A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Players reject take-it-or-leave-it offer from league

HOCKEY:The National Hockey League (NHL) remained on the brink of its third lockout in 18 years as the union representing its players turned down a take-it-or-leave-it offer on a new collective bargaining agreement yesterday.

Having had 24 hours to digest the league’s latest proposal before the current deal expires at midnight on Saturday, NHL Players’ Association head Donald Fehr briefed nearly 300 players on the offer before it was given the thumbs down.

“There have been no developments since yesterday,” Fehr, flanked by several players, said at a news conference at a Manhattan hotel.

The NHL has already said it is prepared to impose a lockout if a new deal is not in place, putting the October 11th start of the 2012-13 season in jeopardy.

Pacquiao could face Marquez again

BOXING:Filipino southpaw Manny Pacquiao is expected to return to the ring on December 8th for a fourth fight against long-time rival Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico.

Promoter Bob Arum said yesterday that fight negotiations were continuing this week with a decision likely in “a couple of days”.

Arum was not prepared to give any further details, though some media sources have reported that a formal news conference promoting the fight will take place on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao beat Marquez with a controversial majority decision when they met in Las Vegas in November, and said afterwards he would be happy to take on the Mexican again “any time”.

The Filipino has fought just once since then, surrendering his WBO welterweight title on a hotly-disputed split decision to American Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas in June.

That stunning result ended a run of 15 consecutive wins by Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions.

Tributes pour in for Formula One doctor Prof Sid Watkins

MOTOR SPORT:Professor Sid Watkins, the Formula One doctor who tended to Ayrton Senna after his fatal crash at Imola in 1994 and who saved the lives of countless others through his work on safety, has died at the age of 84.

As word spread around Formula One of his death tributes poured in from drivers and all whose lives were touched by the wise-cracking neurosurgeon with a love of cigars and whisky.

They included Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, who suffered a huge crash on the same San Marino Grand Prix weekend that claimed the lives of Senna and Austrian Roland Ratzenberger.

“It was Sid Watkins that saved my life in Imola 94. great guy to be with, always happy . . . tks for everything u have done for us drivers. RIP,” Barrichello said on Twitter to 1.7 million followers.

Senna remains the last driver fatality in a Formula One race.

Northern Ireland’s Martin Donnelly, Finland’s double champion Mika Hakkinen, Austrian Gerhard Berger and F1 team founder Frank Williams all owed much to his quick response and care after life-threatening accidents.

Australian swimmers reveal reasons behind poor displays

SWIMMING:Schoolboy pranks, over-inflated egos, a lack of team unity and unrealistic expectations are some of the reasons for Australia's poor showing in the 2012 Olympic swimming pool, according to some of the team members.

Australia’s swimmers suffered their worst Olympic performance for 20 years in London, failing to win an individual title and ending up with one relay gold, six silver and three bronze medals.

Swimming Australia has announced a review into the disappointing display but is still framing the exact terms of reference and structure of the investigation.

Some individual team members, however, have already had their say on TV, while the submission of one key figure, the head coach Leigh Nugent, has been leaked.

Many of the initial reports focus on the behaviour of the men’s 4x100 metres team, who, led off by 100m freestyle favourite James Magnussen, were expected to win gold but ended up out of the medal positions.

Tommaso D’Orsogna, who swam in the 4x100m heats, admitted to being party to misbehaviour during a pre-Games camp in Manchester, where squad members made prank phone calls and knocked on bedroom doors.

“People are kind of saying: ‘It’s just boys being boys’, but unfortunately I come back and I look back on that kind of thing and maybe that would be acceptable in schoolboy rugby . . . but this is the Australian Olympic team,” he told Channel 10 TV.

Hatton expected to be granted licence

BOXING:Ricky Hatton will be granted a new licence providing he successfully completes all parts of a medical, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) has confirmed.

The former two-weight world champion, 34 next month, retired three years ago but is set to relaunch his career at a press conference in Manchester this morning.

Hatton, who has been crowned light-welterweight and welterweight champion, attended a BBBC meeting on Wednesday after shedding almost three stone in training this year.

BBBC general secretary Robert Smith said: “He [Hatton] came before the board yesterday. I’m not a doctor but once we get the medicals in our doctors will look at them. If they are fine they will be signed off. That’s all we’re waiting for. He’s been granted it [the licence] pending his medical.”

Hatton’s last fight was a brutal second-round knockout by Manny Pacquiao in May 2009 and he has since established his own promotions company which ran into problems in May when he lost a TV deal with Sky.