Mexican Baseball League (LMB) President PLINIO ESCALANTE BOLIO announced that when his contract expires next October, "he will not renew it." He said to LMB execs, "My reason for telling you now that I will not renew my contract when it expires in October is to give you the opportunity to find the ideal people to remain at the front of the league" (LA AFICIÓN, 12/8). ... French rugby int’l DIMITRI SZARZEWSKI announced his retirement from int’l play on Wednesday. Szarzewski made his int’l debut against Canada in ’04, and went on to help France win three Six Nations titles. He said, “It’s the end of a cycle, a new start” (RMCSPORT, 12/9). ... ROGER FEDERER has "rejigged his coaching team for next year" by parting company with STEFAN EDBERG and bringing IVAN LJUBICIC on board. Former world No. 1 Edberg had worked as part of a team led by Federer's long-term coach SEVERIN LUTHI since Jan. '14. Federer said in a Facebook post, "After two very successful years, I would like to thank Stefan Edberg, my childhood idol, for agreeing to join my team. It was a dream come true. Although it was supposed to only be for 2014, Stefan was great and agreed to extend the partnership through this year which I really appreciated" (REUTERS, 12/9). ... Olympic wrestling champion CAROL HUYNH has been named Canada’s assistant chef de mission for the Rio Olympics. She made history at the 2008 Beijing Games when she captured Canada’s first-ever Olympic Gold Medal in women’s wrestling (CANADIAN PRESS, 12/8). ... Former Sheffield United and England goalkeeper ALAN HODGKINSON died aged 79 after an illness. Hodgkinson, who went on to be a coach and was credited with bringing PETER SCHMEICHEL to ManU, made 674 appearances for the Blades. He was also the goalkeeping coach for the Scottish national side (BBC, 12/9).
NEVILLE'S TOUGH TASK: La Liga side Valencia Commercial Dir PETER DRAPER said that coach GARY NEVILLE's determination to "build a strong bond with the fans will boost his chances of success at a club with close links to the community." Neville faces a "tough task to win over the notoriously demanding Valencia supporters and was immediately asked by a local journalist during his presentation how he intended to show he deserved the job" and was not "just another friend" of billionaire club Owner PETER LIM. Draper: "He knows what he is doing and he wasn’t joking when he said about getting up at 6am to learn Spanish. He realizes that it will be important to communicate and speak the language" (REUTERS, 12/9).
POLICE INVESTIGATE FURY: Greater Manchester Police confirmed that they "were launching a hate crime investigation" into boxer TYSON FURY's comments on homosexuality. The news comes as the Int'l Boxing Federation announced it would be stripping Fury of his IBF belt, after choosing to fight WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO "in a rematch instead of fighting the mandatory challenger," VYACHESLAV GLAZKOV. Fury was criticized for his "controversial views," however he has "always denied making several homophobic comments." Greater Manchester Police said they had received "a report of hate crime" following comments made about homosexuality on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire program (London TELEGRAPH, 12/9). BBC Northern Ireland has "threatened to suspend one of its journalists" for criticizing the decision to invite Fury to the Sports Personality of the Year awards, which will be held in Belfast on Dec. 20. Presenter ANDY WEST posted on his Facebook page he was "ashamed to work for the BBC" after Fury's name was added to the nomination list. West was "angry over Fury's attempt to link homosexuality to paedophilia" (London GUARDIAN, 12/9).
