Former England int'l JOEY BARTON claims "50%" of professional footballers bet on matches, and said that gambling is "culturally engrained" in the sport. The former EPL side Burnley midfielder, 35, was banned by the FA last April for "breaching betting rules." He was found to have placed 1,260 bets on football matches over 10 years. Barton said, "I think if they found out everyone who has been betting and cracked down on it, you'd have half the league out" (BBC, 1/23). ... Premier League side Huddersfield Town Chair DEAN HOYLE will spend the night before the club's match against Swansea City on March 10 "sleeping in a concourse at the club's stadium." Hoyle will be joined by Huddersfield supporters and local dignitaries raising money for charities supporting homeless people (BBC, 1/23). ... Scottish FA CEO STEWART REGAN will "face tough questions from some unhappy board members" after the failure to secure MICHAEL O'NEILL as the next Scotland manager. Regan, who led the search for GORDON STRACHAN's successor, will attend a board meeting at Hampden next week (BBC, 1/23). ... Horseracing trainer RICHARD WOOLLACOTT died, aged 40. He began training point-to-point horses in '05, saddling over 130 winners, and he was also a "keen rider in that sphere," claiming over 100 victories (London DAILY MAIL, 1/23).
CROWDFUNDED PAIR: Crowdfunded athletes MICA MCNEILL and MICA MOORE were included in a 10-strong Great Britain bobsleigh team for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The pair were "only able to compete on the World Cup circuit this season" after raising more than £30,000 ($41,995) following an overspend by their governing body. They finished in the top 10 in four of their eight World Cup races (BBC, 1/23).
