Bernard Lapasset was re-elected on Monday as chairman of the International Rugby Board (IRB) for a after narrowly defeating former England captain Bill Beaumont in a vote, troche the IRB announced.

The Frenchman secured a second consecutive term in office after the 26 IRB Council members voted 14-12 in support of him at a reconvened interim meeting in Los Angeles.

“I am honoured to accept the mandate of the Council to serve as Chairman of the International Rugby Board for another term, shop ” Lapasset said in a statement.

“I am committed to building on the good progress to date. We have fantastic opportunities to grow the game, medicine to reach new markets and welcome new members to the rugby family.”

Beaumont also suffered a double whammy when he lost his current position as Vice-Chairman to South African Oregan Hoskins.

The pair received 13 votes each but Hoskins got the nod when Lapasset, who oversaw the successful campaign to get rugby sevens included in the Olympics during his first term in office, used his casting vote to support the South African.

Beaumont was elected along with Lapasset and Hoskins on a seven member executive board which included, for the first time, a representative from both United States and Japan.

All of the appointments will begin on January 1 and will last for four years.

The MotoGP community has moved to do all it can to support those in Japan following the recent earthquake and its aftereffects, and the 17 riders in MotoGP have put their signatures on a specially printed shirt with the message “We are for Japan”.

The t-shirt will be available at a range of circuits on the World Championship calendar, as well as being available from the MotoGP official website at http://weforjapan.motogp.com. It can be purshased for €20.

The funds collected through this initiative will be presented to a humanitarian organisation during the Japan Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place on October 2nd.

Jorge Lorenzo: “We must give our maximum support to Japan at a moment such as this. Japan is already a strong country that has always demonstrated its ability to overcome adversity. A strong embrace to all Japanese people and fans of motorcycling who live there.”

Casey Stoner: “We considered the floods in Australia at the beginning of the year a huge disaster, but after the events we’ve seen in Japan – it’s beyond what we can comprehend. Having heard some of the stories from colleagues in Honda and seeing the coverage on the news, it’s devastating to hear what they are going through and our hearts and thoughts are with everyone in Japan. I hope they can find the courage to keep fighting and get through this period to help rebuild their lives”.

Valentino Rossi: “This is a very tough moment for everybody but we support Japan and we are with our Japanese friends. We encourage them not to give up, and I wish good luck to everybody from me, and from all my team.”

Unite with the MotoGP community and buy this t-shirt to help the people of Japan. Please forward this information to friends, relatives and colleagues across the globe using every outlet of social media to bring the MotoGP paddock and fans together with the message “We are for Japan”.

International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Director of Finance and Administration, Thierry Sprunger, is stepping down to pursue “new challenges”, after a 17-year tenure serving the organisation.

Commenting on his decision, Sprunger said: “Working at the IOC has been a privilege and an honour. I had the pleasure of working under President Juan Antonio Samaranch for seven years, with a further 10 years under President Rogge.

“I am particularly fortunate that my years in the Olympic Movement coincided with a period of sustained growth – a remarkable achievement, especially given recent global economic events. My role as a Director has changed a great deal during my tenure, and is now very disconnected from the operational role I most enjoy. This is why, after much consideration,

“I have decided to leave the organisation in order to focus directly on the projects closest to my heart in the area of sports development and supporting future host cities of multi-sports events in their efforts to reduce their costs.”

IOC President Jacques Rogge added: “Thierry has been an integral and key member of the leadership team here at the IOC and we wish him every success in his future. Over nearly two decades of service, he has made a huge contribution both to the IOC and to the Olympic Movement in general – his skills and talent have helped us to modernise and transform the administration.”

Sprunger’s almost two-decade term spanned 10 Olympic Games (five Summer and five Winter), and, during this time, he was responsible for guiding Organising Committees for the Olympic Games through the financing of the Games. Sprunger also oversaw the annual general meetings of the IOC (the IOC Sessions) in Prague, Singapore, Guatemala City, Copenhagen and Durban, at which Olympic hosts Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 were elected.

IMG Media has announced it has extended it’s already long relationship with the LPGA for a further term.

Beginning in 1996 and distributing to six countries in its first year of representation, today every event on the LPGA schedule is now seen in approximately 160 countries and in the majority of cases on a live basis.

Peter Smith, Senior Vice President, Director of International Sales, IMG Media said: “The LPGA is truly the only global golf tour. Both the continuing growth of the schedule, domestically and internationally and the remarkable skills and personalities of such a widely geographic group of talented players are the real reasons for this tremendous growth and global visibility of the LPGA Tour. As a result, I have seen our relationship with the LPGA develop to be far more of a partnership than a simple client/agent representation.”

LPGA Tour Commissioner, Michael Whan, added: “Global exposure for our players and tournaments helps to drive the success of the LPGA. We are happy to extend our partnership with IMG Media to ensure that our approachable and engaging athletes continue to be accessible on television across the world.”

Das Spiel der deutschen Mannschaft gegen Italien im zweiten EM-Halbfinale brachte einen neuen Zuschauerrekord bei diesem Turnier: 27, adiposity 98 Millionen Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauer sahen das Ausscheiden von Jogi Löws Team, rx das entspricht einem Marktanteil von 76, hospital 8 Prozent.

Im Anschluss an die Übertragung verfolgten 3,09 Millionen Zuschauer, wie Waldemar Hartmann und seine Gäste in Leipzig die Höhepunkte des Abends Revue passieren ließen. Damit kam “Waldis Club” auf einen Marktanteil von 28,3 Prozent.

Paul Barber of Vancouver Whitecaps FC believes his resignation will not overtly affect the Major League Soccer club, as the League and commercial opportunities are steadily building.

Barber, the chief executive officer, will resign his post from February 29, 2012. Barber joined Whitecaps from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur FC in February 2010.

Since then, the 44-year-old native of London, England, has overseen the club’s transition to Major League Soccer, including the club’s move into the newly renovated BC Place Stadium in October 2011.

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Paul Barber, said: “It’s been a fascinating two years for me working in North American soccer. The game continues to grow and improve rapidly with participation, crowds, TV audiences and sponsorship revenues improving in key markets.

“In particular, the Vancouver market, with the third highest attendances in MLS in 2011 and world class commercial and broadcast partners in place, has really taken to Major League Soccer and is set to build on the great foundations we’ve laid.”

Jeff Mallett, co-owner of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, added: “On behalf of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, I would like to thank Paul for his two years of service at the club. Paul and his executive team played a crucial role in the evolution of the club into Major League Soccer in 2011. Paul’s contributions to the club are numerous and will have a positive impact for years to come. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

As CEO, Barber was the senior operating executive liaison with the club’s ownership group and Major League Soccer. Chief operating officer Rachel Lewis will assume these responsibilities along with Vancouver Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi.

Sidi spoke of his chance opportunity in entering the gambling industry, prostate adding “It actually came about by chance and an opportunity to work in online support eight years ago and I haven’t looked backed since.”

Yoni stated that William Hill offers advantages in sports betting over its competitors, saying: “It helps that we have top quality software across the board as well as top quality offerings which helps us convert and retain custom very well.”

He went on to claim that William Hill feel that this year, mobile betting will shine and that they hope that despite not being the first of their competitors to market in the industry, “we are making up for it by supplying good software and being extremely innovative in what we produce and offer.”

Sidi admitted that the opportunity to avoid tax from the UK was a main incentive behind the company’s relocation to Gibraltar, claiming: “The challenge of competing with betting exchanges and offshore telebetting operators, all of whom have benefitted from significant cost and tax advantages over UK bookmakers, was a significant reason behind the move.” He added: “Not being there (Gibraltar) made it difficult for our existing business to compete profitably from the UK.”

Yoni continued to say that the increasing competition for marketing opportunities made it difficult to claim exclusivity at events, but he stated: “It is making it much more competitive, but competition is good as long as you find the right partner,” adding “I am a firm believer that it is better that we are kept on our toes and always looking for ways to improve and optimize.”

Sidi stated that although William Hill were wise to playing to their strengths and the larger market of sports betting, that the company have been “letting the industry know that we are not just a sports book but also have a wide variety of products on offer”, achieving this through “clever marketing campaigns both on and offline.”

When asked whether William Hill were interested in jumping onto the band-wagon of sponsoring major UK sports teams having made their first foray into soccer with La Liga side Malaga, Yoni admitted that it may be a possible in the not too distant future. “For us it is about the right deal and what we believe is best for all our users, so we will have to see if the right opportunity comes along in the coming months,” he said.

Yoni Sidi had the final word on his association with iSportconnect and the incentives it brings, stating: “Before the launch of iSportconnect I had been speaking to fellow professionals about a site like this, and low and behold it came about. It is great for networking and also to help stay in touch with the market. In today’s world you are always on the go, from meeting to meeting and country to country, so to have a site like this is great in my opinion.”

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson is positive following discussions between Liverpool and the city council over the club’s stadium plans.

The Reds have still to make a decision on whether to press ahead with the £300million-plus proposal to build a new ground in Stanley Park or redevelop Anfield.

Choosing the former option is dependent on a multi-million pound naming rights deal being in place while the latter plan requires a number of planning obstacles to be overcome.

A July deadline for a decision has been allowed to slip as talks continue but Liverpool mayor Anderson is optimistic a decision acceptable to all parties can be reached.

Anderson told the Liverpool Echo: “We are in regular meetings with Liverpool FC and we are working with the club.” 

“It’s frustrating for the local residents and they are my main concern.

“We are pushing for a speedy resolution to the issue of whether the club stays at Anfield or goes to Stanley Park but we are encouraged by the discussions.”

Former Indian captain Anil Kumble has resigned today as the chairman of BCCI’s National Cricket Academy (NCA), almost two months after a controversy broke out over an appararent conflict of interest.

Kumble’s resignation has been accepted by the BCCI’s Working Committee. Punjab Cricket Association’s general secretary MP Pandove will be the caretaker chairman of the NCA till a full-time appointment is made.

The official reason that Kumble gave was “lack of time” considering he is also the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, a mentor with the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and has his own company ‘Tenvic’ which manages Karnataka players like R Vinay Kumar and Sreenath Aravind.

Interestingly, a few months back, there were reports of Kumble having ‘conflict of interest’ being the KSCA president who also happens to own a company that manages some of Karnataka’s top cricketers.

However, some top Board officials have said that Kumble has had some differences of opinion with the BCCI top brass regarding the functioning of NCA which has now become more of rehab centre for the injured Indian players.

“The BCCI top brass is of the opinion to decentralise the coaching system at the junior level since it has its own batting, bowling and fielding academy in place. This would have diluted NCA’s profile as the place where the talented cricketers hone their skills before going to the next level,” a BCCI official said.

Kumble, 41, who has captured 619 wikets in 132 Tests, is the third highest Test wicket-taker behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. In 271 one-dayers, he has taken 337 wickets.