The Rugby Football League have revealed their independent board of directors has ratified the changes to the competition structure of Super League and the Championship.

The 14 clubs of the now-named First Utility Super League announced last week that they had agreed for the competition to be reduced to 12 teams from the start of the 2015 season.

Those plans involve two teams being relegated at the end of the forthcoming season, while in 2015, two divisions of 12 – the Super League and the Championship – will split into three of eight two third of the way through.

A statement from the Rugby Football League read: “The RFL Board’s ratification means that two clubs will be relegated from the First Utility Super League at the end of the 2014 season, with the relegated clubs to be those finishing in 13th and 14th position after 27 rounds.

“Details of the decision, its impact on the clubs currently outside Super League, the mechanisms by which the Kingstone Press Championship will become a 12-team competition and the new format of Championship One will be outlined to the Championships clubs at a meeting on Thursday February 6.”

That meeting could well prove crucial as a number of other issues remain unresolved.

The governance of the game has yet to be sorted out – some clubs walked away from the negotiating table in October which led to restructuring talks breaking down – while questions remain over finance.

The so-called rebels were angry over plans to increase the Championship clubs’ allocation of funds from the Sky television deal.

Heinz Ketchup has revealed it will air a 30 second television commercial, allergy marking its first appearance in the Super Bowl in sixteen years and only the second appearance in the brand’s history.

“Heinz’s participation in the Super Bowl is an opportunity to remind consumers of the love they have for this iconic brand, therapy ” said Bill Ulrick, pharmacy Senior Brand Manager for Heinz North America. “The commercial investment is part of a larger effort to renew our commitment to engage with our great fans.”

The advertisement is part of a campaign encouraging ketchup fans to share how they enjoy Heinz products. 

The commercial was created by Heinz’s agency of record, Chicago-headquartered Cramer-Krasselt (C-K).

Rising Golf star, Lydia Ko, has signed with IMG Worldwide for management and marketing representation, it was announced today.

The 16-year-old South Korea was the top-ranked female amateur in the world for more than two years prior to turning professional. In 2012, at the age of 15 years, four months and two days, she became the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history at the CN Canadian Women’s Open, eclipsing the previous mark by 15 months. She defended her Canadian Open title in 2013, becoming the first amateur in LPGA history to win two events.

She also won the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at The Country Club outside Cleveland and is a three-time recipient of the Mark H. McCormack Medal, presented by the R&A and the USGA, as the leading women’s amateur golf in the world.

“I am excited to work with my new team at IMG as I embark on my professional career,” said Ko. “My family and I spoke with many candidates and IMG emerged as the clear choice to represent me, in large part because of their global reach. I am comfortable knowing that IMG will commit the appropriate resources to help my career excel while I focus on golf.”

“Lydia is an incredibly impressive young lady and an astonishing player. She has a wonderful family support team and we are absolutely delighted to be working for her. We will be employing all of our experience and our global resources to her benefit,” said Guy Kinnings, Global Head of Golf at IMG. “Her accomplishments to date are remarkable and IMG looks forward to helping Lydia achieve more success both on and off the course.”

Mexico may soon see the return of a Formula One race after FIA vice-president Jose Abed, who oversaw the previous iteration of the Mexican Grand Prix between 1986-92, believes that the race could return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, despite the reservations of Bernie Ecclestone, who insists that the venue is no longer up to F1 specification.

“We have plans ready to improve the circuit and, after they finish the work, we want to return to F1 in 2014,” Abed told Spanish newspaper AS, “The investment required [to improve] the racetrack is $20m, while we also have to find £30m [in sanctioning fees].”

While the holiday resort of Cancun has been mooted as an alternative to the capital, Mexico City has another advocate in Circuit of the Americas originator Tavo Hellmund, who last November also claimed that improvements to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez could be made in time to secure a place on the 2014 schedule.

“The track needs a facelift, but so many of the right components are in place,” Hellmund, whose father first took F1 to Mexico I the 1980s, explained to Austin’sStatesman newspaper on the eve of last year’s USGP, “I think it’s totally the right time. No one wants to waste the opportunity of having these drivers [Perez and Gutierrez]. The sky is the limit – [a race now] could potentially break every grand prix attendance record.”

Mumbai-based RN Sports Club, backed by a celebrity and a businessman, has revealed their intentions to purchase the Deccan chargers team outright and bypass the bidding process.

The club located in South Mumbai is willing to pay Rs 9-11 billion ($198 million) for the team and will have a meeting with Deccan Chronicle tomorrow.

According to the club’s marketing head Ankush Tripathi, the BCCI has also been informed of the intention.

“There is a clause in the bid document which allows a party to buy the franchise if the owners agree. We do not want to go through the bid process. RN Sports Club management is constantly in conversations with the BCCI and the Deccan Chargers management for this deal,” he tells Indiantelevision.com.

Tripathy believes the breakeven period can be achieved in three years. “The team will retain the same name and be based in Hyderabad. As per the terms in the bid document, this cannot be changed,” he says.

The club’s promoter is Vijay Barhate. The aim of R.N. Sports club is to promote cricket. “We have been wanting to purchase an IPL team since IPL-4, as we already conduct various successful talent hunt camps at an all India school level. We have also done talent hunt camps aboard, We have cricket coaching centres in several places including Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. We also have cricket academies in Mumbai. The aim of purchasing our own team is to promote the young cricketers of nation.”

Interestingly R.N. Sports Club had a deal with Rajasthan Royals for running a talent hunt. Tripathi says that the MoU expired and so the club chose not to renew it. Earlier Rajasthan Royals had said that it had terminated the deal over non payment of dues which Tripathi flatly denied. For him, owning a franchise is the next step.

Other names doing the rounds who could bid for the franchise include Videcon, Adani Group and former Satyam COO Srini Raju who is now Peepul Capital co-founder, chairman.

Following the 15th annual International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Congress held in Austin, nurse Texas, cialis a new governance structure will be adopted that will change the face of the sport internationally.

A total of 33 member countries from six continents attended the IFAF Congress and agreed to put in place a new structure that will see IFAF Europe, IFAF Asia, IFAF Africa, IFAF Americas and IFAF Oceania replace the existing continental federations. Elections were also held to identify individuals who will take IFAF forward on those continents.

IFAF President Tommy Wiking was reelected for a third term by a unanimous vote and will head a new five-person IFAF Presidium and a 12-person IFAF Executive Board, which includes the Chairmen of the continental federations and two members of the IFAF Athletes Commission.

“I am delighted that the IFAF members have again elected me as their President and put trust in my guidance and leadership,” said Wiking. “This is a very important time for IFAF with a period of change that is for the betterment of the game and the appeal we have made to earn International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition.”

Elected alongside Wiking as members of the IFAF Presidium were Senior Vice President Makoto Kaneuji (Japan), Vice President Roope Noronen (Finland), Treasurer Scott Hallenbeck (USA) and Secretary Elesa Zehndorfer (Great Britain).

Elected to the IFAF Executive Board as Chairmen of their respective continental federations were Michael Eschlboeck (IFAF Europe), Augustine Okoye (IFAF Africa), Pierre Robinette (IFAF Americas), Dr. KK Park (IFAF Asia) and Michael Ryan (IFAF Oceania).

The IFAF family of international federations swelled to 64 nations as Kuwait and Puerto Rico were welcomed as new members.

IFAF members also elected chairmen for Officiating, Competitions and Technical Committees along with additional positions within each IFAF continental federation.

IFAF member federations present at the 2012 IFAF Congress were: American Samoa, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and USA.

capsule helvetica, viagra cialis sans-serif;”>Premier League giants Liverpool FC and Manchester City will go head to head with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies in New York on 27th September. 

The four Beyond Sport Award nominees will be seeking an immediate financial boost for their respective foundations as they present to a distinguished audience of more than 200 influential figures gathered at Yankee Stadium for Beyond Sport United.? ?

Liverpool, cheap Manchester City, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Memphis Grizzlies have won through to the final stage of the Beyond Sport Award for Sport Team of the Year from a field of more than 30 nominated teams, each selected for their outstanding community work. 

In New York they will be stating their case to an audience of some of sport’s most influential figures, including NFL team owners, the presidents of franchises from across the US major leagues and representatives of some of the Premier League’s top clubs – more than 80 teams from around the world in all.? ?The four teams will be hoping to secure an immediate boost of more than $10,000 for their respective foundations by impressing that audience. 

StubHub, Presenting Partner of Beyond Sport United, will provide $50 Stand Dollars to every delegate in attendance, which the delegate will then award to the project whose presentation most impresses him or her. That means a total of more than $10,000 will be on immediate offer to the four teams’ foundations.? ?

Commented Alison Perris, Head of Community Relations for StubHub, said: “StubHub believes in the importance of giving back to the community and is proud to support and honour the excellent work these teams have done. We hope that by putting the power into the hands of delegates it will help to raise awareness of these programs and spark new ideas so sports teams can continue to both act as role models in their community as well as enact positive change.”? 

Mark Chester, Family Officer at Liverpool FC, said: “Although a global business, we are also still a community football club, and we work hard to support the people of our communities. Our Tactics 4 Families project specifically aims to inspire and encourage strong family relationships, and we are delighted that this much needed and innovative programme has been recognised by Beyond Sport as an example of pioneering community work. We are very excited about the prospect of presenting the project at Beyond Sport United and hearing about the excellent work of the other nominees.” ?

Jenny Koltknow, Executive Director of the Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation, added: “We are grateful to Beyond Sport for the opportunity to discuss Grizzlies TEAM UP with this esteemed group, and we congratulate our fellow shortlisted teams Liverpool, Manchester City and the Eagles. Grizzlies TEAM UP has changed so many lives in Memphis and made it possible for mentors and kids from vastly different backgrounds to form lifelong friendships. We hope to both inform and inspire members of the audience to support mentoring.”

Sarah Martinez-Helfman, Executive Director, Eagles Youth Partnership, explained: “Whether we play a sport with our feet, heads or hands, we all play with heart and the Philadelphia Eagles hearts are in it to win it. $10,000 would provide eyeglasses and a new book to more than 300 children through our Eagles Eye Mobile programme and that would be a huge win for kids.”? ?

Nick Keller, Founder of Beyond Sport, added: “Sports teams don’t just have an impact on the morale of the cities they are in. They have the potential to play a significant role in social change. These four teams are of the highest quality and the StubHub funds will be a significant boost for some fantastic community projects.” ?

Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA); the National Football League (NFL); the National Hockey League (NHL); Major League Soccer (MLS); and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) are all signed on as Founding Supporters of Beyond Sport United – the first time the major US sports leagues have collaborated around the issue of sport and social change.? ?

Sports Illustrated has backed the initiative as Official Media Partner.? ?Beyond Sport United is also partnered with executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.? ?The Beyond Sport Summit and Awards 2011, the third annual gathering of its kind, will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 5th – 8th December.

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Federal prosecutors have dropped all the remaining charges against Barry Bonds on Wednesday, days after a judge upheld the all-time home runs leader conviction on an obstruction of justice count.

The U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco filed court papers informing U.S. District Judge Susan Illston it was dismissing the three charges of making false statements still pending against Bonds. A jury deadlocked on the three counts at Bonds’ trial in April.

The deadline for prosecutors to start the process for a retrial on those charges was about 30 days away. Now, Bonds won’t face a new trial on accusations that he lied to a grand jury back in 2003 when he testified that he never knowingly received steroids or human growth hormone from trainer Greg Anderson, and that no one other than his doctors ever injected him with anything.

Bonds’ lawyer, Allen Ruby, said that his client’s legal team was focused on the slugger’s sentencing hearing in December. Ruby declined to discuss whether Bonds intended to appeal the obstruction conviction.

A majority of jurors this year voted to acquit him on charges he lied when he denied knowingly taking steroids and human growth hormone. The jurors voted 11-1 to convict him for denying that anyone other than his doctor ever injected him.

Bonds faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, though federal guidelines recommend a sentence of 15 to 21 months.

Prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed the counts “without prejudice,” meaning they could reinstate the charges before the statute of limitations expires. However, that’s a routine legal maneuver when dismissing criminal charges and dropped cases are rarely reinstated.

Attorney William Keane, who represented Graham, said it’s highly unlikely prosecutors will reinstate the charges, and that he expects Bonds won’t go to prison even though prosecutors are expected to argue for that.

“Given that the core part of the case hung and given the other sentences in the BALCO cases,” Keane said, “Bonds has a reasonably good chance of avoiding prison time.”

Peter Keane, a Golden Gate University law professor, said he was “a little surprised” that prosecutors decided to drop the charge on which jurors voted 11-1 to convict Bonds.

“But at the end of the day, he’s a convicted felon and was shown to have obstructed a federal grand jury,” Keane said. “The prosecutors won.”

More than 250,000 people who applied for London 2012 tickets have missed out entirely after the vast majority of money was taken from accounts at midnight last night, May 31.

Among some of the high profile unlucky applicants were triple Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, with the former stating on Twitter: “No Olympic tickets for the wife and kids to watch Team Pursuit, oh well sorry kids going to have to watch dad on the telly!”

Johnson was another to miss out on Olympic tickets in the random ballet though he claimed that this showed the ticket system was fair and really was a lottery, adding: “Clearly it’s been a massively popular thing and there’s no surprise the event has attracted so much demand for tickets but I’m massively disappointed and cheesed off.

“I am proud to be British. No other country or culture in the world would have a situation where the Mayor of the host city goes into a ballot for tickets for his family and gets rejected. I’m more than eager now to resubmit in July and have another crack and I fail I will reapply again. By hook or by crook I’m going to get into these Olympics.”

In total, there were 20 million ticket applications from 1.8 million people for the 6.6 million tickets available to the public via the controversial ballot, but London 2012 has claimed that the quarter-of-a-million that have been left ticketless will be contacted by email and offered an ‘exclusive window’ later this month to buy tickets for events where demand was relatively low.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: “Of course I understand that people who have not got tickets this morning will be extremely disappointed.

“But they will have first priority if they re-apply.”

Sports where tickets will still be available include football, volleyball, handball, basketball and hockey, but sessions in smaller arenas, such as the 6,000-seat Velodrome, have virtually sold out.