Golf: Victorious United States Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw has ruled himself out of leading the team again.
After last weekend's historic win over Europe, Crenshaw said: "I unequivocally can say no. I can't do this. Look at me, I'm emaciated. It took two years of my life. It seems like I've been on the telephone for a year."
However, Crenshaw was quick to point out that he had enjoyed the experience, adding: "I will carry to my grave those cheers around the golf course. This is a great achievement."
And he again apologised for the controversial scenes which occurred after Justin Leonard "secured" victory for the Americans on Sunday.
"Justin tried as hard as he could to calm things. It was something we could not contain," said Crenshaw.
The European captain Mark James has admitted he has no desire to take part in another Ryder Cup clash on American soil after his wife was spat at on the final day in Brookline.
Before flying back to Britain, he said: "What happened has left a bad taste in the mouth.
"It means the players will not be bothered about taking part in the Ryder Cup over here again. That will certainly be the case with me.
"It's not something any of us will look forward to with relish. We've got great jobs, and we just don't need to be treated like this," he said. James's wife Jane revealed just how ugly the atmosphere turned among the spectators on Sunday as the US rallied from 10-6 down to clinch victory by half-a-point.
She said: "It was just awful. A kid spat at me and there were lots of incidents of people telling us to go home. I would hate it if we allowed ourselves to descend to their level when the match goes to The Belfry."
Motor Sport: Organisers of the British Grand Prix yesterday dismissed the prospect of the race being staged outside the country.
Nicola Foulston, chief executive of Brands Hatch Leisure which has won the rights to stage the race from 2002, has threatened to take it to Asia, Africa or Latin America.
Foulston said she is prepared to go overseas rather than allow Silverstone to host the major sporting event, unless she gets planning permission for the multi-million development of Brands Hatch.
But the Motor Sports Association, which organises the race, said yesterday they would be unlikely to give permission for the British Grand Prix to be staged anywhere other than in this country.
Foulston's threat follows the rejection of her £43 million bid to buy Silverstone by owners, the British Racing Drivers Club.
Around £20 million needs to be spent on Brands Hatch, which between 1963 and 1986 alternated with Silverstone as the venue for the oldest race on the championship calendar, to bring it back up to Formula One standard.
Athletics-Marathon man Battocletti fails dope test
Athletics: Italian marathon runner Giuliano Battocletti has tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone and could be banned for four years, the Italian Athletics Federation said yesterday. "Yes, he failed the test and risks a four-year ban," a federation spokeswoman said. She said both the A and B samples of Battocletti's urine had tested positive for the performance-enhancing steroid after a marathon on June 12th in Busto Arsizio.
Several world-class athletes, including Jamaica's former 200 metres world champion Merlene Ottey, have tested positive for nandrolone in recent months.
Rowing: A Chinese rowing champion has tested positive for doping at the City Games in the north-western city of Xi'an, the China Sports Daily reported yesterday. It said Dou Yulong, who won five medals in Xi'an, was the first Chinese athlete to test positive for the banned diuretic human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG).
Authorities confiscated Dou's medals after the athlete failed four urine doping tests, the newspaper said. Two weeks ago three swimmers were barred from the Games for failing blood doping tests.
They were Tan Caini, China's top-ranked women's 200 metres freestyler last year, and two men, 400 metres freestyler Liu Gang and 100 metres breaststroker Xia Shichao, state media reported.
Tennis: Serena Williams finished the job her sister Venus began last year at the $6.7 million Grand Slam Cup, handing Arantxa Sanchez Vicario a second consecutive first-round defeat at the lucrative invitation-only tournament in Munich. Williams, into the eight-woman field for the first time by virtue of her US Open crown a fortnight ago, easily beat the 27-year-old Spaniard 6-3, 6-1 in 50 minutes.
Williams (18) finished with a backhand winner, in a match in which Sanchez-Vicario committed 22 unforced errors.
"I played her and lost the first four times," said Williams, who now stands 2-4 in the series. "This is such a fast court."
Even in defeat, Sanchez-Vicario, the oldest woman in the field at 27, will not leave Munich empty-handed.
Not for nothing is the tournament the richest after the four Grand Slams - first-round losers collect a healthy $100,000 in consolation money.
Entry in the field is limited to players who performed the best at the year's four Grand Slams, with men's champions Andre Agassi and Yevgeny Kafelnikov getting first-round byes in their 12-strong field.
Also passing through the first round with byes were Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist of Sweden and Andrei Medvedev, who lost the French Open trophy match to Agassi.
