A potential Formula One circuit around the Olympic Stadium is now an official bidder for the venue after the games.

The three other bidders named are Football clubs: West Ham United, ambulance | Leyton Orient and along with University College of Football Business, who are an affiliate of Bucks New University.

The scheme is one of four being reviewed by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) who are charged with the task of finding a suitable use for the showpiece venue of the forthcoming Games.

An LLDC statement read: “Following an extension to the bidding period, the Legacy Corporation can today reveal it has received four bids for the venue.

“Bids from West Ham United, Intelligent Transport Services in association with Formula One, UCFB College of Football Business and Leyton Orient will now be assessed to ensure they are compliant before being evaluated ahead of negotiations.”

Intelligent Transport Solutions Ltd, who are based at Wanstead in east London, have already held preliminary talks with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone with regard to using the stadium as a circuit.

Any potential race would form a second British round of the world championship to run alongside the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Ecclestone has tentatively given his blessing, stating a month ago ITS Ltd are a firm “bidding for use of the stadium, not to own it.”

Ecclestone added: “They came up with a scheme whereby Formula One would race around the stadium, inside it, outside it. They wanted to make sure I would be interested.”

It is understood, however, Ecclestone will not throw his full weight behind the plan unless ITS Ltd win the bidding process.

ITS Ltd face particularly strong competition from the football clubs in the Hammers, newly promoted back to the Barclays Premier League, and League One Orient.

West Ham were originally selected as tenants before a legal row ensued which resulted in the bidding process being started a second time.

Orient’s proposal is understood to be a ground share with West Ham, a prospect on which the latter is far from keen.

O’s chairman Barry Hearn told BBC Sport: “There is no point dwelling on the design of the stadium and the faults of the stadium.

“We have to get on with it, we have to make a fist of it and we have to make sure the Government and the people of this country get maximum value for the investment that has gone into the Olympic Stadium.

“Our idea does that, and I think it forms part of a legacy people in this country can be proud of.

“Bearing in mind this is the only time in our lifetime we are ever going to hold the Olympic Games, we need to get something out of it.

“A mixture of usages and a mixture of opportunity within the Olympic Stadium will give us the feeling we have spent our money wisely and that is really what we are trying to achieve.

“All sides have to exercise common sense and move forward. I think we have created a very interesting scheme that can do just that.”

Through three games, pharm the 2012 NBA Finals on ABC between Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder is the highest-rated since 2004 and the second highest-rated ever on ABC based on overnight ratings, malady according to Nielsen.

The Finals is averaging an 11.3 overnight rating, up 5 percent from a 10.8 last year (Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat).

NBA Finals Game 3 – Miami defeated Oklahoma City 91-85 – generated a 10.4 overnight rating, peaking with a 14.7 rating from 10:30 to 10:45 p.m. ET. The game generated a 41.9 rating in Oklahoma City and a 29.6 rating in Miami.

Based on overnight ratings, NBA Finals Game 3 was the highest-rated program of the night (broadcast or cable).

The NBA Finals – Miami leading Oklahoma City 2-1 – will continue with Game 4 on Tuesday, June 20, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN Radio and ESPN3. Kia NBA Countdown will precede the game at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has blamed its failure to select a player for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Arjuna Awwards on the sports ministry.

The cricket board claims the sports ministry did not send the requisite forms.

“We wish to clarify that unlike every year, the BCCI has not received any forms for nominating cricketers for the Arjuna and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards. It has been the practice of the sports ministry tosend the forms well in advance to the BCCI to nominate in the givenformat, which includes the players’ acceptance and the BCCI’srecommendation. Under the circumstances, the BCCI is not in a positionto recommend deserving cricketers for the awards like every year,” the board said in a press release.

The ministry claimed the BCCI was at fault. A senior ministry official said: “The ministry of youth affairs and sports sent a circular on January 28 by post, inviting nominations from all national sports federations including the BCCI. In addition, ministry officialscontacted the BCCI office and others NSFs over the phone in mid-April, reminding them to send the nominations before April 30. Besides this, the circular and the forms were made available on the ministry’s website.”

“Anyone can come and check our records,” he said. When asked about the BCCI’s refusal to accept responsibility, the official stated he believes the board was pre-occupied with IPL matches. “The IPL is more important to the BCCI than anything else. The practice of making forms available onlineis known to everyone.” the official said.

BCCI chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty, denies the ministry’s claims.

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The National Football League (NFL) has extended Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract through the 2018 season, pills the League has announced.

The NFL’s 32 teams unanimously endorsed an extension for Goodell at meetings last month. The contract announced today expires on March 31, 2019, and is the third for Goodell, who was hired as commissioner in 2006 after Paul Tagliabue retired.

The NFL is the most-watched sport in the U.S. and drew the nation’s biggest television audience with last year’s Super Bowl championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Since becoming commissioner in 2006, the NFL, already the leader in professional sports — has gotten even stronger,” Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons and chairman of the NFL Compensation Committee, said in the statement.

In recent months, Goodell, 52, oversaw the end of a four-month players lockout with a 10-year collective bargaining agreement and the renewal of the league’s television contracts with 60 percent revenue increases. The league also strengthened its anti-steroid policy and implemented new player-safety rules.

“It is a privilege for me to serve the NFL,” said Goodell, who first worked for the league in 1982 as an intern. “It is the only place I have ever wanted to work.”

In July, Goodell helped the League and its players union sign a 10-year labor agreement, ending a lockout that resulted in the cancellation of one preseason game and delayed the start of some training camps. The contract, the longest in the history of major American professional sports, detailed how to divide a projected $9.3 billion in league revenue and addressed issues including player-safety and a rookie wage scale.

In September, the league extended its broadcast agreement with Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN in an eight-year deal valued at roughly $15.2 billion, according to the New YorkTimes.

That was followed three months later by contract extensions with CBS Corp., News Corp.’s Fox unit and Comcast Corp.’s NBC. Those extensions, all for nine years, will give the league a 60 percent rights-fee increase to stay on broadcast television through the 2022 season.

Last year’s Super Bowl averaged 111 million viewers, making it the most-watched television event in U.S. history. During the current television season, 23 of the 25 most-watched programs were NFL games, according to the release.

“I am eagerly looking ahead to the challenge of building on our momentum and doing all we can to improve our game for the fans and everyone that is part of our league,” Goodell said.

A native of Jamestown, New York, Goodell worked as an intern with the New York Jets in 1983 and returned to the league the following year as an assistant in the public relations department. He held senior positions under Tagliabue before being named executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2001.

Owners of the New York Mets baseball team asked a federal judge to dismiss the US$1bn lawsuit against them by the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz and others at Sterling Equities said the trustee Irving Picard cannot show they knew they were enabling Madoff to commit fraud at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, where they were customers, or acted in bad faith.

These defendants also rejected Picard’s allegations that they were repeatedly warned by members of their inner circle, including principals at the hedge fund Sterling Stamos, that Madoff’s firm was a “scam,” “too good to be true” or a “black box,” or that they should not invest with Madoff.

The Sterling defendants “were betrayed by a friend and realized an aggregate loss of over half a billion dollars” on December 11, 2008, the day Madoff’s fraud became known, a filing in Manhattan federal court shows. “There were no warnings.”

A spokeswoman for Picard did not immediately return a request for a comment. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff has scheduled an August 19 hearing in the case.

Picard has accused the Mets owners of seeking to enrich themselves by investing with Madoff despite a slew of red flags about his possible crimes, going so far as to ask whether they needed a “one of a kind” insurance policy for themselves.

The case, which is being mediated by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, seeks to recover US$300m of “fictitious profits” and US$700m of principal.

It is among the most contentious of Picard’s roughly 1,050 lawsuits. These seek more than US$103bn, including US$58.8bn from Bank Medici AG, UniCredit SpA and others; US$19.9bn from JPMorgan Chase & Co; and US$9bn from HSBC Holdings Plc and some feeder funds.

In May, the Mets owners entered talks to sell part of the team to hedge fund manager David Einhorn, hoping to cover some debt and projected operating losses.

Madoff, 73, is serving a 150-year prison term.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced that the second edition of the International Forum on Sport, sale Peace and Development will take place at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Geneva from 10 to 11 May 2011.

The event, cialis jointly organised by the IIOC and the Office of the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace, will review policies and practices, strengthen co-operation, assess the successes and challenges of using sport as a tool for human development and peace promotion, and pave the way for future action in this field.

The themes will address issues such as:

• * How is sport used as a catalyst for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
• * Is sport delivering on legacy?
• * Developing a culture of peace: sporting diplomacy
• * Conflict prevention and resolution: giving peace a sporting chance
• * Next steps

A strong focus will be placed on how sport is contributing to the goals that have been identified by the UN as some of the world’s most pressing issues and require the support of everyone.

IOC President Jacques Rogge and Wilfried Lemke, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, will chair the Forum, which will include participants from the Olympic family, governments, the UN system, NGOs and the academic world.

European football governing body UEFA has banned Italian football federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio for six months for making racist comments. 

The 71-year-old caused controversy during his election campaign in July by referring to “eating bananas” when discussing foreign players. He later apologised for his remarks.

The ban means Tavecchio cannot hold any UEFA position and will be barred from the next Uefa congress in March 2015.

He will be unable to carry to carry out his duties as a member of Uefa’s youth and amateur football committee, and has also been told by the governing body to “organise a special event in Italy aimed at increasing awareness against racism”.

However, Tavecchio will continue as head of the FIGC after the federation’s internal prosecutor dropped his inquiry over the comment last month.

The remark, made when discussing the recruitment of foreign players, referred to a fictitious signing named Opti Poba.

Tavecchio was elected as president in August, beating former AC Milan player Demetrio Albertini

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has today appointed former professional baseball and softball athlete, Laurie Gouthro, as the new Assistant Executive Director for International Softball. 

Ms. Gouthro will help lead the international softball management team, helping to oversee and lead the organisation and legacy of the softball world championship platforms, including the flagship Women’s Softball World Championship. Ms. Gouthro will be involved in the strategic planning, procedural reform and the administration and operational delivery of International Softball. 

During her tenure as director of competition, beginning in 2001, she has overseen all world championships, including the expansion of the frequency of the championship (formerly celebrated every four years now every two years for each of the four softball disciplines) and also the transition to an open qualifying system. Ms. Gouthro has also overseen the anti-doping program, which has witnessed no positive drug results in Olympic history. She was recently named the technical director for softball for Special Olympics International. 

Born in Olongopo City, Philippines, Ms. Gouthro attended both Florida Community College at Jacksonville and the University of South Florida on sport scholarships in softball and playedboth professional baseball and softball. 

“Softball has always been an important part of my life, and I am very grateful for all the opportunities it has given me. I am excited about this new position and welcome the new challenges that come with it,” Gouthro expressed. “I look forward to working with our President, Board and Executive Director to raise the profile of our sport worldwide and to increase participation at all levels of competition through our championship platforms and development programmes.” 

WBSC Executive Vice President Dale McMann said, “The world softball community is grateful to have an individual with Ms. Gouthro’s experience. We are proud to be able to promote women and athletes into leadership positions.” 

WBSC will take the field next at the 17th edition of the Asian Games beginning 19-September in Incheon, South Korea. 

The inaugural European Games in Baku is set to add a new sport after it was revealed Sambo would join the sports programme in 2015.

The International Sambo Federation have been pushing the European Olympic Committee and Games organisers to make it the 20th sport on Baku 2015’s schedule – a roster featuring four non-Olympic sports. Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport.

Commenting on the announcement, doctor Simon Clegg, arthritis Baku 2015 chief operating officer, said: “We are delighted to formally announce that sambo will be included in the sports programme at Baku 2015 and increase the number of innovative new sports we will have on display at next year’s inaugural Games.

“The opportunity to include such a highly popular sport here in Azerbaijan will further increase the excitement about the event and potentially leave the European Olympic Committees with the legacy of including popular local sports within future sport programmes.”