WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez called it "a lie" right from the very start, from the moment a newspaper report linked him to a clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. Tom Brady Jersey . A little more than six months later, Gonzalez was formally cleared by Major League Baseball. Gonzalez, a left-hander who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting last year, said Monday he has "no lingering sense of animosity" over being connected to MLBs drug investigation. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was banned through 2014, while 12 players were suspended 50 games apiece Monday because of their relationship to Biogenesis of America. MLB also announced that its inquiry "found no violations" by two players linked to Biogenesis in media reports: Gonzalez and Danny Valencia, a Baltimore Orioles third baseman recalled from the minors on Sunday. "Ive never been really concerned about it," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said about Gonzalezs involvement. "I had a conversation with him in spring when it all came up. We had a nice talk about it. He wasnt concerned about it. I was, like anybody else, upset he was even linked to it. It is a relief that everybody knows it wasnt a problem. Its just another distraction you dont have to deal with." Gonzalez never sounded bothered by the whole thing, and he has pitched rather well this season for a Nationals club that entered Monday three games below .500 after leading the majors in wins last year. "I think it was on his mind so I think it had some effect on him," general manager Mike Rizzo said before the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves on Monday night. "I think he handled it well. Its a testament to his mental makeup and the way he prepares for games. I thought hes thrown extremely well, considering." Gonzalez is 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA and a team-leading 139 strikeouts in 133 2-3 innings. In 2012, his first season with Washington, Gonzalez went 21-8. Overall, in six years in the majors with the Oakland Athletics and Nationals, the 27-year-old Gonzalez is 66-44 with a 3.64 ERA. Baseballs investigation began last year and escalated in January, when the Miami New Times published documents connecting several players to Biogenesis, whose founder, Anthony Bosch, eventually co-operated with MLB. When that newspapers report came out in January, Gonzalez posted on his Twitter feed: "Ive never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will, Ive never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance provided by him. anything said to the contrary is a lie." He later said that his father, Max, was a patient of the clinic and went there to get help losing weight. In February, Gonzalez said he had taken blood and urine tests two days after the initial newspaper report and that they came back negative. "I am very pleased that Major League Baseball has cleared my name. With this process now complete, I have no lingering sense of animosity, as I quickly realized that the objective of this investigation was to clean up our game," Gonzalez said in a statement issued Monday by the Nationals. "This is an ideal that I share with both Major League Baseball and the (players union). I would also like to acknowledge the unwavering support of my teammates, the Lerner Family (that owns the Nationals), Mike Rizzo, Davey Johnson, our coaching staff and Nationals fans everywhere." The Orioles did not have a game Monday. A day before, the 28-year-old Valencia homered for Baltimore after rejoining the club from Triple-A Norfolk. He has spent time in the majors with the Minnesota Twins (2010-12), Boston Red Sox (2012) and Orioles (2013), compiling a .254 batting average with 30 homers and 143 RBIs. At spring training, Valencia told reporters he didnt have any connection to Biogenesis or its founder, Bosch. "Ive never had any contact with those people," Valencia said at the time. "Ive never met Tony Bosch -- never seen him, never been to that clinic, never heard of that clinic until the New Times story first broke. That being said, Ive never ever taken a PED in my life, never failed a drug test in my life and I never will." Womens A.J. Hawk Elite Jersey . After splitting two games in Los Angeles, the teams will meet again in New Orleans for Game 4 on Sunday. The Hornets have now dropped two straight since surprising the Lakers to take Game 1. Although this one was never out of reach until the fourth quarter, the Hornets never had a lead after Chris Pauls layup made it 6-4. Joe Greene Elite Womens Jersey . France also turned in a strong performance in the other Group A match, scoring two second-half goals within four minutes to win 3-1 against Ghana. Spain opened the scoring when Deulofeu fires a shot across the goal mouth and Jese volleyed the ball into the net in the fifth minute. Ph... Rivers Womens Elite Jersey . This week they discuss Kyle Lowrys All-Star blessing, Coach Q, unheralded undraftees and leaving the NFL playoffs alone. Paul Hornung Jersey . McCaw was to play his 121st test and a world record 32nd against Australia -- the most by any player against a single team -- but was forced to withdraw on Friday with a tight calf muscle.MOSCOW -- Vladimir Krutov, one of the Soviet Unions all-time great ice hockey players and part of the national teams formidable KLM Line, has died. He was 52. The Russian Hockey Federation said Krutov died Wednesday. It did not give a cause of death, but the ITAR-Tass news agency said he had been taken to a hospital several days earlier for stomach bleeding. "Volodya was such a dependable and steadfast man that I would have gone anywhere with him -- to war, to espionage, into peril. There are fewer and fewer guys like him in every generation of hockey players," federation president and former Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretyak told the Sport-Express newspaper. Born in Moscow, Krutov gathered attention for his play with a local factory team Meteor and was then invited to the hockey school of the CSKA Moscow club. He played with the team between 1978-89. Krutov and his CSKA teaammates Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov formed one of the most potent scoring lines that hockey has ever seen, and led the Soviet team to gold in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Nik... Air Max 90 Mens Trainers. He was also part of the team that lost to the United States at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics and won five world championship titles in the 1980s. Along with defencemen Vyacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov, they became known as the "Green Unit" for the colour of their practice jerseys. He was one of the first Soviet players to play in the NHL, but spent only one undistinguished season with the Vancouver Canucks. He later played for Zurich and Swedish lower-league clubs Ostersund and Brunflo, and coached CSKA for one season in 2001-02. After that, he was director at a state sports school. In 2010, he was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federations hall of fame. ' ' '