Glasgow to Host 2014 IAAF Diamond League

British Athletics have confirmed today that the London leg of the 2014 IAAF Diamond League will take place at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 11-12 July.

The event will become known as the Sainsbury’s Glasgow Grand Prix and will be supported by Sainsbury’s, asthma EventScotland and Glasgow City Council.

Tara Hewitt, order Head of Sponsorship at Sainsbury’s said: “As part of our new long-term relationship with British Athletics we’re delighted that the 2014 IAAF Diamond League is coming to Glasgow and will be known as the Sainsbury’s Glasgow Grand Prix.

“Just last month at the Sainsbury’s Glasgow International Match we saw the passion and enthusiasm of the Scottish crowd for athletics, and look forward to seeing this again in July and being part of such a momentous summer of athletics in Scotland.”

Protests Continue Against Washington Redskins Name

The controversy surrounding Washington Redskins name has continued after American indian groups protested outside Green Bay’s Lambeau Field before the NFL game on the weekend.

About two dozen people withstood the rain before Washington faced the Green Bay Packers, holding posters and handing out pamphlets to fans of both teams as they entered the stadium.

Green Bay officials earlier this week allowed the protestors to stand outside the stadium.

Some of the posters said, ‘Redskins refer to the scalps of my ancestors’ and ‘The R-Word is equal to the N-word’.

One poster placed Barack Obama over the team logo’s American Indian figure, with the text reading “Washington Blackskins. Yep, pretty RACIST.”

The protest comes on the back of a cause which has heated up in 2013, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell writing to the United States Congress defending the name and its history.

Washington owner Dan Snyder has gone public with his desire to keep the nickname, but Goodell has backtracked on his earlier statements.

“Ultimately, it is Dan’s decision. But it is something that I want all of us to go out and make sure we’re listening to our fans, listening to people who have a different view,” the commissioner told a Washington radio station last week.

The protestors are also planning to attend Washington’s visit to the Minnesota Vikings in November.

England to Host 2013 European Beach Tennis Championships

England is set to host their first European Beach Tennis Championships this summer.

The English south coast town of Brighton has been chosen by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), ailment Tennis Europe and the ITF to stage the event on 9-11 August.

The LTA will be working with Beach Tennis UK, viagra buy who have staged numerous coaching workshops and tournaments in Brighton, in running the sixth edition of the European Beach Tennis Championships.

Great Britain takes over from San Marino as host nation in a two-year agreement that will put the hosts alongside Italy as the only two nations to hold the Championships twice.

LTA President Peter Bretherton said: “Tennis is a fun, social sport, and Beach Tennis is a great example of this. We’re delighted that Great Britain is hosting the European Championships and we will use this opportunity to showcase our sport to a whole new audience.”

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “These Championships will provide an excellent opportunity to bring this relatively new brand of tennis into the public domain, and inspire more people to take up the sport both in Britain and throughout Europe.

“The European Beach Tennis Championships are a major highlight for players and we have no doubt that they will be eagerly awaiting the chance to showcase their talents on British sand.”

2014 Road World Championships to Take in Ponferrada Despite Financial Uncertainty

Following extensive doubts about the race, UCI, Cycling’s governing body has confirmed that the 2014 Road World Championships will take place in Ponferrada, Spain.

The news brings to an end concern that the bid was close to collapse due to the financial and economic problems in Spain. At the World Championships in September, the UCI granted the Spanish bid a 30 day period in order to meet certain contractual commitments. Last month the the regional council stepped in to guarantee funding by the mid-October deadline imposed by cycling’s governing body.

The UCI had threatened to withdraw its support for the Spanish bid unless contractual agreements were met, however the Castilla y León local government has added its endorsement and by October 31 will have paid one million euros and guaranteed the remaining four million.

“I am delighted to confirm that the Ponferrada organisers have responded quickly and efficiently to our request, providing us with the financial and organisational guarantees that we required,” UCI President Mr Pat McQuaid said in a press release on Thursday.

“We can now look forward with confidence to the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in one of our traditional cycling nations.”

However the UCI made clear in the press release that “this confirmation is on the condition that remaining guarantees are forthcoming.”

The 2014 UCI Road World Championships will be held from September 20th to 28th. The 2013 championship will be held in Florence, Italy from September 22nd to 29th.

Exclusive: Volvo Ocean Race COO Reveals Plans for Next Edition

Volvo Ocean Race Chief Operating Officer, story Tom Touber has revealed the organisations plans for the next edition of the sailing competition. 

In a three step-plan told exclusively to iSportconnect, ampoule he said: “Firstly, buy order we are aiming for a bigger fleet than in 2011-12, when we had six teams.

“Secondly, we want the race to be extended and commercially appeal to a broader audience, not only the sailing fanatics. We will put a lot more effort in bringing the race to the ordinary people and to make them feel part of what it takes to sail around the world at the highest level.

“Thirdly, we all know that the economic climate has changed during the course of the last two races, so we need a business model that is really lean and mean, and the one-design fleet is a part of that.

“Having said that, we still want to keep the race on the highest possible technological level, so we will still use cutting-edge technology and we will still have a very fast monohull, which is both exciting to watch and to sail.

“There will be a lot more efficiencies on the shore side too, meaning we can cut more costs.”

The Dutchman, who joined the Volvo Ocean Race team in late August, also revealed preparations are already underway for the next edition.

“We are fully into it; we have got a team supervising the build of the yachts, a team working on ship services, a team working on the whole media strategy, a team working on how to use the new in-boat technology provided to us for the next race, to bring the race alive to the audience, even in the off-shore legs. For us, it looks like the race is already starting now, ” he said.

“All the good teams are now on the quest for sponsorship, some of them are already in a very advanced stage.”

UFC 148 On-Course to Break Gate Records in Nevada

Saturday’s UFC 148 event, headlined by the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is expected to set a record gate for mixed martial arts in Nevada. 

According to Keith Kizer, Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director, UFC 148 will earn near $6.5 million in gross ticket sales, besting a 2006 rematch in the same venue between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz by $1.1 million he told ESPN.

The gate for Silva-Sonnen 2 will be barely more than half the $12.1 million record figure UFC established in 2011, when 55,724 fans packed Toronto’s Rogers Centre to watch Georges St. Pierre defend the welterweight title against Jake Shields. However, UFC 148 is the first MMA event in Nevada that will register among the state’s top 35 boxing gates. Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s split decision over Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 tops the list at nearly $18.5 million in gross sales. 

Zuffa, which owns and operates UFC, maintains 33 of Nevada’s top 35 MMA gates. Before being purchased by Zuffa in 2007, Pride, Japan’s most successful MMA organization, delivered consecutive $2 million gates at the Thomas & Mack Center. 

Fenerbahce Chairman Found Guilty of Match-Fixing

Turkish Soccer club Fenerbahce have remained embroiled in a match-fixing scandal after their chairman Aziz Yildirim was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of match-fixing and forming an illegal organisation, pill

He will not, click however have to serve the sentence.

A Turkish court reached the guilty verdict against Yildrim on Monday, link but Turkish law means the amount of time he had served in prison while awaiting trial – a year – represents enough of a portion of his sentence for him to be released from custody.

He was among 93 defendants, including club executives and players, being tried in the case. The court also convicted several other suspects, including the former Giresunspor president Olgun Peker, on similar charges.

The verdicts were delivered two months after the Turkish football federation cleared all 16 Turkish teams of involvement in alleged match-fixing.

The clubs were cleared because there was no evidence that alleged attempts to fix games had altered the course of 22 matches under suspicion.

Syracuse University Athletics Partner with TeamFanShop

A division of Fanatics, cialis Inc., asthma TeamFanShop the market leader in licensed sports e-commerce has signed a multi-year agreement with Syracuse University Athletics.

The deal between the Syracuse Orange and TeamFanShop includes a complete e-commerce package such as the online shopping platform, merchandising and inventory management, marketing solutions, and 24-hour customer service.

The Syracuse Orange team store, Shop.SUAthletics.com, is home to more than 650 quality-made team products across the most popular name brands in retail. Although the large assortment of officially licensed merchandise is prominent throughout the online Syracuse store, a great e-commerce site also incorporates the total customer shopping experience and TeamFanShop provides the tools to do just that. Syracuse fans can now enjoy flat rate shipping, 365-day returns and an unconditional satisfaction guarantee. The site also accepts all major credit cards and check cards, in addition to a Google Checkout payment option.

“We are pleased to unveil the newly transformed Syracuse Orange Athletics shop to our fans worldwide,” said Syracuse Associate Athletics Director of Marketing & Licensing Marc Donabella. “Uniting our athletics department with the extensive merchandising experience TeamFanShop brings to the table is an exciting time for Syracuse University.”

Nike and Original Retro Brand are two predominant brands featured on the Syracuse University Athletics storefront. The Nike Micro Store is a second Syracuse site which TeamFanShop launched at the same time, encompassing all Nike apparel for the Orange. Both sites highlight multiple departments for men, women and kids including game day wear, t-shirts, hats, jerseys, sweatshirts and more.

“With the help of our parent company, Fanatics, TeamFanShop is able to offer Syracuse University Athletics and all partners an incomparable service that combines sports licensing, manufacturing and e-commerce results,” commented Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Fanatics, Brian Swallow. “By utilizing retail strategy, we are confident in our efforts to grow the official fan shop of the Syracuse Orange.”

by Ismail Uddin

British Ice Hockey’s Coventry Blaze Look for Financial Help after Sponsors Fail to Pay

The future of British Ice Hockey team Coventry Blaze is in doubt after the club revealed they are under “immense and immediate” financial pressure.

The club is in financial turmoil because some of the sponsorship money they are due has not been received. Blaze are appealing for additional support from the local community.

They say without such help from as many people as possible it will be very difficult to continue operating.

A statement on its offical website read: “The current economic climate has hit everyone hard and we are certainly no exception.

“We have plans in place to reorganise and restructure all areas of our business to enable us to continue to provide the same fantastic level of excitement and support to the city but certain recent events, apoplectic largely outside of our control, viagra have put our club under immense and immediate pressure.”

With attendances at the Skydome having fallen 25% this season Blaze fans are being urged to turn up in force for the home game against Sheffield on Saturday.

Blaze are in their 12th season in Coventry having moved from Solihull at the beginning of the century.

They stepped up to the British Elite League in 2003 and have lifted the title four times.

Frank McCourt and MLB Reach Agreement to Sell LA Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball (MLB) reached an agreement late last night (Tuesday) to sell one of the sport’s most storied franchises.

This ended a seven-year run that included four trips to the postseason before recently becoming mired in legal troubles capped by a filing for bankruptcy protection.

A joint statement said there will be a “court-supervised process” to sell the team and its media rights to maximize value for the Dodgers and McCourt. The Blackstone Group LP will manage the sale, which could include Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots.

The announcement came as the Dodgers and MLB were headed toward a showdown in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware at the end of the month as mediation between both sides was ongoing.

McCourt and baseball Commissioner Bud Selig have traded barbs since MLB took control of day-to-day operation of the team in April over concerns about the team’s finances and the way it was being run. McCourt apparently realized a sale of the team he vowed never to give up was in his best interest and that of the fans.

McCourt filed for bankruptcy protection in June after the league rejected a 17-year TV contract with Fox, reported to be worth up to $3 billion, that he needed to keep the team afloat. Selig noted that almost half of an immediate $385 million payment would have been diverted from the Dodgers to McCourt.

The franchise’s demise grew out of Frank McCourt’s protracted divorce with Jamie McCourt and the couple’s dispute over the ownership of the team. The divorce, which played out in public in court, highlighted decadent spending on mansions and beach homes and using the team as if it were their personal credit card. They took out more than $100 million in loans from Dodgers-related businesses for their own use, according to divorce documents.

Last month, Jamie McCourt cut a deal with her ex-husband to settle their dispute over ownership of the team they bought in 2004 for about $430 million.

The terms of the settlement between the McCourts weren’t disclosed publicly, but a person familiar with it who requested anonymity because it’s not meant to be public told The Associated Press that Jamie McCourt would receive about $130 million. She also would support the media rights deal worth up to $3 billion.

That removed her from the number of opponents Frank McCourt was facing in bankruptcy court because Jamie McCourt had initially lined up behind MLB and Fox in asking the bankruptcy court to reject his bid to auction Dodgers television rights.

A new owner would be the third since Peter O’Malley sold the team to News Corp. in 1998. The Dodgers had remained in the O’Malley family since Walter O’Malley moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.