SERGEY KARJAKIN has "turned the tables on rival grandmaster" MAGNUS CARLSEN, winning he World Blitz chess championship in Doha, Qatar. It "happened exactly two months after their duel in the classical World Chess Championship ended in a narrow victory for the Norwegian" (RT, 12/31). ... Former cricket captain RICKY PONTING has become the third ex-int'l to "take on an interim coaching role with the Australian Twenty20 team next month." Ponting will join fellow assistant JASON GILLESPIE and head coach JUSTIN LANGER for the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka. All three have been appointed because regular head coach DARREN LEHMANN and his assistant DAVID SAKER "will be in India preparing the test squad for the four-match series" (REUTERS, 1/1). ... SERENA WILLIAMS "used the social media platform Reddit to announce that she is engaged" to Reddit co-Founder ALEXIS OHANIAN. The tennis player "made the announcement in the form of a poem" (BBC, 12/29). ... FERDINAND KÜBLER, one of only two riders from Switzerland to win the Tour de France, died aged 97. Kübler was able to race abroad "after the Second World War ended." The Swiss won three stages in '47 and '49, and in '50 with FAUSTO COPPI at home in Italy, he "toppled GINO BARTALI to finish and win his first Tour de France." He was the oldest living winner of the Tour de France. Frenchman ROGER WALKOWIAK "takes over that title" (CYCLING WEEKLY, 12/30). ... Former Chelsea midfielder OSCAR was "given a hero's welcome in Shanghai as he flew in to begin the next chapter of his career in China" following a £60M ($73.7M) move. The Brazil int'l landed at Shanghai's Pudong airport and "was greeted by crowds of adoring fans who presented him with bouquets of flowers and posed for photographs" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/2). ... At the age of 100, GREGORIO PAUNERO MARTIN, one of Real Madrid's directors for over 30 years, died on Monday. He was on the Board under the stewardship of SANTIAGO BERNABEU and LUIS DE CARLOS and "also held various positions," including VP and contador. As well as being an inspector of finance, he was also the managing director of the EFE, VP of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and a member of the FIFA technical committee (MARCA, 1/2).
FIFA AWARD HOSTS: EVA LONGORIA will host the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony alongside presenter MARCO SCHREYL. The ceremony "takes place in Zurich on Jan. 9 and will see the Best FIFA Men's Player, Women's Player, Men's Coach, Women's Coach and Puskas awards handed out." Longoria is a director and producer as well as an actress. Schreyl has hosted some of Germany's "biggest" shows over the last decade, including "Pop Idol" and "Germany's Got Talent" (ESPN.com, 1/2).
