Australian MotoGP organizers are pursuing retired motorcycle racer CASEY STONER in the hope that he will "return to Phillip Island for this year's event." The 27-year-old quit the sport last November, "but will jump back on a bike this week for a two-day test in Japan with his former MotoGP team Honda" (AAP, 7/29). ... The Indian Badminton League on Monday asked the Awadhe Warriors to find a replacement for Thai shuttler MANEEPONG JONGJIT, "who has been put under investigation by world federation for an on-court brawl with a fellow shuttler" in an int'l tournament last week (PTI, 7/29).
DEATHS: Pakistan cricket commentator MUNEER HUSSAIN, "credited with pioneering Urdu language commentary," died after a prolonged illness (AFP, 7/29). ... Football player CHRISTIAN BENITEZ, "one of the stars of the Ecuadorean national side and perhaps best known in England for a loan spell with Birmingham City," died in a hospital in Qatar Monday of respiratory complications. He was 27. The striker "was thought to have suffered heart and respiratory failure" (LONDON TIMES, 7/29).
