English Championship club Birmingham have had their transfer embargo lifted by the Football League.

The Blues have been unable to sign players since being placed under embargo in March for not filing their 2010/11 accounts in time.

Previous Birmingham owner Carson Yeung was arrested in June on money laundering charges and is due to face trial in Hong Kong in November.

Acting club chairman Peter Pannu said in a statement: “We are pleased that the hard work of those at the club and the Football League has paid off and that the financial prudence put in place since Carson Yeung’s arrest has been recognised. “

Despite the lifting of the embargo, we still need to ensure that this financial prudence remains in place going forward.”

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have announced the appointment of Andrew Judelson as Executive Vice President of Sales & Partnership Marketing, effective January 2, 2012.

Judelson, previously a senior executive from Sports Illustrated Group, the NHL and most recently U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), will report to WWE Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle D. Wilson. In his new role, Judelson will be a key member of WWE’s senior management team and responsible for all sales and key marketing partnerships for the company including talent endorsement deals.

“Andrew is an accomplished sales executive with broad revenue generation experience in the sports and media industries. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and contacts, which will benefit WWE and serve him well in his new position,” said Wilson.

Prior to joining WWE, Judelson was the Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer for USSA. During his tenure there, he drove significant revenue growth in 2011 and for the first time in its history the property saw an increase in revenue in a non-Olympic year.

Formerly, he held the position of Chief Marketing Officer at Sports Illustrated Group, where he was responsible for all the marketing functions within the SI Franchise.

In addition, Judelson spent more than eight years at NHL Enterprises. In his last position as Senior Vice President, Corporate Sales and Marketing, he oversaw the league’s corporate sales, marketing and new business development functions on a worldwide basis.

Judelson holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rollins College and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.

The 2011 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) All-Star Game, medical which took place on 20 March at the MasterCard Centre in Beijing, check has achieved a record television audience. It has more than fulfilled its promise to its commercial partners and is now
clearly established as a highlight of China’s sporting year and one of the top sports media platforms in China.

Five networks aired the game live: CCTV-5, cialis generic China’s national sports channel, Beijing TV-6, Guangdong Sports, Jiangsu Sports and Shenzhen Sports. Based on the TV ratings from CSM Media Research, over 65 million Chinese have watched at least part of the Sunday All-Star game on any channel, with the vast majority – 57 million – watching the game on CCTV-5. During the entire week-end, a record cumulative
audience of 108 million switched on to the CBA All-Star programming.

Pierre Justo, Managing Director of CSM-KantarSport, said: “These excellent TV viewing figures are a proof of the increased appeal of the CBA in China. Compared to 2010, the CBA All-Star Game’s average TV ratings jumped an impressive 31% and the cumulative audience for the entire All-Star weekend passed 100 million. Based on these excellent numbers, I believe that Sunday’s CBA All-Star game will be well-placed to make it into the charts as one of the top TV sports events in China in 2011.’’

Ma Guoli, Managing Director of Infront China said: “We are delighted that we have been able to provide fans and sponsors of this year’s CBA All-Star Game with increased television exposure — both in quality and quantity — thus making basketball more accessible and creating a stronger communication platform.“

Rangers woes have continued after it emerged they will not play in the Scottish Premier League next season after clubs voted overwhelmingly against their admission.

The SPL announced the news in a brief statement after more than five hours of talks at Hampden today.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster earlier hinted the vote could be deferred amid fears over the financial consequences of the Ibrox club starting their new life in the Third Division, but clubs carried through their vow to deny Charles Green’s bid.

An SPL statement read: “At today’s General Meeting, SPL clubs today voted overwhelmingly to reject the application from Rangers newco to join the SPL.”

The most successful club in Scottish football, entered administration earlier this year following a tax dispute.

The Ibrox club are now set for demotion to the Scottish Football League, but it remains unclear in which tier they will ply their trade.

SFL chiefs still need to decide whether they would accept Green’s new club into the Irn-Bru First Division or insert them into the bottom tier.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have appointed Ian Ritchie to become their Chief Executive Officer in a move to bring the organisation out of its scandal-ridden predicament.

Ritchie, who currently holds a similar role at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club will take the reins from the acting CEO Stephen Brown.

Previous chief executive John Steele stepped down in June after coming under pressure over his handling of the RFU’s search for an elite performance director.

Martyn Thomas had also served as acting CEO until leaving the organisation at the end of November.

The RFU said in a statement that a start date for Ritchie, who has also served on the board of the Football League as an independent director, had yet to be confirmed.

“Ian Ritchie was chosen as having an outstanding mix of business experience, leadership skills and the innate understanding of the sporting world,” the RFU explained.

The appointment comes as the board look to rebuild their reputation after their handling of England’s 2011 World Cup campaign was roundly criticised in the press and by fans.

England had a dissapointing World Cup topped off by scandals on and off the field.

For more than three decades Mark Blundell has honed his expertise in the upper echelons of elite global sport, therapy firstly as an athlete, apoplectic then TV pundit and in more recent years, medic a successful talent manager.

iSportconnect are delighted to announce that Mark will be joining the company as an advisory board member, alongside former director of marketing at Manchester United Steven Falk, and former CEO of Wembley Stadium Michael Cunnah.

Having started his sporting career at just 14, Mark competed at the very top of world motorsport, including Formula One, IndyCar, Le Mans and World Rally for nearly 20 years.

In his role as an advisory board member, Mark will aid the iSportconnect team with the company’s business strategy in the motorsport industry for the website and events.

In addition, Mr Blundell will help spread the word and ethos of iSportconnect throughout his wide range of contacts in the industry. Mark will also join the company’s strong team of expert columnists, bringing the members his views and opinions on hot topic debates in motorsport, throughout the Formula One season.

Mark’s first column comes after the opening weekend of the Formula One season, giving a review on the events during the Melbourne Grand Prix after what he claims was “a very long winter for F1 fans, drivers and teams alike”.

With the benefit of his vast experience and insight into the sport, Blundell speaks of how the new regulations brought in ahead of the 2011 season, the most significant of which include the appointment of Pirelli as the Championship’s new single tyre supplier, aerodynamic revisions designed to boost overtaking, and the return of a 107% qualifying rule. He speaks of how these changes have already come into play and how they may impact upon the rest of the calendar in what he believes will be “another fantastic year of F1!”

iSportconnect CEO Sree Varma stated: “We are delighted to welcome such a well respected and informed industry professional such as Mark onto our advisory board. iSportconnect is dedicated to providing its members with the need to know opinions of the sports business industry’s top-level professionals and Mark coming on board will certainly help us to achieve this.”

From 2001 through to 2008, Mark was integral to ITV as part of the 3-time BAFTA award-winning team, providing F1 analysis alongside Jim Rosenthal and Steve Rider.

In 2005, he and his close friend, Martin Brundle, founded 2mb Sports Management.

Mark Blundell added: “…I am very excited to be a member of the Advisory board for iSportconnect, it’s a dynamic platform and has huge potential and already is cutting its own path in the sports/business world as a great networking and information gateway…I hope to be able to contribute alongside the other members and the management team.

Editors Note:

2mb Sports Management is a boutique talent management company, committed to identifying and developing young sports talent and to helping established sports stars define and manage their brands. http://www.2mbsm.com/

In January 2009, Mark took sole ownership of 2mb Sports Management, and also has moved into the world of Football with 2mb International Soccer Management and is now committed full-time to using his experience, knowledge and connections to provide personalised commercial services and management support.

To follow Mark on Twitter, visit – http://twitter.com/markblundellF1

Major League Soccer (MLS) team, allergist D.C. United have announced they have extended their broadcast agreement with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic with a new three-year deal.

As part of the long-term agreement, advice Comcast SportsNet will continue to serve as the official sports network of D.C. United and televise a minimum of 16 live games each season through 2015. The network will present pre- and post-game shows, D.C. United Central and D.C. United Postgame Live, surrounding select games, as well as other team-related programming. Comcast SportsNet will also continue to deliver comprehensive coverage of United on its news and digital media platforms.

“Through this new contract, Comcast SportsNet continues to provide resources and effort necessary to best bring D.C. United matches into the homes of soccer fans throughout the region,” said D.C. United Chief Marketing Officer Doug Hicks.  “Through game broadcasts, ancillary programming and news coverage, we appreciate the commitment shown by our partners and look forward to sharing a bright future with them.”

“United is a dynamic brand that delivers a tremendous amount of exciting content to our network’s lineup,” said Comcast SportsNet President Rebecca Schulte. “We are proud to continue in our longtime position as the official sports network of United and provide their passionate fans with the most comprehensive Black-and-Red coverage.”

United and Comcast SportsNet, whose partnership began in 1996, also announced the Black-and-Red’s regional television schedule.

Comcast SportsNet broadcasts will be led by play-by-play announcer Dave Johnson and analyst John Harkes. The first game to air on Comcast SportsNet this year will be a rematch of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals against the Houston Dynamo on May 8 at 7:00 p.m. at RFK Stadium.

The French Euro 2012 football team will not be given their bonuses owed to them for reaching the quarter-finals of the competition, the French football federation confirmed on Tuesday.

Each member of the French team, which lost 2-0 in the quarters to eventual winners Spain, was eligible for a bonus of 100,000 euros ($125,563).

But in light of the in-fighting and ill-discipline that dogged the country’s Euro campaign, federation president Noel Le Graet said: “The whole of the bonuses of the France team at Euro 2012 are frozen.

“It’s blocked money, which may be redistributed or maybe not.”

Le Graet, up for re-election in December, added that four players from the squad would appear at a disciplinary committee “as soon as possible after their holidays” to explain their behaviour at the tournament hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

“Four players will go before the disciplinary committee: (Hatem) Ben Arfa, (Yann) Mvila, (Samir) Nasri and (Jeremy) Menez,” Le Graet said after a meeting of the executive committee, a body he said was unable to impose sanctions.

“The players must be punished, sanctioned, but I don’t want to make victims out of them.

“Financial sanctions are detailed in our statutes, and (possible) suspensions for the upcoming cases will be examined most fairly.”

Nasri verbally abused an AFP journalist after the loss to Spain and was seen as a disruptive influence throughout, while Ben Arfa had a dressing room row with Laurent Blanc, who stood down as coach after the tournament.

Menez railed at a referee, and gestured at captain Hugo Lloris during the Spain game, telling him to shut up, while M’Vila did not shake hands with Blanc or his replacement when he was substituted by Olivier Giroud.

All the incidents led many pundits to draw similarities to the France squad that disgraced itself at the 2010 WorldCup.

Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula One world champion, has put his hat in the ring to become the next president of Bundesliga football club Cologne.

German news agency dapd has reported Schumacher is one of about 20 names put forward for the position by an adviser to the club. However, Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm says “we don’t want to comment on these mind games.”

Cologne is looking for a successor to Wolfgang Overath, who stepped down on Nov. 13 after seven years in the job.

Schumacher has strong affiliations with Lukas Podolski, who plays for Cologne.