No terrorism, please, we’re British

Arsene Wenger, manager of the Arsenal football team, is expressing worries that terrorists could add football tournaments and teams in transit to their lists of targets.

Wenger’s interview with the Sunday Telegraph came after the recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, who were travelling to Lahore, Pakistan, for a test match.

“We don’t regard ourselves as terror targets,” Wenger said, “but you wonder why not.”

Wenger said that Arsenal depends on “the internal security of the country” they are visiting at any given time, rather than having a personal security detail, as teams such as Manchester United have.

Equal flights for women?

The debate on women’s Olympic ski jumping continues, with five new athletes adding themselves to the plaintiff count.

In total, 15 female jumpers are suing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over their decision not to include a women’s event in the ski jumping competition.

The IOC maintains that there are not enough world competitions to warrant the entry of women’s ski jumping into the Games.

Canada’s Minister of Sport, Gary Lunn, responded to talk of a potential human rights complaint by saying that the federal government has no role to play in this case.

Agassi pulls a Favre

Andre Agassi has made the decision to put his retirement on hold long enough to play in the Outback Champions Series event in Arizona this fall.

He will also be on the court this summer, playing two matches as a member of the Philadelphia Freedoms team for World Team Tennis. He and his wife, Steffi Graf, will be at the All England Club this May for exhibition matches with former pros Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters.

Agassi retired from competition at the age of 35 after the 2006 U.S. Open.

Terminating the moment

The annual Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, was marked by an embarrassing gaffe by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The current California governor was on hand at the yearly bodybuilding contest to present the prize belt to Brock Lesnar, the current champion in the UFC heavyweight competition.

But Schwarzenegger mistakenly turned to the former champion, Randy Couture, and snapped a picture with him and the belt.

“Let’s give the champ his belt,” were Schwarzenegger’s exact words.

Families of missing NFL players call off search

Days after the Florida Coast Guard ended a search in the Gulf of Mexico for two missing NFL players, the players’ families have stopped their personal search and are mourning the losses of the players.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith, and William Bleakley, who played for the University of South Florida Bulls, were not found with the boat owned by Cooper.

A teammate of Bleakley’s, Nick Schuyler, was found clinging to the boat on Monday, Mar. 2.

All of The Uniter’s sports staff send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the players.

Published in Volume 63, Number 23 of The Uniter (March 12, 2009)