David Stern, NBA Commissioner believes contract talks are set to continue before Labour Day hopefully ending the dispute before the date.

Officials from the league and players’ association will meet again next week. It will be only the second meeting involving both sides’ leadership since the lockout started July 1.

“If Labour Day comes and goes without us huddled in ready to kiss off our Labour Day weekend to make this deal, then we may be headed to a bad place,” Stern said during an ESPN.com podcast earlier this month.

Next week’s session will include top negotiators for both sides: Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver, and union executive director Billy Hunter and president Derek Fisherof the Lakers.

The sides hoped the meeting would be early in the week, though that could change if expected bad weather from Hurricane Irene affects travel to New York.

After an Aug. 1 meeting, Fisher said the sides hoped to meet at least two to three times before the end of the month, preferably on consecutive days for those like himself who must travel to New York.

There hasn’t been much to talk about. Stern was disappointed in the players’ lack of movement in the Aug. 1 meeting, and the league filed an unfair labour practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board and a lawsuit against the players the next day.

The union, already fed up with the owners’ desires for pay cuts and a new salary cap system in a new collective bargaining agreement, had already filed its own complaint with the NLRB.

With no progress so far, many feel the NBA will lose games to a work stoppage for only the second time in its history.

The players made the last proposal on June 30 and had hoped the owners would submit the next one. Stern has said previously that offers only get worse after a lockout starts but recently told AP it would be wrong to assume the owners are done making proposals.

“We’re always going to sit down and talk and discuss and probe and prod, and ask questions of each other and deal with hypotheticals, so there are many different ways to propose things. So we’re not through at all,” he said.

 

Indian Premier League’s Twenty20 cricket franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala team have a prospective investor after noted film director Priyadarshan has shown interest in acquiring stake in the franchise.

He said: “I am interested in this team and to that extend, we are having a business meeting to take forward our interest in acquiring stake in Kochi Tuskers. The first meeting is to take place in Mumbai on the 22nd of this month.”

The development confirms earlier reports that the Kochi owners are indeed looking to sell stake in the franchise.

Priyadarshan said his friends were interested in the IPL but a final decision will depend on the cost involved.

“It is basically my friends who are not in the film industry. Yes, we are serious in this, but then it depends on things like what is going to be the money involved and also the returns associated with it.”

The Kochi franchise was bought for US$333.33 million but the IPL’s valuation itself has since taken a hit, meaning in all probability the owners of KTK will find it difficult to come anywhere close to, let alone match, the 2010 level valuation.

The most recent IPL season was a dampener on all fronts and more so for the KTK owners since they could not do much in terms of generating revenue from team sponsorship and gate receipts.

Despite claiming that the National Football League (NFL) and the players’ union (NFLPA) have made “some progress” over seven consecutive days of talks, search George Cohen, decease director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, pills claims “very strong differences remain” between the two parties.

Cohen released a statement on Thursday, February 24, his first public comments since he began working with the League and Players’ Association last week. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will expire on March 3, with the threat of a lockout looming large ahead of next season.

Cohen confirmed that the seventh consecutive day of talks would be the last for now, stating: “During the intervening weekend, the parties have been asked by us to assess their current positions. At bottom, some progress was made, but very strong differences remain on the all-important core issues that separate the parties.”

He added: “Our time together has been devoted to establishing an atmosphere conducive to meaningful negotiations and, of course, matters of process and substance. I can report that throughout this extensive period the parties engaged in highly focused, constructive dialogue concerning a host of issues covering both economics and player-related conditions.”

It is thought that the biggest dispute concerns the division of the NFL’s US$9bn in annual turnover, although a rookie wage scale and a proposed increase of the regular season to 18 games have also been issues.

The future of relegated Premier League side Portsmouth looks to have finally been secured after creditors voted in favour of a deal which should see the club exit administration this summer.

Creditors of the Championship club are owed a total of US$155 million, but have now accepted a deal which will see them repaid at least 20p in the pound over five years.

The acceptance of a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) was passed with 81.3 per cent of the vote, with the only opposition coming from HM Revenue and Customs who are currently in dispute with club’s adminstrators.

HMRC issued a statement after the meeting, saying: “HMRC notes that the result of today’s vote was to accept the CVA proposals. We will now be carefully considering our position. HMRC stands by the full amountof its claim (US$54 million).

“We will now carefully consider our position following (the administrator’s) decision tor educe the amount of our claim for voting purposes.”

 

The Federation of International Motorcycling (FIM) has appointed Tony Skillington as Commission Director.

Skillington replaces Wolfgang SRB, apoplectic who was elected as FIM Europe President during the FIM Europe Congress held in Krakow (Poland) in early July, anesthetist  as CMS Director until the current mandate expires on 22 November 2014. 

Tony Skillington was a Member of Management Council of the MCUI from 1988 to 1994, price pills before becoming a Vice President from 1994 to 1998. He was elected on to the FIM Motocross Commission in 1991 and has been in the Commission ever since.

FIM said in a statement: “The FIM wishes to warmly thank Mr Wolfgang Srb for his long service in the FIM Motocross Commission and for playing an active role in the development of our sport from 1984 to 2014.”

The University of Houston has selected leading DAS and Wi-Fi provider Boingo Wireless as their exclusive wireless network partner for the new Houston Football Stadium, doctor home of the NCAA FBS Houston Cougars.

Boingo will install, ambulance manage and operate a neutral host, multi-carrier Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at the stadium, providing fast, reliable cellular coverage and data capacity throughout the 40,000-seat venue. Boingo’s industry-leading DAS networks leverage state-of-the-art design to deliver comprehensive stadium coverage, and maximize carrier participation to ensure more fan access. Boingo will also manage any future deployments of cellular small cells at the stadium.

The company will also deploy and manage Wi-Fi networks for both fan and stadium operations use. University of Houston Cougars fans, students and faculty will be able to access ad-supported Wi-Fi throughout the stadium to share their game day experiences. The Boingo Wi-Fi network will also support the stadium ticketing, point of sale, and concessions systems and staff.

“A world-class facility like the Houston Football Stadium requires a state-of-the-art wireless network on par with major league venues,” said Mack Rhoades, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Houston. “Boingo brings experience in managing networks for professional and university stadiums and arenas nationwide, and they’ll provide a comprehensive wireless solution that’ll keep Cougars’ alumni, fans and staff connected from kick-off to the final touchdown.”

“The Houston Football Stadium is a landmark development for the University and the city of Houston, and is designed to support up to 60,000 fans in the future. The stadium is a major addition to our portfolio of stadiums nationwide,” said Doug Lodder, vice president of business development for Boingo Wireless. “We’re building the cellular and Wi-Fi networks to grow with the stadium, and will deliver ample capacity to support public safety and future fans needs, including location-based services.”

The Boingo neutral host DAS and Wi-Fi systems are slated to launch timed to the University of Houston Cougars’ first game vs. UTSA, on August 29, 2014.

The International Softball Federation (ISF) has announced today that Midland, Michigan will host the 2016 ISF Junior Men’s World Championship following approval by the world governing body’s Board of Directors and ISF Congress Members.

It will mark the second time a World Championship has been held in Midland.

“We are excited to welcome national teams from around the world to Midland in 2016,” said tournament host committee co-chairman Jeff Servinski. “Midland has a storied history in hosting fastpitch softball events. It is our intent to build upon this legacy as we host these young, international athletes for the junior men’s world championship.”

The United States has not played host to an ISF world championship since Midland was the site of the 1996 ISF Men’s World Championship. The only other Junior Men’s World Championship in the United States took place in Fargo, N.D. in 1985. Team USA finished second falling to New Zealand 2-1 in the Championship game that year.

“We very excited to have the 2016 ISF Junior Men’s World Championships right here in our backyard,” said USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team Head Coach Tim Lyon. “Midland is a great city for men’s Fastpitch and they will do a tremendous job hosting that event.”

Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, was also awarded with the 2016 Women’s World Championship and Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada won the bid to host the 2017 Men’s World Championship on Friday.