d Carew has undergone successful heart and kidney transplant surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.The Minnesota Twins said Friday that the procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles lasted 13 hours and that Carew is resting in recovery.We are overwhelme

LONDON -- Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after her two-year doping ban was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday by a sports court that found the Russian star bore no significant fault for her positive drug test and did not intend to cheat.The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at the Australian Open in January.Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year penalty imposed by the International Tennis Federation.In a 28-page ruling , the CAS panel found that Sharapova bore some degree of fault but less than significant fault in the case that has sidelined one of the worlds most prominent and wealthy female athletes.The panel has determined, under the totality of the circumstances, that a sanction of 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault, the three-man arbitration body ruled.While Sharapova did commit a doping violation, under no circumstances ... can the player be considered to be an `intentional doper, the panel said.Sharapovas ban, which took effect on Jan. 26, was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she can return on April 26, 2017, a month ahead of the French Open, a Grand Slam tournament she has won twice.Ive gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April, Sharapova said in a statement.In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back, she added. Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.The doping suspension kept the 29-year-old Sharapova out of this years French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She will also miss the 2017 Australian Open in January.Maria is absolutely one of the stars of the game, so shes missed when shes not available to play, WTA CEO Steve Simon told The Associated Press. Were very much looking forward to seeing her come back to the court next spring.Simon said Sharapova, who will have to rebuild her ranking from scratch, is entitled to unlimited wild cards based on her record. He expects her to be granted wild cards as soon as she is eligible, including for the French Open.I would be very surprised if there are too many tournaments that wouldnt extend her that opportunity, Simon said in a telephone interview. I think shell be able to work her way back onto the tour.Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at last years Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams. The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2.Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agencys list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016.Sharapovas lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesdays ruling a stunning repudiation of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban.The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the ITF, Haggerty said in a conference call. As we demonstrated before CAS, not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, its a night and day difference.WADA acknowledged that CAS fully scrutinized all available information and evidence in the case and said it abides by the ruling.Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She said she took the drug for regular bouts of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency.An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but bore sole responsibility and very significant fault for the positive test. The ITF panel also said the case inevitably led to the conclusion that she took the substance for the purpose of enhancing her performance.Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1.A hearing on Sharapovas appeal was held in New York on Sept. 7-8. The player and her legal team argued that she bore no significant fault or negligence and her ban should be reduced to time served, or about eight months.I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well, Sharapova said. I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.Head, Sharapovas racket supplier, hailed the CAS ruling as justice being served.We are very proud to have stood by Maria for the right reasons throughout these difficult and testing times, Head CEO Johan Eliasch said, claiming it was wholly unfair that that she had been banned at all.---AP Sports Writer Chris Lehourites contributed to this report.---Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilson Fake Flames Jerseys . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Flames Jerseys China . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Calgary Flames Store . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. LOS ANGELES -- Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew has undergone successful heart and kidney transplant surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.The Minnesota Twins said Friday that the procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles lasted 13 hours and that Carew is resting in recovery.We are overwhelmed with emotions right now -- joy, relief, excitement and especially gratitude for all the doctors and nurses who have been with us at every step in this journey, and to the donor who made this possible, Carews wife Rhonda told American Heart Association News. Rod knows hes been given another chance at life and we look forward to making the most of it.The 71-year-old former Twins and California Angels star had a heart attack in September 2015 and shortly thereafter had a left ventricular assist device implannted in his heart, which was a temporary fix to keep his heart going.dddddddddddd.Doctors have told Carew that recovery from a transplant is less grueling than what he already experienced with the LVAD procedure.Hell be on anti-rejection medicines for the rest of his life, although the risk of that happening decreases over time. The overall survival rate after transplant is about 11 years; it jumps to around 13 years once a patient survives the first year.Carew said before the surgery that he hopes to be on the field with the Twins by spring training next year.Carew played from 1967 to 1985. He was a seven-time American League batting champion and first-ballot selection to the Hall of Fame. ' ' '