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December 24th 2009 @ 3:14am
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Schumacher signs F1 deal with Mercedes
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has signed a one-year deal to return to Formula One racing with Mercedes GP for the 2010 season, Bild.de reported on Tuesday evening.
Having retired in 2006, Schumacher, who turns 41 on January 3, will be paid seven million euros ($A11.39 million) to be on the grid when the new season [...]
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© 2008 AFP


![Finally, the real stuff is next up. The NAB Cup undoubtedly provides important preparation for AFL teams and allows the chance for the game to reach community centres, but it deprives us of a better and fairer season.
Without a NAB Cup, and with the expansion of the season on the horizon as the competition expands [...] Adrian Musolino: Get rid of NAB Cup, and give us a longer, fairer draw](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/barry-hall-bulldogs-th.jpg)
![While Matthew Lloyd’s reckless hit on Brad Sewell has inevitably received plenty of attention this week in the midst of the debate about ‘the bump’, the Essendon forward’s act should also initiate discussion about the need for a send-off rule in AFL footy.
With his side trailing by 22 points at the main break, the Bombers [...] Ben Somerford: Lloyd’s hit raises the question of the send-off rule](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/lloyds-hit-raises-th.jpg)
![Aside from the token gesture that was the Hall of Fame Tribute Match held in 2008, the concept of State of Origin footy has been outside the AFL landscape for over a decade now.
The last true Origin clash was in 1999, when Victoria defeated South Australia by 17 points. In front of only 26,063 fans.
The [...] Michael DiFabrizio: It’s time to bring back the AFL State of Origin](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/afl-demetriou-rudd-th.jpg)
![I was awoken rudely by the telephone at 6am Johannesburg time on Tuesday morning. Partially conscious and about to curse the hotel staff for an incorrect wake up time, it took a few moments to come to terms with the reality of the news that was being delivered.
I simply did not want to believe that [...] Geoff Lawson: Terror against sport in an unravelling nation](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/terror-against-sport-th.jpg)
![The Sports Minister, Kate Ellis, who famously did not know the difference between rugby league and rugby union, is floating the proposition that successful athletes should pay back part of their expenses incurred training at the Austalian Institute of Sports and other similar institutions.
The Minister, in the great tradition of the Rudd Government’s penchant for [...] Spiro Zavos: Should successful athletes pay back their AIS costs?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/should-successful-athlete-pay-back-th.jpg)
![Once again, the Champions League is dominated by English teams. This is all very surprising because by and large English sporting teams stink. They hardly ever have consistent sporting success.
Maybe it’s due to the scarcity of English players in the actual sides. Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United only had eight English players between [...] David Wiseman: Rename the EPL the Global Premier League](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/rename-epl-gpl-patrice-evra-th.jpg)
![Quick question, which professional footballer faced court last week with the threat of a custodial sentence? An NRL player? BZZZT! Wycliff Palu of the Waratahs.
The player escaped a jail sentence for being caught driving without licence for the second time but will pay a $1000 fine.
What struck me was the media’s treatment of [...] Steve Kaless: Why NRL players must want to play union](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/why-nrl-want-union-wycliff-palu-naqelevuki-th.jpg)
![It’s been a bit of a gloomy start to the new A-League campaign. Crowds have stagnated. Certain pitches are a disgrace. And now the mainstream media has a new show reel of ‘crowd violence’ to dredge up every time football threatens the status quo.
The so-called ‘clashes’ between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory supporters last [...] Mike Tuckerman: A-League boneheads need a new hobby](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/a-league-boneheads-th.jpg)
![“Hang on a minute,” comes the raw Scottish brogue of Gavin Hastings as he stops speaking for a moment to chastise a tradesman in the background. And then faintly, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone? OK, well just wait a few minutes and I’ll get my toolbelt on”.
He’s then back on the phone. [...] Andrew Logan: Gavin Hastings on rugby, fullbacks and the Wallabies](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Gavin-Hastings-rugby-wallabies-th.jpg)
![Only six points cover the bottom six on the A-League table with the finals series fast approaching. With five rounds left, plus three matches left to complete the floating Round 19, which clubs will book their finals place with a top six finish?
With Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast three points clear of the rest, and [...] Adrian Musolino: Which teams will be playing finals football?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/jets-fury-daal-th.jpg)
![Dear Sonny Bill, or perhaps that should be Bonjour! I’m writing to you to congratulate you on achieving what your manager Khoder Nassar proclaimed was your goal when you left rugby league: to “transcend sport”.
Judging by the papers I think we can down tools and say ‘job well done.’
The single minded obsession that burdens [...] Steve Kaless: An open letter to Sonny Bill Williams](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/an-open-letter-sonny-bill-williams-th.jpg)
![As the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games are consigned to history, the Australian public’s brief fascination with winter sports comes to an end, relieving us of yet another free-to-air sports coverage disaster.
Just like Channel 7 managed during the Beijing Summer Olympics and recent Australian Opens, Channel 9’s Winter Olympic coverage became a major talking point [...] Adrian Musolino: Winter Olympics brings out our sporting ignorance](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/winter-olympics-th.jpg)



