British cycling "has wished legendary rider" BRIAN ROBINSON a "speedy recovery after he was injured in a crash while out on his bike." The 83-year-old, who was the first Briton to win a stage on the Tour de France in '58, "has been taken to hospital less than a fortnight after he was one of the guests of honour when the famous race visited his home county of Yorkshire this month." Robinson "is being treated for a suspected broken collar bone and cuts and bruises" (LONDON TIMES, 7/17). ... MICHAEL SCHUMACHER's wife, CORINNA, "has issued a message" of thanks to F1 fans and the sport at large "for their support as the seven-time champion continues his recovery" after a skiing accident six months ago. She said that "she had been 'blown away' by the level of goodwill." She also predicted that the next "phase of her husband’s recovery -- he is now out of a coma and being treated in Lausanne, Switzerland -- would take a 'long time'" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/17). ... Oxford City Basketball, a division of Oxford City Football Club Inc., announced that it has signed former NBA player 7-foot-4-inch 325 pound center PRIEST LAUDERDALE (Oxford City Basketball).
BRAZIL BEGINS OVERHAUL: The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Thursday that former World Cup winning goalkeeper GILMAR RINALDI "has been appointed Brazil's new technical director." His appointment comes three days after coach LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI and his backroom staff "resigned." Rinaldi served as technical director at Flamengo and was also a player agent. He has "informed his final clients he will no longer represent them." Brazil hopes to appoint a new coach to replace Scolari by next Tuesday but Rinaldi said there "was no chance of them hiring a foreign coach for the first time." He said, "I think this is the time to look inside our own house, for someone who knows our problems and qualities -- and there are many" (REUTERS, 7/17).
ALL IN FOR LANCE: Disgraced former U.S. cyclist LANCE ARMSTRONG "should be handed back his seven Tour de France titles, according to 12 of the 25 surviving winners of cycling's biggest race." Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf "published the results of a survey it conducted with the surviving winners of the race." Only FERDI KUBLER and ROGER WALKOWIAK "failed to respond, and of the remaining 23 more than half were of the opinion that the disgraced American should be rewritten into the history books." Irishman STEPHEN ROCHE, who won the Tour in '87, said, "Armstrong should stay on that list. .. Doping has been part of sport, not only for cycling, for decades. Who tells me JACQUES ANQUETIL won clean. Should we take his victories away?" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/17)
IN BARCELONA: Barcelona's LIONEL MESSI "has become the biggest contributor in Spain after paying tax authorities €53M over the past year." He "is likely to be forced to pay an additional" €3M ($4M) for "not declaring image rights for three years." The sum includes taxes on salary and image rights from '13, plus complementary declarations from '10, '11 and '12. Messi has reportedly paid more than €100M to the Spanish tax authorities over the past seven years (EFE, 7/17). ... Spanish judge PABLO RUZ has asked NEYMAR for "documentation of payments that Barcelona made related to variable fees and reimbursement for expenses linked to Neymar and his family's move to Spain." Ruz also asked Neymar "to reveal the exact date when the club has to pay him" €900,000 ($1.2M) for image rights from the '13-14 season. The judge "has given Neymar 10 days to provide the documents" (EFE, 7/17).
