BASEBALL

Sea Dogs catcher among five players suspended

Jake Romanski, a catcher in the Red Sox organization who played with the Portland Sea Dogs, is one of five players who were suspended Thursday under baseball’s minor league drug program.

The commissioner’s office said Thursday that four were suspended 50 games each for testing positive for banned stimulants: Romanski, free-agent pitcher Mario Alcantara, Kansas City pitcher Arnaldo Hernandez and Houston pitcher Brendan McCurry.

Cleveland pitcher Dakody Clemmer was banned 50 games following a second positive test for a drug of abuse. The latest suspensions raise the total for the year to 100. Thirteen players have been suspended this year under the major league drug program.

Last season Romanski played 90 games with the Sea Dogs, hitting .308 with with four home runs and 38 RBI.

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 The Cleveland Indians agreed with slugger Edwin Encarnacion on a $60 million, three-year contract Thursday night.

The deal is contingent upon the 33-year-old Encarnacion’s passing a physical after the holidays, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

 Right-hander Ivan Nova has agreed to a $26 million with the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

SOCCER

AWARD: Forward Jozy Altidore won the U.S. Player of the Year Award for the second time in voting announced Thursday.

Altidore, who plays for Toronto in Major League Soccer, received 52 first-place votes and 223 points in voting by 136 media members conducted by Futbol de Primera.

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Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic, who at 17 years, 253 days, became the youngest goal scorer in national team history, on May 28, was second with 18 firsts and 111 points. American captain Michael Bradley, last year’s winner, was third with 15 firsts and 84 points.

U.S. WOMEN: Hope Solo says she hopes that someday she can return to the women’s national team, but in the meantime she vows to keep fighting for equal pay for the players.

Solo was handed a six-month suspension and her contract with U.S. Soccer was terminated following the Rio Olympics, after she called Sweden’s team “cowards” for their defensive style of play against the Americans in the quarterfinals.

Solo is not eligible for reinstatement until February. Her comments Thursday to the Associated Press came as the team’s players are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Soccer. The current contract expires on Dec. 31.

PREMIER LEAGUE: Crystal Palace fired manager Alan Pardew with the club in 17th place in the 20-team league with nearly half the season gone.

SKIING

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WORLD CUP: There were no falling drones to deal with this time in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, but Marcel Hirscher still couldn’t catch Henrik Kristoffersen on the slalom hill.

For the second consecutive slalom race this season, and in a result that matched last year’s event on the Canalone Miramonti course, Kristoffersen edged Hirscher Thursday.

The Norwegian finished the two runs 0.33 seconds faster than Hirscher, the five-time defending overall World Cup champion from Austria.

Stefano Gross of Italy finished third, a distant 1.35 seconds behind.

A year ago, Hirscher narrowly escaped getting hit by a camera drone that fell from the sky within inches of his head as he was racing.


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