German second-tier hockey club Bietigheim Steelers "have signed NHL New York Islanders JOSHUA BAILEY." The 23-year-old Canadian has scored 120 points in four seasons with the Islanders (EISHOCKEY-MAGAZIN.de, 11/9). ... Australian Rugby League Commission Chair JOHN GRANT Sunday night said: "We are down to the final stages and the last pages of reaching an agreement. We have been at this stage before and things can happen, so we're not quite there yet, but nothing is emerging that would prevent us from concluding the current discussions" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/12). ... OMAR BAHROOZIAN and MAHMOUD NADER AL BALOUSHI, two of the UAE’s longest serving tennis players, "have been rewarded with the Int'l Tennis Federation’s Davis Cup Commitment Award" (GULF NEWS, 11/11). ... RICHARD HUGHES "was officially crowned champion Flat jockey for '12 amid celebrations at Doncaster on Saturday." The 39-year-old finished the season with 172 winners to claim his first titie, ahead of Silvestre de Sousa (131) and William Buick (123) (BBC.com, 11/10).
BUYER'S REMORSE: McLaren F1 Team Principal MARTIN WHITMARSH believed that LEWIS HAMILTON "may already be regretting his impending move to Mercedes." Whitmarsh also suggested that Hamilton's "decision to quit McLaren may have been made in anger following the 27 year-old’s retirement from the lead in Singapore in September with a gearbox failure." Whitmarsh said, "It is always bad to make a decision in the aftermath of a bad race" (London TELEGRAPH, 11/9). ... Manchester City forward CARLOS TEVEZ "has hit out at England coach GARY NEVILLE suggesting that his extra-curricular activities do not benefit England." Tevez told The Sun on Sunday: "Can you imagine Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Brazil or Argentina employing a manager's right-hand man whose day job is a television pundit? I can't ever see it happening" (PA, 11/11). ... Chelsea midfielder FRANK LAMPARD "will reportedly follow former teammates NICOLAS ANELKA and DIDIER DROGBA to join the Chinese Super League next season." Guizhou Renhe Chair DAI YONGGE "told a CCTV reporter during the first game of the Chinese FA Cup final between Renhe and Guangzhou Evergrande on Saturday that the club has signed Lampard" (CHINA DAILY, 11/11).
