Rodriguez admits banned substance use
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to ESPN Monday that he had used performance-enhancing substances.
SI.com reported last weekend that Rodriguez was among 104 players who tested positive for steroid use in 2003 while Rodriguez was a member of the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez in an interview Monday with ESPN's Peter Gammons admitted he used such substances for three years.
He said: "I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."
The SI.com report involved testing done by Major League Baseball in 2003. The test results were supposed to remain private -- although the players were informed of them -- and no penalties were to come from baseball.
In 2003 Rodriguez won his first Mast Valuable Player Award after hitting .298 with 47 home runs and 118 runs batted in -- statistics actually slightly lower than the previous two seasons. Prior to the 2001 season, Rodriguez signed a 10-year contract worth $252 million with the Rangers.
"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure," Rodriguez said. "I needed to perform and perform at a high level every day.
"Back then (baseball) was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."
Lindsey Vonn wins downhill gold at Worlds
VAL D'ISERE, France, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- American Lindsey Vonn captured the women's downhill World Championship Monday at Val d'Isere, France.
Vonn finished the icy course in 1 minute, 30.31 seconds, well ahead of Swiss teenager Lara Gut and Nadia Fanchini of Italy to win her second gold medal of the Worlds.
Gut turned in a 1:30.83, just ahead of Fanchini's 1:30.88.
Vonn, who placed first in the super-combined last week, attacked the course and turned in sizzling splits on the first two intermediates. She was fast enough at the bottom to edge Gut out of first place.
Gut has won medals now in two of her four World Cup downhills. She also won the silver in the super-combined.
The course was described by the International Ski Federation as being in excellent shape, but icy, after heavy snow forced postponement of the ladies' downhill on Sunday.
Defending champion Ana Person of Sweden lost a bit of control on the critical Virage Russi hairpin turn while enjoying a potentially winning run and wound up tied for ninth.
UConn hangs on to No. 1
MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The Connecticut Huskies used two wins last week to hang on to the No. 1 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today men's basketball rankings released Monday.
UConn beat Michigan and Louisville, raising its record to 22-1. The Huskies got 30 of the 31 first-place votes from the coaches who vote in the poll.
Oklahoma (23-1) got the other first-place vote to stay No. 2.
North Carolina (21-2) climbed one spot to No. 3 and Pittsburgh ( 21-2) bumped up to No. 4 at the expense of Duke (20-3), which slid two places after going 1-1 in the past week.
Filling in the Nos. 6-10 were UCLA (18-4), Louisville (18-4), Wake Forest (18-3), Michigan State (19-4) and Memphis (20-3).
Rounding out the top 25 are Clemson (19-3), Marquette (20-3), Villanova (19-4), Xavier (20-3), Butler (21-2), Kansas (19-4), Utah State (23-1), Arizona State (18-5), Missouri (20-4), Illinois (19-5), Gonzaga (17-5), Syracuse (18-6), Purdue (17-6), Washington (17-6) and Florida State (18-5).
Texas, ranked 17th last week, and Minnesota, ranked 19th, fell out this week after each sustained a pair of losses, making room for Missouri and Florida State.
Woods announces birth of second child
WINDERMERE, Fla., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods and his wife on Monday announced the arrival of their second child, a son named Charlie Axel Woods.
Woods, writing on his Web site, said the baby was born Sunday. Woods and wife Elin have another child, named Sam Alexis Woods, who was born in June 2007.
"Both Charlie and Elin are doing great and we want to thank everyone for their sincere best wishes and kind thoughts," Woods said in a statement on the Web site. "Sam is very excited to be a big sister and we feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family."
Woods said," We look forward to introducing Charlie to you at the appropriate time and again thanks from all of us for your kindness and support."
Woods, 33, remains the world No. 1-rated golfer despite not playing on the PGA Tour since winning the U.S. Open last June. He underwent surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after that tournament but hasn't announced when he would return to competition.
