Turnberry Returns as Women’s British Open Host in 2015

Turnberry’s famous Ailsa course has been announced today as the venue for the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open for only the second time in the Championship’s history.

The Ayrshire resort was last home to the Women’s British Open Championship in 2002 when Australia’s Karrie Webb won this prestigious title for a third time.

Shona Malcolm, health the LGU’s CEO said, pills “We are delighted to be returning to Turnberry which has welcomed the Championship back with great enthusiasm. This decision continues the Championship Committee’s commitment to ensuring that the world’s best women players showcase their talents on the world’s best golf courses in years to come. As the history books show, Turnberry provides a wonderful stage for Major golf and I am sure we will see another dramatic Championship in 2015. We are grateful to EventScotland for its continued support and to South Ayrshire Council for recognising the value to business and tourism in hosting a Championship of this quality.”

Jordi Tarrida, General Manager, Turnberry Resort, added, “We are very proud of our reputation as one of the world’s most renowned golf resorts and our history as a Major Championship venue. Hosting the Women’s British Open in 2002 was a fantastic experience so we are delighted to be working once again with the LGU and IMG and bringing the 2015 Championship back to Turnberry.”

The 2015 event will see the Championship played in Scotland for the third time in five years following Carnoustie in 2011 and St Andrews this year. Scotland’s regular hosting of the event is part of a 10-year investment by EventScotland which will see the Championship played in the Home of Golf every second year until 2019.

Sergio Perez Hopes Former Backer Telmex Will Sponsor McLaren

New Mclaren-Mercedes driver, Sergio Perez has admitted he hopes Telmex becomes a major sponsor of the team.

With the British squad set to lose its Vodafone title sponsorship at the end of the season, Perez’s links to billionaire Carlos Slim, who owns Telmex, may lead the telecommunications company to sponsor the team.

Asked if that assumption is adding pressure to his shoulders, team newcomer and 23-year-old Perez said: “No, on the contrary. Pressure and criticism is just normal.

“Hopefully Telmex will be at my side again soon,” he told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

“I’ve been with them all through my career, practically since I started, so I’m a little sad they are not with me this year, because the team still has a contract with Vodafone.

“I would love to see the blue on my car again.”

Perez insisted he is not bothered that some people think his Telmex connection is the only thing that got him into F1 with Sauber, and subsequently into a top car with McLaren.

“I don’t want to prove anything to the people who think that,” he insisted.

“If you think that, then you think that Fernando is only at Ferrari because of Santander.

“I don’t think it influenced the decision to hire me; I don’t think McLaren is desperate to find sponsors.

“They are the best team in terms of marketing. Any big company wants to be here,” added Perez.

NBA Continues Global Push with Eight Games in Six Countries

The National Basketball Association (NBA) have revealed today that NBA teams will play eight pre-season games in six countries this October.

The games will include the first-ever NBA preseason games to be held in Brazil and the Philippines, ailment and in the cities of Bilbao, Spain and Manchester, England.

In addition to oncourt action, the NBA global games will feature a variety of events off the court, including NBA Cares community outreach activities and interactive fan events in each city. They will also be supported by a variety of marketing and promotional partners, and will be available to fans on television and through digital media.

“Providing fans with an authentic NBA experience is an important part of our efforts to grow the game globally,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “This fall, nearly a third of our teams will embark on a global tour that will celebrate the game of basketball, give our international fans a chance to connect with NBA teams and players, and leave a lasting impact in each of the communities we visit.”

The NBA global games schedule tips off with three games in Europe in collaboration with long-time partner Euroleague Basketball that will feature the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers. Oklahoma City will open the schedule in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 5 with a game against five-time Turkish champion Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul at the Ulker Sports Arena. Philadelphia will be the first NBA team to play in Bilbao when they take on Uxue Bilbao Basket on Oct. 6 at the Bizkaia Arena at the BEC. The Thunder and 76ers complete their European schedule with a game against each other on Oct. 8 in Manchester at the Manchester Arena. For the second year in a row the NBA’s series of games in Europe will be presented by BBVA, the league’s official bank partner.

“We are very happy to continue our successful collaboration with the NBA,” Roser Queraltó, Euroleague Basketball Chief Business Development Officer, stated. “Since 2006 we have offered our fans the opportunity to enjoy games with teams coming from the best leagues in the world and bringing basketball to an international stage with the aim of continuing its enormous growth. I am sure that our fans in Istanbul and Bilbao will enjoy these games.”

The Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets will begin their preseason slate with a game in Manila, Philippines on Oct. 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena. The game will mark the first time an NBA team has traveled to the Philippines since the then-Washington Bullets played against a Philippine Basketball Association All-Star team in 1979. The Pacers and Rockets will then travel to Taipei for a game on Oct. 13 at the Taipei Arena, marking the second NBA game played in Taiwan.

The Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards face each other on Oct. 12 in the first-ever NBA game in Brazil at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The game will be a homecoming for the Wizard’s Brazilian native Nenê.

The NBA global games will conclude with two games in China between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. The teams will play on Oct. 15 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing, then travel to Shanghai for a game at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Oct. 18.

To date, the NBA has staged 138 preseason and regular-season games in 19 countries and territories across Europe, the Americas and Asia since 1978.

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Sky’s Indian Tour Coverage Faces Broadcast Fee Obstacle

Sky TV’s coverage of England cricket’s tour of India faces complications because of a late demand from the Indian cricket board for fees reportedly exceeding US$800,000 for the broadcaster’s commentary team to work in the stadiums.

Sky’s broadcast team includes former England Test captains Ian Botham, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton.

Sky is reportedly reluctant to pay the fee and may have to accept local commentary or deploy its own team from a studio outside India.

Sky may be denied its usual pitch-side discussions and player interviews at the venues. But there are no problems with Sky’s access to a live feed of pictures from the Tests, which it is the UK rights holder of. The Tests begin November 15.{jcomments on}

 

Dallas Cowboys Reach Major Milestone in Forbes Most Valuable Team List

The Forbes Magazine has announced that the Dallas Cowboys have become the first American sports franchise worth more than $2 billion.

The Cowboys, who begin their season tonight against the Super Bowl champions New York Giants have remained NFL’s most valuable team for the sixth consecutive year with their overall worth increasing to 14 per cent to $2.1 billion.That’s about $1 billion higher than the average NFL team value, $1.11 billion, up 7 per cent.

Only Manchester United of the English Premier League, at $2.24 billion, is more valuable than the Cowboys, according to Forbes’ surveys. And Man U’s owners, the Glazer family, also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are $1.033 billion, 18th in the NFL.

New TV contracts, the collective bargaining agreement signed last year that will last a decade, and higher premium seating revenue contributed to the increases. Every franchise except the Cincinnati Bengals increased in value; the Bengals stayed the same at $871 million, which ranks 26th overall.

With new stadiums in the works for the Vikings and 49ers, their values skyrocketed. Minnesota had a 22 per cent increase to $975 million, while San Francisco moved up 19 per cent to $1.175 billion.

Jimmy Haslam III bought the Cleveland Browns this summer for $1 billion, $13 million more than the value Forbes placed on the team, which ranks 21st.

Shahid Khan purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars for $770 million in January. Forbes values them at exactly that — the least valuable franchise in the league, $10 million less than the St. Louis Rams.

Rounding out the top five are New England ($1.635 billion), Washington ($1.6 billion), the New York Giants ($1.468 billion) and Houston ($1.305 billion).

Memphis Tigers to Move into Big East Conference in 2013

The NCAA’s Memphis Tigers will be moving from Conference USA and instead joining the Big East Conference in all sports in 2013.

An official announcement is expected tomorrow at 1 pm, with a news conference in Memphis to follow.

Memphis will be joining a host of other schools headed for the Big East in the upcoming years, Central Florida, Houston, SMU, Navy, San Diego State, and Boise State. Many believed that even with the addition of the other schools, the addition of Memphis was crucial for the Big East’s survival as a conference due to the losses of West Virginia (Big 12), Pittsburgh and Syracuse (ACC).

With Big East approval guaranteed, Memphis still has yet another hurdle to climb; the Conference USA exit fee. Memphis will be forced to pay the conference’s $500,000 fee plus a share of their television rights revenue, putting their total exit fee at a little over $6.5 million.

Memphis has been trying to move from Conference USA since being snubbed when the Big East expanded in 2005, losing a longtime rivalry with Louisville. A departure now would be pricey for the Tigers. The exit fee from Conference USA for 2013-14 is $500,000 plus Memphis’ share of television rights revenue, which is approximately $6.13 million, according to a league spokeswoman.

by Ismail Uddin

Former Tour de France Winner Landis Gets Suspended Sentence in Hacking Scandal

Former Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has been handed a one-year suspended jail sentence for ordering the hacking of a French anti-doping laboratory.

The American, herbal who was stripped of his 2006 Tour title after failing a dope test, medicine was found guilty by a French court of masterminding the hacking into the computer of the lab that found abnormal levels of testosterone in his system.

His former manager Arnie Baker was handed the same sentence. The duo, along with others involved, will have to pay a total of 75,000 euros ($101,891.099) in damages to the Chatenay-Malabry lab.

UEFA Appoint InfrontRingier as Euro 2012 Hospitality Sales Partner

InfrontRingier Sports & Entertainment Switzerland, the new joint venture between Infront Sports & Media and Ringier, has been named the Official Corporate Hospitality Sales Partner serving Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the 2012 UEFA European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. 

InfrontRingier will be the first point of contact for companies from Switzerland and Liechtenstein that are interested in being live on-site when Europe’s best 16 national soccer teams compete in next year’s tournament.

The Corporate Hospitality packages for the UEFA EURO 2012 comprise prime-location seats for the respective games as well as gourmet cuisine and impeccable services in the stadium.

There are two main categories available: Club Prestige Platinum and Club Prestige Gold, which will include access to a private skybox or business hospitality area, respectively. Customers will be able to choose diverse options including seats, matches and/or stadiums.

Only approximately four percent of available tickets are reserved for corporate hospitality, distributed over the course of the championship over the eight stadiums hosting the games.

WTA Dress Up with British Fashion Council Deal

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the British Fashion Council has unveiled a partnership celebrating the connection between the stars of the sport and the world of fashion.  

A select group of WTA stars will be dressed in customised dresses, created specifically for them by British designers including Stella McCartney, Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Giles Deacon, Matthew Williamson, Richard Nicoll, Hussein Chalayan, and David Koma.

The aim of the collaboration is to feature British designers, raise the off-court profile of the stars of women’s tennis, and extend the link between the sport and fashion.

Stacey Allaster, chairman and CEO of the WTA, said: “The WTA’s partnership with the British Fashion Council provides our players with a unique opportunity to work with some of London’s most talented creative minds.

“Women’s tennis has always had a link to the fashion of the time, and we are very pleased to be able to collaborate with the British Fashion Council to share our players’ interest in fashion and style with some of the world’s best fashion designers.”

The designer-player partnerships have been established based on the cultural similarities or previous working relationships of players with certain fashion personalities.  

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will continue her collaboration with Stella McCartney as the face of adidas by the designer, while five-time Wimbledon Champion Serena Williams will wear a special dress created for her by Burberry.

Jerome Pels Resigns as ISAF CEO

Jerome Pels, discount the Chief Executive Officer of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), viagra buy has quit his position after more than 17 years with the organisation. 

Jerome, apoplectic | who took over the position in 2008, has decided to pursue other professional challenges.

“After 17 years I believe I have accomplished most of which an individual can accomplish at any organization,” noted Pels. “I started in 1997 and leave having been for the last 6 years the highest ranking executive of ISAF. I have made countless friends, visited more places than I could ever have imagined and faced numerous challenges most of which I am pleased to say I was able to overcome.

“I leave behind a healthy organization and a great staff whom I will dearly miss. I am certain they will continue the outstanding performance which I have always counted on. I wish to thank in particular, my colleagues in the ISAF Secretariat, the Executive Committee who placed their confidence in me, and everyone whom I’ve been privileged to meet and deal with over the last 17 years. It is time for me to seek new professional challenges.”

Managing a complex organization like ISAF is not an easy task at the best of times. With 142 member national organizations, more than 100 ISAF classes, and a very professional and dedicated cadre of International Race Officials, ISAF is unique amongst international sports federations.