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headlines
Bernie Ecclestone of
Formula One fame may be part of a US$1.4 billion takeover of Arsenal FC. The
IOC is expecting Beijing 2008 to make record profits in excess of the US$220 million
achieved by LA in 1984. Nine-year-old Australian, Rhain Davis has moved with
his family to the UK and has been signed up by Manchester United FC. British
bookmakers and gaming firms are hoping that when the new Gambling Act comes into effect,
it will allow them to advertise during all televised sports events. Details to
follow. Iraq celebrated an historic victory as they beat
Saudi Arabia in the finals of the Asian Cup in Jakarta. The score 1-0. Brazil
submitted a 900 page dossier to FIFA as part of the application process to host the 2014
World Cup. Effectively, they are the only city in contention as FIFA introduced a
rotation between continents' format several years ago. Beijing 2008 has signed deals
with 10 domestic sponsors in addition to the 11 global sponsorship deals with the IOC.
Ex-England manager, Sven Ericksson has at last found a new job in the world of soccer and
to the surprise of many he remains in the UK to take on the role of manager at Manchester
City FC. The
softball tournament at the Pan-American Games in Rio Janeiro - delayed by wind and rain,
finally came to a premature end as officials gave up any hope of playing the final.
They declared the United States the winners thanks to their better previous record.
spotlight on: where
there's Becks there's bucks
Formerly known as the MetroStars, the Red Bulls had a
poor record when it was acquired last year by Austrian energy drink company Red Bull GmbH
for US$30 million. The team finished second to last in the league in the 2006 season;
however, Red Bull parent company appear to have committed resources to potentially go
all the way to make their team a success.
Currently ranked first in the seven-team Eastern conference, the Red Bulls play home
matches at Giant's Stadium at the Meadowlands (it has a capacity of more than 80,000)
although the average attendance at games is a mere 10,700.
This season the Red Bulls have attracted their largest crowd of the new season when David
Beckham (injury permitting) will makes his first and only scheduled tri-state-area
appearance as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 18, 2007.
30,000 tickets for the match had already been sold in July, including all the high-priced
seats on the sidelines and lower levels and the club is opening up sections of the venue
as demand increases.
No doubt attracting the many resident Brits who could never get the hands on tickets in
the UK, the Red Bulls have almost tripled this season's avg. following and this trend is
not limited to just the New York area. Mr Beckham's arrival has caused a surge in
ticket sales for soccer matches around the country; however, the question still remains:
will Becks fill all the seats and make inroads into his ambitious claims to make soccer,
America's fourth national sport? Only time will tell and as his injury shows little
sign of improvement, early enthusiasm for the sport may start to wane.
hot spot: where there's muck there's brass
The old adage that when the money stakes
are high, it can set a new tone. this may be true of the current standard of
behaviour by elite athletes and the many crises surrounding the majority of high profile
sports.
The latest in a series of revelations has brought much of sport to an almost standstill as
federations search fruitlessly for ways to bring their athletes back to the straight and
narrow.
For example: July 2007 found Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcon's star quarter back in a
Virginia courtroom pleading not guilty to charges that he and 3 other were running a
dogfighting ring.
The American football hero who signed a 10 year contract worth US$130 million back in 2004
and took his team to the National Football Championship game in the following year has
rocked the sports world; and if found guilty and convicted the superstar will face fines
of US$350,000 and more significantly, a maximum sentence of six year jail time.
Across the pond, the Tour De France faces its tour of shame as more and more competitors
and teams pulled out (or were pulled out) of the historic race.
And it is almost impossible to conceive why the European Community is considering giving
Sport a unique status which will allow it to self regulate without an independent court of
appeal. With so many examples of 'anarchy' in elite sport, it is difficult to
imagine how the industry can justify special status.
That message cam across loud and clear as international lawyers met at a conference
organized by World Sports Law Report and entitled "The Autonomy of Sport'; where it
was universally agreed by the legal fraternity - but not so by the politicians - that the
EC's watered down White Paper (ie. new legislation) would likely do little to clarify
anything.
hot shot:  on the
podium
It's difficult to
imagine a more unlikely dream becoming a reality. But the inaugural F1 season of
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) is more than dreams are made of. The most exciting new
driver to hit the circuit in recent years is proving to be a star with stamina.
Not only has he made the podium of every race except one; he has also claimed first prize
on three occasions.
But it is not just his performance that has hit the headlines. Rivalry between
Hamilton and his team-mate Fernando Alonso (McLaren) has become a very public affair
and rumour has it that it will last year's Fi title holder (Alonso) who will be
looking for a new employer next season rather than the new talent.
Of even wider concern is the dispute between McLaren and Ferrari as McLaren's designer
Mike Coughlan is reported to have shown several of his McLaren colleagues
confidential Ferrari technical drawings and documents.
Ferrari believes that Coughlan, should be held culpable alongside all the members of his
team and that would include the two top riders on the leader board.
Perhaps denying McLaren the Constructors Championship title may prove a more equitable
alternative; but if both Alonso and Hamilton make an early departure this season, there is
no doubt that it will prove a very unfavourable outcome for what can only be described as
a very 'exciting' season so far. Lining up behind the McLaren drivers are the kings
of the track in waiting: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).
sidelines: all PR is good PR - or perhaps not!
While South African, Oscar Pistorious is making his name on the
Paralympic circuit in a way never thought possible in the past, some of his elite
paralympic peers have been making a name for themselves in a completely different way.
 A British
Olympic Squad has allegedly become embroiled in a scam involving the tax-free sale of high
luxury cars.
The tax free break comes in the form of Vat-free purchases for those who are disabled.
The saving equal to 17.5 percent is then passed onto a car showroom and the two
sides share in the profits.
In sharp contrast, Pistorious is under some scrutiny by the sports federation as he
attempts to challenge the able-bodied athletes by taking them on in their own events.
Pistorius did not perform that well on a very wet track in Sheffield, England recently,
but he certainly demonstrated to the public at large that he is not that far behind some
of the best 400 metre runners in the world.
Pistorious is determined to go head-to-head with the able-bodied elite athletes; but first
he has to contend with the argument that his 'blades' give him an advantage over the
able-bodies Olympic sprinters.
What next!
fashion icon...... in
your own backyard
This year the Water Garden 'Infinity' Designed by Oliver and Liat Schurmann, Mount
Venus Nursery, Dublin won a RHS Award Silver-Gilt Flora at Hampton Court Flower Show 2007.
The concept for this garden - which would cost a mere US$150,000 - is a simple design
which incorporates the idea of a communal green for four adjoining residences, an office
complex, a hospital, restaurant, or any other place which would make good use of a
contemplative environment for recreation including jogging, walking and swimming.
So how does it work?
This simple and functional but also contemporary design was inspired by city green
spaces and canals. Designed as a series of infinite concentric circles going
from the outside into the center there is a path lined by a lush mature woodland planting
on either side; a raised circular swimming channel 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep; followed
by a circular reed bed filtration channel which encloses a sunken patio.
The perpetual circular path and circular swimming channel passes through a striking
repetitive planting scheme of up to 8m tall bamboo and trees under planted with woodland
perennials.
The whole garden design provides the false impression of 'Infinity' while at the same time
offering a very practical alternative to a very expensive health club!
home and away:  betting
on the brands
Sport has few boundaries and the
business of sport can sometimes defy the imagination of the man on the street. Or
can it?
The universal appeal of sport has now joined forces with the universality of the movies
and in this case the cartoon characters of Mickey Mouse.
Chelsea FC's ambition to become a household name across the world has been cemented in a
new trans-Atlantic relationship. Chelsea holds a unique status - for at least four
years: the official professional soccer club of the Walt Disney Company.
Whether the players would prefer not to risk becoming a parody of some of the more famous
cartoon characters is difficult to determine; however, the club is putting their money
behind this new enterprise. They have replaced Umbro - the team's kit manufacturer
(at a cost of US$50 million) and shirt sponsor Emirates Airlines with adidas and Samsung.
Sounds like a squeaky good idea to me!
sport
culture: sports movies
The latest sports movie to hit the
screens is The Flying Scotsman.
The biopic of champion cyclist Graema
Obree (Jonny Lee Miller) is based upon the cyclist's autobiography, 'Flying Scotsman:
Cycling to Triumph Through my Darkest Hours'. It is a brutally honest account of the
twice world champion's career, warts and all - including his attempted suicide.
Obree not only wrote the book but also trained Miller how to ride a bike. And his
involvement did not stop there. Obree built the bikes used in the record-breaking
film sequences and did the cycling in some of the more action sequences.
A candid account of the anguish of an elite athlete, this movie should be part of every
aspiring elite sportsman's and sportswoman's early education.
starting blocks the first of a new regime - perhaps?
By September 4, 2007, New York's Governor, Eliot Spitzer will have made his selection from
one of the four groups seeking 'ownership' of the state's lucrative racing franchise.
The New York Racing Association has held the franchise since 1955 and has operated;
the Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga thoroughbred tracks; however, when a casino operator
recently pulled out of a long delayed project to install thousands of video slot machines
at Aqueduct in partnership with NYRA, the requirements for the competing bidders had to be
revised.
The new kids on the block - Excelsior
Racing Associates, Empire Racing and Capital Play - are now considering whether they
should pool their resources to lay claim to the 'racing and gaming' crown which kicks off
at the start of 2008.
While Spitzer is not opening the selection process to
new groups, the the four contenders can apparently consider new partners to bolster their
bids. And there may end up being two winners in this race: one operator to run
racing, and another selected to run the video slot machines at one or more of the tracks.
life after..... drugs
Cycling has hit the headlines when it comes to drugs; and the sport is now in disarray, in
part due to the fact that sponsors no longer wish to be associated with tainted sports.
The American based Discovery Channel Team of which Lance Armstrong - seven times winner of
the Tour de France - was a member, has disbanded as it cannot find a replacement sponsor.
Blue chip German firms adidas and Audi are also considering their options; while
Teleoms corporation T-Mobile has decided to stick to cycling - at least for a while as
team members are being 'encouraged' to contribute part of their salaries towards
anti-doping initiatives.
Newly formed American Team 'Slipstream' is ensuring that their team is clean by testing
the riders every few days as part of a policy to commit to weekly tests by the independent
organization: the Agency For Cycling Ethics at a cpost of around US$20,000 per rider per
annum.
If it becomes necessary for any sport to go to such lengths to demonstrate that they have
cleaned up their act, it is a clear indication that cycling has reached the bottom of the
barrel and there's only one way to go: back to the top of the tree as an ethical and
exemplary elite sport.
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quiz on:
top of their class
1. The fastest ever 100m was run in what
time?
a. 9.6 secs; b. 9.67 secs; c. 9.77 secs
2. The fastest ever 200m was run in what time?
a. 19.12 secs: b. 19.32 secs; c. 19.52 secs?
3. How many athletes have run the fastest 100m time ?
a. 1; b. 2; c. 3
4. Who is the fastest 200m runner this year ?
a. Tyson Gay; b. Walter Dix; c. Usain Bolt
5. Name the athlete who has run the fastest 200m?
a. Michael Johnson b. Maurice Greene c. Xavier Carter?
6. Who ran the fastest ever women's 100m?
a. Veronica Campbell b. Florence Griffith-Joyner c. Veronica
Campbell
7. The fastest ever women's 100m was run in what time?
a. 10.39; b. 10.49; c. 10.59
8. Who ran the fastest ever women's 100m?
a. Florence Griffith-Joyner; b. Allyson Felix ; c. Kelly Holmes
9. The fastest ever women's 200m was run in what time?
a. 20.24: b. 20.34; c. 21.34
10. In which year did Paul Tergat run the fastest ever marathon at a time of
2:04:55 ?
a. 2003; b. 2005; c. 2007
answers below
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what's hot
Some sports take rain in their stride; but for others unexpected heavy
downpours can prove a very expensive washout.
English cricket suffered an enormous financial blow this summer as much of the game was
waterlogged.
Yet despite losses of the US$7 million and rising, the English and Wales Cricket Board can
count their blessings that lucrative broadcasting deals in recent years has led to a build
up of reserves well in excess of US$20 million.
Once again, TV rules when it comes to sport!
Sport encompasses many things; and one of the most important components of the
myth of sport is the dream of breaking world records.
Speed records are
probably top of that list and supremacy of the waves has been an age old tradition.
The world speed record for sailing was set by a 22 year-old Irish windsurfer in 2005. But
Finlan Maynard's French canal record of 48.7-knot (54mph) is just waiting to be broken by
45 year-old Frenchman, Alain Thébault in his 'flying' yacht Hydroptère.
The 60' Hydroptère has crossed the Channel in just over half an hour. Its unusual
design which allows it to rise up on its "wings" makes it a very strong
candidate for a record which always begs to be broken by man's dreams and imagination.
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One of the very quaint ideas attached to the Americas Cup, is that the winning team
decides the venue and rules for the next challenge.
And now, one of the key members of the London 2012 Olympic bid team, Keith Mills has
turned his attention to the Americas Cup where he and others are making an attempt to
break into this very prestigious race under the banner of Team Origin.
Back to its roots, it was through the Royal Thames Yacht Club (a bastion of Britishness)
that GB first made a challenge to claim the Americas Cup back in 1870; and it will
be the 33rd edition of the race which will be similarly 'chaperoned' should Miles be
successful in his ambitious and expensive attempt to 'get back into the race'.But he and his team's eligibility remain in
part in the hands of the 2007 winners.
Only time will determine their destiny.
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 Countdown the
Dateline
Coming up
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Quiz Answers
1C; 2B; 3B; 4A; 5A; 6B; 7B; 8A;
9C; 10A
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all the back issues:
Your chance to look back at some of the most recent back editions:
July 2007
 May 2007April 2007 
 March 2007
February 2007
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copyright:
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F1 takes on soccer
