Suspension

BMW has been striving to reconcile its dueling images for years. Best known for its luxurious, sport-oriented cars, the German manufacturer's motorcycles are only beginning to shed their reputation as wheels for safety-conscious old men, thanks to exciting new bikes like the S 1000 RR and K 1600 LT. At this weekend's International Motorcycle Shows event in Long Beach, BMW is likely to confuse its image even further when its first scooters make...

The bizarre and complicated world of thoroughbred blood testing and sanctions reached the mainstream Thursday, when the California Horse Racing Board penalized the trainer who has won the first two legs of the sport's Triple Crown. The seven-person, governor-appointed board, ruling on a case that has been argued and litigated since the summer of 2010, suspended Doug O'Neill for 45 days and fined him $15,000. The penalty actually carried an additional 135 days of suspension, but that will be voided if there are no further findings involving O'Neill in the next 18 months.

You look fat in that. Of course I'll be late. Your baby reminds me of Gollum's uncle. This is what the 2013 Subaru BRZ might say if it could talk. The all-new, rear-wheel-drive sports car starts at $26,265, and boy is it honest - perhaps more so than any other car on the market today, save for its mechanical twin, the Scion FR-S. The two were jointly developed by Subaru and Scion's parent company, Toyota, with both assembled by Subaru in Japan. The question about the BRZ is, can you handle the honesty?

The fate of trainer Doug O'Neill, charged by California Horse Racing Board enforcement officials with a substance abuse violation involving one of his horses, will be addressed Thursday morning at a board meeting at Hollywood Park. These are usually low-profile procedural meetings, but the item on the agenda involving O'Neill, whose I'll Have Another will take a run at racing's coveted Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes June 9, has triggered much interest and speculation. Racing's enforcement officials ruled that an O'Neill-trained horse, Argenta, tested positive for high levels of carbon dioxide after a race Aug. 25, 2010, at Del Mar. High levels of carbon dioxide are considered evidence of the use of a "milkshake" to illegally boost a horse's stamina.

A middle school student is faced with an in-school suspension for having an image of San Antonio Spurs  forward Matt Bonner shaved into the back of his head. Patrick Gonzalez of Woodlake Hills Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, said he's always been a huge fan of Bonner. "Ever since I can remember," he told FOX station KABB. With the Spurs playing against the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, he decided to display his admiration for his favorite player on his head.

Reporting from Detroit — Torii Hunter already had advised his agent to start preparing his appeal for a possible suspension after the Angels right fielder's tantrum Friday night at Comerica Park. "I'm going to fight it," Hunter told reporters in the clubhouse following his eighth-inning ejection, which preceded an outburst in which his batting helmet brushed against umpire Ron Kulpa 's face and Hunter flung a bag of balls onto the field. There wasn't much fight in Hunter a day later.

It's all a guessing game this time during the playoffs -- at least when it comes to supplementary discipline, and in particular, the case of the Coyotes' Martin Hanzal, who received a one-game suspension for his hit on the Kings' Dustin Brown in Game 2. Game 3 is tonight in Los Angeles. "I know these [playoff] games are probably worth more," Brown said after Thursday's morning skate at Staples Center. "I thought he was going to get two. But it's not an easy decision to make.

Staples Center is home to four professional sports franchises, the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks. Each team has a different set-up on the arena floor. It is up to the crew overseen by the Staples Center operations department to reconfigure the floor for each game. Several times a year they must make the changeover twice or more over one weekend in between games. Last Saturday afternoon, while fans were still heading for the exits after the Clippers' 103-100 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, 65 workers began transforming the arena for the Kings' game against the Calgary Flames that night.

MSNBC has decided to return "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann to work on Tuesday, meaning that his much-discussed suspension for making unauthorized political donations will have lasted all of two work days. In a statement released late Sunday, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said: "After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.

Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres was suspended for 25 games for his late hit to the head of Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa, by far the longest suspension issued by the NHL's senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan. Torres, a repeat offender, delivered the late hit in the first period of Game 3 of the Coyotes-Blackhawks series on Tuesday night. Hossa had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher and ended up going to the hospital. He was released a couple of hours later.

It's all a guessing game this time during the playoffs -- at least when it comes to supplementary discipline, and in particular, the case of the Coyotes' Martin Hanzal, who received a one-game suspension for his hit on the Kings' Dustin Brown in Game 2. Game 3 is tonight in Los Angeles. "I know these [playoff] games are probably worth more," Brown said after Thursday's morning skate at Staples Center. "I thought he was going to get two. But it's not an easy decision to make.

A middle school student is faced with an in-school suspension for having an image of San Antonio Spurs  forward Matt Bonner shaved into the back of his head. Patrick Gonzalez of Woodlake Hills Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, said he's always been a huge fan of Bonner. "Ever since I can remember," he told FOX station KABB. With the Spurs playing against the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, he decided to display his admiration for his favorite player on his head.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — As the sun and the Phoenix Coyotes sank slowly in the West, the key question after the Kings' 4-0 conference finals victory Tuesday was whether the NHL, which has operated the Coyotes franchise for three years, will suspend one or more of its players for the frustration-driven fouls they committed. The lesser of the evils was Shane Doan's hit on Kings forward Trevor Lewis at 16 minutes 29 seconds of the second period at Jobing.com Arena. Doan, the Coyotes' captain, drove Lewis into the boards after Lewis had turned his back, and got a major boarding penalty and a game misconduct while Lewis was treated for a cut and bloodied nose.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The boos cascaded upon him when he walked onto the court for warmups. They intensified when he was introduced before the game. And they continued even when he stepped to the free-throw line with the outcome long decided. "World Peace, we hate you!" a woman sitting courtside bellowed midway through the third quarter. Oklahoma City Thunder fans reserved a special welcome for Metta World Peace on Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in the opener of the team's Western Conference semifinal series against the Lakers.

The Lakers small forward who lingered the longest to work on his shooting Monday was the only one who can't help his team in the next two games. The suspended Metta World Peace slowly moved around the perimeter at the Lakers' practice facility, making shot after shot. Putting the ball into the basket hasn't been as routine for Matt Barnes and Devin Ebanks. Barnes has made six of 26 (23.1%) shots in the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, including only one of 14 (7.1%)

DENVER - The Lakers lost Game 3 but weren't total losers. JaVale McGee was the best big man on the court and Kobe Bryant couldn't hit a shot, but the Lakers moved closer to getting back Metta World Peace from his seven-game suspension. If the first round ended in five games, World Peace would miss one more game. If it goes six, he's back for the Western Conference semifinals. If it goes seven…the Lakers would rather not think about that. They wanted the chance at a sweep against the Denver Nuggets, which became impossible thanks to their surprisingly languid 99-84 loss Friday.

The NHL's decision to suspend Phoenix forward Raffi Torres for 25 games to punish his vicious hit on Chicago's Marian Hossa was surprising because previous disciplinary actions in the playoffs had been relatively modest and had been no more than four games. The verdict on Torres had the impact of a thunderclap - and not everybody agreed with it. Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell, who has suffered three concussions during his career, said Saturday he was gratified to see the league take harsh action against Torres, who has been punished several times for targeting opponents' heads.

Within a five-second span, Metta World Peace threw everything away. His vicious elbow didn't just damage Oklahoma City forward James Harden. It damaged World Peace's reputation. His ensuing ejection didn't just hang the Lakers out to dry as they somehow managed to escape with a 114-106 double-overtime victory Sunday over the Oklahoma City Thunder. It left them wondering if they can win without him, since World Peace probably will draw a lengthy suspension. And his apology afterward that it was an "unintentional elbow" isn't just laughable because the Lakers' public relations staff refused to allow him to take follow-up questions.

Another shoe drop, another shock wave. The NFL dropped the hammer on the New Orleans Saints again Wednesday, punishing four players for their role in the bounty scandal, including a full-season suspension of linebacker and defensive captain Jonathan Vilma. Defensive linemen Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith got eight- and four-game suspensions, respectively, and linebacker Scott Fujita was suspended for three games. Hargrove now plays for Green Bay and Fujita for Cleveland.

The head of the NFL players' union said Wednesday that the NFLPA still has not received any details or specific evidence about the New Orleans Saints' "alleged pay-to-injure program" and that it will fight the suspensions of four sanctioned players. “We have made it clear that punishment without evidence is not fair,” said DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFLPA. “We have spoken with our players and their representatives and we will vigorously protect and pursue all options on their behalf.” The NFLPA is in a difficult position, because it represents all NFL players, among them those who were allegedly targeted by the Saints.