Canadian national team captain CHRISTINE SINCLAIR won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the Canadian Press female athlete of '12 (CP, 12/27). ... Two-time Olympic champion Soviet weightlifter ARKADY VOROBIEV "has died at the age of 88" (RIA NOVOSTI, 12/24). ... Some of the "biggest names in world football have arrived" in Dubai, UAE to participate in the 7th Dubai Int'l Sports Conference, which begins on Friday. The "highlight of day one of the two-day conference is likely to be the late panel session" involving Read Madrid Manager JOSÉ MOURINHO and Argentinian DIEGO MARADONA. Other "big names due to speak" at the Dubai Sports Council-organized conference include Italian management trio FABIO CAPELLO, WALTER ZENGA and ALBERTO ZACCHERONI; Atlético Madrid striker RADAMEL FALCAO; Barcelona defender ERIC ABIDAL; and UEFA President MICHEL PLATINI (GULF NEWS, 12/27). ... Former NBA star TRACY MCGRADY sent everyone on his Chinese Basketball Association Qingdao Eagles team a Beats Audio headset, transported from the U.S., as Christmas presents on Tuesday, "thanking for their care and support since he joined the team" (XINHUA, 12/26).
