Tender Process Open for Cycling’s Tour of Britain

British Cycling has today announced that the running of its key road cycling event, cialis the Tour of Britain, illness is to be put out to an open tender to decide who will take it forward from 2014 onwards.

Since its reinstatement on the calendar in 2004, medicine the Tour of Britain has been delivered by sports marketing and events company SweetSpot.

British Cycling’s President, Brian Cookson OBE, said: “Against the backdrop of our continued success over recent years and the amazing success this summer with our first Tour de France winner and 16 gold medals at London 2012, it’s important that we take a fresh look at how the Tour of Britain can deliver continued growth and profile for the sport.

“SweetSpot has nurtured and developed the event over recent years but the time is now right to assess all options. Most crucially, we want to assure our current and future members and all cycling fans that we will have their interests at heart throughout this process and we look forward to further developing an event that reflects the current status of our sport in this country.”

British Cycling’s existing contract with SweetSpot will continue throughout next year, including the delivery of the event in September.  

The invitation to tender will officially be launched in January. The process will be managed on behalf of British Cycling by The Sports Consultancy to ensure fairness and transparency.

Exclusive: New Design of Volvo Ocean Race Boats to Appeal to Sponsors

Knut Frostad, CEO of Volvo Ocean Race has revealed the new design of the boats have become more media friendly and will provide it’s audience with the best shots of the sailing series.

In an exclusive interview with iSportconnect, he said: “When it comes to the sponsor experience, there are a couple of elements. By actually creating a new design, we are able to build the boat around the media rather than shifting equipment on the boats.

“In the past, we had rules about where cameras had to sit on the boat. Now we can actually look at what will be the best platform for television and design the boat around that. You will find that the new boat is perfectly designed to be able to deliver content very efficiently and from there you get better angles and higher quality than you have ever seen before.”

The former sailor also portrayed the different mindset sponsors went through when sponsorsing a “stop-start” event.

“The other one is the economics of it and the risks involved. We are not an annual event yet, maybe we will be in the future, so the sponsors don’t have that same technological evolution that you have in Formula One, where you slowly develop the team,” he said.

“We have more of a start-stop project where new sponsors don’t really know the route they are taking technology-wise when they sign.

“Of course, development and open-class is interesting, but it’s not interesting for a sponsor who realises after a couple of months that his boat isn’t competitive. What you want is to eliminate the risk of being uncompetitive.

“At the same time, one of the reasons we went to one-class is because of the current environment, the sponsor market and the economy. We need to be extremely efficient, which means that they’re getting more for less. This is a very clear way path to reduce the losses for sponsors.

“With a one-design project you don’t have to really start your team up before the boat’s ready, so you can buy yourself some time.”

Read Knut Frostad’s featured profile here http://dev.isportconnect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12257&Itemid=367

Atlantic Coast Conference Secures New Ticketing Partnership with PrimeSport

PrimeSport, sale the leader in providing direct access to the biggest sporting events on the planet, announced today a new partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference(ACC) to offer tickets, and build and manage the Official ACC Ticket Exchange and Official ACC VIP Pregame Hospitality offerings for the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game and ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The 2012 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game will be held in Charlotte, N.C. at Bank of America Stadium and pairs the Atlantic Division Champion against the Coastal Division Champion. The ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament has been held annually since the league’s inception and showcases perennial national powerhouse basketball programs. The 60th Annual ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament will take place March 14-17, 2013 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.

“PrimeSport has extensive experience in building and managing VIP hospitality and online ticket exchanges for large events. They have the resources and expertise needed to provide our fans with an unforgettable experience” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “By partnering with PrimeSport, our fans have a safe and dependable method for securing tickets and VIP pregame hospitality for both the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game and the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.”

As part of the partnership, PrimeSport will manage and produce the Official ACC VIP Pregame Hospitality for the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game and the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. This will be a new offering for the dedicated fan looking for the VIP Experience at each of these events. Official pregame hospitality takes place prior to each game and may include premium hosted bar, culinary stations, and the chance to rub elbows with legendary ACC players and coaches.

As the Official ACC Ticket Exchange for the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game and the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, PrimeSport creates a secure and approved marketplace for fans to buy ACC tickets. Furthermore, if a ticket holder is unable to attend, they have the ability to post the tickets for sale on an official exchange site. Fans can feel safe while purchasing tickets, as PrimeSport has a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee on all transactions. PrimeSport also currently manages the Official Ticket Exchanges for the NCAA® Men’s Basketball Tournament, NCAA Men’s Final Four®, NCAA Women’s Final Four, NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, 2013 Discover BCS National Championship, Discover Orange Bowl, The Rose Bowl Game®, the University of Arizona, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, National Finals Rodeo and Tulane University.

“We are looking forward to our exciting new partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference and offering the PrimeSport VIP Experience to ACC Football and Basketball fans,” said Greg Nortman, COO of PrimeSport. “Through our relationship with the ACC, fans can enjoy these events knowing they have secure tickets, and are buying directly from the only ACC-sanctioned ticket and VIP hospitality provider.”

Norwegian Player Arrested in Match-Fixing Investigation

A lower-tier Norwegian football player has been detained in a match-fixing investigation, medicine sparked by the postponement of a weekend game by the Norwegian Football Association.

Norwegian publication NTB cites police as saying the player for third-tier club Follo, click who was not named, was suspected of ‘benefitting or receiving money for fixing match results.’

Club captain Anders Lubeck said on the team website Thursday that an investigation was necessary, but did not confirm that a player had been detained. Police could not be reached for confirmation.

Earlier this week, the Norwegian association asked police to investigate several suspicious match results and canceled a second-tier game because of fears of match-fixing.

KHL Aiming to be Biggest Hockey League in the World

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) wants to become the world’s biggest hockey league in two years’ time by more than doubling in size to 64 teams and conquering western Europe, league president Alexander Medvedev said Wednesday.

Medvedev wants the huge league to be operational in time for the 2013-14 or 2014-15 season, he said, adding that it would relegate national leagues to farm status.

“To create a top-notch international competition is necessary,” Medvedev told the IIHF Hockey Forum in Barcelona, in comments on the IIHF website.

A grand final against the Stanley Cup winners would allow Europe to rival the NHL, he said.

“We need to create a pan-European system for the talent in Europe and set up a super-competition between the winners of the Stanley Cup and Europe to define the best team in the world.”

Russia and other former Soviet countries would form a 32-team Eastern Conference, Medvedev said.

The other 32 teams would make up a European Conference, with 16 from Scandinavia and 16 from countries as diverse as Italy, the Czech Republic and Great Britain.

A 62-game regular season would be the norm, with 32 teams qualifying for a five-round playoff.

Unlike some national leagues in Europe, such as in Switzerland, teams could not be relegated to a lower division for poor performance, Medvedev said, adding that this would make teams financially stable.

An operational budget of 15 million euros ($18.8 million) would be enough for a team to compete, he said.

The KHL was established in 2008 featuring teams from four countries; Russia, Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan.

Next season’s competition will boast 26 teams from seven countries, more than ever before, although 20 of the teams are based in Russia.

Next season the KHL will have a salary cap of $36 million. This compares to $64.3 million last season in the NHL, which features 30 teams.

Rangers Face Liquidation says Shareholder King

Rangers’ second-largest shareholder Dave King said on Wednesday the Scottish Premier League club faced “inevitable” liquidation as the Glasgow giants would be unable to solve their crippling financial crisis.

South Africa-based director King said in a 1,200-word statement he plans to sue Rangers boss Craig Whyte after the Scottish powerhouses were forced into administration last month.

“I do not believe that there is a reasonable prospect that the company can come out of administration,” said King. “I believe that liquidation is inevitable.”

In a bleak assessment of the turmoil gripping Rangers, King said the “footballing institution” of the club would survive but the company would not.

Rangers would probably have to reapply for membership of the Scottish Football Association, King said, a prospect which could mean the club would have to work their way back to the top flight from the lower leagues.

“It is a sad point to have reached, but if managed sensibly, it can result in Rangers returning to its former glory as a football club in the shortest time possible,” King said.

“We must all strive to ensure that an appropriate ownership structure guarantees that this event is never repeated.”

Meanwhile talks aimed at preventing redundancies at Rangers were due to resume on Wednesday, a day after breaking up without result after plans to introduce wage cuts were rejected by the agents of several players.

Negotiations involving the club’s administrators, players and their agents, manager Ally McCoist and Scotland’s Professional Footballers’ Association lasted most of the day but no agreement was reached.

The administrators said failure to settle on players’ personal terms had prevented a deal being done on Tuesday, although they were optimistic of reaching an agreement when talks resumed on Wednesday.

Previously on Tuesday, Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik became the first players to leave Rangers after administrators rejected a proposal by the squad to have wages deferred.

It is understood midfielders Wylde, 20, and Celik, 21, had their offers for voluntary redundancy with no pay-off accepted although the final details have still to be worked out.

Rangers were placed in administration last month after British tax authorities went to court to seek payment of an unpaid bill of £9 million ($14m) built up since owner Craig Whyte took control at Ibrox in May.

They are also awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal that could leave Rangers with a bill of up to £75m, according to Whyte.

The 140-year-old club were docked 10 points for entering administration, a penalty which effectively handed the Scottish Premier League title to arch Glasgow rivals Celtic.

Administration is the process whereby a troubled company calls upon independent expert financial help in a bid to remain operational.

by Ismail Uddin

MLB Sees Significant Salary Increases with a 2.7% Rise

The average Major League Baseball (MLB) salary increased 2.7 percent this year to nearly $3.1 million, the largest rise since 2008 it was revealed in MLB’s annual report.

The Major League Baseball Players Association announced the 913 players on Aug. 31 rosters and disabled lists averaged $3,095,183,  said Monday in its annual report, up from $3,014,572 last year when the average topped $3 million for the first time.

The average figures to go up next year, with the minimum salary rising from $414,000 to $480,000 under the new labor contract.

The New York Yankees had the highest average salary for the 13th consecutive season, but at $6.54 million it declined for the second straight year, down from a peak of $7.66 million when they won the World Series in 2009.

Philadelphia was second at $6.44 million, followed by Boston ($5.21 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($4.58 million) and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals ($4.47 million). AL champion Texas was 15th at $3.01 million.

Among other playoff teams, Detroit was ninth at $3.96 million, Milwaukee 11th at $3.41 million, Arizona 22nd at $2.12 million and Tampa Bay 28th at $1.54 million. Commissioner Bud Selig has pointed out several times that changes to baseball’s labor contract in recent years have increased competitive balance.

Kansas City was last at $1.34 million, just behind San Diego at $1.35 million. Pittsburgh, which was last in 2010, rose to 27th at $1.73 million.

Among regulars at positions, designated hitters took over as the highest average at $9.3 million, followed by first basemen at $8.9 million. With the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez spending time on the disabled list and failing to play 100 games at third base, that position’s average dropped from $6.5 million to $5.2 million.

Outfielders were at $5.6 million, second basemen $5.2 million, starting pitchers $4.9 million, shortstops $3.9 million, catchers $2.6 million and relief pitchers $1.9 million.

Rain Fails to Ruin NHL Winter Classic Ratings

Despite a rain hit day delaying the start of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Winter Classic on January 1, TV ratings had increased from the previous year. Some feared a 7 hour delay in the event from 13.00 – 20.00 local time would have a negative effect on the viewing figures though the event pulled in a 2.3 rating and 4 per cent share for NBC.

The game which saw the Washington Capitals’ 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 10 per cent increase in the ratings from last year’s game when Boston Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers.

NBC has stated that the 2011 edition of the Winter Classic was the most-watched regular-season NHL game since 1975 with over 68,000 in attendance of the event.

Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner stated that he did not feel the rain had spoiled the event, “This is reality hockey when you take it outdoors. It becomes a little unpredictable. All in all it was a good event and we were very pleased with what we saw.”

He added: “I also want to make a point of thanking all of our partners on the business side, particularly our broadcast partner at NBC for showing the flexibility that was necessary to deal with the weather issues that we confronted.”

Bin Hammam questions Sunday Times reports

Asian Football Confederation president and Fifa executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam has condemned an undercover investigation into World Cup bidding as “unethical”.

Two Fifa executive committee members, Nigeria’s Amos Adamu and Tahiti’s Reynald Temarii, have been suspended pending a Fifa ethics committee hearing after allegations in the Sunday Times that they asked for money for projects in return for World Cup votes.

The ethics committee are also investigating separate allegations that Qatar’s 2022 bid has colluded with the Spain/Portugal 2018 bid, which is forbidden by bidding regulations.

Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation and a member of the executive committee which will vote on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, questioned the fairness of the newspaper’s investigation.

His remarks will increase concerns that England’s 2018 bid may suffer from a backlash by Fifa members unhappy at the scrutiny from the British media, with the BBC’s Panorama also planning a report on the process.

Bin Hammam said on his website: “Forging identity, fabricating evidence and setting traps are unethical behaviours in my point of view.

“One thing about Middle East media, these are rare happenings there. Is it ethical to use unethical measures to protect the ethic?

“How can we serve justice and look for fairness by not acting justly and fairly? How will we clean dirty laundry by using dirty water?”

The collusion allegations are likely to be dismissed later this month, though Adamu and Temarii could face sanctions, and Bin Hammam echoed Fifa president Sepp Blatter in conceding it was a mistake to have the 2018 and 2022 votes on the same day, 2 December.

Bin Hammam said: “We all underestimated the passion for the game around the world; we miscalculated how much football has influence over the feelings of people.

“By admitting that mistake, Fifa executive committee members realised how much it is impossible to demand from their member associations not to talk to each other about their bid.

“President Blatter said in the meeting: ‘out of the nine bidding nations, eight of them have representatives in the Fifa ex co and all of them are friends. How can I ask them not to talk or discuss issues about the World Cup bid?”

Bin Hammam added: “The World Cup is the largest business of Fifa. Collusion will always have a chance to happen as far as two bids will be decided together, but we all pray that no corrupted collusion will find its way to the bids.”

Bin Hammam also revealed it was Uefa president Michel Platini who made the decisive intervention to prevent the 2022 vote being postponed until next year when he told last Friday’s meeting “we cannot change the rule of the game during the game”.

Coe confident of 2012 Olympics reaching sponsorship target

The organising committee for the London 2012 Olympic Games (LOCOG) is close to reaching its domestic sponsorship target of £700 million (US$1.1 billion), according to London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe.

Speaking at the two-year milestone before the Games, Coe said: “We’ve raised well north of £600 million (US$934 million). We’re very pleased with that as it’s in the teeth of a really difficult economic environment, and all that money is discretionary spending.”

Coe also went on to say again that he did not have a problem with BP sponsoring the Games after recent criticism of its handling over the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“BP are a great partner. They’re a very important sponsor and have helped us a lot during the bid,” he said.

And when asked if the change in leadership at BP – with chief executive Tony Hayward stepping down – would lead to a change in relations, Coe replied: “no”.