HE'S the steroid-taking American baseball legend who appeared in The Simpsons and wants to come to Australia, but Jose Canseco has a list of demands that need to be met before he can play in the Australian Baseball League. The star wants a beach, a casino, money, fans and to test himself in a game of cricket. Locker Room thinks the Canberra Cavalry should be the front-runner for his signature. Canseco can spend his days tanning at Yarralumla beach on Lake Burley Griffin, his nights in the high rollers room at Casino Canberra and we're pretty sure the ACT Comets will give him a run if he wants a crack at wearing whites. Canseco used Twitter to declare his interest in cricket, while continuing to flirt with the idea of joining the baseball league. ''Thinking about going down under,'' he said. ''Is cricket hard to hit? Doesn't look too hard the bat is so big. And there are no foul balls! Can you play both pro cricket and pro baseball in Australia? I do like to wear white.''
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Fan didn't bat an eye
BASEBALL fans love to catch the odd fly ball or two as a keepsake, but one Canberra Cavalry fan got more than she bargained for during its home match against Sydney on Friday night. In the final inning, Cavalry player Jeremy Barnes' bat broke, sending a jagged piece of wood flying into the stands. It hit a shocked spectator in the front rows, who thankfully was unharmed. The Cavalry let her keep the broken bat as a memento, and also a reminder to always keep your eyes on the action.
Hot shot youngster
AUSTRALIANS might have dropped like flies at the Australian Open, but there's a shining Canberra light with promising junior Lachlan Hewatt. We told you about him last week and we're happy to report he was crowned MLC Tennis Hot Shot of the Year at an awards dinner last Tuesday night. Hewatt was recognised for his work at his tennis club, and the passion and enthusiasm he has for the sport. As part of his VIP trip to Melbourne, he got to have a hit on Rod Laver Arena and tossed the coin at the beginning of Andy Murray's match against Robin Haase. He's the inaugural winner of the prize and also earned $5000, one year of free coaching and a private training session with Alicia Molik and three friends in Canberra.
Lauren sits it out
CANBERRA Capitals star Lauren Jackson is on track in her recovery from hamstring surgery two weeks ago. She has started to walk and will run in six to eight weeks. It seems the biggest problem for Jackson was being able to sit comfortably. The scar from the operation made it tough for one of the world's best players to sit still. Admirably, she drove from the south coast to Canberra on Friday to be at the Capitals' game on Saturday night. But she had to stop every 30 minutes to stretch and get comfortable again. Hopefully LJ has a speedy recovery.
Testing time for lights
LET there be light … at Manuka Oval. Locker Room understands officials are keen to switch on the new lights at Manuka Oval for the first time on Thursday night. All the testing is complete, they're just waiting for one maintenance part and for ActewAGL to tick off on all the appropriate paperwork. We also hear one of the umpires for the Prime Minister's XI wants to be there at the test event because he's never been in charge of a game under lights. There could also be some keen cricketers on hand to hit some balls into the Canberra night sky.
Patriotic Patty
Patty Mills is doing his best to spread the love in the US about ''Straya Day''. The NBA point guard launched a Twitter campaign to sell as many Australia Day shirts as he could to raise money for Cottage by the Sea - a charity for disadvantaged children. He offered a prize of $1000 towards travel expenses, two tickets to the San Antonio Spurs-Phoenix Suns game on January 26 and post-match dinner with him. All six varieties of shirts sold out and the winner was Blake Ainley from Western Australia.
Meltdown up there with the Open's best
WATCHING Poland's Jerzy Janowicz's superb meltdown at the Australian Open on Wednesday brought back some memories of some of the great tennis blow-ups at Melbourne Park. Who could forget Marcos Baghdatis, pictured, breaking four racquets in a fit of rage last year, or John McEnroe getting kicked out of the 1990 tournament for swearing at the umpire, supervisor, and referee? Then there was Jeff Tarango's performance in 1996, and of course Andy Roddick in 2008, where he abused an umpire with the infamous quote, ''You're an idiot! Stay in school kids or you'll end up being an umpire.''