Sky Ride, a series of recreational cycling events and local rides from British Cycling and Sky which have succeeded in getting over 700,000 people into cycling – was named ‘Campaign of the Year’ at last night’s Bike Biz awards.

Reacting to the news, Stewart Kellett, British Cycling’s Director of Recreation and Partnerships, said: “This is fantastic news. The philosophy behind Sky Ride events and the goskyride.com website is simple. No matter who you are or where you live, we’re got thousands of fun and easy ways to get on a bike. You can enjoy a mass participation Sky Ride city centre bike ride, or enjoy a Sky Ride local led ride with British Cycling ride leaders, or join a new online social network and get together with other cyclists for informal rides wherever you are. All of this is supported by a huge marketing and behavioural change campaign – the biggest ever national promotion of cycling for fun.

“Over 200,000 people every year take part in our programmes and this award is great recognition of everything that we’ve achieved. I want to thank all the supporting local authorities, participants, ride leaders and volunteers who’ve worked hard to make Sky Ride activities such a success.”

Sky Ride was up against stiff competition for the award as the Times’ Cities Fit for Cycling was also nominated in the same category.

Over the past year the British Cycling and Sky ‘Sky Ride’ programme has worked in partnership with 45 local authorities to promote and deliver cycling opportunities.

• They set up over 1,700 free community bike rides for anyone to join, delivered16 mass participation traffic-free city centre events and created a social network for cycling Social Cycling Groups. 

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) says it is “extremely disappointed” by the legal challenge made by the International RS:X Class Association against its decision to drop windsurfing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The sport’s world governing body announced in May that the class would be replaced by kiteboarding after London 2012.

The decision was met by surprise and frustration within the windsurfing fraternity and has been challenged by the International RS:X Class Association.

ISAF said in a statement on Thursday.

“ISAF intends to fully defend the decision of the ISAF council.

“ISAF expects the normal submission process to be used in order to ask council to reconsider its decisions and therefore ISAF is extremely disappointed that this course of action has been taken.

“Initiating legal action in the middle of the Olympic Games might damage not only the performance of the affected sailors but also the reputation of sailing in general.”

As the midway point of the 2012 Major League Baseball season nears, the Boston Red Sox remain the most expensive ticket in baseball according to data compiled by Ticket Liquidator, the second-largest ticketing website on the secondary market. 

The Red Sox are the only Major League team to top the century mark at an average ticket price of $101.11 in 2012, more than 26 percent more expensive than the next-most-expensive ticket — the New York Mets at an average ticket price of $80.15. Rounding out the top five are the Toronto Blue Jays at an average ticket price of $76.51, the Chicago Cubs at an average ticket price of $74.57, and the New York Yankees at an average ticket price of $71.15. The cheapest ticket in baseball is the Pittsburgh Pirates at an average price of $33.21.

Despite being the most expensive ticket in baseball, the Boston Red Sox have sold the third-most tickets on Ticket Liquidator during the first half of the 2012 season. The only teams outpacing the Red Sox in total tickets sold are the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, who have sold the most. The team who has sold the least amount of tickets on Ticket Liquidator during the first half of 2012 is the Oakland Athletics. A variety of reasons exist why the Red Sox tickets are so much more expensive than all the other teams, but one obvious factor is supply and demand. Fenway Park, which celebrates its’ 100-year anniversary in 2012, is one of the smallest stadiums in baseball, with a seating capacity of 37,495. In contrast, Yankee Stadium has a capacity of 50,921.

Tickets for the 2012 MLB All Star game at the Kansas City Royal’s Kauffman Stadium have also been in high demand, as Kauffman Stadium’s capacity of 37,903 is similar to Fenway Park. The All Star game takes place on July 10, 2012, as baseball fans get a chance to see the return of former St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa as he comes out of retirement to coach the National League. Tickets for the 2012 MLB All Star Game have sold for an average price of $469.33 on Ticket Liquidator. 

AFL club Carlton has been fined $(AU) 7500 because three of its players players used social media to criticise AFL umpires.

Marc Murphy, Jarrad Waite and Jeremy Laidler used their Twitter accounts to vent their feelings over the officiating.

AFL football operations manager, Adrian Anderson, warned that players will face the same disciplinary measures for criticising officials via social media as they would for comments made in interviews or press conferences.

“A player’s use of social media to make comments around umpiring will be subject to the AFL’s rules in exactly the same way as comments made in a formal interview or any other media environment,” Anderson said.

“The AFL competition must continue to set a positive example on conduct towards umpires.”

Carlton coach Brett Ratten has received a formal warning for comments about officials he made during his press conference last Thursday.

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Sportswear giant Nike Inc has announced plans to develop a headquarters in Shanghai, discount China.

The investment is a key part of Nike’s business growth strategy in the region.

Nike celebrated the landmark of 30 years of business in China in 2011, and, last June, accrued more than $2 billion in revenue for the first time in the area. In addition, in its second quarter FY12 earnings, Nike reported a 35% increase in its revenue in the region.

VP & GM of Nike’s Greater China geography Craig Cheek has stated, “This announcement is very exciting and a strategic investment in our continued growth in China.

“This new campus headquarters will allow us to elevate and expand on our facilities and capabilities while bringing all of our Shanghai based employees together from our portfolio of Nike Inc. brands into one central campus.”

The centralized campus will span nearly 600,000 square foot and will be located at Tishman Speyer’s newest development, The Springs in Shanghai’s Yangpu District.

Tishman Speyer co-CEOs Jerry Speyer and Rob Speyer expressed their delight at Nike’s committment.

“When we broke ground on The Springs in June, we were confident that world-class companies would recognize the value and importance of establishing a presence in Shanghai.

“The creation of the Nike Greater China Headquarters at The Springs underscores the strength of this market and importance of this development to the Shanghai business as well as residential communities. We’re thrilled that Nike, one of the world’s great global brands and companies, will be an anchor in this development and look forward to a long-term relationship”.

Nike expects to occupy the new space from the first quarter of 2014.

The Dallas Stars ice hockey team, sale cialis the last professional sports club owned by former billionaire Thomas Hicks have filed for bankruptcy.

The Stars are the fifth professional sports team to file bankruptcy in the last two years. The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team filed in June, drug the Texas Rangers baseball team filed last year, Phoenix Coyotes hockey team filed in 2009 and the Chicago Cubs baseball team filed in 2009, one year after former owner Tribune Co. went bankrupt.

The team listed assets and debt of $100 million to $500 million in Chapter 11 documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The Dallas Stars said it has filed a “prepackaged” reorganization plan, the company said in a release. Stars officials are seeking to sell the team at an auction. The lead bidder at that auction will be Dallas Sports & Entertainment LP, according to court papers.

Stars officials said in a statement on its website today that they plan to sell the National Hockey League (NHL) team to Vancouver-based businessman Tom Gaglardi and his family. Gaglardi is chairman and chief executive officer of Sandman Hotels, Inns & Suites.

The company and its units’ 30 largest creditors without collateral backing their claims are owed about $58.5 million, according to court documents. CFV I LLC, is the biggest with a claim of $51.7 million. Other creditors include the New York Rangers Hockey Club, with a claim of $2 million, and Marc Crawford, with a claim of $1.1 million for contract termination obligations, court papers show.

Alex Rodriguez’s past catches up with him as he will meet with Major League Baseball officials this week in Baltimore to discuss allegations the New York Yankees’ All-Star third baseman took part in illegal poker games.

“I’ll be talking to you guys on Friday afternoon,” Rodriguez told reporters yesterday. “I can’t wait.”

Rodriguez missed last night’s 6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics with a sprained left thumb. He hurt himself fielding a ground ball at Minnesota on Aug. 21, his first game since returning from July 11 knee surgery.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig acknowledged the investigation of the allegations against Rodriguez this month. “We take this matter very seriously,” Selig’s office said in an e-mail.

Rodriguez, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, in 2005 said he frequently used illegal gambling venues. He said at the time that it was a mistake and that he “would never be back.”

Rodriguez, 36, played in at least two high-stakes games, according to a report on celebrity website RadarOnline.com citing poker professional Dan Bilzerian and another unidentified eyewitness. Rodriguez also helped organize and participated in a 2009 poker game in Miami.

MP & Silva have required the broadcasting rights from leading Brazilian media company Globo, to show top-flight Brazilian soccer across six Asia-Pacific territories. Amongst the nations which the top sports marketing and media company will cater for will be Indonesia and Australia.

Two live matches from the top Brazilian league, Campeonato Brasileiro de Serie A, will be shown in each round as part of the rights package. The company will also distribute Globo’s ‘Brazilian Football Magic’ programme along with highlights packages.

Carlo Pozzali, chief executive of MP & Silva Americas stated: “We strongly believe that Brazilian club football possess huge potential in the global marketplace, particularly in Asia. With Brazil hosting the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the domestic economy continuing its robust growth, there is major investment being channelled into Brazil’s domestic football and its supporting infrastructure.

“Brazilian clubs will be in a strong position to retain their best players and we believe that our partnership with Globo will further develop the Brasileirao by opening up new international markets and unlocking new revenue streams through stronger media distribution to Asian channels and broadcasters.”

 

PyeongChang’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games has signed a sponsorship deal with GS Group, the seventh largest privately owned company in South Korea.

GS Sport, a subsidiary of GS Group, already owns the FC Seoul football team as well as the GS Caltex Seoul women’s volleyball team.

President and chief executive of GS Sport, Chong Soo Chung, said: “We are excited to be involved with the Pyeongchang bid as the race to host the Games gathers momentum.

“We look forward to working with the business community in Korea and fellow sponsors of Pyeongchang 2018 to provide full support for the bid in the coming months.”

Chairman and chief executive of the bid committee, Yang Ho Cho, added: “The GS Group are a global business leader and they will provide excellent support to the bid over the course of the campaign.

“This is another sign that the business community in Korea is fully committed to the 2018 bid and I am excited to work with the new sponsors to promote the campaign in the lead up to the International Olympic Committee decision in July next year.”

PyeongChang is bidding against Annecy, France, and Munich, Germany, to host the event in 2018.