Development was stopped before the drug was even given a name and it is identified only as GW501516.

GSK was developing the drug to raise HDL, or good cholesterol, levels but dropped the project in 2006 when studies showed it caused a number of toxic effects, including a variety of cancers, in rats and mice.

The statement says it’s not known what long-term use of the drug would do to people.

Health Canada says the drug is not approved for human use and was never made or distributed by GSK.

It notes that it isn’t known whether the product being sold online as GW501516 is actually the drug or another compound being sold under that name.

The drug has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list for several years.

In March, the Montreal-based agency revealed some athletes had tested positive for use of the drug. And they took the unusual step of warning doping athletes that they need to steer clear of this drug for safety reasons.

“The side-effect of this chemical compound is so serious that WADA is taking the rare step of warning ‘cheats’ to ensure that there is complete awareness of the possible health risks to athletes who succumb to the temptation of using GW501516 for performance enhancement,” the agency said.

The 19-year-old from Westmount, Que., was edged 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by third-seeded Alize Cornet of France.

Cornet broke Bouchard twice in the last set and saved six break points in the three-hour match.

The Strasbourg tournament is a warm-up event for the French Open, and Bouchard will face Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria at Rolland Garros in the opening round, the first match of her young career in the main draw of a Grand Slam.

Earlier Friday, Pennetta defeated Misaki Doi of Japan 7-5, 6-3, and Hradecka downed Johanna Larsson of Sweden 7-5, 6-3. Those quarter-finals were scheduled for Thursday, but postponed to Friday because of the rain.

Joffrey Reynolds was found guilty earlier this year of assault causing bodily harm, common assault and unlawfully being in a dwelling.

His former girlfriend testified at his trial that he tried to choke and smother her when she came home and found him in her bed after a night of drinking in July 2012.

Reynolds’s lawyer told a Calgary court that his client has lost his reputation and his career and should be given a non-custodial sentence.

He says Reynolds, a U.S. citizen, faces removal from Canada.

Reynolds played eight years for the Calgary Stampeders and was the team’s all-time leading rusher with 9,213 yards.

Toronto FC is at that messy stage of the clean-up.

A year ago at this time, the perennial MLS underachiever was 1-10-0 in the league basement and had just fired manager Aron Winter.

Today the club sports a new president, manager, chief scout, two new assistant coaches and has brought in 19 new players since the end of last season.

The team is 1-6-4, proving that progress can be painfully slow. It stands 18th in the 19-team league, is winless in nine league games and has lost four straight.

Toronto has shot itself in the foot, failing to take its chances while dropping nine points from six games by conceding late goals (in stoppage-time on three of those occasions).

On the plus side, all six league losses have been by just one goal.

“Every league game this season, you can make an argument that we could have won,” said manager Ryan Nelsen. “As I’ve been saying all the time, we’re probably the only team in the league that hasn’t been beaten by two or three goals in a game yet.”

Some might say a loss is a loss is a loss. But hope springs eternal for Nelsen as Toronto heads to Boston for a Saturday night game with the New England Revolution (3-4-4).

Count New England coach Jay Heaps in the Nelsen camp. He too sees beyond the standings when it comes to Toronto.

“Toronto’s a good team,” he told local reporters this week.

The makeover has only just begun in Toronto. Nelsen all but salivates at the thought of the summer transfer window opening July 9.

Currently 11 points out of a playoff place, Nelsen’s goal is not to lose any more ground in June until he can make more changes.

“Even if that’s 10 points off the playoffs come the window, I’d be more than confident we’ll have a very good chance getting in (the post-season),” he said.

Asked for the reason for that confidence, Nelsen smiled and said: “Because I like the window. It’s a nice time.”

Citing conversations with such noted managers as Sir Alex Ferguson, Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp, he said: “They tell me it takes three windows minimum to even get a team to where you want it to be.

“And we’ve only had really half of one — or one really. We’re starting to get competitive and when this window comes, I think it will be a wee bit different.”

As a former well-respected player, Nelsen has plenty of ties in Britain. You can bet he is twisting as many arms as he can.

As seems to be Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s way (remember the 1,300-pound boulder in the Raptors’ dressing room and Toronto FC’s “Burn the Boats” locker-room slogan), Toronto FC chose a new symbol this year for the franchise.

For the most part, it seems to have been ignored in the disappointing weeks since.

But new president Kevin Payne, an American, proudly pointed to the Inukshuk when he met media during the pre-season. Ignoring the Inukshuk’s original Inuit intent as a land marker, Toronto FC actually chose the more modern inunnguaq (or imitation of a person).

TFC says the Inukshuk “symbolizes co-operation, balance and unselfishness.”

“Each stone is a separate entity, yet each supports and is supported by the one above and the one below it. No one piece is any more or any less important than the other. Its strength lies in its unity. Its significance comes from its meaning as a whole,” read a TFC handout

Be that as it may, come the opening of the transfer window, Nelsen is looking to collect some better rocks.

Of the 19 new faces to date, three — Julio Cesar, Ashton Bennett and Taylor Morgan — have already been cast aside. Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim never made it here although Nelsen says talks continue with his former teammate.

Attacking midfielder Hogan Ephraim is slated to return to Queens Park Rangers. Veteran defender Danny Califf, brought in for his experience and savvy, has fallen so far down the depth chart you’d need a dredger to find him.

Califf’s crime? He missed a game due to a stomach virus, never got his spot back and has dropped to the back of the bus since. He has become a US$165,000-a-year bench player, seemingly for no fault of his own.

Goalie Stefan Frei, who lost his job through injury and Joe Bendik’s acrobatics in his absence, is a $200,000 observer come game-time.

Young Canadian international Ashtone Morgan, a holdover, is also watching from the bench these days.

Jeremy Hall, who has flourished in the midfield this season after shifting from fullback, says change is part of pro soccer.

“Our job is to win games and we haven’t won so the coaching staff and Kevin are trying to do whatever it takes to bring a winning team here,” said Hall, who at 24 is on his fourth MLS team.

Both Toronto and New England have injury concerns.

Nelsen says his injured list includes Justin Braun, Califf, Bobby Convey, Richard Eckersley, Stefan Frei and Darel Russell. Captain Darren O’Dea may remain at left back, with Steven Caldwell and Doneil Henry at centre back. Ephraim is healthy and could sub for Braun.

Star striker Danny Koevermans is ready to play after a 10-month absence due to a knee injury but is being held out of the game because the artificial turf at New England is where he ripped up his knee last July in a 1-0 Toronto victory.

TFC has not managed a league win on the road since.

Koevermans is expected to make his return next week at home to the Philadelphia Union.

New England defender Ryan Guy and midfielder Stephen McCarthy will miss the game through injury while forward Dimitry Imbongo is suspended after being red-carded last week. Defender A.J. Soares (hamstring) is close to returning and Heaps can also count on 20-year-old striker Juan Agudelo who made his debut for New England last week

New England is coming off a big 2-0 win in Houston. The Revolution have only scored eight goals this season, but have conceded just nine at the other end.

Donald (72) was 6 over overall after two rounds in the cold and rain at Wentworth.

Donald’s round of 78 Thursday was Donald’s worst at Wentworth by four shots.

Poulter (76) is planning to make the most of his free weekend, going to the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

Francesco Molinari (68) is the clubhouse leader with a 138 total, but overnight leader James Kingston has yet to start his second round.

For Friday, organizers said there were “adverse weather conditions and, in particular, snow on the stage route in its entirety.”

The 19th stage in the 21-leg race had already been altered because of avalanche threats and sub-zero temperatures. With snow and ice predicted, the Gavia and Stelvio passes were cut from the route. However, a longer 160-kilometre (100-mile) route from Ponte di Legno was set to be climbed to the original finish of Val Martello.

The altered route was to go over the Tonale pass, which was also snowed over.

“The organizers have put the security of riders first and the UCI supports their decision,” said Pat McQuaid, president of the international cycling federation. “The riders have been racing in very difficult conditions this week, but today those conditions are just too extreme.”

Nibali, an Italian with Astana, holds a 4:02 lead over 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans of Australia, who rides for BMC.

Rigoberto Uran of Colombia is third overall, 4:12 back.

“It seems like a fair decision,” Uran said. “Being this cold it’s really impossible to bike.”

Nibali boosted his lead by winning Thursday’s mountain time trial.

Saturday’s 20th stage was supposed to be another arduous leg but some of the major climbs have been removed, although the altered route will still begin in Silandro and finish with an uphill climb to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. It will now follow a 210-kilometre (130-mile) route, slightly longer than previously scheduled.

The race ends on flatter ground in Brescia on Sunday.

But just a few hours’ drive north, the Seattle Reign are struggling with a roster unexpectedly missing its star power, and with no wins and four total goals so far.

The two contrasting teams paint a picture common to many startups: successes and snags.

The eight-team NWSL, which started play last month, is a collaboration between American, Canadian and Mexican soccer federations. Ultimately, the league’s survival will come down to whether fans support the teams.

After its first six weeks, the NWSL had drawn more than 101,494 total fans to 24 league games, a respectable average of 4,229 at each game.

The Thorns, averaging 13,342 fans per game at Jeld-Wen Field, have undoubtedly boosted that average. FC Kansas City has the second-best home gate at the 6,150-seat Shawnee Mission District Stadium, averaging 5,070 fans per match. New Jersey’s Sky Blue FC is drawing the fewest fans with an average of 1,586.

“I’ve had the pleasure and the opportunity to go around to all eight teams and be at all eight facilities, and at each one — whether it’s been an excessively large crowd like Portland, or one that might not be as large because the facilities don’t all hold the same amount — the enthusiasm from the fans at the games and the quality of play on the field, and the ability of the players, has been outstanding,” said Cheryl Bailey, the league’s executive director.

There have been two other recent attempts at a women’s pro league in the United States, but both failed after just two seasons: The Women’s United Soccer Association was founded in 2000, hoping to capitalize on the U.S. national team’s victory in the 1999 World Cup, but the league folded in 2003. Another league, Women’s Professional Soccer, played from 2010-2012 but had insurmountable internal organization and financial issues.

The NWSL believes it is better positioned to succeed because of its association with the North American soccer federations, which pay the salaries of their national team players to help keep costs down.

“The uniqueness of having three federations come together, not only providing the talent on the field, but also giving the financial support to the teams, now sets us in a different light than the past two leagues, and gives us a different platform to build upon,” Bailey said.

To be fair to the rest of the league, the Thorns and their fan base are an anomaly.

Portland sits atop the NWSL standings at 5-1-1. Morgan, whose star rose exponentially when she scored in overtime against Canada to send the United States to the gold medal match in the London Olympics, leads Portland with four goals, while Canadian star Christine Sinclair has three.

“So far so good,” Thorns coach Cindy Parlow Cone said about the start of the season. “I think with each week the level of play gets better and better, and that’s just teams having more time together. It takes a while for everyone to jell. The quality of the individual players is outstanding and as a result you’re seeing teams really come together now.”

Merritt Paulson, the owner of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers, also owns the Thorns and both teams share Jeld-Wen Field. Timbers supporters, who have sold out 40 straight games, were quick to support the Thorns, too, and the women’s team sold more than 7,500 season tickets for their 11 home games before the season even started.

This past weekend that crowd was announced at 12,474 for Portland’s 2-0 victory over the Washington Spirit.

“It was great to come in here and automatically have the supporters have our backs and be behind us,” Morgan said. “I think being in the same organization helps and playing at Jeld-Wen, definitely. It’s great to see.”

In contrast, the Reign was hit with the unforeseeable to start the season. National team forward Amy Rodriguez became pregnant with her first child shortly after she was assigned to Seattle, and goalkeeper Hope Solo needed left wrist surgery before World Cup qualifying. Megan Rapinoe, meanwhile, decided to play in France.

Had the original team come together, Seattle probably wouldn’t be sitting at 0-6-1 at this point in the season.

Surprisingly, Reign owner Bill Predmore isn’t discouraged. Rapinoe and Solo should join the team next month, and the Reign will likely see a boost to the average of 1,815 fans that have been attending games at the Sounders’ 4,000-seat training facility just outside Seattle.

“We’re looking at this as a very long-term project,” Predmore said. “I had no expectations that we were going to get 10,000 fans to show up on Day 1. We are a brand new club, the business entity has existed for only a little over five months. So I think we’re realistic in our expectations that this is going to have organic, grass-roots growth.”

Other NWSL teams were similarly hit by disappointing injuries to allocated players. Carli Lloyd of the Western New York Flash broke her shoulder, Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jill Loyden broke her hand, and Chicago Red Stars midfielder Shannon Boxx had surgery on her right knee late last month.

Additionally, all eight NWSL teams are about to take a bit of a hit for the next couple of weeks. Both the Canadian and U.S. national teams have recalled players for an international exhibition on June 2 in Toronto — a rematch of the nail-biting semifinal in London.

The main knock on the NWSL is that it was launched so quickly; the formation of the league was announced in November and the teams opened the season in mid-April. Teams did not have much opportunity to market themselves.

Bailey said she understands, but it was important to launch in a year without a world championship, so that fans could have access to elite players, and they in turn could maintain training in an off year. The league also serves to develop talent.

“Our ultimate goal is to have a league that’s sustaining. What we’re doing right now to do that is laying the groundwork and the foundation. It’s not perfect,” Bailey said. “The timing didn’t give us all that we needed to lay out everything … but it’s certainly given us a wonderful platform to put our roots down.”

A one-line announcement on the race’s website says the test was carried out at Di Luca’s home on April 29. The Giro started May 4 and ends Sunday.

Di Luca stands 26th overall, 33 minutes, 33 seconds behind race leader Vincenzo Nibali.

If confirmed in a backup “B” sample, Di Luca risks a lifetime ban since this is his third offence.

He tested positive for CERA in the 2009 Giro and received a two-year ban which was subsequently reduced by nine months after he collaborated with Italian anti-doping authorities. He was also banned for three months after winning the 2007 Giro for seeing a banned doctor.

Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov scored, and Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their 13th consecutive home game in dominant fashion and lead the series 3-2.

Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots for the Sharks, who have played more than 96 minutes without a goal since they appeared to be taking control of the series midway through Game 4.

Game 6 is Sunday night at the Shark Tank.

The home team has won every game in the series, and the Kings remained unbeaten at Staples Center since March 23.

After losing the past two games in San Jose and struggling through much of the past three games overall, the Kings rebounded with another stretch of dominant play from their Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie, who also shut out San Jose in the series opener.

Quick won his 27th post-season game, taking sole possession of the franchise record from Kelly Hrudey.

After getting soundly outplayed at the start of the past three games, the Kings met the Sharks’ tempo and urgency from the beginning in Game 5. The Kings sharpened their physical game, outmuscling and outhitting the Sharks to take a 3-2 series lead.

Kopitar opened the scoring late in the second period, tapping in a loose puck after a sustained stretch of pressure on Niemi. Voynov then scored 3 seconds after a penalty expired early in the third, firing home his fourth goal in nine games.

Quick finished up from there, making a spectacular point-blank save on Joe Pavelski a few seconds before Carter wrapped it up with an empty-netter.

Los Angeles, 25-4-1 at home this season, has won seven straight home playoff games dating to last season’s Stanley Cup clincher against New Jersey.

San Jose substantially outplayed the Kings in the first period of the past three games, and Los Angeles cited a strong start as its key priority for Game 5.

The Kings got it, albeit in a scoreless first period, outshooting the Sharks 9-6 while playing a punishing physical game that slowed down Joe Thornton and hampered San Jose’s relentless speed.

The Sharks played roughly 17 minutes without a shot into the second period, but the Kings couldn’t cash in several scoring chances in front of Niemi, including golden opportunities for Mike Richards and Justin Williams.

San Jose got several chances of its own, notably with a 2-on-1 break for Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture, but Quick kept everything out of his net.

Niemi made a spectacular save on Carter’s wraparound chance late in the second period, but that play led to a long stretch of uninterrupted pressure by the Kings.

Kopitar’s tap-in included assists for Williams and Kyle Clifford, who replaced Dustin Brown on the Kopitar-Williams line for Game 5.

The goal was just the second of the post-season for Kopitar, who didn’t score a goal in the Kings’ final 16 regular-season games. The Slovenian centre has led Los Angeles in scoring in each of the past six seasons, and he was the post-season’s co-scoring leader last summer with 20 points in 20 games.

The Kings scored again when Trevor Lewis won a faceoff against Thornton, who has dominated the circle in the series.

Lewis, who scored the winning power-play goal late in Game 2, got the puck to Voynov for a long shot through traffic immediately after a power play ended, and the Siberian defenceman matched Carter for the team lead with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The power play resulted from a goalie interference penalty against TJ Galiardi, who drew the Kings’ ire Wednesday by claiming Quick embellishes contact with opponents to draw undeserved penalties.

NOTES: After sitting out earlier in the post-season with an injured left ankle, Jason Demers got his first action of the post-season for San Jose, which sat LW Tim Kennedy to make room. Demers, normally a defenceman, usually played forward. The Sharks are playing without injured forwards Marty Havlat and Adam Burish. … Los Angeles dressed the same lineup as in Game 4, although coach Darryl Sutter shuffled his lines. … Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer watched the game from seats on the glass.

London will now take on the Portland Winterhawks in Friday’s semifinal, while Saskatoon’s up-and-down season came to a disappointing end.

The winner of the Portland-Saskatoon game will earn a berth in Sunday’s Canadian Hockey League title game against the Halifax Mooseheads.

Chris Tierney, with a goal and an assist, Seth Griffith, Ryan Rupert, Kyle Platzer and Nikita Zadorov had the other goals for the Ontario Hockey League champions, who also defeated Saskatoon 3-2 in the tournament opener. Alex Broadhurst added two assists, while Horvat chipped in with one of his own.

Patterson, who was pulled after allowing five goals in the first period of Tuesday’s 9-2 round-robin loss to Halifax, was rarely tested by a sluggish Blades team that was playing their second game in as many nights.

Nathan Burns scored for Saskatoon, which got 31 saves from Andrey Makarov in front of 7,895 at the Credit Union Centre before being replaced by Alex Moodie after the sixth London goal. Moodie finished with three stops

Leading 1-0 after Horvat’s penalty shot goal in the first, the Knights pulled away with two quick strikes during a 49-second span in the second. Griffith walked around Saskatoon’s Collin Valcourt on a power play and roofed a shot past Makarov at 11:28 before Max Domi fed Tierney for a one-timer at 12:17

The Blades had a golden opportunity to get on the board earlier in the period when London’s Paxton Leroux took a four-minute penalty for checking from behind. But Saskatoon registered just one shot on the lifeless man advantage, a weak effort from Lukas Sutter, while the Knights had three quality scoring chances.

The Knights then put the game to bed early in the third. Rupert scored on a feed from in close from Tierny at 2:16, Platzer made it 5-0 just 37 seconds later and Zadorov stretched the lead to six at 3:22.

Burns broke Patterson’s shutout bid on a nice backhand move at 11:20 for Saskatoon’s only highlight on a otherwise dismal night for the tournament hosts.

The Blades got an early power play in the opening period, but it was the Knights who struck first. After Saskatoon forward Josh Nicholls brought Horvat down on a short-handed breakaway, the No. 15 ranked North American skater ahead of next month’s NHL draft beat Makarov with a penalty shot effort that just dribbled over the goal-line.

Darren Dietz had a good chance to tie the score before the period was out but the pinching Blades defenceman saw his stick break as he moved in on Patterson.

London had a power play late in the period with plenty of puck possession in the Saskatoon zone but couldn’t capitalize. The best chance was Griffith’s shot off the post with just over a minute to play that stayed out.

The veteran Blades roster that includes 18 players in their 19-year-old or overage season played its last game together in a trying campaign that included an 18-game winning streak, a stunning first-round exit in the Western Hockey League playoffs and reality show television crew that followed their every move.

Notes: Portland beat London 6-3 in the round robin. … Prior to Thursday’s game, the CHL suspended Blades defenceman Dalton Thrower for the rest of the Memorial Cup for his hit to the head on Winterhawks forward Taylor Leier in Wednesday’s final round-robin game. Portland coach Travis Green says it’s unlikely that Leier, who is suffering from post-concussion symptoms, will play again in the tournament. … Only two teams that have played in a tiebreaker game at the Memorial Cup have gone on to hoist the trophy — the 2009 Windsor Spitfires and last year’s Shawinigan Cataractes.