Andy Murray: Maria Sharapova Has To Get Suspended

Tennis can be a lonesome sport. With no teammates, the most common peer support players get is from each other in locker rooms around the world. Exhibit A: Serena Williams expressed immediate support for Maria Sharapova after the five-time grand slam champ failed a recent drug test.
Andy Murray, the men's World No. 2, is not lending the same comfort. The consistently brash Brit spoke about Sharapova Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indiana Wells, California.

"It's not up to me to decide the punishment, but if you're taking performance enhancing drugs and you fail a drugs test, you have to get suspended," Murray says. "If you're taking a prescription drug and you're not using it for what that drug was meant for, then you don't need it, so you're just using it for the performance enhancing benefits that drug is giving you. And I don't think that that's right."
Sharapova's positive drug test was for meldonium, a drug produced in Latvia and sold over the counter in parts of Europe, including Russia. Sharapova, who was born in Russia and represents Russia, trains in the United States, where meldonium is not available for purchase. The World Anti-Doping Agency added the drug to its list of banned substances in January, just before Sharapova's failed test at the Australian Open.
Meldonium is typically given to people suffering from heart problems, but as Reuters says, "It can also increase blood flow and improve exercise capacity." Sharapova, who says she has been taking the drug for 10 years, claims a family doctor advised the drug because she was constantly getting sick, had irregular electrocardiogram results, a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes.
Murray doesn't buy it.
"I read that 55 athletes have failed tests for that substance since January 1," Murray says. "You just don't expect high-level athletes at the top of many different sports to have heart conditions."


Also at Indian Wells, former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal said Sharapova must pay for her "negligence."

Sharapova will be provisionally suspended this weekend and faces up to a four-year ban by the International Tennis Federation. The highest-paid female athlete, Sharapova has already lost sponsorship deals from TAG Heuer, permanently, and Nike and Porsche on an indefinite basis.
Head, Sharapova and Murray's racquet sponsor, actually extended her contract by five years this week.
Murray called this behavior from the company "strange" and adds, "I don't really know what else to say on that, but that's not something I believe. I think at this stage it's important really to get hold of the facts and let things play out, like more information coming out before making a decision to extend the contract like that, in my view. I personally wouldn't have responded like that."

Rafael Nadal to Sue Over Doping Claims

Tennis pro Rafael Nadal is suing an ex-government minister from France over claims that he used drugs during his career. Kevan Kenney (@KevanKenney) has all the details.

Leicester triumph would be most unlikely in team sport history - Lineker

Leicester City winning the Premier League would go down as one of the best moments in team sport history, according to Gary Lineker.
Leicester have defied all odds this season, with many predicting their unexpected title challenge to crash months ago.
However, Claudio Ranieri's men sit two points above second-placed Tottenham and can restore their five-point advantage with victory over Newcastle United on Tuesday (AEDT).
If they go on and lift the league title at the end of the season, former Leicester forward Lineker believes it would be one of the most unlikely achievements in sporting history.
"What we are witnessing, should Leicester go on to win the title, is quite possibly the most unlikely triumph in the history of team sport," he wrote in the Guardian.
"It could all fall apart in the home stretch. This most unreal of dreams could turn into a miserable reality. I hope not.
"Something extraordinary is happening in the world of football. Something that defies logic. Something truly magical. They are on the edge of sporting immortality."

Didier Drogba shares a message of condolence with victims of terror attack in Ivory coast as gruesome images emerges

 

Didier Drogba has shared a condolence message with victims of the terror attack in Ivory Coast. Al-Qaeda gunmen on Sunday stormed the Grand-Bassam beach resort and opened fire on funseekers leaving at least 16 people dead and injuring several others. 

 

The Ivorian professional footballer  posted a photo on his social media pages writing: "Condolences to all the victims of these last terror attacks in Bassam and Ankara. Our thoughts goes out to the families #sad #nowords"

See photos of bodies sprawled on the beach after the horific attack. Some witnesses said the assailants fired at random, while others said the killings was more targeted. According to Marcel Guy, one of the gunmen who had a long beard approached two children on the beach and started speaking Arabic. One of the children knelt down and started praying. He was spared while the order boy was not.

"The Christian boy was shot and killed right in front of my eyes," Guy said.