Collectively, the householders of the world could be about to put the cat out. Lion numbers have dropped by 90% in 20 years. The other big cats are going fast. How long before all the Earth’s mega species disappear from the wild, and is there anything we can do about it?

Morocco easily held South Africa to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, enough to qualify for the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations while eliminating the South Africans. In the other Group D match, Nigeria beat Benin 2-1 to join Morocco in the second round.

Jacques Kallis’ phenomenal run scoring spree against the West Indies continued apace at the Wanderers on Wednesday as South Africa stormed to a four wicket win. Kallis has proved to be the Windies’ nemesis throughout the summer so it was fitting that he would lead the most exhilarating run chase of the series.

The international football transfer market, in which top clubs spend millions on foreign players, has been turned upside down by the Chinese, who have paid a Spanish club to sign one of their players. Cash-strapped Second Division Xerez were paid by a mysterious ”personal sponsor” to sign midfielder Shang Yi.

Andy Roddick tasted Grand Slam success. He was ranked number one. No one serves the ball faster. One gap on his resume? A Davis Cup title, something he and the United States can move closer to by beating Austria in a first-round match in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Rival skippers Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly on Thursday gave cautious approval to a proposed world-best cricket tournament. Cricket Australia confirmed it had given in-principle agreement to the International Cricket Council idea, which would pit the world’s best team against a Rest of the World XI.

One of South Africa’s cricketing greats, Jonty Rhodes, has joined Standard Bank as a business banker. Jonty, whose live-wire antics on the pitch enthralled millions of cricket fans both locally and internationally, has been appointed as an account executive in Standard Bank’s business banking division in KwaZulu-Natal.

Athletics South Africa on Thursday announced further incentives for athletes in the Absa Series, over and above the R5 000 incentive for every athlete who achieves an IAAF A Standard, which Absa announced on January 27. The incentives comprise appearance fees and place-related fees.