Scottish Premiership sides Dundee United, Hamilton and Falkirk will "battle it out for automatic promotion to the top flight," with the trophy for the first SPFL Championship to be "delivered by chopper" on Saturday. It is "so tight at the top" that SPFL Operations Dir Iain Blair "will be standing by at Cumbernauld Airport with the trophy" (SCOTSMAN, 5/1). ... MMA fighters Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre are "unlikely to be coming to Singapore after all." Nine days after organizers LAMC Productions and Ch'i Life Studio Asia "first announced a May 31 seminar and fan session with the MMA trio, they were forced to distance themselves from the event, which was purportedly part of an 11-city world tour." The organizers said in a joint statement, "Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will not be promoting this event" (STRAITS TIMES, 5/1). ... The Indian Premier League "undeniably got a lot right" over the past two weeks -- "capacity crowds at all venues with fans, old and new to the game, getting into the spirit of things." But "if you were looking to get a replica shirt or some official merchandise to commemorate your IPL experience, then, sadly, it was a case of tough luck as there was nothing available" (THE NATIONAL, 4/30). ... The Qatar Arabian World Cup is to "receive a prize money boost" of more than 40% to create the world's first €1M ($1.4M) race for "Pure Bred Arabians." The race is "run on the same programme as the Qatar Prix de l' Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in the first weekend in October" (THE PENINSULA, 5/1).
