South Africa's justice ministry "has blocked the early release" of athlete OSCAR PISTORIUS from prison on Friday. It said the decision by the parole board to free the athlete after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence "was premature and without legal basis."
It "could now take months for the board to review its decision" (BBC, 8/19). ... British bookmakers on Wednesday "suspended betting" on Spain forward PEDRO "signing for Chelsea from Barcelona."
The 28-year-old has been a target for ManU but British media "have reported that they pulled out of the deal" and Chelsea has tabled an offer of £21M ($32.9M) to bring him to Stamford Bridge (REUTERS, 8/19). ... F1 teams Scuderia Ferrari announced it has renewed its contract with driver KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN. The team's driver lineup for the '16 season will still consist of the Finnish driver and SEBASTIAN VETTEL (Scuderia Ferrari).
OLYMPIC DREAMS: Rugby player SONNY BILL WILLIAMS "will go all out in his bid to achieve his ultimate goal of playing sevens for New Zealand at the Olympic Games."
He said that "he would skip Super Rugby next season in a bid to learn the latest new code of his varied professional sporting career." He is joined in the core sevens squad by Super Rugby teammate LIAM MESSAM and Hurricanes openside ARDIE SAVEA, though both "will mix those commitments with Super Rugby."
Williams said that "his total lack of sevens experience meant he felt he had to go all out." Williams:
"At this stage, I've committed to sevens full-time" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/19).
