Fourth surgery for NASCAR's Stewart
Tony Stewart underwent another procedure on the leg he broke in a sprint car race last year.
TONY STEWART has undergone a fourth surgery on the leg he broke last year during a sprint car race in Iowa.
Stewart was released from a hospital in Charlotte, N.C., yesterday. He then headed to Las Vegas to celebrate Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick's championship.
Stewart broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg during the Aug. 5, 2013, crash and underwent two surgeries immediately after the accident, including one to insert a metal rod inside the tibia.
A third surgery last year was to close a wound on his shin. Stewart spokesman Mike Arning called Monday's surgery in Charlotte the equivalent of routine maintenance.
Arning said Stewart will be on crutches in Las Vegas, where he will attend an industry-wide luncheon today and the season-ending awards ceremony that will fete Harvick.
Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion, missed the final 15 races of last season before returning to competition in February. He walked with a noticeable limp all season, but insisted his leg felt at its best when he was in the car. Still, his performance was below-par and his 15-year winning streak ended.
Sport Stops
* Russia is facing explosive allegations of corruption and systematic doping, including the reported admission of drug use by an Olympic champion runner and cover-up and extortion involving a three-time Chicago Marathon winner. Both German television channel ARD and French sports daily L'Equipe reported that Liliya Shobukhova, who won the Chicago Marathon from 2009-11 and the London race in 2010, paid the Russian athletics federation 450,000 euros ($550,000) to cover up a positive doping case. ARD also appeared to show reigning Olympic 800-meter champion Maria Savinova admitting to using the banned steroid oxandrolone in an undercover video that has the woman's face out of focus. ARD also linked doping to Russian officials and athletes in other sports.
* Robbie Keane, of the Los Angeles Galaxy, was named Major League Soccer's MVP.
Philly File
* Former Reading Phillies standouts Scott Rolen and Dan Held will be inducted into the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 2 when the club hosts Portland at 6:05 p.m.