The British Olympic Association (BOA) has announced today, June 15, that its Director of Sport Sir Clive Woodward has been appointed Chef de Mission to lead Team GB at the inaugural winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which takes place in Innsbruck, Austria from 13-22 January 2012.

The news may come as a blow to any hopes that the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) may have had to persuade the former World Cup winning coach to take up their vacant Performance Director role, an appointment process which saw CEO John Steele resign from his post last week.

Woodward will be supported by BOA Head of Winter Sport Engagement Mike Hay as Deputy Chef de Mission and the appointment follows Woodward’s role as Team GB Deputy Chef de Mission at both the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

BOA Chief Executive Andy Hunt said: “I am delighted that our top young winter athletes will benefit from Clive’s vast experience and expertise in leading a successful team and creating the performance focused environment to enable them to perform to the best of their ability.

“Having witnessed the excellent quality of the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last summer, I am sure that Innsbruck 2012 will provide an excellent opportunity for the athletes to gain experience of a multi-sport environment and prepare themselves for the demands they will face in progressing their careers through to senior international, and ultimately, Olympic level.”

BOA Director of Sport Sir Clive Woodward said: “I am delighted to take on the role of Chef de Mission for the first winter Youth Olympic Games. Last month we saw first-hand the excellent preparations being made for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and I am sure that the YOG in Innsbruck will be an important stepping stone in the development of our best young winter athletes both on and off the field of play. 

“Following the outstanding success of the first YOG in Singapore last summer I have every confidence that the International Olympic Committee will again provide an environment of the highest quality to allow the young athletes to gain vital experience of the unique Olympic environment. 

“I am sure that every young British winter athlete was inspired by Amy Williams’ thrilling gold medal performance at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Our ambition for the YOG is to find and develop Team GB Olympians of the future and give them the best opportunity to follow in Amy’s footsteps.”

Major League Baseball (MLB) team Cleveland Indians and WTAM AM/1100 have reached agreement on a five-year deal that allows the Clear Channel station to carry the team’s games.

Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus will remain as announcers.

The team also announced that WMMS FM/100.7 will simulcast an estimated 144 of its games per season over the length of the contract.

WTAM has carried Indians games on the radio since 1998. This will be Tom Hamilton’s 24th season as the voice of the Indians. Rosenhaus is entering his second year as Hamilton’s full-time partner and seventh season as part of the broadcast team.

In December, the Indians announced that they sold SportsTime Ohio to FOX for an estimated $230 million, guaranteeing an estimated $400 million in rights fees for at least the next 10 years. STO had televised Tribe games since 2006.

The Indians start Cactus League play on Feb. 22 against Cincinnati. They open the regular season April 2 in Toronto.

Under terms of the new deal, WTAM will broadcast all regular season Tribe games. WTAM will carry 15 games from spring training every year and will distribute all games to the 26 stations on the Indians radio network throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“The Cleveland Indians are proud and excited to continue our 15-year partnership with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment,” said Indians President Mark Shapiro in a prepared statement. “We are fortunate that this parnership continues our consistent broadcast on WTAM, while expanding our radio presence to a new FM audience through WMMS.”

American business tycoon Bill Miller is nearing a takeover of Rangers after being granted ‘preferred bidder’ status by administrators Duff and Phelps.

Miller, who made his wealth in the tow truck industrt, was vying for control with the Blue Knights consortium led by former Rangers director Paul Murray and backed by Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy, and now appears to have won the race to succeed Craig Whyte as owner.

Miller last month unveiled plans for an £11.2 million bid for Rangers that would create what he described as an “incubator” company while Duff and Phelps bid to take the club out of administration through a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement.

Joint administrator Paul Clark informed staff of the news at a meeting at Ibrox on Thursday morning.

Clark said on the club’s official website: “We would like to thank all parties for their efforts in seeking to submit bids which preserve the long history and success of the club.

“We are delighted to announce that today we have received an unconditional bid for the business and assets of Rangers Football Club plc from Mr Bill Miller which has been accepted in principle and he is now the preferred bidder.

“Mr Miller now proposes to complete his transaction by the end of the season.”

David Whitehouse, of Duff and Clark, told a press conference that they hoped to complete an agreement with Miller and with the club’s creditors before the end of the current season.

Whitehouse said Miller was seeking clarity over sanctions imposed against Rangers because of administration and that his bid was the best for the club and avoided the need for liquidation.

Whitehouse said: “I’d like to announce that today we’ve received an unconditional bid from Mr Bill Miller which has been accepted and he is now the preferred bidder.

“Mr Miller now proposes to complete the transaction before the end of the season. We believe the bid from Mr Miller provides not only the best deliverable outcome but preserves the history of the club.

“Rangers Football Club will continue as the football club it has for some 140 years.”

He added: “Mr Miller and his team have sought clarity in relation to any potential footballing sanctions. Very importantly the bid avoids the need for liquidation. All too often the term liquidation has been bandied about during this process without a clear understanding of what it actually means.

“There is no liquidation involved in this strategy and we cannot stress that strongly enough.”

Whitehouse revealed that Miller’s bid would achieve the terms of a Creditors Voluntary Agreement which would guarantee creditors were not left empty-handed.

“Mr Miller’s bid achieves that criteria,” he added. “Mr Miller’s proposal is the only unconditional bid we have received. The bid proposed by Mr Miller is greater than any other and provides the best return to creditors.”

Miller’s bid will also help resolve the issue of the majority shareholding in the club which is controlled by former owner Craig Whyte.

Whitehouse continued: “The bid from Mr Miller provides the best framework to deal with the issue of Rangers’ majority shareholding.

“We confirm that we envisage the sale of the club will be completed by the end of the current season. We hope fans will now support and appreciate the commitment made by Mr Miller.

“We expect to enter into a binding agreement with Mr Miller very soon.”

Former Virgin Media executive Malcolm Wall is to join the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADM) as its new chief executive from September 1.

ADM’s business spans TV, press, radio and digital, including interests in daily newspaper The National and online music service Vevo.

Wall has not held a senior position in the industry since leaving Virgin Media in April 2009. Since then he was called in to chair Harlequins rugby club – a role he also held 15 years ago – after the “Bloodgate” scandal over players’ use of fake blood capsules to make substitutions.

Wall previously held roles including chief operating officer at United Business Media, which owns 114 trade magazines including Property Week and Farmers Guardian.

ADM chairman Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei stated: “Malcolm is a heavy hitter who we are delighted to have attracted to ADM. He brings a wealth of senior operational experience in advertising sales, broadcasting and content as well as distribution. He has worked globally within the print, research and news distribution sectors.”

Liverpool FC have reported £50 million in losses in the last financial year following pay-offs to staff and costs associated with the club’s failed new stadium plans.

Although new owners the Fenway Sports Group wiped out £200 million in debts when they took over in October 2010, the club was forced to write off £35 million over their moribund HKS-Stanley Park stadium project.

The sacking of manager Roy Hodgson after just six months, also contributed to a further £8.4 million in costs relating to contract terminations, figures lodged with Companies House showed.

But Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre insisted the club’s finances were in good shape, explaining that the results had been distorted by “extraordinary” expenditure.

“I guess people will focus on the loss of £49.4m and there’s no business – or people running any business – who are going to be pleased with any loss,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“But I think the important indicator here is this £59m charge for exceptional items and as a business that’s been in a transition, it’s about moving from where we were to where we want to be.

“We have written off a huge amount on the stadium project. A big chunk of that £50m loss relates to the HKS project – which is now defunct – and associated costs around that.”

The figures do not include a record kit deal with American company Warrior Sports worth at least £25 million a year.

“If we had not written off these extraordinary costs, we would have been looking at breaking even,” Ayre said.

“We have reduced interest charges from £18m to about £3m. That puts us in a much stronger position to utilise our revenues more effectively on the team.”

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The British Olympic Association (BOA) has welcomed David Ross, the co-founder of the Carphone Warehouse, to its board, two-and-a-half years after he was forced to step down from the London 2012 Board because he broke stock market rules.

The 45-year-old multi-millionaire is to join the BOA as a non-executive director, taking his place alongside other newcomers Andy Anson, the chief executive of England’s disastrous bid to host the 2018 World Cup, and Denise Jagger, a lawyer at Eversheds. 

Ross stated: “I feel hugely privileged to be joining the BOA Board at such a pivotal time for Olympic sport in this country.

“I share the nation’s great sense of excitement about next year’s Games and look forward to being able to assist the Board as preparations continue.

“I bring to the role my business experience but perhaps more relevant is the fact that I – as with all of my new colleagues on the Board – am, first and foremost, a great fan and supporter of British sport.

“The 2012 Olympics represent a huge opportunity and I am eager to help ensure that the country does all it can to take advantage of it.”

Ross will chair the BOA Audit Committee with the voluntary position set to run for a two-year term despite having to resign in December 2008 from the London 2012 Board – where he had been London Mayor Boris Johnson’s representative – after he had failed to disclose within the necessary timeframe that he had pledged a large proportion of his stake in the company against personal loans.

The scandal also forced him to resign as deputy chairman of the Carphone Warehouse, although he has subsequently gone on to become the chairman of National Express and serve as a director for several other companies. 

Colin Moynihan, the chairman of the BOA, spoke of the appointment: “I am very pleased that David will bring his exceptional business acumen and audit expertise to the BOA Board at this exciting and crucial time in the history of the organisation.

“David has accumulated an excellent range of experience within the 2012 Olympic Project and has a first-rate understanding of the sporting landscape in the UK.

“His strategic vision and audit capabilities will be a great addition to complement the existing skill sets of the Board.

“We look forward to welcoming David to the Board and to receiving his valuable input.”

Ross joins a BOA Board now consisting of Moynihan, The Princess Royal, David Hemery, Albert Woods, Sir Philip Craven, Adam Pengilly, Sir Craig Reedie, Hugh Chalmers, Martin Dawe, Niels de Vos, Di Ellis, Richard Leman, David Sparkes, John James and Dick Palmer as well as Ross, Anson and Jagger.

MLS’ Houston Dynamo have extended their Spanish-language radio broadcast deal with Liberman Broadcasting Corp., in a new three year deal.

Burbank, Calif.-based Liberman Broadcasting, which has broadcast Dynamo games since 2006, will air all Dynamo regular-season and playoff games, with most games broadcast on KEYH 850 AM, and select games airing on KNTE 101.7 FM.

“Liberman has been our partner since day one, and this new deal means that we will be together for at least a decade,” said Dynamo president Chris Canetti. “For a partnership to last this long, it means that both parties are enjoying positive benefits from it. I want to thank the Liberman management team for its commitment to the Dynamo.”

Earlier this month, the Dynamo said it would not renew its English-language radio partnership with San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications Inc.  The Major League Soccer team inked a new multi-year deal with Houston-based Gow Media.

Chelsea fans who are planning to follow their team to the UEFA Champions League final on May 19 might be in for a shock when looking for a hotel room. With the title game date less than three weeks away, accommodations in the host city of Munich are becoming rather pricey.

 

To spend the night in the Bavarian capital the day Chelsea goes head to head against Bayern, fans will have to spend close to Euro 500 (£407/$536) for the cheapest available room. That’s the finding of a recent survey conducted by CheapHotels.org, which compared rates across the various hotel-booking sites.

While the vast majority of hotels are sold out on the day of the Champions League final, about a dozen hotels, mainly in the outside districts of Munich, are still listing vacancies. However, because demand far exceeds supply, they’re implementing exorbitant rate hikes.

 

One case in point is the NH Munchen am Ring. This 3-star accommodation is situated 4 km from Munich’s city centre. Rooms at this establishment regularly go for Euro 84 ($110), but come the day of the CL final, they’ll soar to Euro 824 ($1,050). That figure equates to an 880% increase.

 

The NH Munchen am Ring is not the biggest price gouger, though. That honour goes to the Eurostars Grand Central, a 4-star hotel near Munich Central Station. Normally posting room rates of Euro 111 ($145), this accommodation is charging Euro 1523 ($2,005 the night of May 19, or a staggering 1272% ) more than usual.

 

Staying anywhere in Munich won’t come cheaply. Indeed, the lowest-priced double room currently available is priced at Euro 499 ($657), with single rooms a bit cheaper. There is an affordable workaround for bargain hunters, however. If they are willing to stay in the neighbouring city of Augsburg, which is connected to Munich by direct train, they can secure a double room for around Euro 100 ($131) per night and arrive at the final in under an hour. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that Yogendra Pal Singh, a former Indian policeman, is its new head of the anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) taking over from Ravi Sawani who is retiring, having been in the role since 2007.

Singh spent 30 years in the Indian Police Service including several years with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as joint-director in charge of anti-corruption.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, who paid tribute to the work of Sawani, said: “As recent events have shown, the menace of corruption in sport is real. But with the measures we have established over the years the public can be confident that we will make certain the integrity of the sport is maintained.

“We must, however, remain vigilant and YP will bring with him a fresh outlook to the continuing challenges that lie ahead.”

The appointment follows soon after criticism from England captain Andrew Strauss who claimed last month that the ACSU appeared ‘woefully under-resourced’.

Strauss added: “The only input I’ve had is with the anti-corruption people who came round during the World Cup. It seems to me that they are woefully under-resourced. I just don’t think they’ve got the resources to do it properly. I haven’t seen any resolve to deal with the issue.”

Sawani announced just over a year ago he intended to stand down after this year’s World Cup in the subcontinent, won by co-hosts India in Mumbai in April.

Sports channel Neo Prime has sealed the Indian broadcast rights for the multi-nation 2014 Asia Cup cricket tournament.

The Asia Cup was conceived in 1984 as the premier ODI (One Day International) tournament to promote goodwill amongst Asian countries and has grown from strength to strength over the last three decades.

The last edition was held in Bangladesh in 2012, buy cialis which saw Pakistan retaining the title with a nail-biting win in the final against the hosts.

The rights acquired covers primary viewership market of India as well as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Ashraful Haq, apoplectic CEO, Asian Cricket Council said, “The Asia Cup is our marquee event and we have constantly strived to boost its standing through long term deals with trusted business associates.”

Prasana Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports said: “We are delighted to add the extension of the Asia Cup rights to the growing list of long term deals that Neo has with quality international sporting events and federations. The Asia Cup has always been a treasured property for us.”