La Liga side Espanyol President CHEN YANSHENG is reportedly "considering acquiring" Spanish Basketball League (ACB) club Joventut "and becoming its majority shareholder." Spanish website Encestando reported a takeover by Yansheng "would allow Joventut to clean up its accounts, and above all, considerably reduce its debt" to the Spanish tax authorities, which has risen to around €4M ($4.25M) (SPORT, 12/12). ... Former Premier League footballer DEAN WINDASS has “been made bankrupt” over a £150,000 ($190,120) tax debt. A judge made the bankruptcy order against the 47-year-old at a hearing in London following an application from the U.K. tax authority (BBC, 12/12). ... Boxer HASAN KARKARDI and trainer LIAM WILKINS have been “suspended for their roles" in the sparring incident that put NICK BLACKWELL back in the hospital. Blackwell, 26, “needed surgery to reduce swelling on his brain” after the session on Nov. 22, despite no longer having a license to fight. Karkardi, 29, sparred with Blackwell and Wilkins “oversaw the session at the boxing club in Devizes, Wiltshire” (BBC, 12/12). ... MALKY MACKAY is "in the driving seat" to land the Scottish FA’s performance director role and could be announced by the end of the week. The former Cardiff City manager is "in the final throes of negotiations over the job after impressing the panel at a second interview on Tuesday" (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 12/11). ... ETIENNE FABRE, a 20-year-old cyclist with the AG2R La Mondiale cycling team, "died Saturday in a fall while hiking in the Bauges Mountains of France." Fabre won the Tour du Charolais and the Circuit des Quatre Cantons this season with French amateur team Chambery CF "before moving to AG2R as a trainee in August" (CYCLING NEWS, 12/11).
PAYING RESPECTS: Personalities from the world of football and the media paid their respects "at the funeral of legendary sports writer BOB CASS on Monday." Former England Manager STEVE MCCLAREN, pundit CHRIS KAMARA and former Sunderland striker NIALL QUINN "were among those at the funeral" of the former journalist. Former England captain GARY LINEKER, ALEX FERGUSON and DAVID BECKHAM "were among those who paid tribute" to Cass following his death (THE NORTHERN ECHO, 12/12).
TACKLING INEQUALITY: MAGGIE ALPHONSI, a member of the World Cup-winning England rugby team, managed a speed mentoring event at the London Stock Exchange on Monday "as part of a Treasury initiative to encourage more women to go into finance." More than 40 senior figures in financial services took part in the mentoring sessions, "offering advice on how to succeed in a sector where men currently occupy nearly eight in every ten board-level positions." The mentors include representatives from financial firms from Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to MasterCard and Jupiter Asset Management (LONDON TIMES, 12/12).
