For the Record

Suspended

For two years after testing positive for human growth hormone, British rugby player Terry Newton (above), 31, who became the first athlete ever penalized for the offense. On Feb. 19, in a statement by his lawyers, Newton confirmed the results of a November blood test (administered during the off-season and with no advance notice); he was dumped afterward by his club, Wakefield. The positive test is the first of its kind and considered a breakthrough by antidoping experts, suggesting that scientists are catching up to HGH, which is thought to aid in muscle building and accelerate healing; all traces can vanish after as few as two days, and it previously had proved impervious to detection. Following Newton's revelation—and two years after Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he would support HGH testing "when a valid, commercially available and practical test ... becomes reality"—reports leaked that MLB was considering testing minor league players for the substance beginning later this year.

Demanded

By President Dmitry Medvedev, that Russian sports officials (not named) step down in the wake of the nation's low medal count at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In a televised address on Monday, Medvedev said, "I think that the individuals ... who answer for these preparations should take the courageous decision to hand in their notice. If we don't see such decisiveness, we will help them." Those remarks came one day after Russia finished sixth in Vancouver, with 15 medals; only once in the past 60 years had Russia or the Soviet Union fared so poorly at an Olympic Games. Medvedev's call also came four years before his nation hosts the Winter Games. "Without messing around, we need to start preparations for Sochi," Medvedev said. "We need to completely change how we prepare our athletes."

Proposed

A new procedure for overtime during the NFL playoffs. Last Saturday league spokesman Greg Aiello acknowledged that commissioner Roger Goodell was considering a rules tweak that would guarantee both teams an opportunity to score as long as the team receiving the OT kickoff did not score a touchdown on its opening drive. This past postseason, for instance, the Vikings would have had one drive to answer the field goal the Saints kicked on the first possession of OT (this year, the game-ender) in the NFC Championship Game. In late March the proposal, which the NFL is labeling "modified sudden death," will go before the competition committee, where it will need at least a two-thirds vote to pass.

Recommended

By the International Gymnastics Federation, that China be stripped of a bronze medal its women won at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney after an investigation found that one gymnast, Dong Fangxiao, was 14 years old, two years younger than required, when she participated in the team all-around event. Questions about Dong's age arose from a separate investigation into the eligibility of the Chinese gymnasts who won gold in Beijing two years ago. Those athletes were cleared, but the process brought to light documents suggesting that Dong (below), who was working for the Chinese team in Beijing, had been born on Jan. 23, 1986. (Dong's blog also indicated that she was born in the Chinese Year of the Ox, in her instance dating from Feb. 20, 1985, to Feb. 8, 1986.) Dong's case now goes to the International Olympic Committee, which could officially disqualify her. If that were to occur, the United States, which finished fourth in 2000, would inherit the bronze.

Died

At age 54, of causes undisclosed at week's end, Mosi Tatupu, a running back and special teams ace of 13 seasons who helped the Patriots to their first Super Bowl, after the 1985 season. A high school star at the prestigious Punahou School in Hawaii, where he held the state's career rushing record (3,367 yards) for 17 years, Tatupu excelled in other phases of the game on the mainland, first at USC and later with the Patriots and the Rams: He was a punishing blocker, a short-yardage beast and, belying his roots in Pago Pago, a cold-weather standout. But he made his biggest mark on special teams; on two kickoffs during the '85 postseason he forced fumbles by the Raiders and the Dolphins that were turned into touchdowns. In retirement Tatupu coached at King Philip Regional High in Wrentham, Mass., where his pupils included son Lofa, now a three-time Pro Bowl linebacker with the Seahawks.

Agreed

To purchase a controlling interest in the Charlotte Bobcats, Michael Jordan, who grew up in Wilmington, N.C., and played college basketball at North Carolina. Jordan bought a minority stake in the Bobcats in 2006 and has since acted as the team's head of basketball operations; on Friday he reached an undisclosed agreement to take over the majority stake from Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson. League owners must now approve the deal, which commissioner David Stern expects to happen in March. As owner, Jordan (who had stormy tenures as director of basketball operations for both the Bobcats and the Wizards, the latter in 2000--01) will be saddled with a team lacking in sponsorship and fans. Charlotte hasn't ranked in the top 20 in attendance in any of its six seasons, contributing to Johnson's $150 million in team-related debt.

Go Figure

0

Dollars in federal and state income taxes paid on $108 million in earnings by divorcing Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt from 2004 to '09, according to documents unsealed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

903

Career victories reached last week by Philadelphia University men's college basketball coach Herb Magee, moving him past Bob Knight to the top of the alltime NCAA wins list.

536

Career blocks by Mississippi State center Jarvis Varnado after he rejected eight shots on Feb. 24 against Alabama, moving him atop the NCAA's alltime list.

2

Pounds that Dodgers second baseman Ronnie Belliard must lose in spring training to get his weight down to 209 and activate his $825,000, one-year contract with Los Angeles.

8,500

Condoms airlifted to the Olympic villages in Vancouver and Whistler last week after the initial supply of 100,000 dispensed free of charge by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research had been nearly exhausted.

THEY SAID IT

Ned Colletti

Dodgers general manager, on having seen free-agent Chien-Ming Wang (below) throw only in a parking lot before the righthander signed with the Nationals:

"He had good command, though. He didn't hit any cars or anything."

PHOTO

RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES (NEWTON)

PHOTO

MANNY MILLAN (DONG)

PHOTO

SCOTT MILLER/REUTERS (WANG)