Aston Villa owner, Randy Lerner is not planing to sell the club according to Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner.

The US owner has decided to sell his NFL team, the Cleveland Browns, sparking fears that he could be keen to get rid of Villa too.

But Faulkner claims that decision is irrelevant to Lerner’s future plans for the Premier League club.

Faulkner is quoted in the Daily Star as saying: “The Browns situation means absolutely nothing regards Aston Villa – neither good nor bad.

“The big point that people sometimes forget is that he inherited Cleveland – he bought Villa.

“Any rumours that he could be thinking about getting out or losing interest is nonsense.”

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been been given the role of global cultural ambassador for the US, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on Wednesday

Abdul-Jabbar will begin his new role with a trip to Brazil from January 22-28, meeting with youth in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro to speak about education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding and using sports as a means of empowerment.

He will also participate in basketball clinics in both cities.

“I am excited and honored to serve my country as a cultural ambassador for the US Department of State,” said Abdul-Jabbar, who has turned his focus to African-American history and socio-economic justice since retiring from the NBA in 1989.

“I look forward to meeting with young people all over the world and discussing ways in which we can strengthen our understanding of one another through education, through sports, and through greater cultural tolerance.”

The 64-year-old spent 20 years in the NBA, winning six titles, and was named league MVP on a record six occasions.

Abdul-Jabbar remains the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, and had his No. 33 retired by both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Clare Connor appointed chairwoman of ICC Women’s Committee

England’s Connor replaces Netherlands’ Betty Timmer

Former England captain Clare Connor has been appointed chairwoman of the International Cricket Council Women’s Committee.

Connor, who currently sits on the ICC Cricket Committee and is Head of Women’s Cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, replaces outgoing chairwoman, Netherlands’ Betty Timmer.

Timmer, who held the role since the committee’s inauguration in 2005, steps down having accomplished a number of milestones in women’s cricket in her time as head of the committee.

During her period at the helm of the committee, Timmer successfully pushed for the integration of men’s and women’s cricket, with the first joint ICC Men’s and Women’s World Twenty20 being held in England in 2009.

A former cricketer, Timmer also worked on the successful integration of the International Women’s Cricket Council and the ICC along with the integration of male/female cricket amongst member boards.

Connor, who will head the committee which discusses a variety of issues relating to the women’s game, will hold the role for two years and can be re-elected at the end of her term. By virtue of being chairwoman of the Women’s Committee, Connor will now also represent women’s cricket on the ICC Development Committee.

The 34-year-old former England and Sussex captain represented England in 93 ODIs and 16 Tests in her playing career before turning to cricket administration a couple of years after her retirement in 2008. She was awarded the British honour of MBE for her services to women’s cricket in 2004 and then the honour of OBE in 2005 for leading the England women’s team to its first Ashes victory in 42 years.

Connor said: “First of all I would like to thank Betty Timmer for her hard work and enthusiasm. Betty has worked tirelessly for many years to help promote women’s cricket globally through the ICC Women’s Committee. As such, she leaves the women’s game in a healthy situation.

“I’m delighted to be taking over as chairwoman of the committee at such an exciting time for the women’s game and immediately after the launch of the new ICC Strategic Plan in which the women’s game has real focus. I believe this role will complement my position on the ICC Cricket Committee and also as Head of Women’s Cricket at the ECB.”

Chinese Super League Shanghai Shenhua FC fans boycotted a friendly against Manchester United because it was played midway through the Chinese domestic season.

The 42,000 crowd included a minority of spectators wearing the blueshirts of Shenhua.

Shenhua fans had started an online campaign urging the club’s supporters to avoid the match.

Some supporters cited high ticket prices as  a reason for not attending. The cheapest seats were selling for 180 RMB (us$28) each, almost 25 percent of the cost of a Shenhua season ticket. {jcomments on}

Totteham Hotspur have announced Executive Director with commercial responsibility, Charlie Wijeratna, has left the Club on Tuesday 17 January 2012 for unknown reasons

Wijeratna joined from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) where he and his team set up and delivered the sponsorship programme along with licensing and retailing projects, selling LOCOG’s official hospitality assets and Paralympicbroadcasting rights. With his team Charlie designed the highly successful competitive process for selling sponsorship assets which was groundbreaking in the UK in 2006.

A member of the London 2012 executive management team since the start of the bid in 2003, he was responsible for all the commercial and legal aspects of London’s bid for the Games and the establishment of LOCOG. Charlie is a qualified investment banker and lawyer with a background in sports TV production.

He was appointed executive director of Spurs in November 2010.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, said: “I’d like to thank Charlie for his work since he’s been with us. He has overseen the successful overhaul of the brand and the Club’s visual identity. We wish him the best of luck in the future.”

Charlie Wijeratna said: “I’ve enjoyed my time at Spurs. It has been an exciting environment to work in and I am proud of the work I have done with my team to position the Club for the next phase of its commercial development.”

STATS LLC, ampoule the world’s leading sports technology, ailment data and content provider, announced today that Eric Shanks, Co-President and COO of the FOX Sports Media Group, has been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

Mr. Shanks has enjoyed a distinguished career in television production and programming. In his current role, Mr. Shanks oversees all entities within the Group, including FOX Soccer, SPEED, FOX Deportes, FUEL TV, FOXSports.com and all digital ventures, as well as FOX Sports’ relationship with The Big Ten Network. A six-time Emmy Award-winner, Mr. Shanks holds the day-to-day responsibilities of the FOX Sports broadcast network, including programming, production, field and studio operations, marketing, promotion, communications, business and legal affairs.

Previously, Mr. Shanks served as executive vice president of DIRECTV Entertainment. Prior to joining DIRECTV, he served as a producer at FOX Sports and as vice president of Enhanced Programming for FOX Television Networks.

Eric Shanks commented: “STATS is one of the most innovative companies in sports today,” said Mr. Shanks. “I feel privileged to join this exciting and dynamic team, and look forward to providing my expertise wherever possible.”

STATS CEO Gary Walrath commented: “We are fortunate to have the leadership, vision and tremendous expertise of Eric Shanks as we continue to advance STATS’ mission to revolutionize the way sports contests are viewed, understood and enjoyed.”

STATS is owned jointly by the Associated Press and News Corporation. Mr. Shanks joins Tom Curley and Ken Dale of the Associated Press and Gary Ehrlich of FOX Sports Enterprises to complete STATS’ four-member board.

Rangers have been given conditional Scottish Football Association (SFA) membership clearing the way for them to start their season in the Ramsdens Cup against Brechin on Sunday.

The Scottish Football League announced that agreement had been reached following weeks of discussions, releasing a statement on behalf of the three football authorities while the Ibrox club also announced they had signed an agreement.

The SFL, SFA and Scottish Premier League statement read: “We are pleased to confirm that agreement has been reached on all outstanding points relating to the transfer of the Scottish FA membership between Rangers FC (In Administration), and Sevco Scotland Ltd, who will be the new owners of The Rangers Football Club.

“A conditional membership will be issued to Sevco Scotland Ltd today, allowing Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup tie against Brechin City to go ahead.

“Following the completion of all legal documentation, the Scottish Premier League will conduct the formal transfer of the league share between RFC (IA) and Dundee FC on no later than Friday 3rd August 2012. At this point, the transfer of Scottish FA membership will be complete.”

FOX Sports will become the new home of netball as part of a new broadcast agreement with Netball Australia.

This will see all ANZ Championship games, search including finals, and Australian Diamonds international Tests broadcast live and in high definition airing on FOX Sports.

As part of the deal, Foxtel announces a new grassroots initiative, similar to the one it has established with Football Federation Australia.

A Foxtel All-Star Program will be offered free to 500 young netball players around Australia, with five one-day clinics in major centres including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Richard Freudenstein, Foxtel Chief Executive, said: “We are excited to announce this new program with our partners at Netball Australia to encourage more girls to play netball and lead a healthy and active lifestyle, while inspiring the next generation of netball stars. This program aligns nicely with what we are doing with football in Australia and means that Foxtel will now support grassroots activity in two of the nation’s most popular participatory sports.

“Australian women and girls love netball, so I am delighted that, with FOX Sports, we can now ensure that they have the opportunity to view all of the games of the ANZ Championship live. Our support for grass roots participation will ensure that the quality of netball all across Australia remains strong,” Mr Freudenstein said.

Netball Australia Chief Executive, Kate Palmer, said: “This announcement is another significant milestone in growing our sport’s future in Australia. Netball Australia, in conjunction with Foxtel, can continue to provide a safe and inclusive environment to more grassroots netballers around the country as we look to strengthen our position as Australia’s premier female participation sport.”