Australia's BELINDA SLEEMAN is "set to be the first woman to officiate at the Rugby League World Cup." Sleeman is one of 26 match officials selected for the '17 tournament, which begins in Melbourne on Oct. 27 (BBC, 10/9). ... England and Super League rugby side Castleford Tigers player ZAK HARDAKER was "provisionally suspended after testing positive for cocaine and will miss the World Cup." The 25-year-old was "omitted from the Tigers' squad for Saturday's Grand Final loss to Leeds Rhinos and was not named in England's squad on Monday." He could be suspended for two years as a result of his positive test (BBC, 10/9). ... Australian cricketer USMAN KHAWAJA said that "being racially vilified when he was growing up in Sydney led him to support other countries rather than back Australian sports teams." The Pakistan-born 30-year-old said in a blog post that "racial abuse was widespread on the playing field during his junior days" and blamed it for "curtailing the sporting ambitions of a number of his overseas-born friends." He wrote, "Getting sledged by opposition players and their parents was the norm" (REUTERS, 10/9). ... Major League Soccer side NYCFC midfielder ANDREA PIRLO said that he "plans to retire" at the end of the current MLS season. Pirlo, 38, joined NYCFC in '15 after helping Juventus win four Serie A titles in a row (ESPN.com, 10/8). ... Red Bull Formula 1 is "determined to extend" DANIEL RICCIARDO and MAX VERSTAPPEN's contracts until the end of '20 "amid ongoing speculation about their future." F1 teams are "bracing themselves for a potentially big shake-up in the driver market at the end of next year," with a number of drivers including Ricciardo, FERNANDO ALONSO and LEWIS HAMILTON not yet under contract for '19 (MOTORSPORT, 10/9).
LIFE'S PURPOSE: Australian world No. 21 tennis player NICK KYRGIOS believes he "found his life's purpose in helping underprivileged children," and he is "planning to set up a facility for them in Melbourne." The 22-year-old said that "interacting with a young cancer patient at the Australian Open had opened his eyes." He wrote, "I think I've found my purpose in the last couple of months. I'm building something. It's going to be sick" (REUTERS, 10/9).
FINANCIAL HELP: JUDY MURRAY has called for "better financial help for promising young British tennis players" after revealing the sacrifices her family made to support her two sons' careers. She said that they were "skint" and had to take out a loan to fund ANDY MURRAY's place at a tennis academy in Barcelona for three years when he was a teenager. Judy said that there was "no prize money in junior tennis and it was very expensive to travel the world playing tournaments" (SCOTSMAN, 10/9).
