With the next U.S.-Mexico match on the docket for Oct. 10, when they will "do battle in Pasadena with a single ticket to the 2017 Confederations Cup on the line," Mexico has taken the "emotional lead in this one." TV Azteca, which will air the game in Mexico, has started airing a promo that splices U.S. presidential candidate DONALD TRUMP's "jingoistic, anti-Mexican immigration message" with footage of CUAUHTÉMOC BLANCO and GIOVANI DOS SANTOS signing in Major League Soccer (YAHOO, 9/9). ... Austria's former world and Olympic ski champion BENJAMIN RAICH announced his retirement on Thursday, "citing a lack of motivation to continue racing at the age of 37." Raich: "I no longer have the motivation to go the limit and you need that in ski racing." Raich, who is married to retired Austrian slalom skier MARLIES SCHILD, "won 36 World Cup races in all disciplines except downhill in 19 seasons" (REUTERS, 9/10). ... MO FARAH "has admitted using a drug that is banned by anti-doping authorities and categorised as class-C" in the U.K., although he "did so before it was prohibited." The two-time Olympic Gold Medalist revealed that he "had tried Khat whilst visiting Somalia in 2003." Farah:
"I just wanted to test it. It’s a natural plant. It’s different. You chew it and it is like drinking ten cups of coffee" (London INDEPENDENT, 9/10). ... ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS has announced that "he will step down as coach of Zenit St Petersburg at the end of the 2015-16 season." Villas-Boas "had previously hinted at a possible exit from Zenit, saying last week that he wanted to leave the club at the end of last season but management would not allow him to go" (ESPN, 9/10). ... The spikes worn by ROGER BANNISTER when "he ran the first sub-four-minute mile" have sold at auction for £220,000 ($340,000).
Roger, now 86, "achieved his record-breaking feat at Oxford's Iffley Road track" on May 6, 1954 when he was 25.
The shoes, made by GT Law and Son, had a reserve price of £30,000-£50,000 ($46,000-$77,000) at Christie's in London (BBC, 9/10). ... The Real Madrid forward CRISTIANO RONALDO "launched his first foray into the world of fragrance, a scent entitled 'Cristiano Ronaldo Legacy.'" Ronaldo: "t's a fragrance that leaves a mark, which is why it bears my name, because I'm a person who has left a mark and wants to leave more" (GOAL, 9/10). ... Towcester Racecourse CEO KEVIN ACKERMAN "has been found in breach of rules concerning the involvement in corrupt or fraudulent practices in relation to racing by the British Horseracing Authority following a disciplinary panel hearing."
Ackerman "was found guilty of transgressing the rules" along with registered owner KENNETH MACKAY, former registered owner DAVID GREENWOOD and jockey MICHAEL STAINTON, "with penalties yet to be decided for the quartet" (London DAILY MAIL, 9/9).
