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.”

GolTV is to air the U.S. Open Cup in a new three-year agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The final of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, prostate the oldest national soccer tournament in the U.S., cialis will air live Wednesday, cheap pills August 8 at 9 p.m. (ET), when the three-time defending champion Seattle Sounders FC faces off against Sporting Kansas City at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Known then as the National Challenge Cup, the U.S. Open Cup was first played in 1913 and is open to teams at all levels in the States, from amateur sides to the Division I professional teams of Major League Soccer. All told, 64 teams competed in the final stages of the 2012 tournament, with the winner to add its name to the Dewar Cup and earn a spot in the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League. Teams from MLS have won 15 of the last 16 U.S. Open Cups.

“Acquiring the broadcast rights to the final of the U.S. Open Cup through 2014 is an important milestone for GolTV as we continue to offer our passionate viewers more soccer content than any other network,” said Rodrigo Lombello, COO of GolTV, in announcing the acquisition. “With concerted efforts to expand our portfolio of matches from the Americas, we are tapping into one of the fastest growing markets, as the popularity of the sport in the U.S. continues to reach new heights.”

English Premier League soccer club Birmingham City FC’s president Carson Yeung is helping police in Hong Kong with criminal investigations, according to the club’s website.

A statement put out by acting chairman Peter Pannu said Mr Yeung, who is Birmingham’s largest single shareholder with a 29.9% stake, was assisting police in Hong Kong, according to Birmingham International Holdings’ lawyers, who had informed him of the situation.

He said he believed the inquiries were nothing to do with the club’s parent company or subsidiaries.

He said he had also been informed by the lawyers that Mr Yeung was assisting with inquiries that had nothing to do with BIHL in Hong Kong and therefore nothing to do with the operation of club.

The statement said: “People are reminded that in recent years members of the previous board were placed on bail for a significant amount of time and nothing came of it. I am only using this as an example to calm any fears.”

The statement also said the law says a person is innocent until proven guilty and that until the club found out any more information there would be no further comment.

Yeung is Birmingham’s largest single shareholder with a 29.9% stake.

HRTV, ampoule the television network co-owned by Churchill Downs and the Stronach Group, allergist will broadcast all of the Breeders’ Cup races for this year’s event live with the exception of the Classic under a deal reached with Breeders’ Cup covering cable broadcast rights.

The deal is the first in Breeders’ Cup history allowing a network other than the primary rights-holder to broadcast races live on television. This year’s Breeders’ Cup will be broadcast live by NBC and its related networks, viagra sale under a four-year deal reached last year replacing ESPN and ABC.

The deal also gives HRTV the rights to produce the Breeders’ Cup simulcast show, a production that is distributed to simulcast sites around the world. HRTV’s main competitor, TVG, had previously produced the simulcast show.

According to an HRTV official, the network’s television coverage will be different than the simulcast show, which caters more heavily to gamblers who may or may not be able to hear the show’s audio feed.

Under earlier television-rights agreements, horse racing networks were not allowed to broadcast the Breeders’ Cup races live. An exception occurred last year, when ESPN allowed TVG to broadcast the Breeders’ Cup Marathon live. ESPN’s coverage of the Friday races began after the Marathon had been run.

The Breeders’ Cup races also will be streamed live on HRTV.com and breederscup.com.

This year’s Breeders’ Cup is scheduled for Nov. 2-3 at Santa Anita Park in Southern California. HRTV is based at Santa Anita.