CAA Sports to Spearhead Germany’s Bid for 2022 Ryder Cup

Talent and sports agency CAA Sports have been selected by Ryder Cup Deutschland to push Germany’s bid to host the 2022 edition of golf’s Ryder Cup.

Marco Kaussler, allergy who has worked in leading roles at more than 50 major national and international golf events, adiposity will lead the campaign.

Kaussler and Ilka Stepan have been appointed as co-managing directors of Ryder Cup Deutschland.

Ryder Cup Deutschland chairman of the board Norbert Löhlein said: “It is our goal to bring the Ryder Cup 2022 to Germany. In Marco Kaussler of CAA Sports and Ilka Stepan, prostate we have found the best possible partners to launch a successful campaign and application around the Ryder Cup 2022 on German soil.”

Kaussler added: “We are extremely honoured to have been selected by Ryder Cup Deutschland to spearhead this campaign and look forward to accessing our resources and relationships to bring the Ryder Cup 2022 to Germany.”

Germany will be competing against Austria, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey, who have all registered an interest by the August 31 deadline. Official bids must be submitted 

Official bids are expected by February 16 while Ryder Cup Europe will make the final decision by Autumn 2015.

NFL Sponsor Anheuser-Busch ‘not yet satisfied’ with League’s Handling of Abuse Cases

Anheuser-Busch, a major sponsor of the NFL, have revealed their concern of the league’s handling of the recent domestic violence and child abuse charges facing active players. 

Anheuser-Busch, the official beer of the NFL since 2011, previously had declined to comment on the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson cases, among others. But Tuesday, a spokesperson released this statement:

“We are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season. We are not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league.”

The NFL responded with spokesman Brian McCarthy saying: “We understand. We are taking action and there will be much more to come.”

Pepsi also released a statement on the NFL: “Domestic violence is completely unacceptable. We are encouraged to see the NFL is now treating this with the seriousness it deserves”

The news follows Radisson Hotel suspending their sponsorship of Minnesota Vikings until the issue with Peterson was resolved. Peterson has also lost Castrol as a personal sponsor.

“In light of recent events, Castrol has decided to end our relationship with Adrian Peterson,” Paul Giblett, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday. Peterson’s other major sponsor Nike will ‘closely monitor the situation’.

{jcomments on}

Team Penske Partners with Dick Johnson Racing for V8 Supercars Entry

Team Penske announced today that it will form a partnership with Dick Johnson Racing in the V8 Supercars Championship, capsule beginning in 2015.

DJR Team Penske will compete with Ford Falcons in the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship with Marcos Ambrose behind the wheel.

Marcos Ambrose will return to the Series where he drew international acclaim to race the iconic No. 17 Ford for DJR Team Penske. Ambrose is a two-time V8 Supercars champion; winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. He transitioned to a winning career in NASCAR where he has earned seven wins and eight pole positions while competing in the Sprint Cup, ed Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series over the past nine seasons.

“Team Penske is excited to partner with Dick Johnson Racing to compete in the V8 Supercars Championship starting next season,” said Roger Penske. “We believe in building our businesses through racing and our success on the track. With our new business ventures in Australia, it makes sense to showcase our brands through the V8 Supercars Championship and the opportunity to work with DJR and Marcos Ambrose convinced us to go forward.”

Ambrose, a native of Launceston, Tasmania, is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the V8 Supercars Championship. In the 65 rounds in which he competed from 2001 to 2005, he won 28 individual races.

“This is a great opportunity to return home to a place that I love in a Series where I’ve experienced a lot of success,” said Ambrose, who has earned two career victories at the highest level of NASCAR competition – the Sprint Cup Series. “It will be an honor to race for two motorsport legends in Roger Penske and Dick Johnson.”

“We are certainly looking forward to this new challenge,” said Dick Johnson, a legendary driver himself who claimed five Australian Touring Car Championships and won the prestigious Bathurst 1000 race three times before he retired from racing in 1999. “I have always admired what Roger Penske has accomplished in business and with his racing teams and it will be a thrill to work with Team Penske and Marcos in 2015.”

America’s Cup Provides Significant Economic Impact for San Francisco

A preliminary economic impact report on the 34th America’s Cup has revealed the city of San Francisco received $550-million and over 3,800 jobs were created from the event.

“Hosting the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco showcased our beautiful City to the world and brought thousands of new jobs, long-overdue legacy waterfront improvements, international visitor spending, and a boost to our regional economy,” noted San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee in a statement. “Our investment brought in significant revenue to the City and the lessons we learned will help us deliver even better world-class events in the Bay Area in the future.”

America’s Cup events ran from July through September this summer with racing on San Francisco Bay. The America’s Cup Park and America’s Cup Village venues along the waterfront attracted nearly 1-million visitors, with another million taking in the action from various sites along the city front.

“This year’s America’s Cup has been a winner for San Francisco, the Bay Area and California,” said Gavin Newsom, the Lt. Governor of California. “The sport on the water was thrilling, with ORACLE TEAM USA’s comeback win over Emirates Team New Zealand leaving fans on the edge of their seats until the winner’s gun fired. And economically, we scored as well, with an impact of over $500-million.”

ORACLE TEAM USA staged one of the biggest comebacks in the history of sport in defeating Emirates Team New Zealand to retain the oldest trophy in international sport. The American team was down 8-1 before rallying for a 9-8 win.

“The America’s Cup in San Francisco has been a very positive experience for both the event and for the city,” said Russell Coutts, the CEO of ORACLE TEAM USA, who selected San Francisco as the venue after winning the Cup in 2010. “The economic impact numbers show what the America’s Cup can deliver. San Francisco provided a spectacular venue for racing and the final was one of the most exciting in the 162-year history of the event.”

The preliminary economic impact report was provided to the City by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (BACEI), who will issue a full report before the end of the year.

“The $550 million in economic activity generated by the America’s Cup is substantial,” said Sean Randolph, President of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. “The activity benefitted hundreds of small businesses and other employers in San Francisco and the Bay Area and produced tax revenue that supports a wide range of important city services.”

{jcomments on}

Second Phase 2014 World Cup Tickets Sell Quickly

Second phase 2014 World Cup tickets were sold in the first few hours after being made available on FIFA’s website.

Nearly 230,000 tickets for 57 matches were put on sale, but FIFA’s site showed Monday that tickets for fewer than 15 matches were still available about four hours after the sales began.

Almost 900,000 tickets were sold in the first phase through a random draw.

Tickets for the most popular games were not on sale in the second phase, including the opener, the final, the two semifinals and all of Brazil’s group-stage matches.

Fans will be allowed to make purchases again after the World Cup draw in December determines where and when the 32 teams will play.

Financial Magnate Vincent Viola Buys Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have announced the formal sale to New York businessman Vincent Viola on Friday morning.

Viola, drugs who purchased the team from Cliff Viner and a group of investors, help also receives the operating rights to the Broward County-owned arena where the Panthers have a lease running through 2028.

According to an official release by the team, herbal Viola is the new chairman, principal owner and governor of Sunrise Sports & Entertainment and the Panthers. Douglas Cifu assumes the role of vice chairman, partner and alternate governor. Michael Yormark has been promoted to president and CEO.

“Winning is our number one goal and top priority,” Yormark said in his remarks.

Viola is the chief executive officer of Virtu Financial. “We understand that the fans are the be all and end all,” said Viola, who along with his wife will be moving to South Florida.

The Panthers won the Southeast Division in 2011-12 and are looking to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season in the new Atlantic Division.

“We intend to be here a long time and become an integral part of this community,” Cifu said.

Supreme Court Suspends FC Metalist Champions League Expulsion

The Supreme Court of Switzerland suspended the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which handed FC Metalist disqualification from the Champions League after investigations into match-fixing.

CAS has originally upheld the Ukraine Football Federation’s (FFU) decision to fine Metalist and FC Karpaty $25, try 000 each over match-fixing in a game played in April 2008 and ban the former in competing in this Champions League.

But the decision today seems to have overturned this.

Markiyan Klyuchkovsky, capsule who represented Metalist in court, told reporters on Friday this should mean that UEFA must admit Metalist to the Champions League matches.

“Since the ruling of the Lausanne court has not formally taken effect, UEFA has no grounds to bar Metalist from the Champions League. In its judgment the Supreme Court of Switzerland pointed to some problems in the judgment of the Arbitration for Sport, which were indicated by Metalist in its appeal. And any action that will contradict the decision of the Supreme Court of Switzerland will be treated as contempt of court,” the lawyer said.

Jay-Z Set to Sell Brooklyn Nets Stake

Rap tycoon, Jay Z is set to sell his stake in NBA’s Brooklyn Nets as he looks to push his career as a sports agent to new heights according to reports.

Jay-Z, who recently acquired Robinson Cano as a client in partnership with Creative Artists Agency, has begun the process of obtaining his National Basketball Players Association certification as an agent, reports Yahoo!, which would require him to relinquish ownership of the Nets.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell tweeted that Jay-Z’s .067 percent (1/15th of a percent) stake in the Nets is worth approximately $350,000, and he could sell it tomorrow if he wanted to. 

“It would be disappointing [if he left],” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “I’d be disappointed. 

“He had an enormous amount to do with the rebranding of the team. I wasn’t close to it at all, but from what I’ve seen, it would be hard to overstate his importance in this all. I like his involvement in the team; he’s at the games, and maybe he’s around more than I realize behind the scenes. But he’s an excellent fan, one that wasn’t just around this year, but a lot in the past too, which is very telling to me.” 

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation recently partnered with Creative Artist Agency (CAA) and landed New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano as his first client.

Forbes estimated the Nets are worth $530 million. 

{jcomments on}

Li Ning’s Shares Plummet

Chinese sportswear company Li Ning’s shares fell drastically after the company said it needed to raise more money to complete a restructuring plan.

Its share price fell 14.7 percent on Friday after the company said it plans to issue convertible securities worth up to US$241M to provide capital for restructuring and business development, unhealthy as it tries to reverse a two-year slide in its performance. The securities are convertible into one share at HK$3.50 US$0.45 each and will be offered to shareholders for every two existing shares held.{jcomments on}

Cintas Secures Cincinnati Reds Contract to Prepare Great American Ball Park

Cintas Corporation, there the leader in specialized facility services, today announced that it has teamed up with the Cincinnati Reds to help prepare Great American Ball Park for the 2012 playoffs.

Cintas worked closely with the facility management team to identify their specific cleaning needs and implemented 32 of its Signet chemical cleaning stations throughout the stadium. This ensures employees are within close proximity to chemical cleaning stations at all times, improving the productivity of employees and reducing strain.

“Our programs are customized to provide the best services and products for our customers, including non-traditional establishments like Great American Ball Park,” said Dave Mesko, Senior Director of Marketing, Cintas. “Our cleaning chemical program helps the Reds clean efficiently and safely to ensure the best experience for cleaning staff and fans.”

Cintas’ Signet chemical system provides industry-leading chemicals, including floor cleaners and restroom disinfectants. The unique placement of the cleaning chemical units reduces trips to refill chemicals in the warehouse, enabling workers to clean more efficiently than ever before. In addition, locked reservoirs and automatic dispensers limit employees’ direct contact with the concentrated chemicals, helping protect cleaning staff from dangerous spills. Dilution control systems also ensure chemicals are mixed to the right dilution every time to reduce waste and further improve productivity.

On a weekly basis, a Cintas service professional visits the stadium to monitor the cleaning chemical units. During the visit, each individual unit is inspected to ensure proper performance and units are filled on an as-needed basis. The service eliminates the need for employees to manage ordering and provides a clear representation of the level of chemicals being used.