Four 2004 Olympics athletes disqualified
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Four athletes, including gold medalist Yuriy Bilonog, have been disqualified and their medals revoked from the 2004 Olympics after follow-up doping tests.
The International Olympics Committee, in a release Wednesday, said analysis of stored samples taken more than eight years ago revealed the use of banned substances. The results led to the IOC requesting return of the medals.
The athletes are Bilonog, who won the shot put for Ukraine; Russia women's shot put bronze medalist Svetlana Krivelyova; Belarus hammer throw silver medalist Ivan Tsikhan; and Belarus women's discus bronze medalist Iryna Yatchenko.
The IOC keeps samples for eight years after each Olympic Games to allow for testing as technologies and detection methods improve. An IOC release said further testing of samples from the Athens Games came "as a result of targeted testing based on intelligence and new methods."
One pending case remains from this series of retests, the IOC said.
The IOC said Bilonog and Krivelyova tested positive for oxandrolone metabolite while Tsikhan and Yatchenko were determined to have used methandienone metabolite. Both are anabolic steroids.
Darrell Hazell to coach Purdue football
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Darrell Hazell, who led Kent State to an 11-win season this year, has been hired as the football coach at Purdue University.
Hazell, 48, replaces Danny Hope, who was fired in late November. Purdue finished the season with three wins and will play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Oklahoma State. In four seasons, Hope was 22-27 at Purdue.
Hazell coached two seasons at Kent State, posting a 16-9 record. The Golden Flashes were 11-2 this season, losing to Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference championship game. He previously served as an assistant at a series of schools, including Rutgers from 2001-03 and Ohio State from 2004-10.
"Darrell is a great fit to build on our existing foundation," said Purdue Athletic Director Morgan J. Burke. "His leadership at Kent State, combined with his prior experience at Ohio State and other stops along the way, has prepared him to help us continue to move toward developing a championship-caliber program."
"I'm extremely excited to work with the players at Purdue and I look forward to experiencing a lot of success in the future," Hazell said in a statement Wednesday. "It's a wonderful opportunity. Purdue University has a great football tradition and I can't wait to get started."
Skelton to start at QB for Arizona
TEMPE, Ariz., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- John Skelton will start at quarterback for Arizona Sunday after rookie Ryan Lindley proved ineffective the past two games, Coach Ken Whisenhunt said Wednesday.
Skelton, who had been starting in place of the injured Kevin Kolb, was benched in favor of Lindley in the first quarter of the Cardinals' Week 11 game against Atlanta when he completed 2-of-7 passes for 6 yards.
Lindley played the rest of that game and started the next two, but failed to throw for any touchdowns and had five passes intercepted.
Skelton has thrown for 1,058 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions in six games (five starts) this season.
Kolb, who led the Cardinals to a 4-0 record before being hurt in Week 6, is out for at least another week with a rib injury.
Arizona has lost eight in a row.
Tulsa athletic director Parmley fired
TULSA, Okla., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- University of Tulsa Athletic Director Ross Parmley was fired for alleged gambling on football games, a violation of NCAA regulations.
His termination Tuesday came after Parmley, 39, was identified by an FBI agent in a court affidavit as an admitted gambler during an investigation of suspected bookmaker Teddy Mitchell. A federal grand jury indicted Mitchell in September, accused of operating an illegal gambling enterprise, the (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman said Wednesday.
"TU [Tulsa University] is cooperating fully with officials from the NCAA to comprehensively investigate this matter," school President Steadman Upham said in a statement.
