Former Argentine tennis player ENRIQUE MOREA died at the age of 92. Following a "standout" career as a player, Morea was a Davis Cup director and general referee (ESPN.com, 3/15). ... Paris St. Germain player ÁNGEL DI MARÍA and his lawyers “reached an agreement with the Spanish tax authorities to settle his case of tax evasion.” The midfielder will pay €3.5M ($3.7M) to the Spanish government (LE FIGARO, 3/15). ... World Rally champion SEBASTIEN OGIER could be "excluded from last week's Rally Mexico, pending an FIA investigation into his Ford Fiesta WRC's gearbox." The Frenchman finished second in Mexico but his Fiesta was "looked at in post-event scrutineering with a query raised over the gearbox," which reportedly "could be underweight" (AUTOSPORT, 3/14). ... A crowdfunding initiative is seeking to raise €30,000 ($32,037) "to build a commemorative statue of DIEGO MARADONA in Naples." According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Banco di Napoli teamed up with football school Arci Scampia "to raise the funds through the Meridonare crowdfunding platform" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 3/15). ... The European Tour's Players' Player of the Year Award has been renamed The SEVE BALLESTEROS Award. The award is voted for by European Tour members at the end of each season and "will now carry the name of five-time major winner Ballesteros," who died in '11. The first recipient of the award is Sweden's HENRIK STENSON (RTE, 3/15). ... Int'l Paralympic Committee President PHILIP CRAVEN was presented with the Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse, the Order of Merit of Germany -- one of the highest honors an individual can receive in Germany -- at a ceremony in Berlin. During his time as IPC president, the Paralympic Movement has grown significantly and now has over 200 members, including 177 National Paralympic Committees (IPC). ... British Olympic champion MO FARAH is "supporting a charity appeal, launched on Wednesday, for 16 million people facing starvation in East Africa, including Somalia where he was born." The Disasters Emergency Committee is "raising funds for South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, which have been hit by drought" (REUTERS, 3/15). ... MITCH SEAVEY won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, "becoming the fastest and oldest champion at age 57." The Seward, Alaska, musher "brought his dogs off the frozen Bering Sea and onto Front Street in the Gold Rush town of Nome after crossing nearly 1,000 miles of Alaska wilderness" (AP, 3/15).
