World No. 1 and ATP Player Council President Novak Djokovic emailed his peers to "encourage an appeal" against an Int'l Tennis Federation rule that says players must be involved in the Davis Cup to be eligible for Olympic selection. Player discontent with the revamped Davis Cup has become "so evident" that representatives of the Spanish investment group Kosmos, whose 25-year, $3B contract is behind the ITF’s "willingness to obliterate 118 years of Cup tradition," will converge on Melbourne Park in an effort to convince players to be involved (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/13).
The Spanish Basketball League (ACB) completed the acquisition of a stake in FIBA's Basketball Champions League. FIBA owns 50% of the competition, while the other 50% belongs to the leagues whose teams participate (EP, 12/13).
The National Rugby League will "attempt to clean up the scourge of third-party deals" by "coming clean for the first time" with how much all 16 clubs receive from outside sponsors. The "unprecedented overhaul" designed to stop salary cap rorting also includes the induction of a new contract system which will require the NRL to receive every formal offer that is made to a player (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 12/13).
WADA said on Wednesday that it completed an audit of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) as required following the body's conditional reinstatement. Over two days, a three-person WADA delegation inspected the premises, processes and practices of RUSADA and will file a report highlighting any issues. However, RUSADA has yet to allow WADA inspectors into the former Moscow laboratory and access the Laboratory Information Management System and underlying data (REUTERS, 12/12).
