RAFAEL NADAL does not know when he will be fit to play tennis again but said he has "plenty of years ahead" in the sport. The 11-time Grand Slam champion is "recovering from a knee injury" and has not played since Wimbledon in June. Nadal said, "I will return to the court when I feel that the knee no longer gives me any pain, whether that is in two weeks or in three or four" (BBC, 9/25). ... Brazilian Sports Minister ALDO REBELO called the theft of computer files from LOCOG offices by Rio 2016 Olympic Committee employees "lamentable" and "unacceptable." Ten Rio employees were fired over the scandal (UOL.com.br, 9/25). ... German second-tier hockey club Eispiraten Crimmitschau acquired locked-out NHL players CHRIS STEWART and WAYNE SIMMONDS. The 24-year-old Steward scored 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) "as a right winger for the St. Louis Blues last season." Simmonds, who is also 24, scored 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists) "as a winger for the Philadelphia Flyers during the '11-12 season." Both players "will sign a 30-day contract with the team" (Eispiraten Crimmitschau). ... Japan Sumo Association's advisory board, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, unanimously recommended promoting Mongolian OZEKI HARUMAFUJI to the sport's highest rank of yokozuna. The JSA is "set to rubber-stamp Harumafuji's promotion" at its exec committee meeting Wednesday, making him the 70th yokozuna in sumo history and first since fellow Mongolian HAKUHO was promoted for the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in May '07 (KYODO, 9/25).
SAILING AWAY: Team GB Gold Medalist BEN AINSLIE is "shifting his attention" to America's Cup. Ainslie, who won his fourth consecutive Gold Medal at the London Games, is in San Francisco with his own J.P. Morgan BAR team, about to compete in the America's Cup World Series (America's Cup). ... YI JIANLIAN, following a year with the NBA Dallas Mavericks, will return to play in the Chinese Basketball Association “for the entire ’12-13 season.” His move leaves no Chinese players in the U.S. league. He will return to the Guangdong Southern Tigers, his home club that he also played with for part of the season during the NBA lockout. Guangdong GM LIU HONGJIANG confirmed Yi’s return to the club on its official website on Sunday, “stressing it’s a whole-season commitment without an opt-out clause this time” (CHINA DAILY, 9/25).
ON THE PITCH: Real Madrid Head Coach JOSÉ MOURINHO has "given a heavy hint" that he is planning to emulate ManU Manager ALEX FERGUSON by continuing to coach until he is in his 70s. Mourinho: "I understand perfectly why Alex is still in the job (at the age of 70) and I think I will be the same" (REUTERS, 9/25). ... London Games Deputy Chair KEITH MILLS "has been sounded out" over taking a leading role in English football as chairman of either the Football Association or the Premier League. Mills is "highly rated by both governing bodies," but a position with the Premier League is more likely when current Chair Dave Richards is due to step down in '13 (GOAL.com, 9/25). ... Although rivals on the field, a number of EPL players joined forces on Monday night for an ALICIA KEYS concert. ManU's ROBIN VAN PERSIE and ALEXANDER BUTTNER were joined by Man City's DAVID SILVA and Liverpool's RAHEEM STERLING (DAILY MAIL, 9/25).
