Coroner: Gatti Died of Suicide
Boxer Arturo Gatti, who died suspiciously in Brazil on July 11, was the victim of suicide, Brazilian authorities concluded Thursday. Attorneys for Gatti’s widow, who has been jailed since Gatti’s death, ordered her immediate release. Amanda Rodrigues initially was suspected of strangling an intoxicated Gatti with her purse strap. Joe Gatti, the boxer’s eldest brother, said the family may exhume the fighter’s body in Canada and conduct their own autopsy. Gatti’s manager, Pat Lynch, said he was stunned to learn that authorities had concluded that Arturo had died of suicide. He pledged that the Canadian government will get involved. “I’m not going to rest. We’ve got a lot of investigation ahead of us,” Lynch said.

Boston Slugger on Infamous Drug List
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz acknowledged Thursday that a New York Times report tying him to performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 is accurate. “I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true,” Ortiz’s statement read in part. “Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive.” Joining Ortiz on the dreaded drug list was Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers star who already has served a 50-game suspension for a failed test earlier this season. Ortiz and Ramirez were among the 104 players who failed tests during the 2003 survey testing that triggered extensive testing throughout the league in 2004. Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa also surfaced on the list. “I have to get more info about it, and then I’ll honestly tell you guys what’s up. Right now I have no answers,” Ortiz said Thursday, shortly after jacking a game-winning three-run homer to beat the A’s at Fenway Park. “Today I was informed by a reporter that I was on the 2003 list of MLB players to test positive for performance-enhancing substances. This happened right before our game, and the news blind-sided me. I said I had no comment because I wanted to get to the bottom of this. I want to talk about this situation and I will as soon as I have more answers. In the meantime I want to let you know how I am approaching this situation. One, I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true. Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. Two, I will find out what I tested positive for. And, three, based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me – I will not hide and I will not make excuses. I want to thank my family, the Red Sox, my teammates, and the fans for their patience and support.”

NBA’s Walker Faces Criminal Gambling Charges
Former NBA Star Former NBA star Antoine Walker could be facing jail time over nearly $1 million in gambling debt to three Las Vegas casinos. Walker, 32, wrote 10 bad checks, totaling $1 million to Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and the Red Rock Resort, according to documents from the Clark County District Attorneys Office, which were provided to The Associated Press. Walker, who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics, reportedly paid back $178,000 of the debts, which were incurred between July and January.

Dead Boxer’s Wife Wants Out of Jail
The widow of former junior welterweight champ Arturo Gatti wants to be released from a Brazilian jail, where she is being held on charges that she strangled the sleeping boxer with her purse strap. Amanda Rodrigues says that when she awoke early Saturday morning she found her husband’s body in the apartment they rented in the posh seaside tourist resort of Porto de Galinhas. She then called police. Her attorney, Celio Avelino, told The Associated Press that the court would rule on her petition today. He says that Rodrigues’ decision to call police proves her innocence. Prosecutors are speculating that Rodrigues encouraged her husband to drink so she could strangle him while he was in a drunken sleep. “He was very drunk and that made it easier for her,” police Milena Saraiva said. “He was sleeping when she did this. She waited for the moment when he was drunk enough for her to do it.”

Police in Brazil have detained the wife of former junior welterweight boxing champ Arturo Gatti who was murdered Saturday in the couple’s South American vacation residence. Amanda Rogrigues, 23, denies she had anything to do with the death of her husband, who authorities say was strangled to death with the strap of purse, which was found with blood on it next to Gatti’s body. Police say that Gatti had also sustained a head injury. Rodrigues, who has not yet been formally charged, acknowledged that she and Gatti had an altercation Friday and that she sustained minor injuries, according to police. She was also the first person to find her husband’s body at the ritzy apartment they rented at the seaside resort of Porto de Galinhas in northeastern Brazil; but she could not explain how she went 10 hours inside the residence without realizing that Gatti was already dead, police said. Rodrigues contends that Gatti was drunk and that somebody else probably killed him after he arrived at the apartment alone, police said.