What is TIGER WOODS doing "whacking golf balls across a bridge over the Bosphorus?" Woods "goes where the money is." In this case £1M ($1.6M) for "tooling up at the Turkish Airlines Open." Woods: "I’ve hit balls down runways at airports before but never down a bridge. And the scary part was, I just flew in from a 12-hour journey, hopped off a plane and had to hit a driver down the narrowest fairway I’ve ever seen. The wind was coming off the left a little bit and all these cars were driving on the right, so if I lose any balls to the right, there’s an international incident right there. So that was a little nerve-wracking" (London INDEPENDENT, 11/6). ... After five years playing rugby in England and France, Australian STEVE 'BEAVER' MENZIES "has resettled back on Sydney's northern beaches." But "has he actually retired?" Menzies, who turns 40 next month, revealed "he would play again" for the National Rugby League Manly Sea Eagles next season on a A$1 ($0.95) contract if asked. Menzies: "A dollar's a dollar, so you've got to take the cash. I think I would, just to do it" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/8). ... BeIN SPORT announced the appointment of ANTONIO BRICENO as deputy managing director of beIN SPORT for North America. Briceno will report to Managing Dir YOUSEF AL-OBAIDLY. Briceno will oversee operations, marketing, sales and distribution efforts for beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT en Espanol as well as for the streaming service beIN SPORT PLAY (BeIN SPORT). ... Brazilian World Cup winner RONALDO "has expressed his sympathy and support for the Brazilian street protesters -- as long as their campaign is peaceful -- but draws the line at other former Brazilian playing legends' vitriolic criticism of the country's right to host the World Cup." Last month, former Brazil striker ROMARIO, now a congressman, "launched a vehement attack against FIFA." Ronaldo "hit back." Ronaldo: "It is very easy to oppose, to try to destroy while you sit back in your chair at home saying you don't believe in a project. It's easy to bring others down" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/7). ... NEYMAR's company, NRSports, has joined the "So Pra Contrariar" group to produce music CDs. Neymar also recently invested in two apartments on the northern coast of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. The apartments are located in the "exclusive" Residential Club Yacht House (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 11/7). ... Australian Football League North Melbourne "has sought permission for father-son draftee" LUKE MCDONALD "to skip this month's national draft so he can travel with his new teammates to Utah for their pre-season training camp." As a top-10 draftee, the 18-year-old "would ordinarily be required to be at the function so he can receive his team's guernsey on stage, as part of Foxtel's coverage of the draft, and attend a sponsor's function" (THE AGE, 11/8). ... Representatives from National Federations "have pleaded" with current FEI President PRINCESS HAYA "to stand for a third term following her decision not to seek re-election." At the FEI General Assembly in Montreux the 100 National Federations "signed a petition requesting the convening of an extraordinary general assembly as soon as possible for the purpose of amending the Statutes in order to prolong the term of the FEI President" (ISPORTCONNECT, 11/7). ... Australia Socceroos goalkeeper MARK SCHWARZER has "announced his retirement from international football, seven months out from the 2014 World Cup." Schwarzer, 41, "would have been the second oldest player in World Cup history" -- just behind the mark set by Cameroon's ROGER MILLA -- had "he continued through to Brazil next year" (ESPN, 11/6).
