Former Chicago Blackhawk scout Marc Bergevin is moving back to his hometown after he agreed to become Montreal Canadiens’ new General Mnanger.

The 46-year-old who grew up watching the Montreal Canadiens parade the Stanley Cup down Ste-Catherine Street almost annually is now responsible for reshaping the struggling team in a city that will watch and pick apart his every move.

The new Canadiens general manager brings to the job 20 years of experience as a steady, stay-at-home defenceman for eight NHL clubs and more than seven years of scouting and management with the Chicago Blackhawks.

But his first job as an NHL GM comes with many challenges as he takes over a club that finished last in the NHL Eastern Conference this season.

“I took this job first of all because I know I’m ready,” Bergevin said after he was introduced as executive vice-president and GM by team owner/president Geoff Molson on Wednesday.

“If I wasn’t ready for this challenge I wouldn’t be here today.”

He said that despite the team’s dismal finish in 2011-12, it will not need a complete rebuild but will require some changes to make it a winner.

The Canadiens were hit hard by injuries, but they have a solid top line of David Desharnais, Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty and the makings of a second line with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta, as well as a young but decent defence and a talented goalie in Carey Price.

“I believe the pieces are really good,” Bergevin said. “Obviously finishing 15th in the conference, it’s a lot of work that needs to be done but you have a good base.”

While he offered only a few specific details of what will change, it was clear the easygoing Bergevin is a near opposite of Pierre Gauthier, the guarded, uncommunicative GM he has replaced.

“We were looking for a candidate with very strong leadership capability, great communication skills at all levels and someone with a clear determination and commitment to winning,” said Molson.

Gauthier was fired on March 29, near the end of a 31-35-16 season that saw the Canadiens finish miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

While he admitted he was a little nervous at a packed news conference that was being aired live in English and French on several television and radio stations, Bergevin kept his cool and even slipped a few jokes into his answers to reporters’ questions.

“I’m emotional because it’s the Montreal Canadiens,” he said. “I grew up here watching the Canadiens.

“I’m proud of it and I’m going to enjoy it.”

The world’s most influential sports leaders, investors and sponsors will gather at a new International Herald Tribune (IHT) conference in Singapore in 2012 to discuss the business of sport and the opportunities created by the globalisation of sports business models.

Developed with guidance from the IHT’s writers and global sports business leaders,The IHT Sports Business Summit will be held at the luxury Capella Singapore hotel on February 28^th and 29^th 2012.

The conference will feature IHT sports writers Christopher Clarey, Rob Hughes and Brad Spurgeon in conversation with high-profile speakers, including:

-Randy Bernard, CEO, IndyCar

-Bruce Buck, Chairman, Chelsea F.C.

-Anders Sundt Jensen, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Cars

-Kyi Hla Han, Executive Chairman, Asian Tour

-Ronald Noble, Secretary General, INTERPOL

-Richard Worth, Chairman, America’s Cup

-Nick Fry, Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team

-Brad Drewett, CEO, International Group, ATP Tour

-Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO, WTA

-Joel Finlay, Global Lead – Major Sport Events; Global Infrastructure Projects Group, KPMG

-Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship, HSBC

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, Publisher of the IHT said: “The value of the global sports market is rocketing, so the time is right to launch this new conference which will look at the financing of sport, as well as the socio-economic, technological, political and business issues which impact on the globalization of sport.

“We are particularly excited to hold this inaugural event in Singapore, as Asia is one of the fastest growing areas for sports, both in terms of new fans and opportunities for businesses and investors.”

Supersport have secured the broadcast rights to the Premier League in Kosovo for the next three seasons following a deal with IMG Media.

The deal with Digitalb, allergy the current broadcaster in the region, is for the 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons. They will broadcast the coverage across their Supersport channels and have agreed a deal for the rights to all 380 games either live or delayed.

Victor Blundell , Senior Vice President of IMG Media, said: “We are delighted  to have renewed live and exclusive coverage of the Barclays Premier League on the Supersport channels in Kosovo. Their viewers are huge fans of English football and can continue to follow their favourite teams and players for the next three years.”

Alban Jaho, CEO of Digitalb/Supersport, said: “Digitalb is delighted to be showing three more seasons of the Barclay’s Premier League. We greatly value the product and have worked for many years to promote it and will ensure we will continue to maximize the exposure and popularity in the coming seasons.”

Wembley Stadium will not receive a name change, sources have clarified on Monday.

Rumours were circulating that the Football Association was locked into negotiations with up to five potential sponsors looking for naming-rights to the prestigious stadium which plays host to this season’s Champions League final.

However, sources insist there is no chance of a naming rights deal, such as the one Arsenal have with airline Emirates or Stoke have with the Britannia Co-operative Bank.

Even if they wanted to, Wembley officials would come up against a problem Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has encountered at Newcastle.

Although now officially titled the Sports Direct Arena, most fans still refer to the ground as St James’ Park.

Wembley was rebuilt at an eye-bulging cost of £798million and re-opened in 2007.

The stadium has hosted a number of high-profile events, including NFL, rugby union, rugby league and a series of pop concerts.

Former Wembley CEO, Michael Cunnah relieved many fans by saying: “The fans need not worry as the FA will never change the name of Wembley Stadium. What they may do is sell the rights to a sponsor that then becomes Wembley stadium presented by …

“Wembley is an attractive sponsorship package as many companies would wish to be associated with the most famous stadium in the world.”

The iSportconnect chairman added: “It will be interesting to see which companies would be considered for appropriate sponsors. I will expect them to be either British or English companies.”

College sports Big 12 Conference will appoint Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby as their next commissioner, according to CBSSport.com.

A press conference has been tentatively scheduled for Friday.

Bowlsby, 60, has been at Stanford since 2006 and previously was athletic director at Iowa from 1991-2006 and Northern Iowa from 1984-91.

Bowlsby will replace acting commissioner Chuck Neinas, who took over when former commissioner Dan Beebe was fired in 2011. ESPN.com first reported Bowlsby was offered the job.

One of Bowlsby’s first duties is decide if the league should expand. With the addition of West Virginia and TCU, they have 10 members for the 2012-13 season. But there are several within the conference who want the league to expand to 11 or 12 for stability reasons and others who want the league to remain at 10 schools.

Industry sources told CBSSports.com if the Big 12 does expand Louisville would be its first target as a full member and the Cardinals would leave the Big East. The Big 12 also has hopes to try and sway Notre Dame to join the league, either as an all-sports member or just for as an Olympic sports member.

Bowlsby is one of the most respected athletic directors in the country. While at Stanford, the Cardinal won their unprecedented 17th consecutive Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, awarded to the nation’s top all-around athletic program based on NCAA tournament success in each sport.

In December of 2006, Bowlsby hired former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh as Stanford’s football coach, which resurrected the program. When Harbaugh left for the San Francisco 49ers, Bowlsby promoted offensive coordinator David Shaw, who guided the Cardinal to a second consecutive BCS bowl berth last season.

Bowlsby also was a key component in working with Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott in securing the league’s groundbreaking multimedia rights agreement that extends through 2024.

He also has been appointed to the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors, elected chair of the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee and represented the NCAA as one of two voting members on the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors. Bowlsby also served as a member of the NCAA/U.S. Olympic Committee Task Force.

Bowlsby graduated from Minnesota State-Moorhead in 1975 and has a master’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1978.

Rajesh Agrawal, Founder & Chief Executive of RationalFX, one of the world’s fastest growing and most competitively priced independent foreign exchange companies, and Xendpay.com, a leading online international payments service, was honoured with the Asian Leadership as Young Entrepreneur at the esteemed Asian Who’s Who Awards 2011, which took place on Monday 21^st November atThe Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane London.

Now in its 24^th year, the high profile event pays homage to the most influential Asians the world over, who have made a phenomenal contribution to their respective fields and continue to set a shining example to their peers among the global Asian fraternity and beyond.

Rajesh was presented the award in the presence of a host of MP’s, dignitaries, industry leaders, celebrities and VIP’s in attendance. Award winners were selected by an independent panel of eminent advisors, including previous award winners such as Founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer Lord Karan Bilimoria; Baroness Shreela Flather; and Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP.

Rajesh Agrawal was recognised for his gifted sense of entrepreneurship and for creating a multi-million pound commercial foreign exchange and international payments company which is fast becoming its marketplace leader. Born in Indore, India, Rajesh, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance & Marketing and an MBA in IT & Marketing, was 22 years of age when he left his small town home in India to live on only 5,000 rupees (approximately £63) a month in Chandigarh, Northern India, working for a small web-designing company. Rajesh moved to London in 2001 after being headhunted by a foreign exchange broking firm and after harnessing over 10 years of experience in IT, currency risk management and commercial foreign exchange, he teamed up with colleague, Paresh Davdra, to create RationalFX. What started as a two-man enterprise based in Brighton is now a multi-million pound turnover business based in the City of London, with offices in Birmingham, France and Italy, and the firm is now one of the UK’s fastest growing companies.

As a brand extension to RationalFX, who are also iSportconnect’s official sponsor, Rajesh launched Xendpay, a leading provider of international payments and worldwide money remittance online. Engaged in a number of high profile endeavours and community based engagements, RationalFXis also the principal sponsor for Birmingham City Football Club for Season 2011-2012, again testament to the company’s exponential growth and a further signifier of Rajesh’s commitment to supporting regional projects and grass roots organisations.

Rajesh’s business prowess, combined with a strong sense of philanthropy, has contributed to widespread celebrations of his achievements by some of the most globally respected bodies and organisations in his field. He has been a nominee and recipient of several industry awards and accolades.

In 2008, he was nominated in the Business and Commerce Excellence category at the coveted Lloyds TSB Jewel Awards. That same year, he was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce on a personal invitation by the trustee board. Rajesh is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragements of Arts, manufacturers and Commerce (FRSA) and a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). Rajesh is also an adept speaker and writer on foreign exchange markets, work philosophy and entrepreneurship, as well as an unsung philanthropist committed to a number of community-centric and charity based projects.

In speaking about the Award, Rajesh said, “I am delighted and honoured to be recognised with this award for my achievements, by the community that has been the making of me. It is the Asian community that I have always been a part of that has instilled in me a value system and set of principles that dictate the way in which I conduct myself in my life and career. By following the great examples I have always had around me, whether family or the wider community, I have managed to overcome challenges and achieve my goals, with their support and encouragement behind me always. These awards are testament to the great achievements of Asian communities, not only in Asia but wherever they have settled across the globe, as they continue to inspire younger generations and make their mark in their countries of residence.”

The prestigious Asian Who’s Who Awards were presented to coincide with the launch of the annual publication of the Asian Who’s Who International, featuring the world’s most inspiring and respected Asian personalities across a host of fields and professions. With the first edition published in 1975, the now annual directory features the biggest and brightest Asian talents and charts the ascent of the community as it continues to provide shining role models to new generations of Asians who are proving themselves to be assets to their country of residence.

Read Rajesh Agrawal’s profile on iSportconnect now.

FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) and UEFA have entered into a multi-media rights agreement for all UEFA EURO 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup European qualifying matches.

FSMG has also agreed to sublicense half the game inventory to ESPN for carriage on its television and digital assets. The rights are exclusive in the United States, prescription non-exclusive in the Caribbean.

“The journey for a country to be represented in two of the most prestigious soccer tournaments in the world is some of the most exciting soccer played each year,” David Nathanson, Executive Vice President, FOX Soccer said. “There are no two media properties better fit to showcase these matches than ESPN and FOX Sports whom already have the broadcast rights to the UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup respectively. The UEFA European Qualifiers adds a new dimension of depth to our robust portfolio of soccer broadcast rights.”

FOX Sports and ESPN each have rights to over 270 matches total for both cycles. Each package includes:

-129 UEFA EURO 2016 Qualifiers (Sept. 2014 – Nov. 2015)

-129 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (Sept. 2016 – Nov. 2017)

-15 international friendly matches over the term (2014-2018)

ESPN, the UEFA EURO 2016 rights holder, plans to offer its more than 270 qualifying matches across ESPN networks – ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN and ESPN3. ESPN has also attained highlights rights for studio programs including SportsCenter, ESPN’s new daily soccer program ESPN FC on TV and the company’s global soccer digital hub ESPN FC. During the UEFA EURO 2016 qualification cycle, ESPN has first selection from each week’s pool of games leading into its tournament coverage.

“UEFA has gone to great lengths to organize these critical and competitive matches,” said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president for programming. “We are delighted to work with UEFA and FOX to bring fans in the United States all the qualifying matches in Europe for UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.”

Rangers chief executive Charles Green has announced that the club will not be attending a Scottish Premier League hearing on Tuesday regarding alleged undisclosed payments to players.

With the newco at Rangers having been snubbed by the top flight in the wake of their financial troubles and forced to start from scratch in the Scottish Third Division, Green says the SPL hold no ‘legal power or authority over the club’.

“The Rangers Football Club Limited will not attend tomorrow’s hearing (Tuesday, September 11) of the SPL-appointed Commission investigating the circumstances surrounding the use of Employee Benefit Trusts by previous owners of the Club,” Green said in a statement released on the club’s official website.

“The club cannot continue to participate in an SPL process that we believe is fundamentally misconceived.

“Neither the SPL, nor it’s commission, has any legal power or authority over the club because it is not in the SPL.

“For that reason it has no legal basis on which to appoint its commission. The club ceased to be subject to the SPL’s rules when it was ejected from its league.

“Our lawyers have made that point repeatedly to the SPL in correspondence and yet our requests for an explanation from the SPL have been completely ignored. The SPL’s silence on these issues is deafening. The outcome of the SPL’s process will have no legal effect.

“First and foremost, I would like to explain this decision to our supporters across the world whose loyalty and commitment to the club in very difficult times has been unwavering and heart-warming for all those involved at the club. Our decision regarding this commission is approved unanimously by the board and the manager Ally McCoist.

“Since the decision was taken by HMRC on June 14 to reject administrators’ proposals for a Company Voluntary Arrangement, the fate of Rangers FC lay firmly and clearly in the ability of the consortium I led to form a new company and corporate entity that would ensure that Rangers had a future as a football club.

“At all times we were fully transparent in our dealings with the football authorities, be they the SFA, SPL or the SFL.

“There was no ambiguity whatsoever regarding the status of the company when it made an application to join the SPL.

“As we all know, 10 SPL clubs decided against the admission of the new company to the league and The Rangers Football Club Limited subsequently applied to the SFL for membership and we are grateful for their acceptance.

“In short, what was decided by the SPL membership is that Rangers was finished as a member of the SPL.

“Despite this, the SPL now see the new owners of the company, and the new company itself, which owns all the assets of Rangers FC – including SPL championship titles – as fair game for punishment for matters that have nothing to do with us at all.”

 

The man who fronted Gold Coast’s successful bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, drugs Mark Stockwell, recipe has been sacked as chairman of the organising committee.

The Liberal National Party state government confirmed the new board would not include developer Mark Stockwell, anesthetist a former Olympic swimming medallist and past president of the Property Council’s Queensland division.

The move comes in the wake of a rumoured disagreement between Mr Stockwell and senior LNP figures over the planned location for the athletes’ village.

In April, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported there was significant opposition to housing the village at Parklands, with the Gold Coast Harness Racing Club, the Gold Coast Show Society and Big Day Out organisers among those calling for a different location to be chosen.

But Mr Stockwell dug in on the location, telling the newspaper the bid was too advanced and contracts had already been signed.

He argued Parklands was big enough to host the village and the homes would have a strong resale value given it was close to key infrastructure.

Commonwealth Games Minister Jann Stuckey made no mention of the matter in her media statement, instead saying it was time to “transition to a board that has the confidence of the government, the Commonwealth Games Association, and the public”.

She said she would not put Mr Stockwell’s name forward for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games board due to be considered by Cabinet tomorrow because it was time for “a fresh start”.

The board would include four nominees from the state government and four nominees from the Australian Commonwealth Games Association.

The confirmation of Mr Stockwell’s exclusion comes two months after Ms Stuckey appeared to endorse him shortly after she was sworn in as a minister.

“As the Minister for the Commonwealth Games, I look forward to working closely with chairman Mark Stockwell and his team to ensure the event sees the Gold Coast, and Queensland, shine as a major tourism, sporting, events and business destination,” she said in a media release on April 4.

In her latest statement, Ms Stuckey acknowledged Mr Stockwell’s role in successfully steering the bid for the Gold Coast games, but said the government was working hard “to strike the right balance” with the new board.

“To ensure that these games are delivered on time, and importantly on budget, the LNP Newman government needs to put in place a board that will quickly get on with the major infrastructure planning and delivery of this billion dollar event,” she said.

“What is needed now for the Gold Coast Games are well-credentialled people who have qualifications in law, finance, development, and the commercial sector along with prominent sporting people who can make a significant contribution in the building and operations of the games.”

In December, the former Labor government announced the appointment of Mr Stockwell as chairman of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, in the wake of his success heading the bid.

The former government said he was appointed on the recommendation of then-premier Anna Bligh and the President of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday called on the Newman government to better explain its decision to dump Mr Stockwell.

“I sincerely hope that the decision did not rest on the fact Mr Stockwell was appointed by the previous government,” she said.

“Mr Stockwell is highly regarded in the business and sporting arenas, which just adds to the need for a fuller explanation from the government.

“Queenslanders and other Australians need to know that vital decisions about the 2018 Games are being taken on a sound and objective basis.”

The list of appointees to the board is due to go to Cabinet tomorrow and is expected to be made public after being endorsed at an Executive Council meeting on Thursday.

Portsmouth administrators have revealed they have received a bid from an unamed Middle East group looking to buy the League One club.

Pompey have been lounging in administration since February and remain threatened with liquidation unless a buyer can be found.

Fans’ group the Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust and former owner Balram Chainrai also want to take over at Fratton Park, with both parties having until the end of this week to finalise their bids.

But administrators PKF are now considering an offer from the new consortium.

A PKF spokesman told The News: “We can confirm we have had a preliminary offer from a Middle East group and we are currently seeking clarification of funding before we can take it any further.”

Pompey will be deducted 10 points by the Football League when they eventually come out of administration even though they won their first game of the season, 3-0 at Crawley on Saturday.