LOS ANGELES -- Veteran UFC light heavyweight Chael Sonnen has failed a drug test, forcing him out of his bout with Vitor Belfort

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LOS ANGELES -- Veteran UFC light heavyweight Chael Sonnen has failed a drug test, forcing him out of his bout with Vitor Belfort at UFC 175 in Las Vegas next month. Jim Otto Raiders Jersey . Sonnen said he tested positive for two banned substances in a random test last month. The three-time UFC title contender is likely to face a suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Sonnen attempted to defend himself Tuesday, claiming he took anastrozole and clomiphene as part of his move off testosterone replacement therapy, which was outlawed by Nevada regulators earlier this year. Sonnen had an exemption allowing his steroid use, but gave up TRT after it was banned. "They changed the rules, and Ive got to comply with the rules," Sonnen told Fox Sports, the UFCs television partner. "However, there is a transition period (after dropping TRT), and I couldnt have been more open or more transparent." The 37-year-old Sonnen (28-14-1) said he plans to appeal the commissions decision next week, even though he acknowledged knowing the two substances were on the Nevada commissions banned list. Sonnen said his doctor put him on the banned substances to bolster his natural testosterone production, which can be stunted by taking synthetic testosterone. He also believes he should be allowed to take the substances out of competition, even though theyre banned precisely to prevent athletes from using them to gain an unfair advantage in preparation for an event. "An athlete does not have to remain off of medication 365 days a year," Sonnen said. "If theyre asking me to choose between my health and my sport, thats not a choice I can make. Ive got to choose health." UFC President Dana White blamed both the Nevada commission and Sonnen while addressing the failed test on Fox Sports. White spoke out against TRT earlier this year, shortly before the Nevada commission banned it and many other commissions followed suit. "This thing has been bad since Day 1," White said. "I wish that the commission had never let anybody use TRT, and when it went away, they didnt do a very good job of figuring out how to get these guys off it. When you get off it, you dont just go cold turkey. "And its Chaels fault, too, because Chael should have called the athletic commission and said, This is what my doctor told me I need to do to come down off this stuff, so heres what Ive been taking." Sonnen had lost three of his past four fights heading into his July 5 bout with Belfort, another former TRT user. While never a champion, Sonnen is among the UFCs most prominent figures, serving as a studio analyst, commentator and reality show coach for the UFCs broadcast platforms while also continuing his fighting career. Sonnen also had high levels of testosterone in his system after his thrilling loss to middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117 in Oakland, California, in 2010. He received a suspension for failing to get an exemption for TRT in California. Sonnens latest drug mishap is another bizarre turn for UFC 175, which has endured numerous changes and strange circumstances. Belfort only got a spot on the pay-per-view card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center when Wanderlei Silva skipped a drug test last month and dropped out of his scheduled bout with Sonnen, who harshly criticized Silva on television for missing the test. Belfort used TRT for at least his last three fights, all won by spectacular knockout in his native Brazil. He dropped out of a scheduled fight with UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in late February on the same day the Nevada commission banned TRT. Belfort says he has since stopped using steroids. He is scheduled to appear at a licensing hearing with the Nevada commission next week. UFC 175 is headlined by Weidmans title defence against Lyoto Machida and bantamweight champion Ronda Rouseys fourth title defence against Alexis Davis. Jack Tatum Jersey . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay. Ted Hendricks Jersey . The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elite-Lester-Hayes-Raiders-Jersey/ . - Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner with 41 seconds to go as the Niagara IceDogs edged the North Bay Battalion 3-2 to even their first-round series at a game apiece in Ontario Hockey League playoff action on Sunday.CLEVELAND - As the old saying goes, if you play with fire, youre going to get burned. Dwane Casey, who has used the phrase as a cautionary tale after lethargic starts of the recent past, came just short of saying I told you so Tuesday evening. His team had been getting away with it, far more often than any team should. Yes, theyre a resilient bunch and that was the case again in Cleveland as they clawed back from a 21-point deficit - even taking a brief fourth-quarter lead - but its been masking the underlying issue. Theyre an open-faced sandwich, missing the top bun. "You cant play in this league that way and expect to come back each and every night," Casey said after Torontos 102-100 loss to the Cavaliers. "Its bit us more than weve won, it feels like." "Until we fix that, among us, among ourselves, then its going to be an uphill battle every night." For the second time in three days, the Raptors trailed by nine after the first quarter, allowing another team with a losing record, also missing their best player, to shoot above 52 per cent to open the game. The start was eerily similar to Sundays, at home to Atlanta, lacking effort, focus and purpose on both ends of the floor. Even without injured point guard Kyrie Irving, Cleveland killed the visiting Raptors with speed and precision, exposing a reoccurring hole in their interior defence by darting into the paint at will. The comeback was inevitable. Its what they do. Down by 21 early in the third, Toronto staged a 21-9 run to close out the quarter. Kyle Lowry - running back and forth from the locker room all night, battling an upset stomach - scored half of his team-high 22 points in the frame. Greivis Vasquez would give the Raptors their first lead since the opening minutes, draining a three-pointer midway through the fourth before reality set in. "I think everybodys energy was low from having to come back," Lowry said. From that moment on they hit just one of their final 10 shots and on the last possession, down only two, they failed to even get one off. It was a play they had just run with success. Amir Johnson was looking for Lowry to turn the corner, but he was cut off. Instead, Vasquez took the handoff and, trying to spin right, towards the bucket, he lost his footing. "It was me going to my weak hand and I lost my balance, stepped kind of weird," said Vasquez, who scored 16 points of Torontos bench. "I turned the ball over. Ill take responsibility. Im not going to run away. Im a man." A noble gesture but, as Casey pointed out, its not the reason for the loss. "Thats not the game-decider," the Raptors coach said. "The game was decided the way we approached the first quarter." "Its easy to get up for OKC, its easy to get up for Miami, its easy to get up for Indiana but the teams that are not in the playoff picture, they are playing for something, too," he continued. Willie Brown Womens Jersey. "Theyre playing for pride, which is probably a little bit more dangerous than guys trying to save minutes and save themselves for the playoffs." Theres a lesson to be learned from this loss and it shouldnt take long to figure out whether or not its been absorbed. The Raptors - now the Easts fourth seed, leapfrogged by the Bulls with Tuesdays defeat - will travel to Boston in the second night of a back-to-back and first game of a home-and-home set with the Celtics, another scrappy team looking to play spoiler. "Weve got to get the mindset of being the hunter instead of the hunted because," Casey added. "Thats how we got where we are, being a desperate team, a hungry team and not believing the press clippings or where we are in the standings." Birthday blues Although Lowry would have preferred to celebrate his 28th birthday with a win, the Raptors point guard recorded his 18th double-double with 10 assists to go along with his 22 points. Lowry extended his career-high streak of 19 or more points to 10 games and also became the first Raptor to score 20-plus in eight straight since Chris Bosh did so in 2010. Amir passes VC on blocks list With his third-quarter swat on Spencer Hawes, Johnson recorded his 416th block as a member of the Raptors, passing Vince Carter for second on the teams all-time block shots list. Johnson, who had 12 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday, still has a ways to go to catch Bosh, topping the franchise list with 600 blocks. Patterson nearing a return Patrick Patterson, who has missed 10 straight games with an ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow, was reassessed on Monday and is headlong well, the team revealed before Tuesdays game in Cleveland. Although hes been cleared for contact, theres still no timetable for his return to game action. "Its a lot up to the medical staff and when they feel he can go," Casey said. "Its one of those things where if he gets hit in the wrong way it could be trouble for a lot longer so thats why they want to make sure its well enough." The stat The Raptors fell just short of matching their largest comeback of the season. They last overcame a 21-point deficit in their home win over Dallas on Jan. 22. Toronto hasnt had multiple wins in which theyve trailed by 20 or more points in the same season since 2004-05. The quote "Weve just got to understand what were playing for," Vasquez said. "Weve got a big one tomorrow [in Boston]. Its a must-win because were actually playing for something. If you dont get up for that youve got to get your gas up. Weve just got to be motivated, man. This is crunch time. This is important for us. Tomorrows a must-win, no matter what. No excuses." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '