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Snoooker: Shaun Murphy (picture, right) is delighted to become the first snooker player to sign with global sports management company ISM. ISM manage a host of stars from other sports including golfers Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and snooker fan Danny Willett. World number three Murphy said: “I couldn’t be more excited at the opportunity of working together with ISM. Within five minutes of sitting down to chat with the company’s founder Chubby Chandler I was really keen for us to team up. Chubby’s passion for sport, not least snooker, really impressed me.”
Cycling: Former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis and Lars Seier Christensen, co-owner of online forex brokerage Saxo Bank, are joining forces to sponsor a Danish cycling team. They will take over the sponsorship of Team Trefor, which will be renamed Team Virtu Pro-Veloconcept. The team will participate in their first race under the new name at this week’s Tour of Denmark. Riis and Christensen will take part in the overall planning of the future strategy but will not be involved in the daily management of the team.
Equestrian: Germany’s Olympic eventing team and individual champion Michael Jung has had to change horses for the Rio Games a week before the animals are due to fly to Brazil. The double gold medallist said he will now ride Sam, the 16-year-old he won with in London in 2012, after his first choice Takinou suffered an infection. However, Germany’s eventing team trainer Chris Bartle, a Briton, told the Horse and Hound website that the replacement had yet to be decided with Rocana another option. Only two horse-and-rider pairings have ever won back-to-back individual Olympic gold medals in eventing, the most recent being New Zealander Mark Todd, on Charisma, in 1984 and 1988.
Golf: European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley wants to introduce a six-hole event incorporating a shot clock, music, different clothes and fewer clubs in an effort to attract more golf followers. “Yes, there would be a shot clock,” Pelley told BBC radio. “Yes, there would be music. Players would also probably be dressed a bit differently... maybe they would only play with five clubs.” Authorities around the world are worried about slow play and the declining interest in golf and Pelley is keen to try a new format likely to feature top players representing their countries.
Shooting incident: A sports scientist banned from working in Australia’s top two professional leagues in the wake of a scandal over the use of peptides has suffered a minor injury after shots were fired at his Melbourne home. Stephen Dank, 52, was discharged from hospital yesterday after being treated for a graze on his forehead caused by a fragment of a bullet fired at his house in Ascot Vale in the early hours of the morning. Biochemist Dank was at the centre of scandals over the supplements programmes at the Australian Rules club Essendon and Rugby League team Cronulla Sharks, which resulted in bans for players and staff at both sports organisations.