Team Sky Principal DAVE BRAILSFORD apologized following a "foul-mouthed exchange" with a reporter during the Tour de France. Brailsford was "unhappy with a report by a cycling website reporter and excluded him from listening to CHRIS FROOME's media conference on Monday." Brailsford said, "I can be a bit stubborn at times. We're in battle mode, but I let myself down." He added, "It wasn't very clever and I wouldn't want my daughter doing that" (BBC, 7/22). ... Scottish Premiership side Celtic striker LEIGH GRIFFITHS has been given a one-game European suspension for "provoking spectators" in the away win over Irish club Linfield. The Scotland int'l, 26, "tied a scarf to the goalposts after the first leg of the Champions League second-round qualifier at Windsor Park" (BBC, 7/20). ... Former AC Milan Owner SILVIO BERLUSCONI "ruled out the possibility of buying another football club." Berlusconi owned AC Milan for 21 years but sold the club to a Chinese consortium at the end of last season. He said, "It's a truly fanciful idea. I sold Milan, who were a part of my heart, because in today's football, in order to have a competitive team, you need figures that only the big, foreign companies can afford. ... Every Sunday, I'll continue to cheer on Milan with the same passion that I've always had, to celebrate their successes, to suffer their defeats, like when my father took me to the stadium to see our Milan play" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 7/22). ... El Salvador's HENRY ROMERO has been suspended six games and DARWIN CERÉN three "after they bit United States players in the Gold Cup quarterfinals." The suspensions affect only "official matches," CONCACAF said, which "did not specify the reasons for the ban" (ESPN.com, 7/22). ... At "some point," the NBA Houston Rockets will be under new ownership, but former center YAO MING "will not be involved." On Friday, Yao said, "I have no time to consider anything else (including buying the Houston Rockets)." Since retiring from the Rockets in '11, Yao has been involved with the Chinese Basketball Association. He was elected on Thursday as chair of the company that runs the league and was named league president in February (REUTERS, 7/22). ... Former Australian tennis player and coach PETER DOOHAN died, aged 56. Dubbed the "Becker Wrecker" after "famously defeating" two-time defending champion BORIS BECKER in '87 at Wimbledon, Doohan reached a career-high world ranking of No. 43 (AAP, 7/22).
'I'M TRAPPED': Australian tennis player BERNARD TOMIC admitted he is "just playing for the money" and declared he "has no love for the game that has earned him millions." In a revealing interview, Tomic even told his fans to "stay at home rather than paying to watch him play if they were opposed to his infamous on-court antics." He gave himself a "self-congratulatory pat on the back," declaring his achievements "amazing" in light of his efforts. Tomic: "I haven't really tried, and [still] achieved all this. So it's just amazing what I've done" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 7/23).