01-13-2020, 01:30 AM
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has defended its handling of Maria Sharapovas drugs ban for meldonium. DeShawn Stevenson Jersey . The administrator of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme denied it had sought a four-year ban for the former world No 1 and, in a statement, rejected suggestions by the Russian that its independent tribunal was not neutral.The ITF also emphasised it had not known, prior to this year when the drug was put on the banned list, that meldonium was in common use by eastern European athletes. Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to return to action in April after her two-year suspension was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday.The 29-year-old said then that other sports federations had been more effective at communicating with athletes and hoped the ITF would take note. Sharapova criticised the International Tennis Federation after having her ban for using meldonium reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Her lawyer John Haggerty described the ITFs procedure for relaying rule changes as a night and day difference to the vivid and direct warnings from others.The ITF did not try to ban Ms. Sharapova for four years, as has been suggested, the tennis governing body said.The ITF stated clearly that it was the responsibility of the Independent Tribunal -- and subsequently the CAS Panel -- to determine what the appropriate sanction should be. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. It added: Ms. Sharapova has stated that the Independent Tribunal was not neutral.Ms. Sharapovas legal team was given the opportunity to object to the appointment of any member of that Tribunal in advance of the hearing, and they agreed in writing that they had no such objection.The ITF believed it had taken appropriate steps to publicise changes to the prohibited list and it was not true to say that it was aware of widespread use of meldonium in Eastern Europe and should have given specific notice. Sharapova will be free to return to tennis in April 2017 In fact, it was accepted by Ms. Sharapova in the hearing before CAS that the ITF did not know before 2016 about the extent to which meldonium was used by athletes from any region, or that Ms. Sharapova herself was using meldonium, it said.The ITF pointed out that the WADA monitoring programme is conducted anonymously and WADA does not inform any anti-doping organisation about the prevalence of such use until it publishes the results of the monitoring programme.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Wimbledon match probed Konta into China quarter-finals WATCH: Sharapova criticises ITF Sharapova ban reduced Chris Gatling Jersey .com) - Carmelo Anthony tallied 31 points to help the New York Knicks continue their improved play of late with a 100-92 victory over a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Dennis Rodman Jersey . Tyrell appeared in seven games with the Lightning this year, he had no points in those appearances. The 24-year-old has seven goals and 17 assists in 132 career NHL games, all coming with the Lightning. He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2007 draft. https://www.cheapmavericks.com/823l-cour...ricks.html .com) - Bradley Beals 22 points and seven rebounds helped the Washington Wizards erase a halftime deficit and top the Utah Jazz, 93-84, on Sunday.MINSK, Belarus -- Ben Scrivens will start in goal for Team Canada against Finland today in the quarterfinals of the world hockey championship. You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 12:45pm et/9:45am pt. Scrivens beat out James Reimer for the No. 1 goaltender job after they split games during the preliminary round. "Tight decision, both of them played well," coach Dave Tippett said Thursday. "Just hes the guy we decided on." Scrivens won all three of his starts at his first international tournament for Canada, putting up a 1.31 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage, second only to Kevin Lalande of Belarus, an Ottawa native. Reimer lost the opener to France in a shootout, won his next three starts and had a 2.20 GAA and .911 save percentage. Tippett hinted earlier in the week at Scrivens being the likely choice after Reimer started against Norway. Canadas coach mentioned the difficult schedule of four games in six days, and Scrivens not facing Norway gave him a chance to be fresh for Finland. Scrivens is now the man, barring injury or a rough outing against Finland that doesnt end Canadas tournament. Tippett said Tuesday that his quarter-final starter would likely continue in that role as long as he won. Canadas challenge, from Scrivens on out, is a Finnish team that has only six players back from the Sochi Olympics but plays a similar style. "Theyre what youd classify as a typical Finland team where work ethic is one of their strongest points," Tippett said. "(They) play well as a team, (have) good structure, dont have a lot of NHL players on it but still players that are committed to play the way Finlands identity is. Its a structured, hard, one-on-one game." Finlands three NHL players are goaltender Pekka Rinne, captain Olli Jokinen and forward Erik Haula, who was a late addition after the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. One player back from Sochi is Petri Kontiola, who has beeen Finlands leading scorer and arguably its best player. Yogi Ferrell Jersey. . But Canadas biggest concern against Finland is Rinne, whos now healthy after being out from late October until early March with a hip infection. Nashville Predators teammate Ryan Ellis said he and his Canadian teammates are more worried about keeping the puck away from Rinne behind the net and in the corners than figuring out how to score on him. Rinnes strong play (1.65 GAA, .929 save percentage) has helped a turnover-prone Finnish defence. Still, thats something Canada might be able to exploit with an aggressive forecheck. "Your whole game has got to be built on it," Tippett said. "It doesnt matter who you play, were going to play two things that we think are the strengths of our game and certainly we think forechecking is one of the strengths of our game. "The ability to play in the offensive zone, come up with loose pucks, hold pucks and play in the offensive zone is one of the traits of good, Canadian-style hockey. Whether its Finland or whoever its against, we think thats one of the strengths of our game." Canada will have its full roster for the first time in almost a week as Alex Burrows returns from a two-game absence with a leg injury. Given Jonathan Huberdeaus success on a line with Brayden Schenn and Nathan MacKinnon, Burrows is expected to be the 13th forward. "Hes a good, veteran player," Tippett said of Burrows. "We talk about hes going to see a lot of different situations. Hes played on the penalty kill for us, hes played on the power play and hes played a regular shift, so hell jump in there, hell give us a spark." Defenceman Tyler Myers, who missed Wednesdays practice with the flu, took part in Thursdays optional skate and Tippett said hes feeling much better and will play. The United States plays the Czech Republic in the early game at Chizhovka-Arena for a spot in Saturdays semifinals against the winner of Canada-Finland. ' ' '