American Football: Three NFL franchises will play in London for the first time next year as part of a four-game schedule that will see back-to-back contests staged at Wembley and successive matches hosted at Twickenham. Cleveland Browns, who are yet to win a game in 2016, will be the home team against Minnesota Vikings at Twickenham, which will also be the venue for a Los Angeles Rams ‘home’ game again, this time against Arizona Cardinals, who were one win away from last year’s Super Bowl.
Obituary: Walter Swinburn, one of the most renowned jockeys of his generation and rider of the brilliant Shergar, has died, aged 55. Nicknamed the ‘Choirboy’, Swinburn partnered Shergar to glory in the 1981 Derby at the age of 19, one of three winners for him in the Epsom Classic alongside Shahrastani (1986) and Lammtarra (1995). Many other big-race successes around the world adorned his CV before his retirement in 2000. Swinburn took over the training licence from his father-in-law, Peter Harris, in November 2004, sending out over 260 winners from his Hertfordshire base before handing in his licence in 2011, citing financial reasons.
Rallying: Four-times world rally champion Sebastien Ogier will race for the M-Sport Ford team next season following Volkswagen’s withdrawal. The Frenchman and co-driver Julien Ingrassia have won the last four titles in a row, with 38 rally wins. “There will be a lot of new things this season but I am definitely looking forward to it. We have a new generation of world rally cars and a new team. It’s certainly an exciting time,” Ogier said in a statement. Volkswagen announced their exit last month as part of a strategic shift to help the carmaker overcome its emissions scandal.
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Horse Racing: Victoria Pendleton (right) is set to have another go in a point-to-point following the short Christmas break after emerging unscathed from a fall at Larkhill on Sunday. The dual Olympic cycling gold medallist was having a good spin when her mount Vesperal Dream, trained by Alan Hill, jinked approaching a fence and she was thrown into the wing. Neither Pendleton nor her own horse were injured in the incident during the ladies’ open at the Hursley Hambledon point-to-point fixture at the Wiltshire venue in pursuit of her first success in that sphere. “Everything’s all right, it was just a bit of a mishap,” said Hill.
Olympics: Irishman Pat Hickey is to be given his passport back and will leave Brazil as soon as possible, his lawyers said after he posted bail in his alleged ticket-scalping case. Hickey, the former head of the Olympic Council of Ireland and the European Olympic Committee, posted $449,370.88 in bail, money loaned to him by an umbrella body that represents national Olympic committees. Hickey was expected to sign immediately and leave Brazil, where he was arrested in August as part of an investigation into an illegal ticket-scalping ring during the Rio Olympics. The 71-year old has maintained he is innocent of all charges.