Former big-league slugger Mo Vaughn confirms he used HGH late in his career

Former big league slugger Mo Vaughn has confirmed he used human growth hormone to recover from a nagging knee injury late in his career. The 1995 American League MVP told The Athletic that he had HGH injected in his knee to extend his career.

Vaughn was one of baseball’s most feared hitters during his prime while with the Boston Red Sox in the late 1990s, hitting 39 homers with 126 RBIs during his MVP season. Vaughn was among the players named in the Mitchell Report, which looked into the used of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

Florida’s Ekblad suspended 20 games after failing random drug screening

Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended 20 games without pay for violating the NHL and NHL Players Association’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The league announced the ban Monday. The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers have 18 games left in the regular season.

In a statement released through the NHLPA, Ekblad said the news that he had failed a random drug test shocked him, and he apologized for the error. He said he took something while recovering from injuries “without first checking with proper medical and team personnel.”

Medics who treated legend Maradona going on trial

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina>> Seven members of the medical team that treated Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona before his death will go on trial for homicide starting Tuesday in Buenos Aires.

The case revolves around allegations that negligence by the health care professionals contributed to the World Cup winner’s death in 2020 at the age of 60, which triggered an outpouring of grief in his native Argentina and across the world.

Maradona suffered a heart attack at his rented house in Tigre, an affluent district north of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, where he had been recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain weeks earlier.

Curry joins alma mater Davidson as assistant GM

DAVIDSON, N.C.>> Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will serve as an assistant general manager for Davidson College’s basketball teams. The four-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP will be the first active player in U.S. major professional sports to take an administrative job with a college team. The hire was announced Monday.

Curry and his wife, Ayesha, and longtime Davidson supporters Don, Matt and Erica Berman, are creating an eight-figure fund to support the college’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Norway suspends staff in ski-jump cheating scandal

TRONDHEIM, Norway>> The Norwegian ski federation has suspended a ski jumping coach and an equipment manager over their alleged role in a cheating scandal that shook the world championships this weekend.

The federation said coach Magnus Brevik and equipment manager Adrian Livelten were suspected of modifying ski suits by sewing in an extra seam in an attempt to create more lift in the air. The federation on Sunday admitted that the suits had been deliberately altered, after a video emerged online of the alterations being made.

— The Associated Press