Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame "opened its doors" to former Hiroshima Carp pitchers YUTAKA ONO and OSHIRO SOTOKOBA and former "high school standout" KAZUO FUKUSHIMA as its newest members (JAPAN TIMES, 1/12). ... Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua Owner ZHU JUN said that DIDIER DROGBA "will continue to play" for his team this upcoming season. His statement follows a season "bursting with speculation over the Ivorian's future." However, no information on the status of the ongoing shareholder dispute "has been forthcoming so far," even though it is an issue that "directly impacts upon Shenhua's ability to pay Drogba's massive wage" of about $300,000 a week. Shenhua has not yet submitted the "documentation to participate in this year's CSL, apparently because the club has yet to confirm" in which stadium it will play (WILD EAST FOOTBALL, 1/11). ... SAEED AJMAL "won all of the bowling honours" at Pakistan's inaugural cricket awards ceremony (AFP, 1/13). ... Deutsche Telekom-owned IPTV channel Liga total! "has acquired former Bundesliga VfL Wolfsburg head coach FELIX MAGATH as a broadcast analyst for its Bundesliga coverage" during the second half of the '12-13 season (QUOTEN METER, 1/13). ... Former England national team coach FABIO CAPELLO "will be a surprise guest" at the launch of the FA's 150th anniversary celebration in London on Wednesday. It "will be the first time the Italian has returned to England since he acrimoniously quit as England manager in February" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/12).
GERMAN-NORTH AMERICAN EXCHANGE: Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) club Eisbären Bremerhaven acquired U.S. point guard KEVIN KRUGER. The 29-year-old signed a contract until the end of the season (SPORT1, 1/11). ... German Hockey League (DEL) club Eisbären Berlin has signed Canadian forward COREY LOCKE. The 28-year-old, who previouly played for Finnish club TPS Turku, agreed to a contract until the end of the season (DPA, 1/12).
