Three NFL Players Fined for Positive Steroid Tests

Chris Cooper and Barret Robbins of the Oakland Raiders and free agent Dana Stubblefield have been fined three game checks by the NFL for testing positive for the steroid THG.

They also were put on “reasonable-cause testing” for the rest of their careers and will be suspended for eight games if they test positive for any steroid again.

The action was the result of an agreement announced Wednesday by the NFL and the players’ union that has been pending since October. Cooper and Stubblefield are defensive linemen, and Robbins is a center.

A fourth player, linebacker Bill Romanowski, also tested positive, although the league didn’t identify him by name. He announced his retirement after last season, and his case is pending.

Robbins’ fine totals $234,375, based on his 2004 salary of $1.25 million. Cooper’s fine is $187,500, based on a salary of $1 million.

Stubblefield’s fine will be determined by his salary when or if he signs.

All four players were with the Raiders at the time they were tested and when THG was identified.

The league said they were the only positive samples in 1,700 retests of every sample taken before Oct. 6.

Stubblefield and Cooper, along with teammates Tyrone Wheatley, a running back, and Chris Hetherington, a fullback, appeared before a grand jury investigating a nutritional supplements lab -- the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative -- which has been at the center of a steroids controversy in several sports.

Normal league policy mandates a four-game suspension for players who test positive for steroids the first time.

In this case, however, the fines were agreed upon as a compromise after negotiations between the league and the NFL Players Assn. The union had challenged the NFL’s authority to retest specimens deemed to be negative after an initial screening.

“This case presented a unique set of facts not addressed by the parties when the policy was written,” Harold Henderson, the NFL’s vice president for labor relations, said in a statement. “Resolving the dispute required compromise by both sides, but the most important point is that our policy is now stronger.”

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Middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter returned to the Philadelphia Eagles, agreeing to a one-year contract.

Trotter’s deal, believed to be worth less than $1 million, is contingent upon his passing a physical today. Trotter, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Washington Redskins.

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Jamal Reynolds was waived by the Green Bay Packers, who reacquired his rights after he failed a physical, voiding his trade to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Packers had sent the fourth-year defensive end to the Colts on July 8 for a future draft pick.

Hockey

If there is not an owners’ lockout, the Kings begin the NHL season Oct. 13 in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche. The Kings’ home opener is scheduled for Oct. 15 against the Calgary Flames. The regular-season finale is April 9 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Staples Center. The Ducks open Oct. 13 at home against Calgary and conclude the season April 10 at home against Columbus.

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Free-agent defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev signed a two-year deal with the Florida Panthers.

Tennis

Top-seeded Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Lindsay Lee-Waters at Stanford.

Williams, currently ranked fourth, is a two-time champion in this event, winning in 2000 and 2002.

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Top-seeded Rainer Schuettler was knocked out of the Mercedes Cup in the second round, losing, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2, to Radek Stepanek at Stuttgart, Germany. In other matches, French Open champion Gaston Gaudio struggled against Hugo Armando before their match was suspended because of darkness. Armando won the first set, 6-3. Gaudio took the second, 6-2.

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Fernando Gonzalez and Igor Andreev advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dutch Open at Amersfoort, Netherlands, completing their matches before rain washed out play for the rest of the day.

WNBA

Rookie Nicole Ohlde scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Minnesota Lynx to a 66-63 victory over Connecticut in front of 16,227 at Minneapolis.

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Kelly Miller scored 18 points and Stephanie White had 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to lead the Indiana Fever over Houston in front of 8,493 at Indianapolis.

Miscellany

The leaders of college football’s bowl championship series will introduce a new formula today, one they hope will be less complex, more definitive and will decrease the controversy that has surrounded the championship game in three of the last four seasons.

The new formula is expected to include only results from Associated Press’ media poll, the coaches’ poll and the computer rankings, while eliminating the other factors, such as bonus points for quality wins and strength of schedule.

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La Puente junior-lightweight Mike Anchondo will fight for his first world title tonight on an HBO Latino/Boxeo De Oro card at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Anchondo (24-0, 18 knockouts) will meet Julio Pablo Chacon (50-5, 35) of Las Heras, Argentina, for the World Boxing Organization’s vacant 130-pound title.

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Basketball standouts Dwight Howard from Atlanta and Candace Parker from Naperville, Ill., were honored as the Gatorade high school athletes of the year.