According to The New York Daily News, Vonn met with German doctor Bernd Pansold at Red Bull’s diagnostic and training center in Thalgau, Austria while Vonn was there rehabbing her injury. Pansold is known to have played a very large role in the systematic doping of young German Democratic Republic athletes without their consent, in what has been described as a crime against humanity. Many of those given hard anabolic steroids in what was known as State Plan 14.25 suffered brutal, permanent injuries.

Pansold is one of many doctors to participate in the program, but he was at the core of formulating a plan to build unhealthy levels of muscle mass in female swimmers through doping. Pansold oversaw such operations in the 1970s and ’80s, which pumped girls, including at least one as young as 13, with the toxic steroid Oral Turinabol without their knowledge. The girls in that program suffered “irreversibly deepened voices, liver tumors, disturbed ovulation cycles and an extreme increase in face and body hair growth.”

The Daily News’ report flatly states that it has uncovered no evidence that Vonn has ever taken PEDs, but the fact that Red Bull employees a doctor with Pansold’s history — and then allows him access to a high-profile Olympic athlete — is disturbing at best. Pansold was convicted by a criminal court in 1998 for “aiding and abetting assault.”

Vonn has been sponsored by Red Bull since 2005, and many athletes make use of the Austrian clinic for training and rehab purposes. Vonn’s publicist confirmed that Vonn has visited the clinic, but denied that she had ever worked directly with Pansold. However, Pansold, himself, seems to know Vonn better than the “courtesy hellos” described by her publicist.

“A very nice girl,” Pansold told the Daily News. “She visits here twice a year.”

Pansold said that he does not work directly with Vonn. However, he did claim he’s had influence over her work through her personal trainer, who he’s advised.

That’s where Aly Raisman was promoting Dancing With the Stars when she was met by an official from the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to the show’s website. Raisman said she hadn’t been tested since the Olympics and didn’t know why it had to come on such a busy week.

“They haven’t [tested me] since the Olympics, and they choose the finale week of Dancing With the Stars to come,” Raisman said. “Out of all the days since the Olympics, they choose like, the craziest week.”

Raisman is confident she’ll pass. The results will come back in four-to-six weeks.

Photo via Twitter/@Aly_Raisman

NHL representatives and international hockey and Olympic officials met in Stockholm on Friday in a new round of talks aimed at securing an agreement for the league’s participation in the Sochi Games.

While no final deal was reached, the International Ice Hockey Federation said “all signs pointed” to NHL players going to the Olympics for a fifth straight time.

IIHF president Rene Fasel says “we have some issues left, but I, as always, remain optimistic.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department formally filed its lawsuit against Armstrong, reports CNN. Due to the statute of limitations, the government had until the end of Tuesday to file the suit.

“The USPS paid approximately $40 million to sponsor the USPS cycling team from 1998 to 2004,” says the court document.

However, the government is seeking nearly three times that figure under the False Claims Act, more than $100 million, from Armstrong. Essentially, the government is alleging that Armstrong’s now-admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs during his seven Tour de France wins represents a breach of contract between Armstrong and the Postal Service.

The suit also names Armstrong’s company, Tailwind Sports, and team manager Johan Bruyneel as defendants.

Although one of the positive tests was already publicly known, The Independent reports that UCI has confirmed it in fact knew about four positive tests from that competition. Armstrong admitted earlier this year that his TUE had been backdated.

However, things actually get worse for the UCI. The organization retested those samples six years later, in 2005, to find that they also contained blood-boosting EPO. Since the B samples had been destroyed over that period, Armstrong could not be charged with a doping offense.

After an internal memo leaked that revealed the UCI had known about the additional positive tests, and the 2005 retests, the organization released a statement.

“It should be stressed that this case was handled knowing only the facts which were apparent at that time,” reads the statement. “For example, the UCI did not know that the medical certificate handed over to Dr. Schattenberg, a member of UCI’s anti-doping commission, in July 1999 had been post-dated. Armstrong only admitted this during his interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was broadcast on 17 January 2013.”

Lance Armstrong

Banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career, Armstrong planned to compete in three events in the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships in Austin, Texas this weekend.

FINA, the world’s governing body of swimming stepped in before he could get in the water, however, and wrote a letter to the U.S. Masters Swimming officials barring Armstrong from the competition. The letter states that because the organization is sanctioned by FINA, they must follow World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

“As of (Wednesday) evening, we were told he was welcome,” Armstrong’s spokesman Mark Higgins said in an email to The Associated Press. “That position changed and we were told he could not compete, so Lance will not be swimming.”

U.S. Masters Swimming does not drug test and until FINA made their ruling, Armstrong was scheduled to compete in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyle events. The 41-year-old was among the top qualifiers in the 40-44 age group in those long-distance events.

Neither do we, but the folks at E! thought you might, so they gave the world-class athlete his own reality show.

Starting April 21, Lochte fans will get an all-access pass to the life of Lochte — from his strict training regimen to his wild social life to his fashion endeavors and even into his family life.

Check out the trailer for What Would Ryan Lochte Do? below.

The 29-year-old has joined the Tiger Rugby Olympic Development Program in Columbus, Ohio, and he is determined to make his football skills translate into rugby ones in time for Rio 2016.

And so far, Clarett has more than impressed, despite not being in game-ready shape.

“He’s ridiculous. That’s all I can say,” Tiger Rugby director Paul Holmes said. “His footwork is phenomenal. He’s nowhere near conditioned for rugby, but that will come. … The stuff he’s doing in the gym right now, he’s just ridiculous.”

After rushing for over 1,000 yards as a freshman at Ohio State, Clarett was drafted by the Broncos in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft, only to be released by Denver that same year before he played a single down.

Things went from bad to worse for the potential star as Clarett was charged with armed robbery and illegal gun possession and served jail time from 2006-2010. But now, the ex-running back is getting a second shot and it all starts with rugby.

“He’s a very interesting story of redemption,” said James Walker, a member of the team. ”He’s a guy who had the world at his feet and he chose the wrong path as a young man, and he’s now basically finding himself, and over the course of the past few years, trying to correct as many mistakes as possible, and that kind of led him to rugby.”

Clarett’s road to redemption begins now, as he will start training immediately.

Photo via Facebook/Tiger Rugby

But US Weekly reports that Woods himself has come clean about his past, and the two are just getting along fine.

The pair very publicly announced Monday that they are dating (and asked for privacy in the same breath), and what was once just speculation about the world’s greatest golfer and skier soon became an open invitation to dig into their past. On Tuesday, news arose that Vonn had been less than complimentary to Woods in 2010 after he talked about his scandal, mocking him in front of her friends.

While US Weekly had no news on whether Vonn and Woods have discussed that, it did cite a source who said Woods has shared the details of his side of the massive scandal.

“He confessed everything in his past to her and stuff — they’re really into each other,” US Weekly reports the source as saying.

Good luck on that private relationship, you two.

Click here to see the Top 10 couples in sports>>

Photo via Facebook/Tiger Woods

Vonn even joined in on criticism of Woods in a February 2010 story reported by Time.

When Woods finally broke his silence in a news conference, Vonn found it rather humorous, comparing it to a Saturday Night Live skit, a friend told writer Sean Gregory.

She went on to joke with her friends about hosting SNL and parodying the staged event, including the podium and blue backdrop, as she began to improvise the script.

“There’s something you don’t know about me. Tiger, you’re like my idol, and I too have a sex problem,” she reportedly said. ”That would be freaking funny.”

Vonn also made fun of Woods hugging some of his friends after ending his statement at the emotional news conference.

“They’re like, ‘Yeah, you’re awesome, you go have that sex,’” Gregory writes, adding that Vonn had the whole room laughing.

Fast-forward three years, and Vonn may be thankful she never got a chance to host SNL and sarcastically call Woods her “idol.” The two are now dating. The long-speculated relationship was confirmed Monday by the two star athletes on Facebook.

Gregory asked Vonn in 2010 how she would feel if she had to deal with similar attention, and she brushed off the question.

“Well, I’m married,” she said at the time, “so I don’t have that problem. But, um, I guess [Woods] is married too. … I mean, I guess if you have secrets, you have an issue. I’ve kind of been open about everything.”

Woods and Vonn have asked for privacy for their new relationship.

Click here for photos from the Vonn-Woods photo shoot that was posted on Facebook>>

Photo via Facebook/Tiger Woods

Phelps denied rumors that he would come out of retirement for the 2016 Olympics when he was in Rio de Janeiro last week. Teammate Ryan Lochte started the rumors in December when he predicted Phelps would come back. Phelps made it clear, though, that he’s done.

“It has been an amazing career, and it is crazy to think that it is over,” Phelps said in Brazil while accepting the Exceptional Achievement Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards, according to UPI. “But I’ve done everything that I wanted to do in sport.

“I wanted to change swimming and take it to a level, and I have. But I will continue to be a part of sport and help grow sports. That is a goal and a passion of mine.”

Phelps said he will be in Rio in 2016, but only as a spectator.

Five weeks ago, Vonn crashed on a run during the super-G in Austria and sustained a season-ending knee injury. The cancellation of Wednesday’s race allowed Vonn to retain her downhill title — just one point ahead of overall champion Tina Maze of Slovenia.

Vonn tweeted her excitement Wednesday.

Omg I won the World Cup Downhill title!!!!! 6 in a row with a bum knee! Everything in life comes back around.... fb.me/DHefBqkD

—
lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) March 13, 2013

Vonn was denied the chance at a fourth straight overall title two years ago by similar weather conditions. The giant slalom, the last race of the season, was canceled because of similar weather conditions in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Vonn lost by three points to Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany.

“Everything in life comes back around,” Vonn wrote on her Facebook page with the hashtags #believe, #karma, and #onelegvictorydance.

Vonn’s downhill title gave her a World Cup record-17th crystal globe, overtaking Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proell. The 28-year-old has won four overall titles and 13 in individual disciplines.

Have a story tip for Alison Bullock? Send it to her via Twitter @awbullock or e-mail it at abullock@NESN.com

The Olympic swimmer was spotted at a Hollywood nightclub with his childhood crush, Carmen Electra, according to E!. The two were seen together at Bootsy Bellows in a booth kissing, and later standing up while locking lips.

An “eyewitness” at the club told E!, “They did not leave together, and I am not sure if they will see each other again. But they have been tweeting and instagraming back and forth.” Ah, young love.

Lochte revealed to E! back in July that Electra was his biggest crush growing up.

“By far, still my all-time favorite to this day is Carmen Electra. I don’t even know why, I see her and I’m just like, ‘Woah!’”

We’re sure she’s pleased to know that he doesn’t know why he likes her so much.

Both the 40-year-old Electra and the 28-year-old Lochte posted pictures to social media pages. Lochte posted the following picture with the caption “Me and beautiful @carmenelectra my biggest crush since childhood. Finally meeting her. #jeah.” Jeah is right.

Photo via Instagram/RyanLochte

Electra also used Lochte’s annoying catchphrase in her post. She wrote “So nice to meet u. JEAH!!!”

Photo via Twitter/@CarmenElectra

There’s no word where this relationship will take these two blossoming love birds, but E!’s source said the two are both single. Lochte has a “docu-series” (whatever that means) coming out on E! in April, and there’s no better way to drive up interest in a show than throwing out some good old fashioned relationship rumors.

One thing is for certain. If these two ever hit the beach, no lifeguard is required.

Photo of the Day

“Why?! Why are they still putting us in these terrible sleeved jerseys?”

Quote of the Day

“I’m very proud of them. Our guys fought tonight. They did a tremendous job and it’s just that Miami is a great, great team and that’s what happens with great teams. They ratchet it up on you and squeeze you for about five or six minutes and then they take the game. That’s what championships have always done, so I couldn’t ask any more of our guys. I thought they did everything they could do.”
– Doug Collins reacted to the Sixers’ 102-93 loss like a rec-league coach

Tweet of the Day

Someone tell NESN assistant editor Zach Stoloff to start sleeping like a normal human being.

when you wake up at 3 p.m., going to bed at 10:30 a.m begins to seem like a totally reasonable proposition...

—
Zach Stoloff (@zachstoloff) March 09, 2013

Video of the Day

Is it just us, or do long-range shots seem to be falling more frequently these days?

Stevens, a former Seattle Seahawks tight end, was arrested Nov. 12 for fourth-degree domestic violence assault. The 911 call came from the soccer star’s home and led to the arrest of Stevens.

Solo’s brother, Marcus, called 911 four times around 3 a.m., telling police there was a fight, alcohol was consumed and medical attention was needed for an innocent bystander who got hurt. Marcus allegedly refused to name who was responsible for the fight that occurred with eight people in the house, and when asked if any weapons were involved, Marcus said a stun gun was used.

When police arrived at the scene, they reportedly found Hope Solo with a bloody elbow, a woman lying on the floor with a hip injury and Marcus Solo with injuries to his head, eye and knees, according to the police report. Stevens was found upstairs, and police said he “appeared to be hiding.”

Stevens claimed that he was sleeping during the fight, but he was arrested that night only to be released the next day for lack of evidence. Solo and Stevens went through with their wedding that evening. The Kirkland Police Department has since closed the case and referred it to prosecutors.

Have a soccer question? Send it to us via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here.

The Boston Olympic Exploratory Committee riled up the locals earlier this week after the private group met with City Hall officials in what committee chairman Eric Reddy told The Boston Globe was “a promising meeting.”

Mayor Thomas Menino isn’t so sure about the idea, though, according to WBUR’s Bob Oakes.

“I think it’s far-fetched,” Menino said. “I’d also be concerned about the cost of it and what it costs to taxpayers of the city of Boston. Just to apply, to be considered costs $6-8 million — not refundable either. So that’s $6-8 million that was used of public funds to apply for consideration for the Olympics. At this time, I think it’s a far-fetched idea, and just wish that I knew about it before it was in the paper.

“Especially in these economic times, with what’s happening in Washington today and what could possibly happen in the state, I need every penny I have to make sure we continue the services to the people of Boston,” Menino added.

Greater Boston is not necessarily chock full of available land, either.

“I just don’t know where we could create that massive land in our city or in the surrounding cities,” he said.

Photo via Facebook/Boston Olympic Bid

Paraguayan Olympian javelin thrower and part-time model Leryn Franco tweeted a picture of a signed jersey she received from the world-famous Barcelona forward late last February.

Accompanying the picture was a personal message (translated) from Franco thanking Messi for the gesture.

“This is one of the nice things about the sport! Thanks GENIUS. Regards to the family!” Franco tweeted.

Franco, 31, has turned heads in the last three Summer Olympics — but not for her athletic accomplishments.  In the 2004 Games, she placed 42nd out of 44 competitors in her event.  In 2008 she fell to 51st out of 52 other throwers.  In 2012, she managed 34th out of 38.  If only there were a medal awarded for persistence, or at least immense physical beauty, Franco would have more golds than Michael Phelps.

There’s no indication whether Franco has ever met the Argentine Messi in person, but South America can’t really be that big, can it?

Check out Franco’s picture of Messi’s thoughtful gift below.

Click here for more photos of Leryn Franco>>

Photo via Twitter/Leryn Franco

Thumbnail Photo via Facebook/Leryn Franco

The 125-acre facility known as Home Depot Center since it opened 10 years ago will change its name on June 1. It is the first naming rights partnership for the San Francisco-based ticketing company.

The price of the multiyear contract wasn’t disclosed. However, Home Depot paid $70 million for a 10-year deal. The company declined to renew.

The 125-acre complex includes a 27,000-seat main stadium and also has facilities for tennis, cycling, track and other sports. It’s an official training site for U.S. Olympians and also has been used for concerts.

The multi-year agreement announced Monday by AEG, which developed and manages the facility, calls for StubHub to have two ”giant digital freeway marquee signs,” a presence on the venue’s official website, and involvement in the Galaxy’s team marketing assets. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The first scheduled StubHub Center event will be a Galaxy match on June 19.

StubHub Center will remain an official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training site, and a training center for the U.S. Soccer Federation, the U.S. Tennis Association and USA Cycling.

Photo via Facebook/Home Depot Center: LA Galaxy

Armen Nazaryan is going on a hunger strike to protest the decision to drop wrestling as an Olympic sport, according to Reuters. The 38-year-old won gold in the 1996 and 2000 games. He won bronze in 2004.

“I’m protesting against the recommendation to drop wrestling from the Olympics,” Nazaryan said. “Wrestling has always been part of the Olympic program and it’s not right to exclude it from the Games. I’m starting my hunger strike and from now on I will drink only syrup.”

Nazaryan competed for Armenia, his home country, until 1996. He then switched allegiances to Bulgaria for the 1997 World Championships and beyond. With the switch he made the move from flyweight to featherweight.

Victor Ortiz

Ortiz is going to appear in the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars, as the cast was revealed during Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning America at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, according to the Examiner.com.

Among those joining Ortiz this year is Dorothy Hammill, the 56-year-old Olympic gold medalist from the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck.

Dancing with the Stars premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, March 18 on ABC. Other athletes this season include Aly Raisman and Jacoby Jones.

Photo via Facebook/Victor Ortiz

According to The Associated Press, Pistorius was granted bail on Friday when Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair announced his decision to a packed courthouse after a two-hour explanation of the ruling.

Charged with premeditated murder, Pistorious was up against the strictest bail requirements as the charge carries a life sentence if convicted. Nair set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000), ordered Pistorius to turn in his passports along with any guns he might own and stay away from his home where the crime occurred.

While prosecutors maintain that the track star shot Steenkamp after the couple had an argument, Pistorius insists it was an accident and he believed she was an intruder. It was his sworn statement that came in the form of a written account that helped sway Nair into granting him bail.

After leaving the courthouse, cameramen followed Pistorius as he was driven to his uncle’s house.

“We are relieved at the fact that Oscar got bail today, but at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva, with her family,” said Pistorius’ uncle, Arnold Pistorius. “As a family, we know Oscar’s version of what happened on that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court case.”

Missteps on the part of the prosecution also aided in the release of Pistorius. Lead investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, who faces seven charges of attempted murder in an unrelated incident, was removed from the case on Thursday. Nair stated Botha committed “errors” and “blunders,” while investigating, but the prosecution, now headed by the nation’s top detective, Vinesh Moonoo, remains confident they can win.

Pistorius’ next court appearance is set for June 4.