Italy's Latest Match-Fixing Scandal

Europe's latest soccer match-fixing scandal comes from Napoli of the Italian Serie A League. According to the Italian Football Federation Napoli was handed a two-point deduction, fined €70,000 and had three players banned over bets placed in 2010 on a match with Sampdoria which they lost 1-0. Defenders Gianluca Grava and Paola Cannavaro were banned from play for six months for their knowledge of the activity without reporting it while former goaltender Matteo Gianello was banned for 39 months after confessing to prosecutors that he attempted to fix the match.

FIFA Executive Mohamed bin Hammam Receives Second Lifetime Ban

Already fighting a separate lifetime ban, FIFA executive committee member Mohmad bin Hammam of Qatar was handed another lifetime ban from all organized soccer events and activities earlier this week. Facing corruption charges, allegations he offered bribes and tampering with bank accounts during his presidency of the Asian Football Confederation all of which are violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics led to his lifetime bans. These allegations prompted Hammam's resignation from all his positions in soccer effective immediately. Not too often will you see executive members being caught but this is a step in the right direction for soccer which has been embroiled in corruption over the past few years.

Four 2004 Olympians Stripped of Medals for Steroids

Last week the International Olympic Committee officially stripped medals from four 2004 Olympians after new analysis confirmed traces of steroids. Yuri Belonog of Ukraine was stripped of the shot put gold medal, Ivan Tikhon of Belarus was stripped of the hammer silver medal, Svetlana Krivelyova of Russia stripped of the shot put bronze medal and Irina Yatchenko of Belarus was stripped of her discus bronze medal. The IOC recently had a laboratory reanalyze 105 tests from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games which has the most failed dope tests in Olympic history.

Luck of the Irish?

Love them or hate them, the Fighting Irish are headed to the BCS National Championship football game on January 7, 2013. For those who watched most of their games this year you might recall a close game against Stanford and a mythical comeback against Pitt. I recall watching some ridiculous calls by the officials at these two games but the guys at "The Fix Is In" lay it out perfectly. Click here to see the luck of the Irish or the fix. What do you think?

Speed Skater Sergei Lisin Failed Test for Blood Doping

Russian speed skater Sergei Lisin recently failed a drug test for blood doping with the use of the blood booster EPO. Lisin is currently facing a two-year ban if found guilty but has the option for a B sample or appeal. Seems like every sport has someone using the juice or messing with their blood.

World Discus Champion Darya Pishchalnikova Tests Positive for Steroids

2011 world discus champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Darya Pishchalnikova recently tested positive for an anabolic steroid and now faces a lifetime ban if found guilty. Already suspended once before for almost three years after Pishchalnikova and six other female Russian athletes manipulated drug samples prior to the 2008 Olympics. Currently Darya has the right to have her B sample tested and appeal the findings. The list of Olympic athletes using steroids and other banned substances continues to grow. Who will be next?

Youth Football Gambling Ring Busted

A gambling ring in South Florida has recently been shut down by authorities. This gambling ring wagered on youth football in the South Florida area, yes you read that correctly youth football. Guess you can gamble on anything these days. Nine men pictured above were arrested including several coaches. Coaches met prior to games to set point spreads while parents were gambling in the stands. This was  not your friendly wager of five dollars between parents who know each other but rather full on gambling with the youth football championship game bringing in a total of more than $100,000 wagered on this game alone. There was no evidence that players were encouraged to play one way or another or even knew about the betting. If the coaches set the lines who is to say they didn't influence play calling. It was reported that several of these coaches have criminal histories so I wouldn't be surprised if they swayed things one way or another depending on the money being bet from side to side to further their own winnings. Hope this serves as a lesson to the kids, parents and coaches, gambling does not belong around children!

Rookie Padres Catcher Yasmani Grandal Suspended

San Diego Padres rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal burst onto the scene this past June which included two home runs in his first career start. Grandal tested positive for testosterone and has been banned for 50 games which will begin with the start of the 2013 season. Grandal accepted responsibility for his actions. Someone was in a rush to make the bigs and make a statement but unfortunately he got caught.

MMA Fighter Stephan Bonnar Fails UFC 153 Post Fight Drug Test

MMA fighter Stephan Bonnar has reportedly failed his post fight drug test from UFC 153 on October 13th. Sources state Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone. Bonnar also failed a post fight drug test for boldenone back in August 2006 at UFC 62. Bonnar lost both fights and recently retired from the sport of MMA following his loss at UFC 153.

Boxer Erik Morales Fails Drug Test then Passes on Third Attempt

Boxer Erik Morales, a former four weight class champion failed two drug tests prior to his super light-weight title fight against Danny Garcia last weekend but then passed on a third test. Morales failed the drug tests for clenbuterol which is classified as a performance enhancing drug which he claimed he ingested through contaminated meat. Some question if he should have been allowed to compete but the fight went on as planned and Morales lost via fourth round knock out.

Lance Armstrong Teammates Suspended Six Months

Last week American cyclists Tom Danielson, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriski who all testified against Lance Armstrong for their roles in blood doping and usage of performance enhancing drugs have now been suspended from competition for six months. They recently painted a picture of Armstrong as the doping ring leader.

Speed Skating Equipment Tampering

U.S. speed skating coach Jae Su Chun has recently been accused of sabotage. Chun allegedly ordered U.S. speed skater Simon Cho (pictured) to tamper with the skates of rival Canadian speed skater Olivier Jean at the 2011 World Short Track Team Speed Skating Championships in Warsaw. Prior to the 5,000 meter relay finals Jean had skate problems and was unable to compete costing the Canadian team a chance at gold or silver.

Football Outcome Determined from Above?

A few weeks ago the largest point spread in sports betting history was set at 70.5 for Florida State over Savannah State in college football. With 8:59 left in the third quarter and a Florida State lead of 55-0 the game was called due to lightening. Even with the astronomical spread the majority sided with Florida State so was this truly stopped due to an act of God or did Vegas have its hand in this one? I wasn't there to judge the weather but curious if the game could have been resumed. Generally 58 minutes of a game have to pass in football or wagers are cancelled so I am assuming people go their money back but once again Vegas takes no loss to Florida State bettors.

NFL and the Replacements

If you follow American football then you know the first three weeks of the NFL season have been marred by horrible officiating by replacement referees. The most controversial call would have to be this past Monday nights touchdown by the Seattle Seahawks to end the game victorious 14-12 over the Green Bay Packers. Just to note, the Packers were a three point chalk and according to one website had 70% of bettors on their side. Time and time again when bettors are that lopsided funny things tend to happen come game time. One sports book estimated that $250 Million worldwide flipped from one side to the other on this play. Look closely at the offensive pass interference, which player has control of the ball, the two referee's different calls and you be the judge. Was is fixed?