Owners have to negotiate with players’ union MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Much to Commissioner Bud Selig’s chagrin, chewing tobacco has been almost as much a part of Major League Baseball over the years as “Play Ball!” and the seventh-inning stretch. It’s ingrained in the culture of the game and is evident anytime a player steps on the sticky floor of a big-league dugout. As owners and the players’ union begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, Selig hopes the time has finally come to rid the game of the unhealthy habit. In a letter to the Ca ... Jump to full article >>

It’s collective bargaining time for Major League Baseball and players may be weighing in on a vital public health issue: Whether to prohibit the use of chewing tobacco at all MLB venues — specifically in the dugout and on the field during televised games. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids recently joined forces with nine other groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, to ask MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to ban the practice of chewing and spitting in baseball; more than one-third of MLB players use smokeless tobacco products regularly, ac ... Jump to full article >>

Maple Leaf netminder Jonas Gustavsson marvelled this week at a little known statistic about former NHL star Steve Larmer that doesn’t appear in record books: He puffed his way through more than a pack of cigarettes each day of his career. The topic was athletes and smoking — Wednesday in Toronto, Larmer helped launch a quit-smoking aimed at young athletes — and the genial Gustavsson found it hard to believe after being told the former Chicago Blackhawk and New York Ranger forward performed at such a high level in a 13-year career while being addicted to cigarettes. “I wouldn’t be abl ... Jump to full article >>

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is 80 today, and vowing not to give up his globe-trotting for a quiet life in his London home. Age is nothing. One day you’re one age and a day later you’re another. It’s nonsense. I’m like Obama, I like to move forward.’ So as we wish Bernie a happy birthday, here are some highs and lows of his past 80 years… QUALIFYING 1930: Born near Bungay, Suffolk to a Lowestoft fisherman. 1946: Builds up a motorcycle spares business, which grows to become the Compton & Ecclestone motorcycle dealership. 1957: Buys the struggling ... Jump to full article >>

Harris Majeke, South Africa’s High Commissioner to India, said that a large snake had been found in a bedroom earmarked for one of the nation’s competitors. In a separate incident, an Indian newspaper reported that a cobra was found in the tennis centre. “That was really a threat to the lives of our athletes,” he said, complaining of filth in the living quarters. “When everything is done, then we will ask our teams to come.” The Times Now news channel said about 150 rooms meant for athletes were uninhabitable. As well as the threat from local wildlife, athl ... Jump to full article >>

Fabio Capello was returning to England today – greeted by embarrassing photographs of Wayne Rooney enjoying a rowdy night out with friends in Manchester. The striker was photographed smoking and appearing to urinate next to a bin after emerging from a bar with wife Coleen and friends. He stayed at trendy night spot Panacea till 5.30am on Sunday and sang football songs with pals in the streets, The Sun newspaper claims. It remains to be seen what Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will make of behaviour. Rooney is due to play against an Irish League XI in Dublin on Wednesday, which ... Jump to full article >>

Many golfers see the week after the U.S. Open as an opportunity to take a break from the grind of the PGA Tour. Others see it as an opportunity to prove they can win there. John Daly doesn’t have to worry about the grind. Without a full PGA Tour card since 2006, the two-time major winner now relies on sponsor exemptions to play in events like this week’s Travelers Championship. Daly is making is first trip to Cromwell since 2002, when he sported his signature beer gut and a cigarette hanging from his lips. A lot has changed since then. Daly underwent lap-band surgery in 2009 and sa ... Jump to full article >>

Barry Hearn’s attempt to take over ownership of snooker in Britain is to face a challenge from a former Olympic competitor, John Davison, who shot clay pigeons for Great Britain from 1989 to 2003 and has promised players a guaranteed £16m in prize money. Davison, a 44-year-old millionaire who retired from working in the City last year, has officially announced his rival bid to Hearn, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Davison says he is ready to offer players a larger say in their sport and has already received support from two former world champions, ... Jump to full article >>

Another weekend of self harm at McLaren. Any more of this and we shall have to get the doctor out. This time it was a cover left in the air cooling system of Jenson Button’s McLaren that accounted for his third-lap exit. If the safety car not been out early the heat might not have built so catastrophically behind the radiator and he would perhaps have got away with it. But this is Formula One. Winning is hard enough as it is, especially around these streets, without loading the job with ‘ifs’. Button’s team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, finished where he started in fifth but n ... Jump to full article >>

David Beckham has presented England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals to Fifa president Sepp Blatter in Zurich. England must wait until Dec 2 to discover if their bid is successful and Beckham hopes they will have already fulfilled one part of his dream. In an open letter on why he believes England can win the right to host the 2018 World Cup, Beckham said: “Hopefully this year we will win the greatest prize in sport twice, by winning the World Cup on and off the pitch.” The 35 year-old, who was ruled out of this summer’s tournament in South Africa due to a torn ... Jump to full article >>

A shocking bold-type confession in this morning’s Sun: “FERGIE: I WANT TO BED CHERYL”. The Mill had to take quite a long breath after reading this. What to make of it? The ultimate statement of enduring longevity, perhaps. Retiring? How’s this for retiring? And while you’re at it check out my florid, hoarsely-panting 68-year-old leaked inter-generational celebrity sex tape. Maybe it’s a simple statement of fact, a knightly tribute to the nation’s favourite doll. Or more likely desperate next-generation mind games ahead of the final round of Premier Lea ... Jump to full article >>