Outside Edge

Simon Redfern
Sunday 09 March 2008 01:00 GMT
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Danny Cipriani's clubbing may have cost him his England rugby place, but all is not lost, according to the bookies Ladbrokes. While offering odds about which venue he will be seen leaving next, they say brightly: "His misdemeanour could pave the way to a lucrative sponsorship deal." Better still, why not open his own establishment? Sadly for him, there is already a Cipriani Club, in Manhattan. How about using his nickname, Cips, then? Venice's Cips Club might have something to say about that. A restaurant? The Mob haunt Momma Cipriani's Ristorante has long had a virtual existence in the "Grand Theft Auto" computer game. Perhaps the former Irish forward Peter Clohessy could offer him a franchise deal with his own successful Limerick nightclub; its name, the Sin Bin, somehow seems appropriate.

£260,000

Cost of a 50-person suite for the four days of the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, the priciest of the hospitality packages announced last week. Even for that sum, the complimentary bar does not include champagne. Prawn sandwiches are free, though.

Minority sport of the week

Crufts dog show is in full woof this weekend, and Friday saw the introduction of a cani-cross (as in canine cross-country) race. This involves connecting a dog via a harness, bungee lead and waistbelt to a human runner, who then trots along behind. Sponsorship for the race was hard to find, but suggestions that the Football Players' Association were approached, on the basis that some of their members like nothing better than chasing after dogs, are thought to be wide of the mark.

Good week for

Ernie Els won his first tournament in the US for nearly four years to move him up to world No 3... Arsenal reached the Champions' League last eight by beating Milan 2-0 away... India's cricket team beat Australia 2-0 to take the CB one-day series... and GB junior disabled swimmers set three world and six European records at the national championships in Sheffield.

Bad week for

Paula Radcliffe, forced to pull out of next month's London Marathon with a toe injury... Matthias Lanzinger, Austrian skier, had his left leg amputated after crashing in a World Cup Super-G race... Richie Barnett, winger banned for two years by rugby league for a drug offence... and Great Britain baseball team, forced to pull out of final Olympic qualifying tournament in Taiwan after being denied £40,000 funding by UK Sport.

Bad golf shot of the week

Journeyman golf pro Tripp Isenhour (no, I've never heard of him either) was making a promotional video at the Grand Cypress course in Florida when a squawking hawk in a tree kept interrupting the proceedings. Isenhour's response was to propel a series of balls at the bird from 75 yards, the 10th of which knocked it from its perch and killed it. Last week Isenhour was charged with killing a migratory bird, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 14 months in jail. The title of the video? "Shoot Like a Pro". And please, no attempts at humour involving birdies and eagles; it's no laughing matter.

s.redfern@independent.co.uk

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