LONDON -- Croatian player Marin Cilic was handed a nine-month suspension by the International Tennis Federation on Monday after testing positive for a banned substance. The suspension was back-dated to May 1 and will last through Jan. 31, 2014. Cilic tested positive for nikethamide, a stimulant, at a tournament in Munich last spring. The ITF said it accepted the players contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat. As a result, the ITF gave him a reduced penalty rather than a ban of up to two years. "Mr. Cilic asserted that the nikethamide, for which he did not hold a valid TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption), had entered his system through his ingestion of Coramine glucose tablets that had been purchased on his behalf from a pharmacy," the ITF said in a statement. "The Independent Tribunal found that Mr Cilic ingested the nikethamide inadvertently as a result of taking the Coramine glucose tablets, and did not intend to enhance his performance in doing so." The 24-year-old Cilic, who reached a career-best ranking of No. 9 in 2010, has not played since pulling out from Wimbledon in June before a second-round match, citing a left knee injury. He has since missed the U.S. Open and will also be ineligible for the Australian Open in January. The ITF said Cilic will lose all his results, ranking points and prize money since the Munich tournament. His best result since Munich was a runner-up finish at the Queens Club grass-court tournament, where he lost to Andy Murray. Cilic said in a statement he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. He said the banned substance came from a glucose tablet purchased at a pharmacy in France. "Unbeknownst to me, the glucose tablets contained a substance that is banned in-competition (although it is allowed out-of-competition)," he said. "I wish to emphasize that I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any banned substances in my life and that I am opposed to any use of performance-enhancing substances in sport," Cilic added. Cilic said he isnt able to comment further until the legal process is completed. Best Fake NMD Human Race . After the loss, White refused to make good on the bet, instead offering Hoyt tickets to a Bears game. Adidas NMD Factory Outlet . The Blue Jackets play Thursday night at New Jersey in their first game after the NHLs Olympic hiatus. A native of Trencin, Slovakia, Gaborik has represented his country at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics but was unable to play in Sochi because of his injury. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/adidas-nmd...-clearance.html. Then again, he really was at his home away from home. "It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night," Shields said after pitching Kansas City past the San Diego Padres 8-0 Wednesday. Adidas NMD Mens Black and White . Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. New Adidas NMD 2019 . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Brandt Snedeker was making so many birdies that even an 18-foot putt looked like a mere tap-in. When he finished his amazing run Thursday in the BMW Championship, he had seven straight birdies on his card and an 8-under 63 at blustery Conway Farms. "You get on runs like that, you get excited for the next hole because you know something good is going to happen, because youre in such a good frame of mind and everything is going in the right direction," Snedeker said. In this case, everything was going in -- a 15-foot putt from the fringe on the 13th, another 15-footer on the next hole when he used the blade of his sand wedge to bump the ball out of the short rough, and a 40-footer from the fringe on the 17th stood out to him. That gave him a one-shot lead over Zach Johnson in the third FedEx Cup playoff event. Tiger Woods sounded disgusted with his round of 66, mainly because he had a pair of three-putt bogeys and missed a 4-foot birdie putt over his last five holes. "Im not exactly real happy," Woods said. "I played well, and I just didnt get much out of that round. I missed three little short ones in there and then played the par 5s even par. Thats just not very good." Steve Stricker, Charl Schwartzel and Kevin Streelman also were at 66. The opening round was mainly about the debut of Conway Farms, a Tom Fazio design north of Chicago which has a blend of strong holes and plenty of birdie opportunities on par 4s where players hit wedge for their second shot. Low scoring was predicted, and Snedekers round was proof of that. But as the wind picked up and shifted directions, the course was far from a pushover. Rickie Fowler opened with a pair of double bogeys, followed by a pair of bogeys. He rallied for a 77. Rory McIlroy made a double bogey -- his ninth of the FedEx Cup playoffs -- on his second hole, and then three-putted from 4 feet for a triple bogey and staggered to a 78. Lee Westwood, fighting severe pain in his back and ribs, had an 80. "Theres a good mixture of really hard holes and really good birdie opportunities. I think that makes for exciting golf," Phil Mickelson said after opening with a 70. "Thats why we have such a discrepancy in scores." The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup after the BMW Championship advance to the Tour Chhampionship next week and a shot at the $10 million prize.dddddddddddd Westwood is at No. 30 and likely played himself out of a trip to East Lake, though he didnt appear to be healthy enough to play. McIlroy is at No. 41 and all but took himself out of the Tour Championship. He needs to finish somewhere around seventh in the 70-man field. His 78 put him in a tie for 66th. "Its going to be a very uphill task," McIlroy said. "Ill try to get to even par as quickly as I can." That still might not be enough the way Snedeker is playing. Snedeker is at No. 9 in the FedEx Cup and assured of being the first defending FedEx Cup champion to make it to the Tour Championship. He is trying to move into the top five, for those players have a clear shot at the $10 million bonus -- all they have to do is win at East Lake no matter what anyone else does. He wouldnt have imagined this kind of round at the start of the day. He didnt warm up well and didnt feel good with the putter. Snedeker missed the 10th fairway to start his round and had to make an 18-footer for par. He missed the 11th green and had to scramble for par. He missed a good look at birdie from the 12 feet on the next hole. The next hour was a blur. "When I get going good, I realize it doesnt happen all the time, so I instantly become more aggressive," he said. "I think being a good putter helps, too, because I dont really have to hit it three feet eight times in a row. Just got to hit the green sometimes and its going to happen. I realize these runs are few and far between, so when I get on one, I try to run as hard as I can for as long as I can." The blustery conditions kept scoring from getting out of hand, and the average score was at 71.3. No one had less experience on the course than Mickelson, who had some personal issues earlier in the week that kept him from playing the pro-am. He didnt arrive in Chicago until Wednesday night and had never seen the course until he stood on the first tee Thursday. Mickelson did not want to talk about what kept him away. When asked if it was a family matter, he said, "Everything is fine. Im here now, Im ready to play. But I just needed to be a little cautious this first round before I attack it tomorrow." Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot 70, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., fired a 72. ' ' '