The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed a multi-year deal with Entercom Communications to broadcast all Hornets games  live on WWL radio beginning with the upcoming 2012-13 season.

The agreement, along with full game coverage, will include a post-game show, as well as a weekly Thursday night coach’s show with Hornets Head Coach Monty Williams hosted by Deshazier.

“We enjoy a great partnership with WWL radio and are thrilled that Hornets games will be broadcast on New Orleans’ leading radio station and become part of the great momentum we are enjoying this summer,” said Owner/Chairman of the Board Tom Benson. “WWL radio has long been the recognized leader in sports coverage. We couldn’t be happier about this partnership for Hornets basketball.”

“WWL radio, the News, Talk & Sports leader in the Gulf South, home of the New Orleans Saints and everything LSU, is proud to add New Orleans Hornets basketball to our lineup,” said Chris Claus, Vice President and General Manager of Entercom New Orleans. “The Hornets had the NBA’s best off-season and we are proud to have the opportunity to broadcast their games. Great new ownership, top draft picks, terrific free agent signings and smart trades have the entire region talking. We can’t wait to deliver Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers…exciting Hornets basketball to WWL listeners beginning Halloween night against San Antonio.”

In addition to using the power of WWL radio, Entercom will use its other amazing radio stations B-97, Magic 101.9, Bayou 95.7 and ESPN 1350am to market and promote Hornets basketball to the New Orleans metro and beyond. 

“The announcement of WWL radio as our flagship radio station is another addition to the excitement surrounding our upcoming season,” said Owner/Vice Chairman Rita Benson LeBlanc. “With both Hornets and Saints games broadcasting on WWL radio, as well as extensive coverage of both teams, it truly is our city’s leading station in regards to New Orleans sports.”

Dalian Wanda, a Chinese commercial real estate company, has agreed a US$77m financial package to support the Chinese Football Association (CFA) over the next three years.

A portion of their estimated US$21.6bn assets over the next three years into the Chinese Super League (CSL), and Dalian Wanda will assist in the management of the competition, which will be renamed the “Dalian Wanda Plaza CSL” from this season until 2013.

Money from the deal will be used to attract a world-class foreign coach to manage the Chinese national team, while up to 100 young players will be sent abroad for training and development.

CFA chairman Wei Di stated: “The progress of Chinese soccer depends on the emergence of high-level young players. China’s negligence in developing teenage soccer directly led to the slump in the sport in recent years.”

Dalian Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin said the deal would be extended if the partnership proved successful over the next three years, adding: “I hope our cooperation will reawaken people’s passion for soccer.”

The ESPN have obtained the multi-year rights to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and Irn Bru Scottish Football League until 2017.

The agreement means ESPN’s channels in the UK and Ireland will next season screen 40 live and exclusive matches from both leagues – more than ever before and ten more than in previous seasons on ESPN.

Under the deal, 30 Clydesdale Bank Premier League games will be shown on ESPN over the season alongside ten Rangers games from the Irn Bru Scottish Football League, including three home Rangers fixtures.

In addition to ESPN’s live and exclusive TV coverage, fans can catch coverage of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League online and on mobile with ESPN.co.uk and ESPNFC.com, the sports media company’s recently announced worldwide multimedia football initiative.

Live HD television coverage of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League on ESPN is complemented by the company’s exclusive coverage of the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup, Aviva Premiership Rugby, UEFA Europa League, multiple weekly German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A matches and much more.

The New York Times Company (NYT) has sold more than half of its stake in English Premier League club Liverpool’s parent company, Fenway Sports Group (FSG).

NYT has been looking to reduce its shareholding in FSG for two years to raise funds for its publishing business and has now announced the sale of 390 of its 700 Class B units in the company for US$117m to three undisclosed separate buyers.

FSG’s majority owner is John Henry, who bought the Red Sox in 2002.

American group Fenway, formally known as New England Sports Ventures (NESV), agreed to acquire Liverpool in October 2010 in a forced sale for £300m ($483.5m) from their much maligned compatriots George Gillett and Tom Hicks. However, following the takeover, Hicks and Gillett announced plans to take legal action.

NYT said in 2009 that it had hired Goldman Sachs to sell its stake in the sports venture. The publishing group paid $75m for just over 17 per cent of FSG in 2002.

NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and Clear Channel have entered into an agreement to air all preseason and regular season games beginning next season.

Games will simulcast on both AM and FM frequencies on NewsRadio 1190 and 102.3 KEX, the team’s new flagships stations. Coverage will begin with the Trail Blazers preseason opener in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Oct. 10. The team tips off the 2012-13 regular season by hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 31. The move will return coverage to the stations that aired Trail Blazers games from 1979-85 and again from 1989-2001.

“The Trail Blazers’ partnership with KEX and Clear Channel Media & Entertainment goes beyond the ability to provide our fans with a simulcast of our broadcasts,” said Trail Blazers Senior Vice President of Digital Entertainment Dick Vardanega. “This partnership will also provide a number of new and innovative opportunities for our fans to engage in all things Trail Blazers. We are very excited about the possibilities and can’t wait to get things started.”

NewsRadio 1190 and 102.3 KEX will also air Trail Blazers Courtside, the team’s weekly talk show with broadcasters Mike Barrett, Mike Rice, Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey beginning Sept. 10. The show will simulcast on Comcast SportsNet and trailblazers.com. In addition, the team’s new flagship stations will carry The Fifth Quarter, a one-hour show following each postgame show, which will be dedicated solely to the fans.

“We are thrilled that the Portland Trail Blazers have decided to renew their partnership with Clear Channel Media & Entertainment and return to their longtime home, 1190 KEX and 102.3 FM,” said Robert Dove, Vice President and Market Manager, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Portland.

Luxury Italian brand Versace has entered into marketing partnership with Serie A giant F.C. Internazionale as the official suits provider for directors, unhealthy coach, arthritis technical staff and players of the club. 

Versace SpA CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris stated: “We are very pleased to dress F.C. Internazionale, nurse because this club has familiarised the world with the style and top quality of Italian football as Versace has done in the field of fashion and luxury: this pairing could not be better.”

F.C.Internazionale Chief Executive Ernesto Paolillo added: “Not only are we happy to work with one of the most famous Maisons in the world, with their unmistakable class and style, we are also assured of the high professional qualities of Versace, which allow us to work with a Group that has been able to combine our practical requirements and elegance.”

Meanwhile, newly crowned German Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund have agreed a new sponsorship arrangement which will help make their home stadium energy independent.

Based in nearby Bitterfeld-Wolfen, leading solar specialist Q-Cells will add photo-voltaic panels atop Signal Iduna Park as part of the five-year deal worth a reported US$13m.

The news comes after Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 also recently concluded solar sponsorships.

In other news, Japanese carmaker Toyota has become the new shirt sponsor of Besiktas, one of Turkey’s top soccer clubs.

According to the Turkish media, the club will receive $26m over the course of three years thanks to the newly announced deal which will see Toyota get its logo on the team’s shirt fronts in return, as well as the right to use its players in ad campaigns.

SuperSport TV has acquired the five-year rights to broadcast the nPower Championship and the Capital One Cup in the Sub-Saharan region.

The package was attained from Pitch International and is five-seasons long.

The Championship kicks off on Friday, and August 17 and the Capital One Cup begins a week earlier on Saturday, medicine 11 August.

The Capital One Cup is a knockout competition that features the 20 Premier League clubs and 72 clubs from the Football League. The winners qualify for the Uefa Europa League.

Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise FC Dallas have announced that Budweiser has become the official domestic beer partner of the side and their home, Pizza Hut Park.

Under the terms of the agreement, the stadium’s beer garden will be renamed the Budweiser Beer Garden with drink specials at every FC Dallas game. In addition, there will also be a fan-selected text-vote for the Budweiser Man of the Match after every game.

The new agreement will also see Budweiser become the associate sponsor of the Rio Grande Plate derby between FC Dallas and Mexican side Tigres, the second leg of which will be played at Pizza Hut Park on September 3.

Nick Vander Linden, Budweiser geographic marketing manager for North Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, stated: “The Budweiser team is excited to announce our new partnership with FC Dallas. We are extremely proud of the club and look forward to building a relationship with the growing number of soccer fans through a sport and a team they are truly passionate about.”

Matt McInnis, FC Dallas vice president of business development and partnership marketing, added: “We’re looking forward to developing our FC Dallas partnership with Budweiser this year and for many years to come. There are several great opportunities that can be maximized at Pizza Hut Park but, more importantly, throughout the market at various retail outlets that allow us to grow both of our businesses.”

In other news, Wells Fargo has become the newest partner of Dallas’ MLS rivals the San Jose Earthquakes. Its sponsorship of San Jose makes the bank the presenting partner for two home games, including Saturday’s July 2 fixture versus the New York Red Bulls and the game against Portland Timbers FC on August 6.

As part of the deal, the banking behemoth will support a host of community soccer initiatives including Goals for Education, Soccer Mom of the Match and the Earthquakes 4v4 tournaments.

Earthquakes president David Kaval said in a statement: “They are a wonderful organisation to work with. Any time you can partner with a local organization that is looking to give back to the local community it’s a win-win for all involved.”

The IOC announced that CBC/Radio-Canada has regained the rights to broadcasting the Olympics for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“We thought it was very important for the national public broadcaster whose strategy is signature events,” CBC president Hubert Lacroix said. “And there’s nothing more significant, more signature and more of an event that brings Canadians together.”

According to the Canadian Press, the network has broadcast 19 different Olympics for almost 60 years in Canada, most recently the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. “We actually made sure that this was, based on our prior experience, a cost-neutral proposal,” CBC executive Kirstine Stewart told the CP. “This isn’t a deal that’s built to cost the CBC money and in fact, what we’re hoping for is a bit of a profit out of it.”

IOC president Jacques Rogge added in an official statement: “CBC/Radio-Canada has a wealth of experience in broadcasting sports and the Olympic Games and we are pleased that we will once again be joining forces with them in the future.”

For the current 2012 London Summer Olympics, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, comprised of a partnership between Bell Media and Rogers Communications, have the broadcast rights. In the past, CBC and Bell Media submitted joint bids on the Games, however a month ago they announced this would no longer be the case.

“CBC/Radio-Canada has been an unwavering champion of amateur sport and our nation’s best athletes,” said Marcel Aubut, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee Wednesday, to CBC News. “They have unparalleled experience in broadcasting major multi-sport events, most notably the Olympic Games.”

Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has completed the takeover of French Ligue 1 soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

QSI completed the acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in PSG for a reported Eur50m (US$72.4m), generic with the agreement furthering Qatari interest in French football. QSI president Al-Khelaifi also serves as president of Al Jazeera, order which last week snapped up a package of domestic broadcast rights to Ligue 1 for the 2012-16 seasons, buy order | adding to the broadcaster’s capture of the league’s overseas rights in a six-year deal.

Sebastien Bazin, president of PSG’s former majority shareholder Colony Capital Europe, hailed the QSI agreement as a “great moment” adding “I am convinced that I have left PSG in good hands”.

Al-Khelaifi said in a statement: “We will work over the coming years to make PSG a great team and a strong brand on the international scene, one that will make all the fans proud. I am excited to see the Parisians come to enjoy family games and support their team. I know that PSG has recorded a large increase in season tickets, a sign that we made the right decision.”