Polish FA (PZPN) Chair ZBIGNIEW BONIEK has "quashed speculation that he might run for the presidency of UEFA" if current President MICHEL PLATINI wins the top FIFA job. He said, "I'm not interested. The heads of the [football] federations of Spain and Germany for example certainly harbor dreams of being the president of UEFA. To be honest, I know my place in line" (THE NEWS, 8/24). ... British IndyCar driver JUSTIN WILSON is in a coma after suffering a head injury during a race in Pennsylvania on Sunday. The ex-Formula 1 driver, who drives for Andretti Autosport, "appeared to be hit by debris after a car crashed in front of him and he then hit a wall." He was airlifted to hospital. A statement on Indycar.com said, "Wilson is currently in a coma and in a critical condition" (BBC, 8/24).
GATLIN TO BOYCOTT BBC: World 100m silver medalist JUSTIN GATLIN has "vowed to boycott the BBC and other British media at the championships in protest" at their "biased" reports of his clash with USAIN BOLT in Beijing. The U.S. sprinter, twice suspended for taking banned substances, "was narrowly beaten by just one hundredth of a second by Bolt" in a race that had been characterized as a "battle for the soul of the sport" or a clash between "good and evil." Gatlin believes he has been "unfairly vilified by not only the BBC but the rest of the British media." Gatlin's agent, RENALDO NEHEMIAH, said, "Justin, as well as I, feel that the British media and journalists have been extremely unkind to him. There's been nothing positive said about him now for some time. Every characterization is solely about doping and vilifying him" (London GUARDIAN, 8/24).
