Former Australian Football League side Essendon player MICHAEL LONG "has declared he wants to be" the next AFL commissioner. Long: "We need an indigenous commissioner. We have women on the commission, we have let different nationalities run our great game, and I've got a passion for football, and I've had a plan for 10 years and I think I have given back what the game has given me." There is a vacancy on the Commission. The AFL is "currently searching for a replacement" for LINDA DESSAU, "who is scheduled to stand down as a commissioner in May/June" to start her role as Victoria's governor-general. Former Channel Nine Managing Dir JEFF BROWNE "has been linked to the role." If successful in joining the nine-person Commission, Long, 45, "would be the first indigenous commissioner" (HERALD SUN, 2/22). ... Former professional tennis player and coach NICK LINDAHL "has been
charged by police after allegedly throwing a match on which his
associates bet and won thousands of dollars." The 26-year-old was arrested at a home in
Liberty Grove in Sydney's inner west on Thursday morning "and charged
with a range of offences, including engaging in conduct that corrupts
the betting outcome of an event and using corrupt conduct information
for betting purposes." Police will allege in court that Lindahl "intentionally lost a match to a lower ranked player at
the Toowoomba Futures tournament in September 2013." Police allege that one of Lindahl's associates "successfully bet on the match outcome" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/20). ... PETER BURLING admitted "to ambitions to helm Team New Zealand's America's Cup catamaran." But he said that he has not "got the job yet." The 24-year-old "was staying cool as talk swirls" that he is set to replace 20-year cup veteran DEAN BARKER for the charge to the '17 regatta in Bermuda. Burling: "No one's position on the sailing team has been confirmed, we are a long way off that" (STUFF, 2/22). ... Former Oxford rowing coach, Observer writer and BBC commentator DANIEL TOPOLSKI "died on Saturday aged 69." Topolski "was an Oxford blue and finishing coach for the Boat Race crew between 1973 and 1987." He "went on to become a familiar voice on the BBC’s coverage of the annual event, along with the Olympic Games and world championships." He "wrote about rowing for the Observer from 1991 to 2012" (London GUARDIAN, 2/21).
HAYNE TO SIGN WITH LIONS: Former National Rugby League player JARRYD HAYNE will "formally announce he has secured a deal" with the NFL Detroit Lions at a press conference in Sydney this week. His NFL future has been the "subject of intense speculation for months," but the former Parramatta Eels player will this week "sign off on a futures contract with the Lions." There was interest from the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, "however Hayne has opted for the Lions due to their proven track record in player development." It will cap off a "remarkable achievement for Hayne, who quit the NRL four months ago to pursue what at the time seemed an unlikely dream of playing in the NFL" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/22).
