Two Major League Baseball players filed defamation lawsuits against Al-Jazeera America over statements made in a documentary about performance-enhancing drugs in sports. Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Phillies filed the suits Tuesday in US District Court in Washington. The suits refer to the documentary ‘‘The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping,’’ which Al-Jazeera America broadcast Dec. 27. The suit alleges that Charles Sly, a pharmacist who appeared in the documentary, made false statements when he said Zimmerman and Howard both took a human growth hormone. The documentary also suggested that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning took HGH while recovering from neck surgery.

Hockey

Finland wins gold, US bronze

Kasperi Kapanen scored a wraparound goal 33 seconds into overtime and Finland rallied past Russia, 4-3, to win the gold medal in the World Junior Championship at Helsinki. Anders Bjork, Matthew Tkachuk, and Ryan Donato each scored two goals to lead the United States to an 8-3 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. Bjork and Tkachuk gave the Americans a two-goal lead, but Sweden pulled even before the end of the opening period on goals by William Lagesson and Carl Grundstrom. The US team pulled away with a four-goal second period.

College basketball

NCAA clears San Diego StateSan Diego State athletic officials said the NCAA cleared its men’s basketball program of any violations. In September, CBS Sports, citing unidentified sources, reported SDSU’s program was under investigation by the NCAA for potential rules violations that included possible improper benefits to recruits. “‘These types of allegations are not uncommon in major college athletics.’’ Said Aztecs coach Steve Fisher. “What is uncommon is that they ever come out in the public.’’ . . . Indiana sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr., the team’s second-leading scorer (15.8 points per game), underwent surgery on his right knee and will be out indefinitely after suffering the injury last week in practice.

College footballLSU tight end stabbed at bar LSU coach Les Miles said senior tight end Dillon Gordon was injured in what Baton Rouge police described as a fight involving a stabbing at a bar near campus. Although police were still investigating the incident and had yet to identify the suspect who fled the scene, Miles identified the stabbing victim as Gordon . . . Florida State junior cornerback Jalen Ramsey, considered by many to be a top-five pick, will skip his senior season with the Seminoles to declare for the NFL Draft. A 6-foot-1-inch, 202-pounder, Ramsey started all 13 games this season and finished with 52 tackles, including 3½ for loss and a team-high 10 pass breakups . . . Mississippi State junior defensive lineman Chris Jones has decided to declare for the NFL Draft, according to a school release. One of the best players on Mississippi State’s defensive line the last three seasons, the 6-6, 308-pounder had 44 tackles, including 7½ for loss and 2½ sacks last year . . . Former Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen, who spent two seasons with the Aggies, will transfer to Houston and sit out next season but have two years eligibility remaining, according to Cougars coach Tom Herman . . .Texas A&M athletic director Eric Hyman, who oversaw the Aggies’ transition from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, stepped down after four years in College Station, Texas.

Golf

Furyk to sit out PGA openerJim Furyk, who hasn’t played since Sept. 17 when he walked off the course in the first round of the BMW Championship with a bone bruise on his left wrist, said his nagging injury will force him to sit out the PGA Tour’s 2016 season-opening event in Kapalua, Hawaii. After hitting balls for a few days, he noticed a little soreness and questioned whether he could play an entire week. ‘‘It’s not 100 percent,’’ Furyk said. ‘‘I don’t want to get out there and play and show up just to show up. I’ve been hitting balls since early December, but I wasn’t going to be as strong as I needed to be.’’ . . . The Golf Writers Association of America voted Jordan Spieth, whose five wins included two majors for a record total of $12 million in PGA Tour earnings, as the Male Player of the Year. Lydia Ko, winner of her first major at the Evian Masters to go along with four other wins, was named Female Player of the Year, while Jeff Maggert, who won two majors on the Champions Tour, won the vote for Senior Player of the Year.

Miscellany

Serena retires in Hopman CupWith two weeks before the Australian Open, Serena Williams retired during her Hopman Cup match in Perth because of inflammation in her left knee, which forced her to miss the US team’s opening loss to Ukraine Monday. Williams was trailing Jarmila Wolfe, 7-5, 2-1, when she left the court in her first match of season. ‘‘I’ve been training really hard during the off-season. Really pushing myself beyond the limits,’’ Williams said. “I just think a day off or two will make a world of difference.’’ . . . Former ­Indy car driver Jon Herb, 45, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for child sexual abuse. Herb, who made a pair of starts in the Indianapolis 500, pleaded no contest Monday in a Florida court to lewd and lascivious molestation and 13 counts of possession of child pornography . . . Sophie Caldwell of Putney, Vt., won the 1.2-kilometer sprint in the World Cup cross-country ski championship in Germany to become the second American female to win a World Cup title.