The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced broadcast and online coverage plans for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

By creating original video content for the U.S. Paralympics YouTube channel, ed YouTube.com/USParalympics , symptoms while also partnering with NBCUniversal and the International Paralympic Committee, U.S. Paralympics will provide the American public with more coverage of the U.S. Paralympic Team than any previous year. 

Beginning on Aug. 29 and continuing through the conclusion of the Games on Sept. 9, U.S. Paralympics will provide 10 daily video highlights packages via its U.S. Paralympics YouTube channel . The videos will chronicle the competition, athlete stories and will also include the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Videos chronicling the lead-up to the Games will also be available in late August. 

“As one of only four National Olympic Committees that also manage the Paralympic program, we are committed to increasing Paralympic coverage in the U.S.,” said Scott Blackmun, chief executive officer of the USOC. “With this expanded approach to coverage, the USOC is making a significant investment in growing the Paralympic Movement in the United States and introducing more fans to Paralympic sport.”

In addition to the online content, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will air one-hour highlight shows on Sept. 4, 5, 6 and 11 at 7 p.m. EDT. Following the Paralympic Games, on Sept. 16, NBC will broadcast a 90 minute special from 2-3:30 p.m. EDT. All NBC and NBC Sports Network Paralympic highlight shows and specials will re-air on Universal Sports Network and UniversalSports.com. 

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement, also recently announced its online coverage plans for the 2012 Paralympic Games, which will include broadcasting 580 hours of live sport from London 2012 on Paralympic.org during the competition. 

During each day of London 2012, the IPC website will broadcast four streams of uninterrupted live coverage from the Paralympics with English commentary, including daily coverage of swimming, wheelchair basketball and athletics, while a fourth channel will cover a range of sports. A fifth channel will broadcast a mixture of sports with Spanish commentary. 

In addition, more than 1,000 hours of sporting action from a number of venues, including individual races and matches, will be made available on Paralympic.org as video on demand during the course of the Games. Two daily five minute news bulletins will also be produced in English and Spanish. 

The 2012 Paralympic Games will take place in London, England, from Aug. 29-Sept. 9, featuring more than 4,000 athletes with a disability, from more than 160 countries. It is slated to be the largest Paralympic Games in history.

Derby County are to install a giant video screen over the summer taking the big match experience at Pride Park Stadium to a new level next season.

 

The 77M² screen will be installed during the summer months, replacing the existing scoreboard currently located in the North West Corner of Pride Park, after the Rams teamed up with Sports Revolution, who are the largest media rights owner in UK football stadia advertising.

Sports Revolution manage sponsor activation, 3rd party advertising and experiential advertising for some of the leading brands in football, including Barclays, Heineken, ESPN and Sky.

The installation of the big screen will allow Derby fans to enjoy an improved matchday media offering at Pride Park Stadium.

The screen will provide a unique opportunity to showcase exclusive video content – such as live views of the action, replays, behind the scenes features and scores from around the npower Championship. The Club’s enhanced digital offering aims to improve the interactive experience for all supporters visiting Pride Park Stadium, while bolstering the opportunity for commercial partners to engage more closely with Rams fans before, during and after the game.

The DCTV studio, which currently produces content for Rams Player on dcfc.co.uk and the concourse TV screens around Pride Park Stadium, will also undergo a digital upgrade as part of the operation to ensure that the best possible content is provided to Rams fans from the minute they arrive at the stadium.

Alongside the upgrades, the Club will also be moving to digital LED pitchside perimeter boards from the start of the 2012-13 season, replacing the existing paper-based rotational advertising system.

Derby County Chief Executive Tom Glick said: “We’re delighted to announce that we will see a big screen at Pride Park Stadium next season.Our supporters have been asking for this enhancement for a number of years, and we are pleased to deliver it for them this summer.

 

“Our aim is to constantly improve the experience for our fans from the moment they arrive at Pride Park, and we will take a giant step forward this season in that respect.

 

“The big screen will certainly help enhance the atmosphere on a matchday, which in turn can give us a stronger advantage at Pride Park and I know that is something manager Nigel Clough, who has also been involved in this process, supports.

“Our staff have been hard at work over the last few months to prepare us to put on a great show come August. We have consulted a number of clubs in the Premier League and in multiple sports throughout North America to select the best mix of elements for Derby County.

 

“We’re delighted to be linking up with Sports Revolution to make this happen as well.They are a blue chip outfit on the leading edge of fan engagement and integrating brands into the matchday experience.By combining Derby County’s and Sport Revolution’s skills and talents, we expect to deliver a thoroughly entertaining and memorable experience at Pride Park.”

 

Robin Currie, Managing Director – Stadia Solutions, at Sports Revolution said: “Derby County will arguably be the most digitally connected stadium in the UK and have again pioneered technologies in the npower Championship. As the leading provider of multi-media fan engagement and media rights platforms to UK stadia; Sports Revolution are delighted to extend our existing relationship with Derby County.”

Glick says the big screen and pitchside LED system will prove to be an important commercial asset for Derby as the Club strives to grow its income ahead of the introduction of Financial Fair Play in the Championship from the start of next season.

He said: “Our corporate partners, as well as the Marketing Directors from new potential partners, share our excitement that the new technology is coming to Pride Park.They can see its ability to elevate their brands and deliver a more dynamic and powerful message to in excess of 26,000 people on a matchday and to a UK and worldwide television audience.

 

“Financial Fair Play will impact in the Championship from next season. By taking these steps to offer more choice and value to our supporters and corporate partners, this can drive greater revenues for the Club which will enhance the options Nigel Clough will have when it comes to future investment in his squad.”

Rams fans will have the chance to see the Club’s new digital offering ahead of the 2012-13 season, which is due to commence on 18th August 2012 at Pride Park Stadium against Sheffield Wednesday, with details to be confirmed in due course.

UK Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has appealed to soccer club Tottenham Hotspur not to put London’s bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championship at risk.

The English Premier League team is seeking a judicial review of the decision to award the stadium to West Ham United after the Olympics.

Tottenham’s defeated bid for the stadium included removing the athletics track, which would render the stadium as unable to host further athletics events.

On September 1, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will announce candidate cities.

If the legal action is continuing after then, the bid for the championships may have to be withdrawn.

Robertson said: “We need to confirm a bid by 1 September. The key thing is if we can get Tottenham’s and Leyton Orient’s appeal through the High Court and, I would say, dismissed.

“If the High Court is not settled we don’t have a secure venue. That would make it very difficult to bid.”

West Ham United is due to move into the stadium, in Stratford, east London, in the summer of 2013.

But Tottenham were unhappy with the processes which led to this decision and are seeking a judicial review into the roles of several other key parties involved.

He added: “I would hope Tottenham would see the greater good to London, maybe it’s a fond hope.

Tottenham Hotspur has not yet responded to Mr Robertson’s comments.

The Qatar capital of Doha is favourite to win the 2017 event with Budapest and an as yet unnamed Spanish city also competing.

John Scott, the chief executive of the Organising Committee (OC) for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, has resigned with immediate effect after admitting an “error of judgement” in the breaking of rules with regards to accepting gifts and hospitality from a potential supplier.

Lord Smith, chairman of Glasgow 2014, said in a statement: “John Scott has made an important contribution to the planning of what we believe will be an outstanding Games.

“The Board has accepted his resignation today for an error of judgement he made in accepting, and not declaring, an offer from one of Glasgow 2014’s potential suppliers, in breach of the Organising Committee’s strict gifts and gratuities policy.”

Scott had joined Glasgow 2014 in April 2008 from UK Sport, where he had been the·International Director and Director of Drug-Free Sport.

Smith said: “I know he deeply regrets this mistake and this was a job that he loved.

“It is a measure of the man that he has put the values and reputation of the OC ahead of his own at this time.

“John was largely responsible for setting the OC’s high standards of governance and he felt he could not continue in his role as chief executive under the circumstances.”

David Grevemberg, the chief operating officer, will take charge of the Organising Committee until a permanent appointment is made.

Smith said: “Now we must look to the future.

“We have a great team in the Organising Committee and a strong relationship with our Games Partners.

“We are on track and on budget and do not intend to let the pace of our preparations drop.”

Scotland’s Commonwealth Games Minister Shona Robison reacted by saying: “John Scott has made a valuable contribution as chief executive of the Organising Committee.

“He played a leading role in ensuring the delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow remains on schedule and within budget.

“However, the reputation and integrity of our Games is paramount and to that end I believe Mr Scott has done the right and principled thing in stepping down.

“The standards that apply in a company responsible to the public are of necessity higher than those which prevail in private business and I fully support the decision taken by the Organising Committee.”

English League One Club club Doncaster Rovers have confirmed that they are in talks regarding a possible takeover, tadalafil following reports that One Direction member Louis Tomlinson is hoping to buy the club.

The Doncaster-born singer played, who played for the reserve team, is reportedly planning to link up with former chairman John Ryan and launch a buy-out of the club, who were relegated to League One on the final day of the Championship season.

Rovers released a statement on Friday afternoon which read: “Following reports in the media, the owners of Doncaster Rovers can confirm that they have been approached and dialogue has taken place with external parties about a proposed takeover.

“At this stage the club is not in a position to comment further about the level and detail of those discussions, but will do so as soon as it is legally possible.

“The owners are looking to ensure a swift resolution to the discussions to ensure that this does not impact adversely on the summer transfer activity.

“Any decision made by the current owners will focus on what is best for Doncaster Rovers in both the short and long term.”

English League One club Swindon Town have announced Jed McCrory has stepped down as chairman.

McCrory, who arrived at the County Ground in February, will also leave the club’s board of directors with immediate effect, with health reasons cited as one of the factors behind his decision to step down at a board meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement comes on the same day as Town earlier confirmed a change of ownership to Swinton Reds 20 Ltd, controlled by director of football Lee Power, who has also now become the new chairman of the club as well as owner.

A statement on Swindon’s official website read: “Jed stepped into the club at a time of need and we all agree has rejuvenated the club and the community. He has instilled pride back into STFC and the town of Swindon.

“As close friends and family are aware, Jed has had recurring health issues which have taken their toll over the 14-hour days he has devoted to taking the club from relative obscurity to respectability.

“He leaves the club having established a robust, proven business model, as well as a team that sits seventh in the League One table, are in the area semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and displaying some of the most attractive football in the division.”

McCrory himself added: “I would like to thank all the staff for their personal support, the sponsors for sticking with the team during the difficult times and finally, the fans for supporting me.

“I am extremely proud to have got to know most of you. I will miss walking around the club before the game.”

“This decision is made with a heavy heart but I have always believed that the club must come before the man.”

Boosted by a successful Olympics, medic tickets for the Paralympics continue to sell well.

Now the International Paralympic Committee is bullish about selling out the Games for the first time in their 52-year history.

With a little over two weeks to go, cheap 2.1 million of the 2.5 million seats have been sold. That’s more than Athens (850,000) and Sydney (1.2 million) combined. Beijing shifted 1.8 million tickets and gave a similar amount away to fill venues.

Although most of the remaining tickets are for events at ExCel (£10 for a day pass) and outside London, it’s still possible to get into the Olympic Park. At the time of writing, tickets are available for the Opening Ceremony, five-a-side, wheelchair basketball, and closing ceremony.

Verizon Wireless has agreed a partnership with NBA’s Phoenix Suns to launch their first-ever smartphone mobile app, available for Android, iOS and BlackBerry operating systems.

The official app features the latest Suns news, blog posts, photos and on-demand video, from the producers of Suns.com. Verizon Wireless customers with Android or BlackBerry operating system smartphones will have access to additional exclusive video content using the app.

Social media users can get the latest Suns Facebook updates, Instagram photos and aggregated tweets from the team’s front office and players, and send tweets and post comments from within the app, as well as “check-in” via Foursquare or Facebook Places while attending games.

The official Suns app will be a must-have for fans on game nights, whether at US Airways Center, at home in front of their TV, or for those out-and-about looking to keep tabs on all of the action. With real-time scoring, box scores, play-by-play and shot charts, the Suns’ app is loaded with live statistics. Fans within Arizona will also be able to listen to the Suns’ radio broadcasts, featuring Al McCoy and Tim Kempton.

Fans attending games, concerts or events at US Airways Center can quickly find the nearest restroom, concession stand or team shop via the app’s map functionality.

“We are always exploring new ways to connect with fans,” said Jeramie McPeek, Suns Vice President of Digital. “Working hand-in-hand with Verizon Wireless and our developer, YinzCam, we believe we have built an app that will enhance the experience of being a Phoenix Suns fan.”

The Suns plan to introduce a tablet version of the app during the 2012-13 season for both Android and iOS platforms, as well as new game elements, contests, special offers and video replays for fans in-arena. The Suns were the first NBA franchise to fully integrate wireless tablet technology into both their business and basketball operations in February of this year.