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2B Daily News – Thursday, July 26, 2012 NASCAR Allmendinger agrees to recovery program indefinitely after a test of his backup urine sample conducted Tuesday confirmed an initial positive test in late June. The series has not identified the substance; All- mendinger has said he tested positive for a stimulant he has not identified, but insists he did not knowingly ingest a banned sub- stance. said Wednesday that he will participate in NASCAR's substance-abuse recovery pro- gram, a sign that he wants to get back to racing as soon as possible and avoid a fight over the accuracy of his failed drug test. NASCAR suspended Allmendinger Associated Press Suspended driver A.J. Allmendinger mendinger has chosen to participate,'' NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said. ''As we have with other competitors, we look forward to the day when the program administrator recommends him for rein- statement.'' Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said the team has no reason to doubt All- mendinger's assertion. It isn't clear whether that will be enough to save his job. In an interview with The Associated Press, Cindric said team officials plan to meet next week to discuss Allmendinger's future. ''Certainly, we have to try to understand don't know anything about what substance Allmendinger tested positive for beyond what he and his representatives have said publicly. ''They're the only ones that have access to that information,'' Cindric said. ''We're not notified. At the end of the day, we all have a set of rules, we all agreed to abide by those rules, wherever they are, on track or off track. And the situation with A.J. was in violation of those rules. We don't all always agree with what the rules are in any sport, but the facts are those are what we signed up to do, and that's what we're accountable for.'' Cindric said Penske Racing officials how this all plays out and how it affects not only his future, but how it affects a lot of the various programs that we have going,'' Cin- dric said. ''And it has a knockdown effect in a lot of different ways that we're going to take some time to analyze, and not really have a conclusion to that here in the next few days.'' NASCAR's drug policy. ''We certainly support their policies,'' Cindric said. ''And only A.J. can tell you what the situation is and how it occurred. I couldn't tell you how it got to this point. Only he can tell you that.'' Cindric didn't take issue with MCT photo Tim Lincecum has only lasted six innings in nine of 21 starts.He has a 5.88 ERA. GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) 1-1 fastball over the wall in center in the first to match his career-high of 12 home runs and give the Padres a 1-0 lead. It was the sixth home run allowed in the first inning this year by Lincecum, tying the mark he gave up all of last season. Headley hammered a The Giants answered back in the bottom of the inning when Gregor Blanco singled, stole second and eventually scored on Cabrera's fly out to left. ble landed in front of a diving Angel Pagan in left-center, putting the Padres ahead 3-1 and extending Lincecum's season-long slump. San Francisco's shag- gy-haired starter slumped around the mound, covering his face with his glove, never regaining his com- posure. Lincecum lofted a fastball clocked at 89 mph over the middle of the plate in the fifth that Guzman crushed over the wall in left. The run did little for Lincecum's confidence. Lincecum loaded the bases in the fourth with one out. He struck out Marquis on three pitches and almost escaped until Venable's two-run dou- WIN (Continued from page 1B) World Cup final loss to Japan last year. Gaetane Thiney scored in the 12th and Marie-Laure Delie added a second in the 14th, finding holes in a supposedly impene- trable defense — a potential cause for U.S. concern as the grueling tournament progresses. But Wambach scored in the 19th, Morgan in the 32nd, Lloyd in the 56th and Morgan again in the 66th. Wambach now has 139 internation- al goals in her pursuit of Mia Hamm's record of 158, and 23-year-old "Baby Horse" Morgan — the second-youngest player on the team — has a remarkable 19 this year alone. are favored to win gold again — and even though the U.S. is now 13-0-1 all-time against France — it was hardly a surprise to see the French make it a game. While the Americans The teams were level late in the second half in last year's World Cup semifinals before the Americans finished off a 3-1 win, and France entered these Olympics on a 17-game winning streak. The United States Guzman also hit a solo shot off Brad Penny leading off the eighth for his sixth home run of the season to give San Diego a 6-1 lead. walked John Baker, manager Bruce Bochy took that familiar trot to the mound to relieve his former ace before the sixth inning again. After Lincecum plays Colombia in its second group game on Saturday. France will face North Korea. Lincecum left after giv- ing up seven hits, five runs and three walks. He tossed 102 pitches — 62 for strikes — and struck out eight. Lincecum now has a 5.88 ERA, the highest among any qualifying National League pitcher, and has only lasted six innings in nine of his 21 starts. The Giants are 6- 15 this season when Lincecum takes the mound. effort to save Lincecum from another loss fell short. San Francisco's final Brandon Belt reached on a throwing error by shortstop Everth Cabr- era that landed in the dugout to start the bot- tom of the eighth. Joaquin Arias singled home Belt and Theriot delivered an RBI single with two outs to slice San Diego's lead to 6-3. The French took the lead from a deflected long ball that ended up at the foot of Thiney, who had plenty of time and space to unleash a 22-yard shot into the upper right corner of the net, grazing the finger- tips of leaping goalkeep- er Hope Solo. Two minutes later, the Americans played a dan- gerous game of pinball deep in their own end, failing in five separate chances to clear a corner kick. sections of Hampden Park, the 109-year-old landmark that serves as Scotland's national sta- dium. dium was perhaps one- third full at kickoff, but the game needed to draw only a couple of thou- sand to surpass the all- time Scottish record for attendance at a women's game. The 52,000-seat sta- Inevitably, the ball bounced to a French player, Delie, who put an easy shot past Solo, again off the goalie's outstretched left hand, to make it 2-0. are arguably stronger, deeper and more diverse than they've ever been, and they have the fire- power to overcome such a deficit — and quickly. Wambach, who has the best header in women's football, start- ed the comeback by nodding in Megan Rapi- noe's corner kick. The goal awakened some of a crowd that so far had behaved as if watching a BBC docu- mentary. Chants of "U- S-A!" began to echo in But the Americans Organizers gave away some 30,000 tickets to schools and local clubs to keep the stands from being embarrassingly empty in a region where football is overwhelm- ingly a man's game. The American fans who made the trip had their enthusiasm reward- ed when Solo got an assist when her long ball was chased down on the first bounce by Morgan, who chipped it over goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi to level the score. Lloyd then gave the Americans the lead with a blast that left Bouhad- di helpless as it found the left side of the net. Heath made the margin a comfortable one with a long run down the left side deep into the penal- ty area before the ball slid over to Morgan, who merely had to tap it in for the game's final goal. Allmendinger has hired an independent laboratory to help him determine how he might have tested positive. Cindric said team officials ''don't have any reason not to believe'' his explanation that he doesn't know what triggered the positive test. ''I think he shares as he understands,'' Cindric said. ''I think there's a process that he has to go through to understand. But on our end, no, I wouldn't say that we're frus- trated with his process. Because it's his career that's at stake, and he has to deter- mine what the best process is for him.'' Allmendinger's commitment to partici- pate in NASCAR's anti-drug program means he will be evaluated by a substance- abuse professional who determines a path to reinstatement that may include counsel- ing and rehabilitation. ''While we await further information from testing to determine the cause, we have notified NASCAR that A.J. will par- ticipate in the Road to Recovery Program starting immediately,'' according to a state- ment issued by Allmendinger's business manager, Tara Ragan. ''As we have stated earlier, we respect NASCAR's drug testing policies. They are first and foremost in place to protect drivers.'' Series driver suspended under the tightened policy implemented in 2009. Jeremy May- field was the first driver, and he unsuccess- fully sued to have the results overturned. Court documents showed that Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine. NASCAR applauded Allmendinger's Allmendinger is the second Sprint Cup decision. ''We're very pleased that A.J. All- A's (Continued from page 1B) went deep to almost the same spot in the fifth, his first multihomer game of the season and the third of his career. fifth 16-0 shutout in fran- chise history and their first since a lopsided win over San Francisco on June 26, 2005. The A's posted their Jonny Gomes reached base four times for Oak- land, now 10-1 since the All-Star break. Mathis came into the game in the second after Toronto lost catcher J.P. Arencibia to a broken right hand after he was hit by Brandon Inge's foul tip. Arencibia stayed in the game until the half-inning ended, and is expected to miss six weeks. Romero, who came in 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA in six career starts against the Athletics, allowed eight runs on four hits and six walks. Already leading on Cespedes' RBI double in WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Minnesota 15 4 .789 — San Antonio13 5 .722 1.5 Los Angeles15 6 .714 1 Seattle 9 10 .474 6 Phoenix 4 15 .211 11 Tulsa EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Connecticut 15 4 .789 — Indiana 10 7 .588 4 Atlanta 9 10 .474 6 Chicago 8 9 .471 6 New York 6 12 .333 8.5 Washington 4 14 .222 10.5 ------------------------------------------------------- Olympic break, plays continues Thurs- day, Aug. 16 3 15 .167 11.5 And while Cindric and team owner Roger Penske both called Allmendinger on Tuesday night after NASCAR announced his suspension, their expressions of person- al support don't necessarily guarantee his professional future. ''We'll sit down next week as a group,'' Cindric said. ''Our focus right now is to try and win one of the biggest races of the year, the Brickyard, and that would certainly help this organization in terms of morale and that type of thing. On the flip side, we have Brad (Keselowski) and that group on the 2 car that certainly are in position to challenge for a championship. We can't lose sight on that because of this situation, and it's our job to try and isolate our guys as best as possible to keep them focused on the job at hand.'' Cindric would not say whether All- mendinger was being paid by the team dur- ing his suspension. And while the team hasn't formally banned Allmendinger from its race shop, Cindric made it clear that the driver probably was better off staying away for the time being. ''I think it would be a distraction for anybody,'' Cindric said. ''We haven't really discussed whether he's allowed or not allowed. But there's other things that he probably needs to focus on right now.'' The team said Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 22 car this weekend at Indianapolis and next weekend at Pocono. Hornish has filled in for Allmendinger in the past two Sprint Cup Series races. ''Well, it's under difficult conditions, but any time that you're able to have the oppor- tunity to get back in Cup car at the highest level, I think it's a good opportunity for Sam,'' Cindric said. ''I think that he'll do everything he can to make the most of it.'' the first, Oakland broke it open in the second. Snider's error on Crisp's single led to the first run, and Gomes followed with an RBI single. Josh Red- dick added an RBI double and, after an intentional walk to Cespedes loaded the bases, Romero ended his night by walking Carter to force home a fifth run. Left fielder Travis Inge greeted reliever Chad Beck with a two-run double, Derek Norris grounded a run-scoring single through the right MLB West Division Texas A's American League WL Pct GB 58 39 .598 — 53 44 .546 5 Angels 54 45 .545 5 Seattle 43 57 .4301 6.5 East Division WL Pct GB New York 59 39 .602 — Baltimore 51 47 .520 8 Tampa Bay 51 47 .520 8 Boston 49 50 .495 10.5 Toronto 48 49 .495 10.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 53 45 .541 — Detroit 53 45 .541 — Cleveland 49 49 .500 4 Kansas City41 56 .423 11.5 Minnesota 40 58 .408 13 ------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday's results Chicago White Sox 8, Minnesota 2 L.A. Angels 11, Kansas City 6 N.Y.Yankees 5, Seattle 2 Detroit 5, Cleveland 3 Tampa Bay 10, Baltimore 1 Oakland 16, Toronto 0 Texas 5, Boston 3 Today's games Tampa Bay (Shields 8-6) at Baltimore (Tillman 2-1), 9:35 p.m. Oakland (Milone 9-6) at Toronto (Laffey 2-1), 9:37 a.m. Detroit (Verlander 11-5) at Cleveland (McAllister 4-2), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (Mendoza 4-6) at Seattle (Vargas 10-7), 7:10 p.m. Friday's games Boston at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Oakland at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Detroit at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Cleveland at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Tampa Bay at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Kansas City at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. side and Hicks capped the rally with an RBI ground- out. Oakland's biggest inning of the season. The A's also scored eight in the second inning of a 12-1 win over Texas on June 4. Crisp's two solo shots made it 11-0 before Carter hit a drive in the sixth off Drew Carpenter, his sixth. The eight runs matched MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 55 43 .561 — Dodgers 53 45 .541 2 Arizona 49 48 .505 5.5 San Diego 42 58 .420 14 Colorado 36 60 .375 18 East Division WL Pct GB Washington 58 39 .598 — Atlanta 54 44 .551 4.5 New York 47 51 .480 11.5 Miami Phila. 45 53 .459 13.5 45 54 .455 14 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 57 40 .588 — Pittsburgh 55 42 .567 2 St. Louis 51 46 .526 6 Milwaukee 44 53 .454 13 Chicago 40 57 .412 17 Houston 34 64 .347 23.5 ------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday's results Washington 5, N.Y. Mets 2 Pittsburgh 3, Chicago Cubs 2 Atlanta 7, Miami 1 Philadelphia 7, Milwaukee 6, 10 innings San Diego 6, San Francisco 3 Cincinnati at Houston, late L.A. Dodgers at St. Louis, late Colorado at Arizona, late Today's games L.A. Dodgers (Capuano 10-5) at St. Louis (Westbrook 8-8), 10:45 a.m. Pittsburgh (A.J.Burnett 11-3) at Houston (Keuchel 1-2), 5:05 p.m. Washington (E.Jackson 5-6) at Milwau- kee (Gallardo 8-7), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Harvey 0-0) at Arizona (Miley 11-5), 6:40 p.m. Friday's games St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. San Diego at Miami, 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:35 p.m. Pittsburgh at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Washington at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Cincinnati at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m.