Former NBA player LAMAR ODOM's "brief venture into European basketball has been cut short by a back injury." Spanish Basketball League (ACB) side Baskonia said on Saturday that Odom's personal doctors in N.Y. have "ruled him unfit to play for two months, meaning he has 'finished his present contract'" (AP, 3/15). ... ManU's WAYNE ROONEY "received surprise support" when British politician ED BALLS insisted Rooney deserves his new £300,000 contract, which will be worth £86M by the time it expires in '19. Balls is the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and "a fierce critic of executive pay and bankers’ bonuses" (ESPN, 3/17). ... Australian semi-pro side Sydney Olympic "pulled off one of the biggest shock signings in Australian soccer history" by securing former Liverpool and Greek int'l SOTIRIOS KYRGIAKOS as a guest player. However, the 34-year-old "denied he joined the semi-professional club in the hope of earning an A-League deal" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 3/17). ... PELE said it is “difficult to understand” the decision to make Qatar the host of the 2022 World Cup "because high temperatures will complicate the scheduling." Pele, who is a brand ambassador for Emirates airline, also said that while he agrees with demonstrators in Brazil calling for better public services, he is "against directing protests at the national team" (BLOOMBERG, 3/17).
