Brian Cushing denies he used banned substance

Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing said Thursday he never used any banned substances even though he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Cushing was suspended for four games without pay last week for violating the NFL’s drug policy. His appeal was denied.

Cushing, who played for USC, confirmed he tested positive for HCG, a fertility drug that is on the league’s list of banned substances.

“The question of how it got into my body is still unclear,” he said. “It’s something that I’m very personally concerned about, just the fact that how it’s there and what’s going to determine it from happening again, and that’s something we’re going to have to medically investigate.”

He said that after failing the test, he was told HCG can get in a person’s body from injecting it or because of tumors. He said this information led him to believe he had tumors. He did not say what kind of tumors.

“I personally know I’m not injecting myself with anything,” he said. “I played the whole season thinking this could not only be my last season, but my last year.”

TENNIS

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal move on

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reached the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters with straight-set victories.

The top-ranked Federer beat Swiss countryman Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3, 6-1, and second-ranked Nadal defeated big-serving John Isner of the United States, 7-5, 6-4.

Another favorite to win the tournament, third-seeded Andy Murray, had little trouble beating Victor Hanescu of Romania, 6-2, 6-1.

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Serena and Venus Williams are going to be back at the top of the rankings together for the first time in seven years.

The WTA Tour said Venus Williams is assured of moving up to No. 2, one spot behind younger sister Serena, on Monday. It will mark the 46th week overall that the siblings have been Nos. 1-2, but they have not occupied those spots since May 2003.

The rankings set up the sisters to be seeded 1-2 for the next Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, which begins May 23. That would mean they could meet only in the final at Roland Garros.

The sisters first were at Nos. 1-2 in the rankings in June 2002.

GOLF

Matt Jones leads at Texas Open

Matt Jones eagled the par-five 14th hole and finished with a six-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Texas Open at San Antonio.

Jones also had four birdies on the back nine on the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, the tournament’s new site after 15 years at La Cantera.

Paul Stankowski opened with a 67, and J.B. Holmes, Matt Weibring, Charley Hoffman and Steve Lowery had 68s.

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Azahara Munoz shot a seven-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Katherine Hull and Jee Young Lee in the Bell Micro LPGA Classic at Mobile, Ala.

Munoz had a bogey-free round on the Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Magnolia Grove complex.

Cristie Kerr, Meena Lee, Janice Moodie and Hye Jung Choi shot 67s.

ETC.

Sparks get rights to Kristi Toliver

The Sparks acquired the rights to guard Kristi Toliver from the Chicago Sky, giving up a second-round draft pick in 2011 in return. Toliver, selected third overall by the Sky in last year’s WNBA draft, averaged 7.6 points and 1.9 assists off the bench. The Sparks, who open their season Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury, also released center Aisha Mohammed and guard Karina Figueroa. Final roster cuts will come Friday as the team pares the list to 11 players.

— Melissa Rohlin

Teams from the Southland make up half the field in the NCAA women’s water polo championship tournament beginning Friday at San Diego State.

In quarterfinal action, USC (22-3) plays Marist (18-15) at 12:30 p.m., followed by UCLA (20-7) against Loyola Marymount (27-4) at 2:15 p.m. Pomona-Pitzer (18-14) plays top-seeded Stanford (24-2) at 4 p.m., and California (24-8) meets Michigan (32-6) at 5:45 p.m.

UCLA, which is seeded third behind Stanford and USC, is the five-time defending champion.