as Nike confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in golf, announcing it had signed a multiyear deal with the top-ranked Northern Irishman.
The deal means Nike now has golf’s two biggest names representing its brand, as Woods has been with the sportswear company since turning pro in 1996. Nike did not disclose any financial details of the deal, but industry observers have estimated that McIlroy will be paid up to $20 million a year to use the company’s equipment and apparel.
Olympic champion
pregnant after ovarian cancer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two years after discovering she had a rare form of ovarian cancer, Olympic champion gymnast Shannon Miller is expecting her second child.
Miller is due this summer. She and husband John Falconetti also have a 3-year-old son, Rocco.
The most decorated gymnast in U.S. history was hoping to get pregnant again when doctors discovered a germ cell malignancy, a form of ovarian cancer, in late 2010. Germ cell malignancies are not the same as what most people think of as ovarian cancer, generally occurring in teenagers and women under 30. But the consequences can be just as dire. The ovary with the tumor was removed in January 2011, and Miller then had nine weeks of chemotherapy. She says she is now cancer-free.
Miller is a two-time world all-around champion. She won seven Olympic medals and nine at the world championships.
British weightlifter
gets 2-year ban for doping
LONDON — UK Anti-Doping has banned weightlifter George Winston for two years after he admitted using banned steroids and a masking agent.
The ban, which started Dec. 3, followed an in-competition test on Nov 10. It could have been four years, but because Winston admitted to a doping offense, the maximum under the World Anti-Doping Code is two years.
That maximum was criticized on Monday by UK Anti-Doping Chief Executive Andy Parkinson.
Announcing Winston’s ban, Parkinson said “the automatic benefit of a prompt admission” of doping was among the issues raised in an ongoing review of the code.
He said “we do not think that this sends a strong enough message to the sports community and we will continue to press for tougher sanctions for serious dopers in the revised code.”
German runner
banned for EPO doping
FRANKFURT, Germany — German long-distance runner Simret Restle-Apel has been banned for two years after testing positive for the blood booster EPO.
The National Anti-Doping Agency said Monday that Restle-Apel failed a drug test last May and was banned after the German sports arbitration court rejected her appeal.
The runner argued she had unwittingly taken EPO after discovering the substance in a relative’s fridge and thinking it was vitamins.
NADA said Restle-Apel was exposed after a targeted test. The runner was born in Eritrea and became a naturalized German citizen in 2008. She has no international titles.
By wire sources
