More sports news in brief.
McLaren confirm they will appeal
MOTOR SPORT:McLaren have confirmed they are to appeal the retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty awarded to Lewis Hamilton in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. The decision led to Hamilton being demoted from first to third, with a potential lead of eight points cut to two over the eventual race winner, Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
The stewards ruled that Hamilton gained an advantage when he cut the Bus Stop chicane while fighting Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the lead on a wet and slippery surface. Hamilton allowed world champion Raikkonen to get back in front of him momentarily before again overtaking down the straight into the first corner.
The matter will now go before the International Court of Appeal, who will initially determine whether McLaren's protest is legal. If there is a case to answer, they will then assess the verdict of the three-man panel of stewards who handed down the penalty.
Mickelson signs up for Singapore
GOLF:World number two Phil Mickelson has signed up for November's lucrative Singapore Open, organisers said yesterday.
The American is joined as an early entrant at the Sentosa Golf Club event by South African Ernie Els, Australian Adam Scott and South Korea's Choi Kyung-ju.
The Asian Tour tournament will boast prize money of €3.5 million, an increase of €700,000 on last year's pot, sponsor Barclays said.
Mickelson competed in last year's event which marked his first appearance on the Asian Tour. The 2007 Singapore Open was won by Argentine Angel Cabrera, then US Open champion, who held off Fiji's Vijay Singh for a one-shot victory.
Russian high jumper hits the bar early and faces ban
ATHLETICS:Russian high jumper Ivan Ukhov faces a one-year ban after competing in last week's Lausanne grand prix while drunk.
"It's a shame. By competing in such a condition he has disgraced all Russian track and field athletes," Russia athletics head coach Valentin Maslakov said yesterday. "I will ask our athletics federation to suspend Ukhov for a year."
Organisers at the Lausanne grand prix asked Ukhov to pull out of the competition after he failed to clear the opening height. Ukhov's manager Pavel Voronkov said personal problems had led to the 22-year-old's bizarre performance.
"There's no denying that Ivan was drunk but he had a fight with his girlfriend and was also upset at failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics," Voronkov was quoted as saying by Russian media.
"Obviously, Ivan regrets it very much and we have already reimbursed the organisers for all their expenses. He is still young and it should be a good lesson for him but a year ban would just completely destroy him as an athlete."
Ukhov's future is likely to be decided at the Russian athletics federation's executive board meeting this month. He is one of Russia's top young high jumpers along with Olympic champion Andrei Silnov.
Armstrong coming out of retirement
CYCLING:Lance Armstrong is coming out of retirement to try to win an eighth Tour de France in 2009. He said: "I'm happy to announce that after talking with my children, family and closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling."
Hinault takes stage in Spain
CYCLING:French veteran Sebastien Hinault outsprinted the field to win the 10th stage of the Tour of Spain from Sabinanigo to Zaragoza yesterday.
The 34-year-old Credit Agicole rider crossed the finish line half a bike length clear of Frenchman Lloyd Mondory for the biggest victory of his 12-year career.
