Hockey Canada, allergist the national governing body of ice hockey and sledge hockey, cough has announced Tuesday that Tom Renney has been named the organization’s new president and chief executive officer.

Renney will begin immediately taking over for Bob Nicholson, health who served as president and CEO at Hockey Canada from 1998 to 2014.

As Hockey Canada’s president and CEO, Renney will oversee all elements of the organization, including hockey development programs, high performance programs, corporate sales, events and marketing, licensing, insurance and regulations, membership services, operations and communications.

Renney, 59, comes to Hockey Canada with a wealth of hockey experience at both the international and professional levels. He served as vice-president of hockey operations with Hockey Canada from 1997-99, also coaching Canada to a silver medal at the 1999 IIHF World Junior Championship. The native of Cranbrook, B.C., also served as head coach with Canada’s National Men’s Team from 1992-94, capturing a silver medal at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

“On behalf of the board of directors, I am thrilled with the addition of Tom Renney as Hockey Canada’s president and chief executive officer,” said Jim Hornell, chairman of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors.

“It was a very thorough process, and we were overwhelmed by the quality of the candidates interested in leading Hockey Canada going forward. In Tom, we have an individual with great experience at all levels of the game, as well as a strong passion for hockey development. Tom understands and has demonstrated the value of teamwork and capacity building. We are confident his leadership will be essential in working with staff, volunteers, participants, partners and sponsors in facing the challenges ahead for our organization, from grassroots through to our national programs.”

“This is not only an honour for myself, but it is all that and more for my family,” said Renney. “We are thrilled to be joining this great organization. I am excited to dedicate my efforts to grassroots, development and high performance hockey with a volunteer base second to none in the world.”

Formula 1 is set to enhance its digital presence after chief Bernie Ecclestone revealed they will launch a new app and a new website.

Early this week, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali urged the F1 chief executive to embrace the internet, as the “young generation” does not want “to see an entire race for one and a half hours”.

A report by the Bloomberg news agency said the official F1 website is only the 39th most popular among rival sports, worryingly outpaced by the likes of Egyptian soccer and American entertainment wrestling.

The report said chief executive Ecclestone has until now resisted embracing the internet to protect the huge revenue stream of exclusive television rights.

Now F1’s media strategy will get a modern facelift as quickly as June of this year.

The report said the sport will have a new website and ‘app’ that offers subscription-only video options, improving on the current three minute race highlights edit put to music.

“We’re planning a new app; it’s a decent-size project,” Ecclestone confirmed. “It’s something that we are working to get right.”

The 83-year-old warned, however, that television will continue to be the “mainstay” of F1 coverage.

And he said fans will be charged for the new ‘app’.

“We don’t do things for free,” said Briton Ecclestone.

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World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn has asked the reigning World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan to explain his accusations following a series of tweets from the Essex-based star.

O’Sullivan claimed that match-fixing is currently widespread and predicted further, similar scandals following former world No 5 Stephen Lee being found guilty of match-fixing.

O’Sullivan said on Twitter: “I’ve heard there’s many more players who throw snooker matches .. I suppose Steve lee was just caught out.

“I just love putting it out there bring it all out in the open.. Nothing like a bit of transparency is what I say..

“No need to worry if you got nothing to hide. But plenty of people have got loads to hide. That’s why there is no free speech . There (sic) hiding.”

Hearn is looking to pursue O’Sullivan’s remarks and find out who he may be referring to. 

“We take these type of allegations very seriously. We have written to Ronnie asking him to explain his comments and to provide details of any match fixing and the names of the players that he is referring to,” said Hearn, who is also Chairman of Matchroom Sport. 

“Clearly, to make these type of allegations without informing the Governing Body through the correct channels is wholly unacceptable and extremely damaging to the Sport. We await his response. 

“We will not be making any further comment on this matter until it has been investigated further.”

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iSportconnect is thrilled to announce the publication of the Road to 2020 e-zine, an exciting interactive publication looking ahead to the International Olympic Committee’s final decision on the 2020 Olympic Games host city on 7th September. 

The e-zine features unmissable content and exclusive interviews with many key figures and decision-makers, including Head of the IOC Evaluation Commission Sir Craig Reedie, the President of each federation fighting to be included on the Olympic programme, and the candidates vying to be named the next IOC President. In addition to these fascinating interviews, the e-zine is packed with in-depth analysis and dynamic video content.

The e-zine also features Expert Columns on sports governance and Olympic sponsorship from renowned experts and the final results from the well-received iSportconnect 2020 Survey, which asked iSportconnect users where the 2020 Olympics should be held and what sport should be added, as well as much more!

Click here to view the exciting publication!

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Super Bowl champions, Baltimore Ravens announced a major two-year, $35 million renovation investment that will enhance the fan experience at M&T Bank Stadium with improvements to video boards, concession stands and all concourses.

The first phase of improvements will begin this spring, with extensive upgrades to the stadium’s lower concourse and video boards to be completed before the Ravens’ 2013 preseason home opener. The second phase of work, which will target the upper concourse, is scheduled to begin in 2014.

“We are striving to make the fan experience at Ravens’ home games and other stadium events the best it can be,” Ravens team president Dick Cass stated. “This is something that the NFL emphasizes with all teams and has been a top priority for the Ravens since opening the stadium 15 years ago.”

“There is wear and tear that comes with every season, and these improvements will certainly benefit our fans and our business,” Ravens vice president of stadium operations Roy Sommerhof said. “Our hope is to complete these projects over the next two years.”

Two high-definition video boards, measuring 8 feet high and 30 feet wide, will be installed at the concourse entrances of gates A and D. (Approximately 60 percent of fans enter gate A for all stadium events.) These new high-definition boards, which have split-screen capabilities, will display a variety of content, ranging from in-game action, highlights, stats, welcome messaging and entertainment video.

Another dramatic improvement will be the addition of four new LED boards – one to be placed on each side of the two giant RavensVision HD video boards in the stadium’s inner bowl. Additionally, new LED ribbon boards will be installed to connect fully around the entire middle seating bowl.

“With these boards, we will focus on football features that enrich the game-day experience,” Ravens vice president of broadcasting Larry Rosen stated. “Transitioning some of our static signage to LED technology allows us to expand content and provide the entertainment and football information – including scores and fantasy-team statistics – that our fans crave.”

With the first year of improvements, all 16 lower concourse concession stands will be upgraded. These enhancements aim not only to improve the speed of service, but also the freshness and quality of food, much of which will be prepared directly in front of fans. Additional concession stand improvements include digital menu boards and full upgrades to all condiment counters.

“We’re continually working with the Ravens to create an outstanding game-day experience for fans at M&T Bank Stadium,” said Joe Arena, general manager, ARAMARK at M&T Bank Stadium. “With these upgrades, we look forward to further enhancing the dining experience with exceptional service and top quality food and beverage options.” 

“We will also have more point of sale opportunities in each store,” Sommerhof added. “These upgrades will improve connectivity and speed up service for fans who purchase merchandise with credit cards or debit cards.”