Former Swiss national hockey team coach SEAN SIMPSON "has been fired for the first time in his career" when KHL side
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl parted ways with him. The club "is currently 12th in the 14-team west conference." Together with Simpson, assistant coach COLIN MULLER "lost his job." The duo "signed a two-year deal with the club" (NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG, 9/28). ... Australian Football League side Greater Western Sydney player HEATH SHAW "will undergo counselling after being detained and fined" A$590 ($518) by Melbourne police "for drunken behaviour on Saturday morning."
The Giants said in a statement, "Shaw was a passenger in a car which was pulled over by police ... after a verbal altercation with police, he was taken to St. Kilda police station" (AAP, 9/28).
... LIONEL MESSI scored his 400th career goal "as Barcelona stormed back to the top of La Liga." Barcelona head coach LUIS ENRIQUE said, "Messi is someone who has been touched by a magic wand and he is desperate to enjoy playing football" (AFP, 9/28). ... Three-time Olympic ski jump champion THOMAS MORGENSTERN retired on Friday "seven months after winning Silver at the Sochi Games to end a season that included two bad crashes." Austria's "most decorated Olympian," who turns 28 next month, said, "I am ending my active career. I am making a jump into a new life and I am looking forward to it" (AP, 9/26). ... Russian Premier League side Dynamo Moscow defender CHRISTOPHER SAMBA "has been banned for two matches by the Russian Football Union after responding to racist abuse in a match against Torpedo Moscow."
The former QPR and Blackburn defender "stuck his middle finger up to Torpedo fans on September 22 before being substituted at half-time." RFU disciplinary committee head ARTUR GRIGORYANTS said, "We took into account what happened on the pitch and that he was provoked. Therefore we decided to give the lightest possible punishment" (REUTERS, 9/28). ... Portuguese club Porto President JORGE NUNO PINTO DA COSTA "said that he knew of interest from various multi-millionaires looking to acquire part of the club," including Singaporean PETER LIM, who is in negotiations to acquire La Liga side Valencia. Da Costa said that "a Russian appeared here to buy the club" but he insisted that "he would never accept such an offer." He added, "While I am here, no one is going to sell. We took measures to guarantee that the club would always belong to the members and the fans. Whoever it is that comes here, with all the money in the world, will not be able to buy it" (EFE, 9/28).
FORMER GREATS: The first British woman to win an individual Olympic athletics medal, DOROTHY TYLER, "has died at the age of 94." The high jumper won Silver as a 16-year-old at the 1936 Berlin Games, then a second Silver 12 years later at the London Olympics. Tyler "played golf into her eighties and her spirit and grace captivated the audience at the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year awards in 2011."
She recalled a day from the Berlin Games "when she went shopping with Great Britain team members." They "were greeted by shop assistants" who said, "Guten morgen. Heil Hitler" -- to which they replied, "Guten morgen. King George" (SUNDAY TIMES, 9/28). ... Former Nippon Professional Baseball team Fukuoka Daiei Hawks catcher NOBUYUKI KAGAWA, also known as "Dokaben," died Friday at 52. Funeral services "are pending." As a "stocky slugging catcher, he picked up the nickname Dokaben" -- the hero from the popular comic by SHINJI MIZUSHIMA. He retired in '89 after playing in 714 games, hitting .255 with 78 home runs (JAPAN NEWS, 9/27).
