A federal judge has sided with the the National Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA) in ruling that the league improperly negotiated to receive US$4bn in income from television networks even if a lockout occurs, cancelling games in the 2011 season over failing discussions to agree a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

U.S. District Judge David Doty upheld a complaint from the players’ union yesterday, March 1, overruling an earlier decision on the matter by a special master, or arbitrator.

Doty, who has overseen the NFL labor contract since 1993, ordered a hearing to consider the award of money damages and equitable relief to the players.

The judge agreed with the union that, in extending the contracts into the 2011 season, the NHL had failed to get the best terms available to maximize revenue in 2009 and 2010.

Spokesman for the NFLPA, George Atallah stated: “This ruling means there is irrefutable evidence that owners had a premeditated plan to lock out players and fans for more than two years.”

The union is now seeking to have the money placed in escrow during any potential lockout, rather than allowing the NFL to use it to fund operations. The league responded by saying that the money is a loan that will have to be repaid if no games are played.

In his decision, the judge stated: “The NFL negotiated access to over $4bn in rights fees in 2011 if it locks out the players. Of that sum, it has no obligation to repay $421m to the broadcasters.”

The NFL extended contracts and altered lock out provisions with DirecTV, CBS Corp., News Corp.’s Fox, Comcast Corp.’s NBC and Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN Inc.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello released a statement playing down the issue, reading: “Our clubs are prepared for any contingency, this decision included. The ruling will have no effect on our efforts to negotiate a new, balanced labor agreement.”

Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka has resigned from his post after 22 years at the helm.

Chingoka had previously indicated that he would stand for re-election when his term ended in 2015, but a ZC statement said that the 60-year-old had retired as both chairman and board member “on his own accord” during Thursday’s meeting.

“In his parting remarks he indicated that his decision was based on the need to have a well defined succession plan in which it had been agreed that a year before his term he would step down and assist the incoming Chairman,” read the ZC statement.

“He will therefore impart his knowledge based on experience both locally and on the international scene and at times undertake missions assigned by the Board upon request.”

Chingoka could therefore continue to represent Zimbabwe at the International Cricket Council, where he was recently elected to the Governance Review Committee.

The ZC board appointed Chingoka’s deputy Wilson Manase as chairman, with Maureen Kuchocha coming in as vice-chairman.

Oslo’s bid to host the winter olympic and paralympic games in 2022 has suffered a major blow after the government decided not to support the bid financially.

The right wing populist Progress Party adopted a resolution during its congress on Sunday which said hosting the Olympics would be too costly and take funds away from essential areas such as healthcare and education.

Atle Simonsen, head of the party’s youth wing said that believing that the Oslo Olympics would cost below $8.3bn is like believing in Santa Claus, when the Sochi ones cost $83bn.

Norway’s prime minister and conservative leader Erna Solberg said that it was too early to decide on how to proceed as they first need to agree with the city of Oslo on the cost and how to divide them.

This marks a new bump on the 2022 winter games’ road, as Krakow’s bid is facing a referendum and Lviv’s one is put on hold until after the national presidential elections, taking place on May the 25th.

The host city for the 2022 games will be chosen by the IOC in Kuala Lumpur on July the 31st, 2015.

Scottish League Cup winners Aberdeen FC has appointed digital sports agency Sotic to deliver a completely new online presence to engage and communicate with their supporters’ and sponsors throughout the world.

The agreement comes as Aberdeen FC is experiencing its most successful season for 19 years winning the Scottish League Cup, reaching the semi-final of the Scottish FA Cup and closing in on a second place in the Scottish Premiership culminating in Derek McInnes being named PFA Scotland Manager of the Year.

Aberdeen FC is capitalising on their on-pitch success by appointing Sotic to deliver a world class digital platform, providing fans with a content rich cutting edge website to meet their needs across multiple platforms. A key part of the solution will be bringing the live match day experience to life online.

“We want the success of the club on the pitch to be replicated through our digital channels,” Aberdeen’s IT Manager, David Bowman said. “The information we provide to our fans needs to be more accessible across the ever growing diverse environment, and we believe Sotic will help Aberdeen FC create an effective integrated digital solution. During the pitch process we were impressed by Sotic’s approach and track-record in delivering time critical high profile sports solutions and we look forward to working with them over the next five years in this changing environment where we move from push news stories to real fan participation.”

Leo Mindel, Director of Sotic added: “Aberdeen FC is one of Scotland’s leading professional sports brands, with exciting and progressive plans for the future. We are looking forward to delivering the club with an interactive presence bringing fans closer to the live atmosphere experienced at a Dons game. We will work closely with the club to deliver an adaptive customer experience to their fans across a true multichannel platform and make better use of their rich library of digital assets.”

The new multichannel presence will be launching early July ahead of the new season.

English League Two team, illness Cheltenham Town have secured a groundshare deal which will see Gloucester City play their home matches at the Abbey Business Stadium next season.

Gloucester, drugs who play their football in Blue Square Bet North, order have been groundsharing with the Robins for three years and this new deal will see them through a fourth.

Cheltenham Town chairman Paul Baker said: “I am delighted that we have been able to extend our groundshare with Gloucester City for a further season.

“It is a good commercial arrangement for Cheltenham Town, especially in a difficult economic climate where the generation of sponsorship and other commercial income has been to say the least challenging.”

2015 Rugby World Cup organisers have played down a report claiming to list the 12 finalised venues for the tournament.

A Sunday newspaper suggested the venues for rugby’s showpiece had already been agreed upon.

But organisers have branded the reported list as inaccurate, with a final decision not due to be announced until later this month.

“That list is not at all true. It is entirely speculation,” said a spokesman for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It is not the final list.”

A long list of 17 venues was announced in October last year, with five due to be cut when this month’s final announcement is made.

The only rugby stadiums in the long list were the three named in Sunday morning’s reports – Twickenham, the Millennium Stadium and Gloucester’s Kingsholm ground.

The remaining venues, apart from the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, are football grounds.

“The long-list has been in the public domain for a long time,” the spokesman added.

“The use of football stadiums was a part of the bid which was well documented.”

Second-tier football club Leicester City’s King Power Stadium is among the long list of venues, but Aviva Premiership high-fliers Leicester Tigers’ nearby Welford Road home was overlooked.

Other high-capacity football venues included are Wembley, Old Trafford and St James’ Park.

Old Palm Golf Club, the premier private and exclusive residential community in the Palm Beaches, has selected Buffalo Communications (Buffalo) to create and implement a public relations program. 

Buffalo will position Old Palm editorially within image-aligned media nationally and regionally. The firm will also assist with social media programming and general ideation to engender affluent home-seekers to live and play golf at Old Palm.

“The Old Palm lifestyle is unlike any established community in this area,” says Connie McGinnis, Director of Sales at Old Palm. “Buffalo’s experience and track record of producing results in real estate, golf and lifestyle media makes it the ideal public relations partner.”

“We are excited to generate even greater awareness about Old Palm’s luxury homes, prestigious golf membership and casual-elegant atmosphere,” says Rich Katz, Managing Director of Buffalo. “The market is rebounding and Old Palm is poised to emerge as the most sought-after address in the Palm Beaches.”

Located six miles from the Atlantic Ocean in one of the world’s most golf-rich enclaves, Old Palm is the epitome of exclusivity with a limited membership of only 330 equity members. Three gracious and distinct neighborhoods, Golf, Grand and Custom Estates, offer new homes designed and constructed by award-winning homebuilders to the most exacting of standards.

Old Palm’s Mediterranean-style clubhouse pampers residents and members with fine and casual dining, resort-style pool, and a luxurious spa and fitness facility. The tournament-caliber, 7,401-yard Raymond Floyd-designed golf course presents an enticing blend of power and precision-oriented holes. The front nine is routed through sweeping savannahs and wetlands while the back nine is carved through indigenous palm and pine trees.

Die HSV Jubiläums-Anleihe, cheap die am 29.9.12 zum 125. Geburtstag des Vereins emittiert wurde, ist bislang ein großer Erfolg. Nach etwas mehr als einer Woche wurde die Marke von 6.5 Millionen Euro Zeichnungsvolumen durchbrochen. Dies entspricht mehr als 50 % des geplanten Gesamtvolumens der Anleihe in Höhe von 12.5 Millionen Euro.

“Wir sind hocherfreut, wie hervorragend das Projekt HSV-Campus und unsere Jubiläums-Anleihe bislang angenommen werden. Es zeigt, dass wir nicht nur ein attraktives Produkt platziert haben, sondern vor allem auch, dass unsere Anhänger die HSV-Zukunft mitgestalten wollen. Jeder HSV-Fan, der etwa daran denkt, eine Schmuckurkunde als Weihnachtsgeschenk zu erwerben, sollte damit nicht zu lange warten. Es ist zwar noch ein Stück zu gehen, aber der Start stimmt uns sehr optimistisch, unser Ziel von 12,5 Millionen Euro schon vor Ablauf der Zeichnungsfrist zu erreichen,” sagt Carl Jarchow, Vorstandsvorsitzender des HSV.

Die Zeichnung der Anleihe ist online über www.hsv-anleihe.de oder per Kaufantrag möglich, der als Download und in den HSV Fan Shops sowie im HSV Service-Center erhältlich ist.

–           Mit der 125 Euro Schmuckurkunde erwerben die Fans einen Teil der großen sportlichen Geschichte des HSV. Die 125 steht dabei natürlich für die 125 Jahre des Bestehens. Die ansprechend gestaltete Urkunde trägt das goldene Jubiläumslogo des Vereins. Auf den sieben Zinscoupons wird die sportliche Geschichte des Vereins erzählt.

–           Bei der Gestaltung der roten 404 Euro Schmuckurkunde dreht sich alles um Tore: 404 Ligatore (Bundes- und Oberliga) hat Uwe Seeler für den HSV erzielt. Sein Bild, in einer dynamischen Spielsituation und in klassischer “Rothose”, prägt die 404 Euro-Urkunde. Auf den Zinscoupons finden sich die bekanntesten und erfolgreichsten Torschützen des HSV. Neben Uwe Seeler stehen Gert “Charly” Dörfel, Manfred Kaltz, Felix Magath, Kevin Keegan, Horst Hrubesch und Sergej Barbarez mit den von ihnen für den HSV erzielten Toren im Mittelpunkt.

–           Die 1887 Euro Urkunde als edelste der drei Schmuckurkunden widmet sich der Tradition des HSV seit 1887. Die wehende Fahne mit der Raute und das Bekenntnis des Vereins zu seiner Heimatstadt

Hamburg bildet das Motiv der Urkunde. Auf den Coupons finden sich die “magischen Orte”, die für den Verein in seiner 125-jährigen Geschichte wichtig und prägend waren. Das letzte Bild ist dabei zugleich ein Ausblick in die Zukunft: Der HSV-Campus im Volkspark als der Ort, an dem die ruhmreiche Geschichte des HSV fortgeschrieben werden soll.

Die Schmuckurkunden werden einzeln oder als 3er-Set mit allen drei Nennwerten ausschließlich gerahmt erhältlich sein.

Die HSV Jubiläums-Anleihe wird herausgegeben vom Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. . Sie weist folgende Charakteristika auf:

–           Gesamtbetrag: EUR 12,5 Mio.

–           Laufzeit: 7 Jahre, Beginn 29.09.2012

–           Zeichnungsfrist  29.09.12 bis 31.12.12

–           Verzinsung: 6% p.a.

–           Kein Börsenhandel

–           Zeichnung der Anleihe online über www.hsv-anleihe.de oder per Kaufantrag, erhältlich als Download, in den HSV Fan Shops oder im HSV Service-Center.

FIA Formula One Race Director Charlie Whiting has given his thumbs up on the progress being made by Circuit of The Americas in building the Austin Circuit in time.

Whiting heads the Formula 1 Technical Department and manages the logistics of each F1 Grand Prix. His responsibilities include inspecting F1 host sites and race cars to ensure they comply with FIA rules, monitoring and enforcing safety issues important to the sport, and serving as the official starter of each race.

Whiting’s visit comes on the heels of the Grand Prix du Canada in Montreal on June 10, the first of two stops the F1 series will make in North America this year, with Austin’s race weekend set for Nov. 16-18.

“It is clear that the significant resources Circuit of The Americas has committed to completing this facility on time and to FIA specifications is making a difference,” Whiting said. “The more than 500 construction workers on site daily are making great progress, and I plan to return to Austin at the end of August for an update.

“My formal pre-race inspection is set for Sept. 25, which is 60 days before the scheduled start of the U.S. Grand Prix. From the world-class motorsports facilities and fan areas to the racecourse itself, which promises to be one of the most challenging new additions to our season, I believe Circuit of The Americas has the ability to put on a great show and spectacular Grand Prix in its inaugural year. I look forward to my next visit in August.”