Durham County Cricket Club player JACK BURNHAM faces a one-year suspension "for failing a drug test for a third time." Durham said that it will "stand by Burnham" and honor the new two-year contract he signed last month "despite failing for a third time testing for recreational drugs" (London TELEGRAPH, 10/4). ... The Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) "quietly concluded the doping case" of Italian STEFANO PIRAZZI, listing a four-year ban lasting until May 3, 2021 for the "doping positive that was made public just before the start of the 2017 Giro d'Italia" (CYCLING NEWS, 10/3). ... CESC FÀBREGAS "pleaded guilty to one of the more infamous and amusing crimes in Premier League history," after he confirmed that he was the man who threw pizza that landed on ManU Manager ALEX FERGUSON in the infamous "Battle of the Buffet" in '04 (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 10/4). ... CRISTIANO RONALDO reportedly helped raise €600,000 ($705,870) for charity "by donating a replica of one of his four Ballon d'Or trophies," which was bought at auction by Israeli millionaire and philanthropist IDAN OFER (ESPN.com, 10/4). ... CLAIRE POLOSAK will officiate Sunday's JLT Cup one-day clash between NSW and a Cricket Australia XI "as the first woman to umpire a men's domestic fixture." Polosak is "breaking significant ground at Hurstville Oval on Sunday," where she will stand alongside umpire and former Test cricketer PAUL WILSON (THE AGE, 10/4). ... Olympic ski champion LINDSEY VONN's "quest to race against men has been put on hold" after the Int'l Ski Federation (FIS) delayed a decision until next May. Vonn's application to test herself against the men in a World Cup race was reviewed late on Tuesday during a preliminary meeting of the FIS Alpine Exec Board in Zurich (REUTERS, 10/4).
