Allgemein » said after retiring from boxing Stewart was a driver for a

BOSTON -- It resembles the symbol for infinity: a sideways S that Kara Goucher, Molly Huddle and other elite U.S. athletes suddenly are sporting on biceps, wrists and shins.The tattoos are temporary. But the campaign they represent is an all-out attempt to permanently purge competitive athletics of doping.People are getting the impression that everyones dirty, Goucher, a top-ranked marathoner based in Boulder, Colorado, told The Associated Press. We need to build the sport back up in a positive light.Thats the goal of the Clean Sport Collective , a new anti-doping initiative making a splash on social media.It launched this month with an aggressive campaign on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Olympians and amateurs alike have been publicly pledging to live, train and compete clean -- totally free of banned performance-enhancing drugs -- and taking selfies aimed at both inspiring and shaming track-and-field competitors, swimmers, cyclists, triathletes and others.Significantly, their bully pulpit is getting a boost from the corporate world: Brooks Running, Oiselle, Skechers and other companies have signed on as partners.Shanna Sparks Burnette, a former Division I collegiate runner, co-founded the Collective to get the focus off the cheaters and back onto athletes committed to drug-free achievement, whether at an Olympics or a local 5K.We really wanted to make a positive impact and change the narrative to celebrate the brands and all of the amazing and inspiring people who are doing it the right way, she said. The mentality is `win at all costs -- do whatever you can do to get ahead. As a society of people, we need to not do that to each other.Its been an especially tough year on the doping front.Russias track and field federation remains barred from international competition, and all but one member of the team was forced to sit out the Rio Olympics after independent investigators appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a damning report into widespread use of banned substances.Kenya, too, has been caught up in dozens of offenses implicating dopers who robbed clean athletes of winnings and glory. Last month, former Chicago and Boston Marathon champion Rita Jeptoo had her doping ban doubled to four years and was stripped of her Boston title from 2014, when shed been hailed as a hero for winning the iconic races first running since the deadly 2013 finish line bombings.Huddle, a two-time Olympian, said its gotten to the point where she wonders about some of the runners who outkick her in international competition.Sports are supposed to be inspiring to people watching them, but theres so much cynicism implanted now, said Huddle, who wore the Collectives tattoo on the back of her hand while finishing third at this months TCS New York City Marathon, her debut at the 26.2-mile distance.The upstate New York native, who now lives and trains in Providence, Rhode Island, is calling for a one-strike-youre-out approach to the doping scourge -- a lifetime ban, not just a brief suspension, for those who test positive once for a banned substance.That would put the fear in the back of an athletes mind: `What if I get caught? she said. Right now theres just not enough risk.The Clean Sport Collective means business. Pro athletes who take the pledge promise to donate $25,000 to the nonprofit if they ever test positive. Those opting for the extra step of certification have to get bloodwork and a biological passport that attests theyre drug-free.Corporate partners, likewise, commit to sponsor and invest in clean athletes only. And athletes of all abilities are using the hashtag #cleansportco to post about their vows.To Kevin Rutherford, CEO of Nuun Life, a Seattle-based sports hydration and energy company, that makes sense for both the finish line and the bottom line.There are very few brands that are saying something outwardly. I just think weve got to take a stand and say we wont stand for it -- well only work with clean athletes, he said. Theres been scandal after scandal. Its talked about, it hits the headlines, and then it goes away. How do we make it a conversation, a movement? How do we make doping the smoking of sports?Jesse Williams, global sports marketing manager at Brooks Running, said contracts for the elite athletes he sponsors all contain a clause forbidding the use of performance-enhancing drugs.If we dont hold our athletes to the highest standard, were not moving the sport forward, he said. If theres no punishment for the crime, whats the incentive to stop doing it?Huddle hopes the sport can clean up its act.Amazing still does exist, she said, and clean athletes are still getting it done.---Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at https://twitter.com/billkole . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/william-j-kole .Saucony Grid 9000 Premium Pack .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Mens/Womens Saucony Grid 9000 Premium Royal Black S70196-1 . 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Mens/Womens Saucony Shadow Original Sneakers Green/Black/Orange S2108-562 .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court.Alex Stewart, a heavyweight contender who fought Mike Tyson and nearly beat George Foreman, has died. He was 52.Stewart died last week after being rushed to a hospital in Mount Vernon, N.Y., said Mike Gilberg, a close friend of the former fighter. He had a blood clot in his lung, Gilberg said.One day he wasnt feeling good, the next this happened, Gilberg said.Stewart fought in a golden time for heavyweight boxing, and he fought almost all the big names of his time. A perennial contender, he was never able to win the big fights of his career but had a reputation as a smart and tough fighter.Stewart lost twice to Evander Holyfield, and was knocked out in the first round of his December 1990 fight with Tyson. But it was his April 1992 fight with Foreman in Las Vegas that was the highlight of his career.Foreman was in the middle of a comeback that he would cap two years later by knocking out Michael Moorer to become the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at the age of 45 when he met Stewart in a scheduled 10-round bout.Foreman knocked Stewart down twice in the second round and was battering him in the third, when Foreman motioned to referee Richard Steele to stop the fight. But Steele let it continue, and Stewart began pummeling Foreman around tthe ring.ddddddddddddI thought I had him in the third round but the referee let it go on, Foreman said. I didnt want to hurt the kid and now the kid hurt me.Stewart would lose a controversial majority decision, but it was Foreman who looked like loser after the fight with his face hidden behind large sunglasses.Was that a fight or was that a fight? Stewart asked reporters afterward.Stewart lost his second fight to Holyfield the next year, then spent the remainder of his career mostly as an opponent for younger fighters to measure themselves against. He retired with a record of 43-10 with 40 knockouts after losing his last fight in 1999 to Jorge Luis Gonzalez by second round knockout.Stewart was born in London and raised in Jamaica and fought for Jamaica in the 1984 Olympics before turning pro.Gilberg said after retiring from boxing Stewart was a driver for a liquor distributor in the New York City area, and later worked in a factory making boxes for the same company.Gilberg said the fighter is survived by his wife, Angella, and a daughter, Ajay-Tenille. Services will be held Nov. 29 at the Pelham Funeral Home in Pelham, N.Y. ' ' '