Liverpool Owner Queries Stadium Move

Liverpool Owner, John Henry,  has questioned the wisdom of moving to a new stadium claiming it’s a myth that clubs are guaranteed to generate more income.

Liverpool’s principal owner has suggested a new-build in Stanley Park would most likely lead to increased ticket prices, quoting recent examples taken from the United States.

The lead figure in Fenway Sports Group believes the best way of improving the Reds’ ability to compete financially is through worldwide commercial revenue streams and their long-term future is not dependent on the stadium issue, which casts doubt over whether the long-mooted Stanley Park project will ever come to fruition.

“A long-term myth has existed about the financial impact of a new stadium for Liverpool,” the American wrote in an email to The Anfield Wrap website.

“A belief has grown that Liverpool FC must have a new stadium to compete with (Manchester) United, Arsenal and others. No-one has ever addressed whether or not a new stadium is rational.

“New stadiums that are publicly-financed make sense for clubs – I’ve never heard of a club turning down a publicly-financed stadium.”

Ghana Olympic Committee Name Former Triple Jump Champion as New President Through Controversy

Ghana Olympic Committee have appointed Former African triple jump champion Francis Dodoo as their new president under the watchful eyes of armed guards.

The 51-year-old Dodoo, order who competed at the 1992 and ’96 Olympic Games, viagra order has pledged to bring stability to the GOC after Ghana was suspended from the International Olympic Committee earlier this year because of government interference.

But soon after Dodoo won the election, vcialis 40mg Frank Appiah, who was voted out as first vice president, told The Associated Press he would be part of a group filing protest with the IOC, saying the vote was “not properly conducted” and held when some of the candidates had left the congress venue.

Ghana was suspended by the IOC in January after then-president B.T. Baba was voted out in favor of Dodoo in an election allegedly influenced by Ghana’s government, which apparently favored Dodoo.

Ghana made changes to its legislation to go in line with IOC rules, which do not allow governments to interfere in the elections of sports bodies and the country was readmitted to the Olympic body in August on condition it hold a new vote.

The latest vote, which started on Saturday and ran into the early hours of Sunday, was overseen by Joao Manuel da Costa Alegre Afonso of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, who was an observer for the IOC.

Afonso was forced to suspend the session late on Saturday, with delegates shouting at each other over disagreements with nominations for various positions and armed security guards watching to keep order during the congress in an Accra hotel. The session resumed after 2 1/2 hours to elect Dodoo the head of the Ghana Athletics Association as GOC president.

Dodoo won 38 votes against two for Kojo Adu-Asare and none for Emile Missodey in results announced on Sunday. Baba was stepping down as president and not on the ballot.

Deborah Cubagee was elected first vice president with 39 votes to one for Appiah, but Appiah claimed afterward the voting process was unfair.

“We shall make a protest to the IOC because the election was held after some of us who had nominated ourselves to stand for position had left the congress grounds,” he said.

Geldstrafen für DFB und FPF

Der Deutsche Fußball-Bund wurde nach den Vorkommnissen beim Spiel gegen Portugal am
Samstag zu einer Geldstrafe von 10 000 Euro verurteilt, thumb der Portugiesische Verband muss 5
000 Euro bezahlen.
Der Deutsche Fußball-Bund (DFB) wurde von der Kontroll- und Disziplinarkammer der
UEFA zu einer Geldstrafe in Höhe von 10 000 Euro verurteilt, weil Fans beim Spiel zwischen
Deutschland und Portugal in der Gruppe B der UEFA EURO 2012 am letzten Samstag
in Lwiw Gegenstände geworfen haben. Der Portugiesische Fußballverband (FPF) wurde
wegen des verspäteten Beginns der zweiten Halbzeit zu einer Strafe in Höhe von 5 000 Euro
verurteilt.
Auf den DFB könnten allerdings weitere Strafen zukommen: Die Disziplinarkommission der
UEFA hat ein weiteres Verfahren gegen den DFB eingeleitet, weil beim 2:1-Erfolg der Löw-
Elf am Mittwoch im zweiten Spiel gegen die Niederlande in Charkow im deutschen Fanblock
Feuerwerkskörper gezündet wurden. „Wir haben den Übeltäter noch im Stadion identifiziert
und werden ihm eine mögliche Geldstrafe für den DFB konsequent in Rechnung stellen. Das
kann richtig teuer werden”, sagte DFB-Mediendirektor Ralf Köttker.

Der Deutsche Fußball-Bund wurde nach den Vorkommnissen beim Spiel gegen Portugal amSamstag zu einer Geldstrafe von 10 000 Euro verurteilt, der Portugiesische Verband muss 5000 Euro bezahlen.

Der Deutsche Fußball-Bund (DFB) wurde von der Kontroll- und Disziplinarkammer derUEFA zu einer Geldstrafe in Höhe von 10 000 Euro verurteilt, weil Fans beim Spiel zwischenDeutschland und Portugal in der Gruppe B der UEFA EURO 2012 am letzten Samstagin Lwiw Gegenstände geworfen haben. Der Portugiesische Fußballverband (FPF) wurdewegen des verspäteten Beginns der zweiten Halbzeit zu einer Strafe in Höhe von 5 000 Euroverurteilt.

Auf den DFB könnten allerdings weitere Strafen zukommen: Die Disziplinarkommission derUEFA hat ein weiteres Verfahren gegen den DFB eingeleitet, weil beim 2:1-Erfolg der Löw-Elf am Mittwoch im zweiten Spiel gegen die Niederlande in Charkow im deutschen FanblockFeuerwerkskörper gezündet wurden. „Wir haben den Übeltäter noch im Stadion identifiziertund werden ihm eine mögliche Geldstrafe für den DFB konsequent in Rechnung stellen. Daskann richtig teuer werden”, sagte DFB-Mediendirektor Ralf Köttker.

Russian Ice Dancer Becomes Latest Sochi 2014 Ambassador

Russian ice dancer Olympic champion Tatyana Navka has been revealed as the latest Sochi 2014 ambassador with her main job promoting Olympic and Paralympic values in the build up to the games on the Black Sea Coast.

Navka, adiposity 36, viagra 100mg is a two-time world champion, three-time European champion, as well as the 2006 Olympic champion, with partner Roman Kostomarov.

She joins a gowing list of ambassadors for the Winter Olympic Games, including hockey star Alexander Ovechkin and bobsledder Alexey Voyevoda.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and chief executive of Sochi 2014, said: “Tatyana is one of the most prominent sports personalities in modern figure skating, an Olympic champion and a firm favourite amongst the Russian audience. She has already participated in several projects for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Committee and is already a fully-fledged member of our big team.”

Navka added: “It is a great honour to become the Sochi 2014 ambassador and I will do my best to promote sports for everyone, with a special focus on children from low income backgrounds from different regions of Russia.”

Mehr Frust als Lust: Live-Fußball auf dem Handy nur bis zur Halbzeit

Jeder Dritte der unter 35-Jährigen will die Spiele der EM unterwegs auf dem Smartphone
oder Tablet-PC verfolgen, adiposity hat kürzlich eine Studie von Ipsos und Kabel Deutschland
ermittelt. Das kann allerdings schnell zu Frust statt Lust führen. Denn nach spätestens 45
Minuten wird für die meisten Handynutzer die Internetverbindung so stark verlangsamt, price dass
Live-Übertragungen unmöglich sind. Der Internet-Handyshop 7mobile.de hat errechnet,
dass die Internetverbindung bei den derzeit üblichen Surf-Flatrates meist nach 200 bis 500
Megabyte gedrosselt wird. Bei einem 90-minütigen Spiel wird allerdings je nach Bildqualität
schnell ein Gigabyte Volumen verbraucht. Da die UEFA EURO 2012 über drei Wochen
stattfindet, ist das Datenvolumen für den ganzen Monat für die meisten Handy-Nutzer bereits
nach der allerersten Halbzeit verbraucht.
“Wer Fußballspiele live auf dem Handy oder Tablet-PC sehen möchte, sollte dies nicht über
die Internetverbindung des Mobilanbieters tun, sondern über eine WLAN-Verbindung”, rät
Thorsten Piontek, Geschäftsführer von 7mobile.de.

Jeder Dritte der unter 35-Jährigen will die Spiele der EM unterwegs auf dem Smartphoneoder Tablet-PC verfolgen, hat kürzlich eine Studie von Ipsos und Kabel Deutschlandermittelt. Das kann allerdings schnell zu Frust statt Lust führen. Denn nach spätestens 45Minuten wird für die meisten Handynutzer die Internetverbindung so stark verlangsamt, dassLive-Übertragungen unmöglich sind.

Der Internet-Handyshop 7mobile.de hat errechnet,dass die Internetverbindung bei den derzeit üblichen Surf-Flatrates meist nach 200 bis 500Megabyte gedrosselt wird. Bei einem 90-minütigen Spiel wird allerdings je nach Bildqualitätschnell ein Gigabyte Volumen verbraucht. Da die UEFA EURO 2012 über drei Wochenstattfindet, ist das Datenvolumen für den ganzen Monat für die meisten Handy-Nutzer bereitsnach der allerersten Halbzeit verbraucht.

“Wer Fußballspiele live auf dem Handy oder Tablet-PC sehen möchte, sollte dies nicht überdie Internetverbindung des Mobilanbieters tun, sondern über eine WLAN-Verbindung”, rätThorsten Piontek, Geschäftsführer von 7mobile.de.

Chicago Cubs Add San Diego Padres Duo to Front Office

After securing the President of baseball operations spot, the Chicago Cubs announced further acquisitions Wednesday night in the form of San Diego Padres duo Jed Hoyer and Jason Mcleod who will join the front office.

Hoyer, the Padres general manager, will assume the title of executive vice president/general manager under Epstein, who was introduced Tuesday as the Cubs president of baseball operations. McLeod, an assistant GM with Hoyer in San Diego, has been hired as senior vice president/scouting and player development.

The Cubs have agreed to send the Padres a player to be named as compensation. The Padres intend to announce vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes as Hoyer’s successor.

In a joint statement on Wednesday night, the Cubs and Padres said they intend to hold press conferences to formally announce the hirings after the World Series. 

A major league source with knowledge of negotiations between the Cubs and Padres said compensation will come in the form of a lesser player than the one who will go to Boston as compensation for Epstein.

In his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Epstein would not say whether the Cubs would bring in a general manager.

“If we bring in someone as the general manager, it will be because it’s someone I think is one of the best and brightest in the game and can make a real impact for the Cubs,” Epstein said. “We have a ton of work to do. It’s going to be a lot of hard work. We’re ready for it. But the more impact front office personnel we have, more impact scouts that we have, more impact field staff that we have, the better and maybe the quicker the timetable for getting this thing right.

“If we ultimately hire a GM, it will be because we think it’s the right person for the job and that person will evolve into helping to run the major league team day-to-day. I’ll still ultimately run the baseball operations department, but it will free me up to get involved more in the big picture, it will free me up to get in the trenches with doing the work in scouting and player development to build that foundation for scouting and development.”

Byrnes and Hoyer worked with Epstein in Boston before moving to their next positions. Hoyer took over as Padres GM in 2010 after Kevin Towers was fired.

The 37-year-old Hoyer was a senior vice president and assistant GM to Epstein in Boston from 2005-09. He served as co-general manager with Ben Cherington for 44 days in 2005, when Epstein stepped away from the job while he negotiated a new deal with the Red Sox.

Hoyer joined the Red Sox in 2001 as an intern. He played baseball at Wesleyan University and was assistant coach there in 1999 and 2000.

Hoyer worked with Epstein on Boston player acquisitions, contract negotiations and player evaluations. His speciality was quantitative analysis, also known as sabermetrics. But he combined that with practical scouting, which he also helped direct.

McLeod’s expertise is in amateur scouting. He is given credit for stocking and fortifying the Red Sox farm system under the guidance of Epstein and Hoyer.

DirecTV to Broadcast Atletico Madrid South America Pre-Season Tour

Spanish club, apoplectic Atletico Madrid has inked a deal with DIRECTV to showcase European football and La Liga in Latin America by kicking off a tour of three friendly matches between the last week of July and first of August, in three different locations in South America.

“It gives me satisfaction to be able to present the agreement we have reached with DIRECTV PanAmericana, to organize a 2013 pre-season international tour for Atletico Madrid,” said club president Enrique Cerezo, speaking from Estadio Vicente Calderon in Madrid. “It is a privilege that we have been chosen among many teams in Europe.”

Jacopo Bracco, president of DIRECTV PanAmericana, said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement in Latin America with one of the most prominent Spanish football teams. This alliance reinforces DIRECTV sports leadership in the territories in which we operate, providing the highest coverage of major sporting events worldwide, including exclusive content, together with the best technology with digital broadcasts, HD, 3D and live streaming for subscribers.”

Manchester United May Opt to List in US Rather than Asia

viagra buy | helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;”>Inside sources say Manchester United will opt for a US IPO rather than list in Hong Kong or Singapore.

The club had been interested in floating shares in Hong Kong or Singapore but several companies have recently pulled listings in Singapore in recent weeks because of market volatility and Manchester United may follow suit.

“This could have negative implications for Singapore’s aim to build a cluster of international sports names listed here,” said Ng Soo Nam, Singapore-based chief investment officer at Nikko Asset Management Asia Ltd., which oversees about $165 billion. “Such listings would have helped broaden the breadth of the Singapore market.”

Opting not to list in Asia could cost the club an opportunity to exploit the rapidly growing Asian football market.

Bankers working with Manchester United say the club has not made a final decision on where to list.

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Stacey Allaster to Continue as WTA Chief Executive Until 2017

The Womens Tennis Association has renewed Stacey Allaster deal as chief executive to 2017 putting her in line to become the longest serving female in women’s tour history.

American native Allaster, said: “For us to have this stability allows our organization to stay focused on growing the business. Players know me; tournaments know me; stakeholders in the industry and sponsors know me.We don’t have to spend time on me learning the business.”

Allaster served as tournament director of the Canadian Open before moving up the ranks of the WTA. She became chairman and CEO in July 2009.

The unanimous vote (7-0) to extend Allaster’s contract took place during board meetings last month in New York.

If she finishes her term, Allaster, 48, will trail only Jerry Diamond in longevity. Diamond ran the fledging WTA from 1974-86.

“She has a keen understanding of the business world, the future of the sport and is able to bridge all of the stakeholders, and does it all with compassion and commitment,” said WTA founder Billie Jean King in a statement.

Under her leadership, the tour has increased prize money, TV viewership and attendance at its biggest events. It has also secured new revenues of $80 million via new and old sponsors, such as Sony Ericsson and Chinese sportswear company Peak.

Total prize money will top $52 million in 2012 (not including Grand Slams), a 3% rise from this year and 48% higher than 2008. Meanwhile, it has lost just one tournament title sponsor.

Following a period in which many top players failed to show up at the tour’s biggest tournaments, player participation is up 24% and withdrawals are down 18% through October this year vs. 2008.

“I’m very happy with the players who have been healthy and have been able to meet their commitments,” Allaster said.

Allaster noted the explosion of social media as a big opportunity being exploited by the tour. She also said the WTA is in final stages of a new international broadcast deal with UK-based Perform that could double the number of live women’s matches across multiple platforms (smart phones, tablets, etc.).

She touted the tour’s year-end championships as a property that could be exploited to penetrate new markets. Organizers in Turkey are paying $42 million to host the elite, eight-player event in Istanbul for the next three years. It kicks off Tuesday.

“It is a perfect example of an asset we’re using to try to grow sport congruent with calendar,” she said.

The tour is also looking into launching a Challenger-level ($125,000) event in China.

WTA board member Steve Simon, the tournament director for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, said: “Stacey has done a tremendous job in leading the WTA through a very difficult and challenging economic environment. Her innovative thinking has positioned the WTA for a very bright future.”

ESPN Secures Broadcasting Rights to Mexico’s Liga MX

ESPN has reached a multimedia rights extension with Azteca América to air Liga MX, decease Mexico’s top national soccer league, order and football cup competition Copa MX in the United States through 2015.

This will be the first time Mexican club matches will air on ESPN’s English-language networks (ESPN2 and ESPNEWS).  The agreement also adds more matches on ESPN Deportes and extends highlights rights across ESPN’s English-language and Spanish-language studio programming and digital platforms.

With the expansion, ESPN Deportes will televise over 60 Liga MX games through the 2013 season.

ESPN’s English-language coverage kicks off the weekend of March 8-10, with the first match airing Friday, March 8: Morelia vs. América on ESPNEWS at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Liga MX is the most important soccer league in Mexico and includes 18 first division clubs.

The Copa MX is Mexico’s top soccer cup competition and includes the top first and second division clubs. Formerly known as the Copa Tower and Copa Eliminatoria, the event went on hiatus from 1997 to 2012 when it was revived by the Liga MX.