Scottish Professional Footballers' Association President TONY HIGGINS "has been appointed to a high-powered expert advisory panel which has been set up to monitor corruption in the sport." Other members include former IOC VP DICK POUND (HERALD SCOTLAND, 1/22). ... The MLB N.Y. Yankees announced a seven-year, $155M contract with Japanese P MASAHIRO TANAKA. The agreement includes an opt-out clause for Tanaka after the fourth year. The Yankees also "have to pay" the $20M posting fee to Tanaka's former team, the Japanese Pacific League Rakuten Eagles (N.Y. POST, 1/22). ... Australian Olympic swimmer SCOTT MILLER "has avoided jail" over two charges of possession of methamphetamine, with a magistrate telling him police would be watching him "like a hawk" while he served a suspended sentence. Miller, a Silver and Bronze Medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, "was caught with the drug -- commonly known as ice -- twice within the space of two months last year" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/22). ... Emirati HEBA ABBAS BAHAJ "has been named as the best marshal of the season" for '13 by motorsports governing body FIA. It is the third year in a row that "the prestigious best marshal award has been won by a UAE-based volunteer, and the second in succession that a UAE national has been recognised" (GULF NEWS, 1/22). ... Twelve British celebrities, a film crew, and the U.K.'s first Olympic ski jumper "have taken to the Austrian slopes to train for new show 'The Jump.'"
The show "gets a group of celebrities to take on challenging winter sports such as skeleton, speed skiing and two person bobsleigh." Each week the two slowest contestants "will have to face the ski jump to decide who goes out of the programme."
Coaching them off the jump is EDDIE "THE EAGLE" EDWARDS, who shot to stardom in '88 when he "became the first Brit to compete in the ski jump competition at the Winter Olympic Games" (AUSTRIAN TIMES, 1/21).
TOKYO OLYMPIC BOARD SHAPING UP: The Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments have selected former Vice Finance Minister TOSHIRO MUTO as secretary general of the organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They are also considering naming Toyota Motor Corp. President AKIO TOYODA as vice chair of the committee, which will be headed by former PM YOSHIRO MORI "and be launched Friday." Muto "is expected to lead the practical work to host the Olympics, including procuring funds" (KYODO, 1/22).
