A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Radcliffe readies London marathon attempt
ATHLETICS:Britain's Paula Radcliffe will return to the London marathon after a three-year absence in a bid to win the race for the fourth time, organisers said yesterday.
The world record holder will face champion Irina Mikitenko of Germany, five of the first six finishers in Beijing including all three Olympic medallists, plus two former London winners and two World Marathon Majors champions on the April 26th race.
Radcliffe, champion in 2002, 2003 and 2005, having set world records on each occasion, is bidding to match Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen, who won the race four times between 1984 and 1988.
"I've missed the last three years through injuries and it was frustrating not to be fully fit for the Olympic Games this summer," said Radcliffe, who fought back from a stress fracture in her thigh bone to finish only 23rd in Beijing.
"But after my victory in New York last month I'm hungry to win back my Flora London Marathon title and join Ingrid in the record books."
Bauer's treatment to be investigated
RACING:Last month's Melbourne Cup runner-up Bauer is at the centre of an investigation by Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL) stewards into his pre-race treatment by veterinarians, according to a local report yesterday.
The Luca Camani-trained stallion stormed home over the final 200 metres but was pipped by a nose in Australasia's richest horse race by the Bart Cummings-trained Viewed on November 4th.
The investigation focused on the horse's treatment while quarantined in the week before the race and was not drug-related, Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper reported.
Bauer could still be disqualified if the treatment had broken RVL rules.
Yoshida goes against grain
BASEBALL:Japanese schoolgirl Eri Yoshida became the country's first woman to sign a professional contract with a men's baseball team yesterday.
The pint-sized 16-year-old pitcher, whose favourite pitch is a knuckleball, was drafted by Kobe 9 Cruise, a team from the newly formed Kansai independent league, earlier this month.
"My hope is to be able to contribute to the team," a nervous-looking Yoshida said.
"I just want to be able to play at the same level as my team-mates.
"It is a big stage for me. I can't believe there are so many people here - my hands and legs are shaking," she added .
Japan had a professional baseball league for women in the 1950s but it folded after only two years.
The country's Nippon Professional Baseball body lifted its ban on female players in 1991 while "little league" junior teams began accepting girls only 10 years ago.
Ishikawa gets Royal Trophy ticket
GOLF:Record-breaking Japanese schoolboy Ryo Ishikawa has been picked for the Asia team to face Europe at the Royal Trophy early next year, organisers said yesterday.
The 17-year-old, one of Japan's biggest sporting celebrities, became the country's youngest golfer to pass the $1 million €790,000 earnings mark on Sunday at the Casio Open.
He will be the youngest player to contest the Royal Trophy after completing captain Joe Ozaki's eight-man line-up for the January 9tn to 11th event in Chonburi, Thailand.
"I am excited about the prospect of playing for Asia and look forward to working together with my team mates to deliver the best result for our continent," Ishikawa said.
He joins compatriots Hideto Tanihara and Toru Taniguchi, South Koreans Charlie Wi and SK Ho, Thais Prayad Marksaeng and Thongchai Jaidee and China's Liang Wenchong on the Asian team.
England set to resume in India
CRICKET:England's tour of India seems set to resume but only if security levels for the two Tests are intensified to a stifling presidential level.
There have been suggestions they will travel via the Middle East tomorrow and play a warm-up match, possibly in Abu Dhabi, pending security clearance.
England's one-day squad returned home last Saturday after the final two internationals were cancelled following the atrocities in Mumbai, the city scheduled to stage the second Test immediately before Christmas.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has already rescheduled the Tests for Chennai and Mohali, rather than Ahmedabad and Mumbai. It now seems, however, that the team's security advisor, Reg Dickason, will be seeking an upgrade of a security level that was already high.
