December 2006 Edition

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The German Organizing Committee for the World Cup 2006 announced a post tax profit of around US$75 million. Demand in response to the release of an additional 550,000 tickets for the group stages and quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup 2007 resulted in a prompt crash of the www.france2007.fr website. It looks increasingly likely that Tour de France 'title holder', Floyd Landis will be the first winner to lose his yellow jersey for a doping offence. Evander Holyfield has returned to the ring for his 50th professional fight as a stepping stone in his attempt to become the first boxer to claim a world champion title for the fifth time?  Betfair is in the process of acquiring the sixty year old family owned, Portway Press Ltd for close to US$15 million. The company publishes Timeform and other related racing publications Dublin, Ireland will host the next biennial Gay Rugby World Cup.  They expect around 2,000 spectators to enjoy the action.

spotlight on: boxing rules

In the spirit of transparency, fairplay and perhaps good television, the WBC is moving towards a more open display of decisions for professional boxing bouts.  At a recent annual convention it was decided that the 'running' scores of WBC title fights will be made public at certain points during the fight: at the end of the 4th and 8th rounds.  The three judges verdicts often appear very subjective and 'surprise' results can appear incongruous to the average spectator.   With a more public system there may be fewer shocks - but only time will tell if it takes the edge off a viewing sport which relies upon close rounds and no knockout.  So here's how it works.  After each round, the three judges decide who has delivered the most frequent and most powerful punches; and that person normally wins it 10-9.  If a winner of the round scores a knockdown or it was one-sided, the round is scored 10-8; and if there are two knock downs in a round it is scored 10-7; and an even round is scored 10-10.   Confused?  Well, to add to the mix - if the round looks level, a judge can also reward one boxer for their aggression.
Whether this additional information throughout the fight will reduce the number of surprise decisions is open to debate.  And although the 'end game' may prove even more confusing than before; there is no  doubt that the intentions are honorable.  

hot spot:plastic! fantastic!

hot shot: transferable assets?

Dwain Chambers, the 28-year-old, who failed a test for the banned steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in 2003 returned to action after a two-year ban 2006 at the European Championships in Gothenburg; where the former European 100m champion (and at one time 'fastest in the world') came seventh in the 100m and was a member of the squad that won the 4x100m relay gold.
While UK Athletics may be prepared to give Chambers another chance, the sprinter has other options in mind. He joined an NFL football camp in November 2006 as he looked to a new career in American Football. His agent Cubie Seegobin said that Chambers may now not return to athletics, as has to pay back (from future track earnings) any prize money he won while competing on steroids.  The doping violation also means that he is banned for life from the Olympics.
Chambers has been invited back for a further session with NFL Europe in January 2007. If he makes 'the cut' he will then join a six-week camp in Florida which could see him allocated to one of six teams - Amsterdam Admirals, Berlin Thunder, Cologne Centurions, Frankfurt Galaxy, Hamburg Sea Devils or Rhein Fire. And from his brief performance so far, his speed is seen by the NFL Europe as 'really impressive'.
NFL Europe is a feeder league for the NFL, Each team has 48 players - 42 of them young Americans from NFL teams who are sent to Europe to gain experience and the remaining six "international players". Only one international player has made it from NFL Europe to NFL - Constantin Ritzmann - who played for the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons.
Chambers is deadly serious about pursuing a career in American Football.  In contrast to the average earnings of US$10,000 to US$15,000 approx. for a player in NFL Europe, the NFL (proper) in America, pays first-year professionals a minimum of US$250,000; and this can grow to many millions p.a. Chambers has his role model Renaldo Nehemiah in his sightlines: The NFL player followed a 'track record' in athletics (when he became the 110m world record holder) with a successful career with the San Francisco 49ers .
While Chambers has his work cut out to become one of the best 70 or 80 NFL Europe players who will then be invited to a six-week training camp in Florida in March before 48 are offered contracts with teams; his 'track record' may prove to be his biggest hurdle.

sidelines the illegal import/export market

fashion icon...... double amputees

The achievement of double amputee athletes know no limits as technology makes everything seem possible.
Heading up the list of sporting achievers is marathon man, Richard Whitehead, who will replace his everyday prosthetics with a pair of specially adapted running legs.  It is the US$20,000 of high technology, state-of-the-art, carbon fibre C-shaped Flex-Run artificial limbs that facilitates his agility.
The same sense of achievement was recently experienced by 40-year old Italian ex-Formula One driver, Alex Zanardi, who lost his legs when he was racing in 2001 in the CART Series.
Zanardi - who last drove F1 in 1999 - completed his return to the track last month when he became the first double amputee to test drive a Formula One car around 14 laps of the Cheste Circuit in Valencia, Spain.  The car of choice was a modified BMW-Sauber.

home and away  new money finds its level

There is no question that 'new money' is attracted like a magnet to the world of glamour and fame; and there is nothing like the sports industry for the power player.
Recently Indian steel magnate, Pramod Mittal (who with his brother Vinod runs Global Steel Holdings) was confirmed as CSKA Sofia's new owner.  Younger brother of Lakshmi Mittal who is 5th in the Forbes list of the World's Richest with an estimated worth of US$23.5 billion, this acquisition of the 30 times, Bulgarian Champions has increased speculation that there will be a new coach. This is a trend reflected by the very speedy replacement of the   West Ham manager after he lost a few matched in a row shortly after majority ownership of the English team transferred into the hands of Icelandic biscuit tycoon, Eggert Magnusson.  
Chelsea FC may have paved the way for the England teams, but this 'global' business practice is catching. And it was perhaps the acquisition of Manchester United by the Glazers and the team's recent success that has given reassurance that foreign money is not all bad. 
The latest likely change of ownership is the imminent takeover of Liverpool FC by Dubai International Capital.  DIC is owned by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the billionaire ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.
Investment by these new owners is not only followed by changes in management; but by other developments: in particular the potential of a new flagship stadium to showcase the owners' grandiose ambitions.

sport culture: the Eurasian/Asian invasion

  While detailed coverage of the the Asian Games did not feature in many papers around the world, this was an opportunity for some countries to take a closer look at the competition and their talent.
For example: football (soccer) is so embedded into some cultures that even civil war cannot keep a good team down.  Once such example is the  qualification of the Iraqi football team for the final of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. Iraq reached its first final in 24 years with a narrow 1-0 win over South Korea. They then took on the host team, Qatar in the final at the Al-Saad Stadium and could do no better than take home the silver medal with a final score: 1–0. It's one step further than the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004 when the Iraqi team reached the semi-finals, when they were finally overcome by Italy.
Iran ended up with a total of 48 medals of which 11 were gold.  Topping the league table was China with a total of 316 medals of which 165 were gold; followed by Japan with 198 medals (50 gold) and Korea claiming 193 medals (58 gold). Thirty-six countries participated.  Out of total of seven new world records throughout the Games, one individual CHEN Yanqing from China claimed five - all in women's weight lifting.
The Top Eleen Medal Tally by country by position for winning Gold Medals (on the left) and total country medal tally in brackets:  1  PR China  (1); 2  Republic of Korea (3); 3   Japan  (2); 4  Kazakhstan  (4); 5  Thailand  (=5); 6   Islamic Republic of Iran  (7) 7  Uzbekistan  (10); 8  India   (=5); 9  State of Qatar  (11); 10 Chinese Taipei  (8); 11 Malaysia   (9 ) and Iraq came in 29th place (and = 30 in the total medal tally).

starting blocks all boxed out?

The only way to go from the top of the tree is down and the only thing you can see from the bottom is a way up.  Or can you?  Revenues for the RFU's merchandise and licensing revenues fell in 2005/6 after the England team fell from grace after winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003.  The fall was dramatic: in excess of 50 percent from around US$12 million to US$5 million.  So how to solve a problem like 'not winning anymore?'. Simple! Change the color of the shirt and hope that the team plays well enough to coax the fans to invest in the new merchandise. OR NOT!