Greater Western Sydney star Lachie Whitfield will miss just seven games of the 2017 season after accepting an AFL ban.The fallout was more far-reaching for former Giants staffers - football boss Graeme Allan and welfare manager Craig Lambert - who were banned on Tuesday for 12 months.Allan, who was installed as general manager of football at Collingwood in August, quit his post in response to the suspension.Lambert has since moved on to a similar post with Brisbane and will miss the entire 2017 season.The trio was investigated after Whitfield spent three days at Lamberts house, with the knowledge of Allan, in May last year in an alleged bid to avoid a possible drug test, which is a violation of the anti-doping code.However, in a move ticked off by ASADA, the AFL instead handed bans down for a breach of its own rule 2.3 - conduct unbecoming or prejudicial to the interests of the AFL.The trio had maintained throughout that Whitfield was simply seeking help as he went through a messy relationship break-up.The AFL, however, took a dim view of the situation.I think people are always disappointed in individuals who make mistakes and this is a poor reflection on them, clearly, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said of the conduct of Allan and Lambert.I would say (its) a mistake thats hard to believe.Whitfield will be barred from using GWS facilities for four months before returning to train for the final two months of his ban while not being allowed to play.He will be eligible to return against Collingwood in Round 8, but McLachlan defended the severity of the penalty.Hes a 19-year-old kid who took advice from his supervisors, the people who were looking after him, so theres a different allocation of responsibility, he said.Theres not one piece of evidence or any allegation of anything to do with performance-enhancing drugs.Much harsher bans could have been brought into play if ASADA had pursued the trio for a breach of the anti-doping code.An apologetic Whitfield was glad to put the situation behind him.After a long and stressful 18 months, the AFL and I have reached what we believe to be a fair resolution, Whitfield said in a statement.I was going through a difficult period in my life and was not thinking clearly at the time. I know I should have behaved differently.I sincerely apologise to my teammates, coaches and our supporters. I love playing for the GWS Giants and am determined to repay the faith and loyalty they have shown in me.The league is yet to decide whether GWS will be penalised with a loss of draft picks, with AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon to consider that possibility in the coming days.The AFL draft will be held in Sydney on Friday, November 25.China Jerseys . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Cheap NFL Jerseys China .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. WASHINGTON -- The Pittsburgh Pirates werent in the mood to celebrate after Andrew McCutchen hit two home runs in a 6-5 win over Washington. The victory, accomplished Monday night against the skidding Nationals, was meaningless in comparison to the ramifications that could come from a ninth-inning pitch thrown by All-Star closer Jason Grilli. After the pitch, the right-hander left with forearm tightness -- leaving his manager and teammates somberly hoping for the best. "Its never good to see somebody in pain, let alone your All-Star closer," starting pitcher Charlie Morton said. Grilli entered in the ninth and gave up a two-run homer to Jayson Werth before leaving with an apparent arm injury after getting two outs. "Pretty much he threw the ball, and his reaction was, he just grimaced a little bit," Pirates catcher Russell Martin said. "It seemed like he was in a little bit of pain. It just looked like his forearm was bugging him. A definite blow. Hopefully its not as severe as it can be and is just something minor." Grilli was not made available to the media after the game. Manager Clint Hurdle tried to remain upbeat, saying, "Well wait and see where Grillis situation goes. Right now its right forearm discomfort. Were going to wait and see how he feels (Tuesday)." Asked what the Pirates would do if Grilli was lost for an extended period, Hurdle snapped, "And what if hes not? Our roster is going to be fine." It was a disappointing ending to a night that started so well. McCutchen connected in the first inning and again in the third to stake the Pirates to a 4-0 lead. The All-Star centre fielder has five homers in his last six games and 14 for the season. Both homers came off Dan Haren (4-11), whos 0-8 in 11 starts since May 9. McCutchen is 18 for 35 with five homers and 12 RBIs in his last nine games at Nationals Park. "Every player always has a ballpark he seems to hit at better than other places," he said. "I guess mine happens to be here." Although he went hitless in his final three at-bats, McCutchen is hitting .431 with 13 home runs and 26 RBIs in 27 career games against Washington. Morton (2-2) gave up three runs, six hits and a walk in 6 2-3 innings to earn his first win in five starts. He was lifted after yielding a two-run homer to Werth. "When you get later in the game, especially if youre pitching well -- which I was -- you like to finish off the outing on a strong nnote," Morton said.dddddddddddd "Giving up a two-run homer isnt exactly what you want." But he got the Pirates in position for the win, and after Grilli departed, Vin Mazzaro retired Steve Lombardozzi on a grounder with a runner on second to earn his first career save. Werths two homers gave him four in two games. Adam LaRoche also connected for the Nationals, who have lost four straight and nine of 11 to fall three games under .500 (48-51) for the first time this season. "Theres a lot of character on this ballclub, theres no quit, theres a lot of fight," manager Davey Johnson said. "By and large everybody swung the bat pretty good." Before the game, general manager Mike Rizzo fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein in an effort to shake up a lacklustreoffence that ranked 27th in batting average and tied for 28th in runs scored. The Nationals failed to get the ball out of the infield until the fifth inning, hit into three double plays and went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. But at least they scored five runs, which matched their total for the previous three games. "Thats really the first time weve had something going in a while," Werth said. "It was a good feeling. Hopefully we can get the job done next time and build on that." Ecksteins replacement, Rick Schu, is expected to join the team Tuesday. The Pirates took the lead for good after three batters went to the plate. Jordy Mercer drew a one-out walk and McCutchen followed with a drive into the right-field bleachers. In the third, Haren hit Starling Marte with a pitch and McCutchen homered on a 2-1 pitch. In the fourth, Pittsburgh used a run-scoring groundout by Gaby Sanchez to make it 5-0. LaRoches 14th home run leading off the fifth was Washingtons first hit, and Werth connected with LaRoche at first base with a man on in the seventh. Pittsburgh made it 6-3 in the eighth, scoring a run on a wild pitch by Drew Storen. NOTES: Pirates 2B Neil Walker (strained oblique) joined the team Monday after playing three games with Triple-A Indianapolis. Hurdle said Walker will be activated off the disabled list on Tuesday "If he shows us hes good to move around." ... Nationals starting pitchers have one win in the last 11 games. ... Pittsburghs Clint Barmes played in his 1,000th career game. ... The Pirates have eight homers in their last four games. ... Pittsburgh went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. ' ' '