Rugby Union: Wallabies forward Scott Higginbotham said yesterday he was finding it hard to deal with missing the team’s European tour after being suspended for striking All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. Higginbotham was dropped from the squad to face France, England, Italy, and Wales after being handed a two-match ban over the McCaw incident. “I copped the two-week penalty and, in that I also missed the tour, it’s hard to swallow but if you do the crime you do the time and I guess I’m paying for it now,” he said.

Formula One: Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen will stay at Lotus next year after making the announcement in a video posted on YouTube. “We’re delighted Kimi is staying with us for 2013,” the British-based team said. Raikkonen, who won the 2007 title with Ferrari, made his Formula One comeback this season after ending a switch to the world rally championship.

Cricket: India’s record-breaking former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly is finally calling time on his career after deciding not to play in next year’s IPL competition. The 40-year-old Ganguly has been playing in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League tournament since its inception. “I had a wonderful time playing in the IPL for five seasons. It gave me a chance to keep playing top-class cricket even after quitting internationals. But I can’t go on forever, and I have requested the franchise owners not to consider me for IPL 6,” he said.

Golf: An instant improvement under Tiger Woods’ coach Sean Foley has South Korean sensation Noh Seung-Yul eyeing the top 30 and his first PGA Tour win after an encouraging rookie season in America. “(Next year) I want to do better than this year, and try to win a tournament, and make the Tour Championship, and try also to get top 30 in the world rankings,” he said.