Squash’s bid for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics received another boost today with Tennis stars Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters and Stefan Edberg joining fellow tennis legend Roger Federer in backing the sport.

“Squash is absolutely one of the best/toughest sports,” said Agassi, the eight-time Grand Slam champion and Olympic gold medallist in 1996. “The Games would be proud!”

Federer was one of the first leading tennis players to pledge support for his fellow racket sport: “I think it’s a wonderful sport. It’s unfortunate some sports don’t get the opportunity to be in the Olympics – I think squash would deserve it.”

Since then, fellow stars Agassi, Clijsters and Edberg have also given Squash their backing.

“I think Squash would be a great addition to the Olympic Games,” said Clijsters, one of the greatest ever players in the women’s game who won 41 WTA singles titles including four Grand Slams. “It’s a great competitive game and different from the other racket sports in not having a net dividing the players.

“It shows great intensity. With the modernisation of the game I think it deserves a place in the Olympic Games.”

Edberg first started playing squash when he was on the ATP Tour and used to play in the top Swedish league: “Squash has all the credentials to be an Olympic sport – it would complement the other racket sports that are already part of the programme and it would be great to see it included in the Games,” said the former world number one and Olympic gold medallist.

World Squash Federation President N Ramachandran is delighted by the growing list of world top athletes who are backing the sport’s bid for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games programme.

“It is heart-warming to have tennis idols like Agassi, Federer, Edberg and Clijsters supporting Squash’s campaign – and equally gratifying to see top athletes from sports like rugby, cricket, football, cycling, badminton, weightlifting, diving and shooting rallying to our cause.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed his intention for the London 2012 Olympic Stadium to host the 2017 Paralympic Athletics World Championships. 

If the idea gets the go ahead, it will be the first time both events will be staged in the same event.

As the world’s second largest disabled sports event, the competition would feature up to 1,500 athletes from 100 countries.

A bid is likely to be submitted in the coming weeks and a decision on the 2017 hosts will be made by the International Paralympic Committee this year.

Paciolan, the leading provider of ticketing, marketing, and fundraising solutions in college athletics, today announced its partnership renewal with the University of Maryland (“UMD”).

UMD will continue leveraging Paciolan’s eVenue online and digital ticketing, fundraising and social media solutions, as well as the company’s partnership with StubHub to accommodate secondary ticket sales. UMD, which has been working with Paciolan since 1989, will be adding the company’s industry-leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution as well.

“We appreciate our long-term partnership with Paciolan and are immensely happy with the support, solutions and services we’ve received from the company,” said Kevin Anderson, athletic director, University of Maryland. “Paciolan’s leadership in the ticketing industry gives us the best tools to market to fans and donors and provide them with the best service possible to help grow lifetime fan relationships.”

By adding Paciolan’s CRM to its technology portfolio, UMD hopes to enhance its outbound sales and fundraising efforts, while efficiently managing relationships with season ticket holders and donors. UMD will also be able to document every transaction and enhance its communications process to provide personalized services for each Terrapin fan.

“We look forward to leveraging the full capabilities of Paciolan’s CRM solution to drive sales and donations and grow our fan base,” said Matt Monroe, assistant athletic director for ticket services, University of Maryland. “We’ll also gain a better understanding of how to best target our fans and donors to donate more and purchase tickets, which we are very excited about.”

UMD recently announced a partnership with StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace and Paciolan to create a safe, guaranteed secondary marketplace for fans to buy and sell tickets. The process is simple, fast and delivers incremental value to both UMD Athletics and Terrapin fans.

“By tapping Paciolan’s relationship with StubHub, we hope to grow our fan base with customers we haven’t been able to reach directly,” added Monroe. “We’ll also be able to learn who is coming to our games and capture and cultivate these fan relationships.”

By implementing Paciolan’s Pac Social Media solution, UMD has been able to strengthen its social media position and drive fans to its Facebook page, where it is able to engage fans and promote events.

UMD has also been using Paciolan’s eVenue online ticketing and digital ticketing solutions to enable a seamless buying process from ticket purchase through redemption, including ticket transfers and resales. It also expanded its services to include online donations facilitated through Paciolan’s fundraising solution, tFund, which is integrated into the ticketing system.

“From quickly and efficiently coming up with innovative promotions and building online content, to accepting donations online, we’ve been able to create a ‘one-stop-shop’ for our fans thanks to Paciolan,” added Monroe.

Leveraging Paciolan’s relationship with Ballena, UMD recently conducted a seamless reseating process for basketball, which was positively received by fans, the majority of which participated.

“It’s been wonderful to see the incredible results UMD has achieved by leveraging our eVenue and social media solutions, as well as our partnership with StubHub,” said Dave Butler, chief executive officer of Paciolan. “We look forward to helping them develop and meet their future goals with our continued partnership.”

Fenerbahce are considering challenging their expulsion from the UEFA Champions League by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the recent match fixing scandal.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) under the duress of FIFA last week barred the 2010-11 Super Lig title-winner from competing in this season’s Champions League, with Fenerbahce at the centre of the ongoing investigation. 30 people have already been jailed pending trial on charges of match fixing, including the chairman of Fenerbahce and the coach and deputy chairman of Besiktas.

Fifa, Europe’s governing body wrote to the TFF requesting that the Istanbul club withdraw from the competition or the federation step in to bar it. Fenerbahce declined to withdraw and on Monday revealed it had appointed two lawyers to conduct the legal process related to its ban.

The exclusion from the Champions League is estimated to cost the club $36 million in revenue. A club statement read: “One of the legal paths before our club is the option of applying to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Our club is facing an unjust outcome as a result of the mistakes made from a legal point of view.”

Fenerbahce have already appeal against its exclusion and on Saturday the TFF also rejected the club’s offer to play in a lower league in a bid to manage the impact caused by the investigation. The TFF has already announced a one-month delay to its domestic season as officials continue to deal with the fallout caused by the scandal.

The new season will begin on September 9 one month after the scheduled August 7 start.

 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) parent company has continued its fight against anti-piracy by serving subpoenas to live video streaming websites Justin.tv and Ustream.tv.

The UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, has taken the measure against the two websites as they allow members to broadcast live video to an unlimited internet audience.

UFC has stated that live internet streaming is having a detrimental impact on the UFC pay-per-view events.

More than 36,000 viewed the UFC 108 event in January online and more than 78,000 saw the UFC 110 event in February.

UFC’s president Dana White said: “I can”t wait to go after the thieves that are stealing our content. This is a fight we will not lose. When people start going to jail, people will stop doing it.”

 

David Wilson has been promoted to president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development (TRD), cialis sale U.S.A.

Previously, cialis Wilson, who has been with TRD since 1989, was acting president and general manager of the organization since last June. Prior to that, he held the title of senior vice president.

“David Wilson has been an integral part of the success of our Toyota Racing efforts, and we are pleased to promote him to this important leadership position at TRD,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. “We look forward to many more trophies in NASCAR, NHRA and other racing series.”

Wilson is responsible for all TRD activities in North America, including engine development and manufacturing and chassis design/development, as well as team and sanctioning body relationships for Toyota teams participating in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), United States Auto Club (USAC), National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship and off-road competition. His responsibilities include overseeing two TRD facilities: the engine manufacturing location in Costa Mesa and the chassis engineering center in Salisbury, N.C.

“We have an outstanding group of TRD associates in Costa Mesa and Salisbury, and the entire organization is looking forward to the start of the 2014 racing season,” said Wilson. “Together, TRD and all our race team partners are looking forward to getting the season started, winning races and battling for championships. Since TRD was established in 1979, we’ve had many racing firsts and highlights, and we look forward to adding to that list of accomplishments in the future.”

Together, Toyota and TRD have earned many illustrious accomplishments in American racing history, including a win in the 2003 Indianapolis 500 with Gil de Ferran, multiple victories in the Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and the Baja 500 and the Baja 1000.

Toyota has also earned manufacturer’s and driver’s championships in the Indy Racing League, NHRA, Grand-Am, CART, IMSA, SCORE, USAC, MTEG, CORR, TORC and LOORRS. In stock car competition, Toyota has earned six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series manufacturer’s championships (2006-2010 and 2013) and three consecutive Nationwide Series manufacturer’s titles (2008-2010).

Sportliche Initiativen gibt es viele – ob als Verein, arthritis privater Treff oder Freizeitteam organisiert. Doch wo im Bundesgebiet verbergen sich herausragende sportliche Gruppen und Projekte? Ab sofort begeben sich Coca-Cola Deutschland und der Deutsche Olympische Sportbund (DOSB) auf die Suche nach “Deutschlands besten Initiativen für Bewegung und Sport”. Ziel der Initiatoren ist es, cough bundesweit bürgerschaftliches Engagement für einen aktiven und gesunden Lebensstil zu fördern. Noch bis zum 30. Juni 2013 können sich interessierte Sportgruppen im Internet unter www.mission-olympic.de/bewegte-menschen/ in fünf unterschiedlichen Kategorien bewerben. Gesucht sind private Initiativen und Freizeitgruppen, Projekte von Kitas und Schulen oder Sportvereine, die Aktivitäten über das reguläre Angebot hinaus anbieten. Auch Initiativen zur Schaffung neuer Bewegungsräume sowie zur Förderung von Bewegung am Arbeitsplatz sind gefragt. Die offizielle Jury von Mission Olympic wählt Ende 2013 die beste Initiative jeder Kategorie aus, auf die eine Fördersumme in Höhe von 2.000 Euro wartet.

Zusätzlich zeichnen die Initiatoren regelmäßig die “Initiative des Monats” aus. Ab Oktober 2012 stehen monatlich zehn sportliche Projekte oder Gruppen auf www.mission-olympic.de zur Wahl. Die Besucherinnen und Besucher der Website können dann per Online-Voting für ihren Favoriten abstimmen. Die Gewinnerinitiative erhält 500 Euro für ihr Bewegungsprogramm. Platz 2 und 3 werden mit insgesamt 300 bzw. 200 Euro prämiert.

“Sport und Bewegung sollten grundlegende Bestandteile unseres Alltags sein. Daher ist uns die Förderung von bürgerschaftlichem Engagement in genau diesen Bereichen besonders wichtig. Wir suchen sportliche Gruppen und Ideen, die den Menschen die Freude an gemeinsamer Aktivität vermitteln und sie so für den Sport begeistern”, sagt Uwe Kleinert, Leiter Unternehmensverantwortung und Nachhaltigkeit von Coca-Cola Deutschland und Projektleiter von Mission Olympic.

Walter Schneeloch, Vizepräsident Breitensport/Sportentwicklung im DOSB und Jurymitglied bei Mission Olympic, verdeutlicht: “In den vergangenen fünf Jahren haben sich über 8.600 sportliche Initiativen bei Mission Olympic beworben – eine beeindruckende Zahl, die zeigt, dass Sport und Bewegung in Deutschland groß geschrieben werden. Noch beeindruckender ist jedoch der Einsatz, mit dem sich die Menschen für ein aktives Leben stark machen. Wir sind gespannt, welche Projekte in diesem und nächsten Jahr eingereicht werden.”

Weitere Informationen zur Initiativenbewerbung sowie allgemein zum bundesweiten Städtewettbewerb Mission Olympic erhalten Sie unter www.mission-olympic.de/presse.

Die Initiatoren von Mission Olympic

Coca-Cola ist seit 1928 Partner der Olympischen Bewegung und seit 1929 auch in Deutschland aktiv. Ca. 10.000 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter produzieren und vertreiben hier mehr als 70 alkoholfreie Getränke – von Erfrischungsgetränken über Sportgetränke, Säfte und Schorlen bis hin zu Wässern.

Der Deutsche Olympische Sportbund (DOSB) ist am 20. Mai 2006 aus der Verschmelzung von Deutschem Sportbund und Nationalem Olympischen Komitee hervorgegangen und zählt 27,5 Millionen Mitgliedschaften in mehr als 91.000 Sportvereinen.

The Toyota Center, discount home to the Houston Rockets, malady will unveil a $15 million scoreboard billed as the largest in any North American arena.

“We wanted to make sure we created a better experience, pilule ” Rockets CEO Tad Brown said. “We think this is going to put us on another level.”

“This thing will be like an IMAX movie theater,” senior production manager Joe Abercrombie said. “Our approach is changing to a more cinematic approach for everything from our intros to our pregame videos to our timeout videos. We want everything to feel like you’re watching a short film. The board is just a board, a piece of equipment. What’s played on the board — that falls on our shoulders.”

Houston is hosting the 2013 NBA All-Star Game.