Diana Taurasi denies using any banned substances

Diana Taurasi insists she did nothing wrong.

The former Connecticut basketball star says she hadn’t even heard of the banned stimulant modafinil until she found out she had tested positive for it. And no matter what those results showed, Taurasi is adamant that she never used performance-enhancing drugs.

“I’ve never needed anything to help me. Only thing that I’m guilty of is taking too many jump shots,” she told the Associated Press by telephone from her parents’ home in Chino.

In her first interview since testing positive in December for modafinil, Taurasi and her lawyer blamed the Turkish lab where the sample was analyzed.

“There’s no way I’ve ever taken anything,” she said.

Taurasi is regarded by many as one of the best women’s players in the world. She was the first prominent WNBA player to test positive for a banned substance.

Taurasi said she intends to return to the WNBA when the season begins in June.

SOCCER

U.S.-Egypt game is canceled

The planned U.S. men’s national soccer team game against Egypt in Cairo on Feb. 9 has been canceled because of the unrest in Egypt.

In a statement released Monday, U.S. Soccer said the decision was made “due to the current conditions in the country” and came after other options were explored to find another opponent.

The decision means that the next games for USA Coach Bob Bradley’s team will be against Argentina on March 26 in East Rutherford, N.J., and against Paraguay on March 29 in Nashville.

In other national team news Monday, Bradley’s son, Michael, was sent on loan to Aston Villa in England from Borussie Moenchengladbach in Germany, and forward Robbie Findley completed his move from Real Salt Lake to Nottingham Forest in England.

—Grahame L. Jones

The Galaxy signed 16-year-old forward Jack McBean, a homegrown player added from the Galaxy academy. He will remain at the U.S. Soccer Federation’s under-17 residency program at Bradenton, Fla., through qualifying for this summer’s FIFA under-17 World Cup, the Galaxy said.

McBean played for Corona del Mar High School.

ETC.

Police: Griffen assaulted officer

Los Angeles police used a Taser to subdue former USC football standout Everson Griffen after he allegedly assaulted an officer during a traffic stop near campus, department officials said Monday night.

Griffen, now a member of the Minnesota Vikings, was booked on suspicion of felony battery after the incident, which was reported about 4 p.m. Monday at 30th and Hoover streets, said LAPD spokeswoman Karen Rayner.

The incident took place during a routine traffic stop, Rayner said. Officers asked Griffen for his license, which turned out not to be valid, according to people familiar with the investigation. Griffen then told them “he did not want to go back to jail” and sprinted away from the officers, who caught up with him after a short distance.

When one of the officers tried to subdue Griffen, he allegedly grabbed the officer in the groin area, a person familiar with the investigation said. Moments later, officers used a Taser to subdue him, the person said.

Griffen was arrested in 2009 in Massachusetts on suspicion of breach of the peace.

—Andrew Blankstein

Reliever Rafael Betancourt received a new multiyear contract from the Colorado Rockies.

The right-hander already was set to make $3,775,000 this year, will earn $4 million in 2012 under a new contract agreed to with the Rockies. The deal includes a $4.25-million mutual option in 2013 with a $250,000 buyout.

The Ducks recalled right wing Dan Sexton from the Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks’ primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League.

Urban Meyer is joining ESPN as an analyst less than two months after he resigned as Florida’s coach.