Italian goaltender GIANLUIGI BUFFON "signed a contract extension through '16 with Serie A club Juventus FC." Buffon, whose contract expires at the end of the season, "has been with Juventus" since '01 (BLICK.ch, 9/9). ... World No.1 junior tennis player, TAYLOR TOWNSEND, "has been forced to lose weight by the United States Tennis Association." The 16-year-old U.S. girl who lost in the U.S. Open junior's quarterfinals "has an affection for McDonalds and Glace." USTA GM of Player Development PATRICK MCENROE said, "It is not about her weight. It is about her general fitness. It is about her long-term health and her long-term development as a player" (BLICK.ch, 9/9). ... Australian cricket has "lost one of its more respected former players and directors." MARK TAYLOR stepped down from the New South Wales board. The respected commentator "lost his spot" as a Cricket Australia delegate in the wake of the governance review (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/5). ... Indian Test opener AAKASH CHOPRA will coach the G Force Cricket Academy (GULF NEWS, 9/9). ... Australian National Rugby League club Wests Tigers captain ROB BIE FARAH "has called on the police and politicians to act after he was the recipient of a distasteful message on Twitter about his late mother." Farah called on Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD to tighten social media laws demanding that the so-called "Twitter trolls be held accountable for their actions." He also stated that he "had contacted police over the matter." Farah tweeted, ''We all need to make a stand and get these scums off twitter. The laws are piss weak and people should be accountable for their comments'' (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/10).
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD: Former tennis champion MONICA SELES and JULIETTE KAYYEM "have joined the advisory board of the Int'l Centre for Sport Security," the body which specializes in safety, security and integrity in sport. Seles and lecturer Kayyem join a distinguished list of security and integrity experts on the board – including Chair JOHN STEVENS, the former Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police; IOC Security Advisor PETER RYAN; 2006 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee VP HORST SCHMIDT; Former EPL CEO RICK PARRY; and Interpol President KHOO BOON HUI (INSIDETHEGAMES.biz, 9/9). ... Scottish actor SEAN CONNERY and ManU Manager ALEX FERGUSON crashed tennis player ANDY MURRAY's post-match news conference after he won his U.S. Open semifinal. Connery said, "Excuse me for interrupting." He then introduced Murray to Ferguson. Murray and his mother, JUDY, posed for pictures with the two. Murray told his mother, "You smell of wine." Ferguson said, "He made me have wine. He's just been telling me that Scotland invented the world" (CBSSports.com, 9/8)
