Volkswagen Motorsport and driver SÉBASTIEN
OGIER have announced that they are to continue to work together in the World Rally Championship. JARI-MATTI LATVALA and ANDREAS MIKKELSEN have also renewed their contracts with Volkswagen Motorsport (Volkswagen). ... Former All Blacks coach LAURIE MAINS on Thursday "labelled code-hopping" rugby player SONNY BILL WILLIAMS a "mercenary, albeit a supremely talented one."
Williams, 29, "is beginning his second stint with the All Blacks." Mains: "He’s a mercenary, there’s no question about that, but he’s a terribly gifted sportsman" (AFP, 10/23). ... Russian tennis federation head SHAMIL TARPISCHEV apologized to SERENA WILLIAMS and her sister VENUS "over comments he made about the players."
Serena Williams said that Tarpischev "has reached out to apologize to both myself and my sister." She said that she "hasn't spoken to Tarpischev, who earlier said the comments were taken out of context" (BLOOMBERG, 10/23).
KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON: MARIO BALOTELLI "will be fined by Liverpool after he swapped shirts at half-time of his club’s humbling Champions League defeat by Real Madrid." Liverpool Manager BRENDAN RODGERS said that "he would deal internally with the Italian." Balotelli "did not emerge at all in the second half, failing to sit with the rest of the squad as he chose to watch the rest of the game on television from the dressing room" (London TELEGRAPH, 10/23). ... The Int'l Rugby Board will honor former Welsh Rugby Union secretary RAY WILLIAMS "with the Vernon Pugh award for distinguished service."
Ex-London Welsh and Northampton player Williams, 87, "is credited with revolutionising rugby coaching after joining the WRU as the world's first paid coaching organiser in 1967." Williams "was one of Wales' leading rugby officials throughout the glory years of the late 1960s and 1970s" (BBC, 10/23).
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: Lotus F1 driver ROMAIN GROSJEAN "appears set to remain at Lotus in 2015."
Although the French driver "has been leaving his future open" while Ferrari driver FERNANDO ALONSO’s move remains unclear, Lotus Owner GERALD LOPEZ "has now suggested Enstone is likely to field an identical driver lineup next season" (IN AUTO NEWS, 10/23). ... Top 14 rugby side Bordeaux-Begles opener LIONEL BEAUXIS "has extended his contract for two seasons." The 29-year-old player arrived in Gironde last summer from Toulouse (SPORT 24, 10/23).
UPDATE ON SCHUMACHER: A French doctor treating stricken former F1 champion MICHAEL SCHUMACHER said Thursday that the German ace "was making progress but will need years to recover."
JEAN-FRANCOIS PAYEN also praised Schumacher’s wife CORINNA "for the devotion she has shown to the racing driver since his devastating ski accident in December." Payen: "I have noticed some progress but I would say we will have to give him time. It is like for other patients. We are in a timescale of one to three years, so you need patience" (AFP, 10/23).
