wishes you the best for 2011

December 2010/January 2011 edition


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  The dramatic career of cyclist Lance Armstrong comes to an end in the Tour Down-Under in South Australia as he hangs up his professional cycling clips for the last time.... or so he says?  While England tore the heart out of the Australian fans by winning the Ashes in Australia - the fans spoke with their feet by not turning up to see Australia's crushing defeat.  However, both teams were out en force to support the victims of the Queensland floods by organizing charity exhibition games; auctioning memorabilia on Twitter; and collecting donations on the boundaries during post-Ashes matches.   Waiting in the golf wings is the new young superstar Noh Seung Yul. The 19-year old has just has laser surgery to improve his game.  Perhaps a useful tip for the competitive amateur player! All eyes on the spot-fixing tribunal before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal in Doha as three Pakistan cricket players - Mohommad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are accused of delivering no balls to order in a Test match against England in 2010.  The scandal has rocked Pakistan and the cricket world and the outcome will be significant. David Beckham is on loan to Tottenham Hotspur from LA Galaxy for a couple of months.... but although he is allowed to train with the team he is not allowed to play with the team.  Lee Westwood - world Number 1 golf player - will not compete in the Players championship in May (often known as the fifth major. Instead you can see him in action at the inaugural Indonesian Masters in April 2011.   Bullfighting has been banned on Spanish TV channels in order to protect children from viewing.  But the decision remains a very hot topic as the national sport can attract a capacity crowd of up to 20,000 spectators at live events. The world's smallest velodrome - known as the Red Bull mini-drome arrives in London. It offers a first come first served policy for anyone who want's a challenge: To reach 80 mph on a very tiny track.   A British Paralympian is the first double amputee to run a Marathon in under three hours.  Compare this with his first marathon in New York when he got round in 5 hours and 18 minutes!   While some may say that football is unsuited to a desert climate, golfers are giving it a go in Abu Dhabi. The HSBC golf championship is offering an eye-watering US$2.7 million in prize money.   David Lowe III has been confirmed as the new USA Ryder Cup Captain.  Next year in Chicago!   UK racecourse owner, Arena Leisure has been taken a hit due to the wintery weather over the last couple of months.  The first Grand Slam of 2011 gets underway with potentially the greatest player ever targeting the often elusive four grand Slams in a row.  Nadal is hoping for victory with Federer, Djokovic, Soderling and Murray snapping at his heels.  No suprises as high profile athletes are caught out 'tweeting' inappropriate content. Is this the start of a new scandal soon to be know as 'WikiTwits'? Rio2016's logo is launched upon the world.  Some have described it as a "Matisee" look-alike with three dancing figures in the colours of the Brazilian flag 'joined in a warm embrace'.  It is however important to remember that the logo just doesn't adorn t-shirts; but is used to dress the stadia, equipment and much more.  We like it!  Nike shares fell almost six percent in one day as the world's largest sportswear company expressed concern over the rising cost of cotton prices, labour and transportation. Betfair's stock holders did well as the initial stock price of 1300 pence took off but the honeymoon is over as the stockprice has since tumbled. UK Supermarket chain Morrisons have written to Fifa boss Sepp Blatter demanding that as a sponsor of the England2018 bid that they are due compensation for an alleged  'unfair ' bidding process. Chief Executive, Dalton Philips is asking for one million pounds in compensation to be donated to grassroots football.  Amos Adamu, the Nigerian Fifa official provisionally suspended over the alleges World Cup 2018/2022 bribery scandal has denied any wrong-doing.  Jose Maria Olazabal has won the backing of 12 European Ryder Cup players in his race to claim the captaincy of the next European Ryder Cup team in 2012. A veteran of seven Ryder Cups, the Spaniard has definitely thrown his 'cap' into the ring! Former Chelsea FC player, Adrian Mutu has been accused of assault after allegedly injuring a waiter in Spain.  The Romanian - whose latest drugs ban recently came to an end - has some heavy duty bills to pay having been ordered by the courts to re-imburse Manchester United 14.3 million pounds in compensation - the amount the club paid to sign him!  

spotlight on: past present and future

  After all the dramas of the announcement of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, FIFA President Sepp Blatter plans to set up an anti-corruption committee at world football’s governing body.

In the build-up to the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup in early December, two of FIFA's 24-man executive committee, Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu, were suspended after allegations emerged that they had offered to sell their votes to undercover reporters from the Sunday Times.

"I will take care of it personally, to make sure that there is no corruption at FIFA," Blatter said in an interview with Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung. "This (new anti-corruption?)committee will strengthen our credibility and give us a new image in terms of transparency."

Blatter explained that the committee would comprise seven to nine members "not only from sport but from politics, finance, business and culture". The FIFA president added that he would not be on the committee himself.

"The committee must be independent to guarantee maximum credibility," he said. "I want to present this committee to the FIFA Congress here in Zurich at the start of June."

Blatter recently described suggestions that there was systematic corruption within FIFA as "nonsense"; however, it is unclear how FIFA's existing ethics committee would fit into Blatter's plans. 

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   Meanwhile, German lawyer Guenter Hirsch has resigned from FIFA's ethics commission in protest at what he claims is the governing body's failure to tackle alleged corruption.

The 67-year-old former president of Germany’s highest appeals court stated in a letter to ethics commission president Claudio Sulser that FIFA showed “no real interest” in trying to clean up aspects of the organization.

“The events of the past few weeks have raised and strengthened the impression that responsible persons in FIFA have no real interest in playing an active role in resolving, punishing and avoiding violations against ethic regulations of FIFA,” Hirsch wrote in the letter, as reported by German agency DPA.

It was FIFA's ethics panel that investigated and suspended two of the body’s 24-member executive committee members, Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, leaving voting members numbering twenty-two.

All the above leaving a rather confused picture as to how exactly 'stuff' will all pan out.

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And Blatter added to the fall-out of the decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup when he announced that he did “expect” the tournament to be staged in the winter, although Qatar officials have insisted the event can be staged successfully in the summer as specified in the bid plan.

FIFA has attempted to clarify its position by stressing that Qatar would have to make the first move if the 2022 tournament is to take place in the winter: “At this stage there are no concrete plans to change the international match calendar.”
“Any potential move of the 2022 FIFA World Cup from a summer to a winter period would have to be initiated by the football association of Qatar and would have to be presented to the FIFA executive committee.”

Earlier Blatter had stated: “I expect it will be held in the winter. We have time to look at this question, it is still 11 years away but we must decide the most adequate period for a successful World Cup which means January or the end of the year. When you play football you must protect the main people, the players.”

 
hot spot: Legacy

Once again the subject of legacy rears its ugly head as the debate over stadia and infrastructure post hosting a major sporting event takes its toll. 

While South Africa considers best use legacy for the stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; and India debates the extent of the corruption during the  construction phase of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Athens has long given up on the future of the many stadia built for the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  The main stadium in Beijing is now a destination for domestic and international visitors to the city; and New Zealand is assessing the future legacy of this year's Rugby World Cup venues.

And under consideration is the future destiny of the Olympic Stadium in London after the 2012 Games.  While the London Bid Committee promised an athletics legacy, the current 'situatio' sees a fight between West Ham FC and Tottenham  Hotspur FC to decide which will get the venue/site post Games.

The choice is essentially between a stripped down arena with West Ham as the resident football club and keeping the athletics track as is; OR a complete demolition job on the half a billion pounds stadium to be replaced with a dedicated new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur and an upgrade to the Crystal Palace athletics facility.

While the IOC and LOCOG agreed an athletics legacy was an essential component of the London bid, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has wavered and now accepts that a London athletics legacy - probably in the form of improving Crystal Palace will act an appropriate compromise in difficult economic circumstances.

This editor would opt for the Spurs scenario with the capital investment in the bag and a dedicated and much improved Crystal Place.  This should prove a better scenario than the watered down, mixed-use and possibly tax-burdened option of reducing the size of the Olympic Stadium whilst keeping the athletics track.   Not a 'first choice' for any football club!

hot shot: the latest London2012 updates:

ten of the best!

*Tickets for the London2012 Olympics go on sale on March 15, 2011. And  tickets for the 2012 Paralympics can be purchased in September 2011.

*President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge places transportation at the top of the list of 'hurdles' for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games with security and legacy as the other challenges which have to be met head on.

*Inflation at its best as Horse Guards Parade has been confirmed as the Olympic site for Beach Volleyball.  Compare the cost of a Mens final ticket at the purpose built beach front venue at the 2004 Games at a cost of around 60 euros with the equivalent value placed on the head of the mens final well in excess of 10 times the Athens price. 

*Free-to-air Cuban public broadcaster Institute Cubano de Radio y Televisión (ICRT) is continuing its coverage of Summer Olympic Games by paying an undisclosed amount for making available the London 2012 'action' in Cuba on both TV and radio.  Why can't everything in life be this simple?

*London2012 are recruiting around 130,000 paid workers and 70,000 volunteers for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

*As organizers make savings of around US$30 million, London 2012 is now looking for a sponsor for the wrap-around 900 metre long curtain for the Olympic Stadium which will also serve as a way of minimizing crosswinds and maximizing performance. 

*The London2012 white-knuckle mountain bike event with 60 percent of the course visible from the 5,000 seater grandstand expects around 20,000 spectators to attend the two days of competition.

*London2012 is looking for a multi-skilled orchestra with a repertoire that includes 201 national anthems.  Only the best may apply to: competefor.com

*A five-year sponsorship deal comes from London city insurance firm Beazley.   Pledging one million pounds to the British Fencing National Academy their target is one podium place in 2012.  Surely they will set the trend for city boys to take a stake in the Olympic/Paralympic bandwagon?

*Prime Minister David Cameron has decided to retire from the sporting world.  After joining the England 2018 roadshow - which ended in Russia claiming 'the prize' Cameron has decided to take a backseat when it comes to the legacy of the Olympic Stadium.

sidelines: no meeting of minds on both of sides

National Football League (NFL) owners and players keep trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to replace the current agreement which expires on March 4, 2011 but things are not looking good. Relations between the League and the NFL Players' Association continues to be put under scrutiny as the union upped the ante by filing a collusion claim against NFL owners.

   While a lockout next season is looking more probably as each day goes by, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has called for “commitment”.

The union and sport’s richest league remain worlds apart on a number of issues, including the players' share of revenues; a projected 18-game regular season; and a rookie wage scale.

Jeff Pash, the League's chief negotiator, said that no substantial negotiations have taken place since Thanksgiving, and added that talks since then had been "not nearly at the pace and not nearly with the focus that is necessary to make real progress".

The union has taken the debate public by launching a "Let Us Play" campaign via social media to allow the fans to dictate the business end of this high-profile dispute.   But with both sides entrenched public opinion may also be polarized.

Meanwhile .........

According to CBS, New York Jets' win over the New England Patriots in American Football Conference divisional playoff game drew 13% higher television ratings than last year in the the biggest markets (which represent 69.9% of all U.S. television households). 
The 28-21 victory in the second round of the National Football League playoffs was watched by 26.2% of households in the 56 biggest U.S. metered markets, beating the 23.1 overnight rating for last year's game between the Jets and San Diego Chargers.

The game had the highest overnight rating for the AFC Sunday divisional game since the 26.8 rating for the San Diego Chargers' 22-21 win over the Miami Dolphins on General Electric Co.'s NBC network Jan. 8, 1995.
In CBS's other AFC divisional playoff game Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 31-24, and scored an average overnight household rating of 20.9, up 12% from the 18.7 the game received last year for the Ravens and Indianapolis Colts.
It was the highest rating for the AFC Saturday divisional game in the metered markets since the 23.9 rating for the Buffalo Bills' 29-23 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders on Jan. 15, 1994.

Alll of which adds up to a 'very much in demand' marketplace.

 

fashion icon.....
a spiritual occasion

World number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and former world number one Kim Clijsters experienced the ancient Thai Buddhist ritual of presenting alms to monks on the beach during their recent stay at the luxurious InterContinental Hua Hin Resort in Thailand. The two tennis stars selected the five-star resort as their residence of choice during the 84 World Tennis Invitation Hua Hin exhibition match on New Year's Day, in honour of King Bumibhol's 84th birthday.

Hosting the current women's world number one and the former world number one at the same time was a significant achievement.

Last year Rafael Nadal - the men's world number one - also enjoyed a similar first class service.

"Making merit to monks is a quintessentially Thai experience and an activity I was thrilled to have taken part in," said Ms Wozniacki.

home and away:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosted the first meeting between the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Israel and Palestine at its headquarters in Switzerland.  Never backwards in taking a high-profile role when 'Sports meets Politics', the initiative addressed a number of outstanding sports-related issues.

Led by the IOC, the meeting was held in a very constructive and cooperative spirit. The free movement of Palestinian athletes, coaches, officials and sports material, as well as foreign visiting athletes, was widely discussed and a modus vivendi reached between the two NOCs.

Both NOCs agreed to convene in Lausanne following IOC President Jacques Rogge’s visit to the Middle East in October 2010.. It was agreed that both NOCs will make an assessment of the current difficulties they face and work together on concrete proposals and a mechanism that would help improve the situation before referring to their respective public authorities. A second meeting would be to review progress.

Supportive measures for the development of Palestinian sport was an important point on the agenda. The IOC confirmed that it would provide experts to work on a long-term sports development strategy in Palestine in order to continue to assist not only the athletes but also coaches and sports administrators, and to identify ways to better promote sport and its values at grassroots level.

In the short run, priority will be given to assisting Palestinian athletes to move towards their dream of taking part in the Olympic Games in London next year. In that respect, the representatives of the Olympic Committee of Israel said that they were ready to offer training opportunities to Palestinian athletes.

The participation of Israeli athletes in international competitions was another subject raised during the meeting, and all participants stressed their good will to use when possible their influence to address the issue with the relevant parties.

*The meeting was opened by IOC President Jacques Rogge, and attended by IOC Chief of Staff Christophe de Kepper and NOC Relations Department Director Pere Miró.
*The Israeli delegation was composed of NOC President Zvi Varshaviak and NOC Secretary General Efraim Zinger.
*The Palestinian delegation, headed by NOC President Major General Jibril Rajoub, included NOC Director of International Relations Khalid El-Yazji, Tanya Jaar from the International Affairs Desk of the Palestine Football Association, and Jérôme Champagne, advisor to the Palestinian Authority for the development of sport and football.

sport culture:

The 2010 London Film Festival showcased a wide range of movies from around the world...... and as usual a single journalist has little choice but to select from the pool of talent just a handful of movies which representative the best of the festival.

Coming soon to your screen is the latest movie from the award winning director of Slumdog Millionaire.

127 hours is not a marathon like Slumdog; it is more of a snapshot of a brief period in someone's life that takes them through a series of emotions that are rarely encapsulated into a single experience.   But 127 hours does capture the intensity of these moments in a jaw-dropping movie based upon a real-life story.

Thrown into a screening early one morning with a bunch of other journalists where everyone knew how the story unfolds, it was hard to imagine how Director Danny Boyle would be able to maintain his 'top of the class' record for a movie which had little storyline.... alongside the added penalty that we all knew how it ended.

But knowledge and foresight can be wonderful things.  So instead of the big moment being a 'dramatic letdown', our insight into the story and the build up to how and when the dreadful deed would take place amounted to so much anticipation and dread in that West End theatre that we were universally trapped in our seats waiting and waiting and waiting for the inevitable. 

Wearing his other hat as 'director' of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the London2012 Games,

  Boyle will once again have his work cut out to try and impress in a similar fashion to, but more cost-effective way than 'the perfection that was Beijing2008'.

Boyle has mentioned "fireworks" as an important component of the ceremonies - but his definition of the term 'fireworks' has not been entirely clarified.

The fact that his ability to make an audience experience the process of surviving against all odds in a very confirmed space made this movie almost cathartic - and at the same time is a tribute to the skills of Danny Boyle as both a Director and a Story-teller.

A great performance, fabulous cinematography and an entirely unforgiving landscape provided Boyle with the tools to make a masterpiece out of what may appear to be a very short story. The luxury of a stadium size set for his 2012 production bodes well for success.

So without disclosing any more of the 'plot' go see this movie... but plan to eat afterwards!

And as for the Ceremonies - we wait in awe and anticipation!

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starting blocks: betting on the future?

The IOC had planned to sell a package of rights covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, but IOC executive board member Richard Carrion revealed in an interview with the Associated Press that a broader tender could be considered.

Carrion said that NBC, ESPN and Fox, along with a potential CBS-Turner collaboration, had approached the IOC about the option to cover four Games, which would increase the total rights fee to more than $4 billion.

“We realize this is a major decision going forward for any of these guys,” said Carrion, who is responsible for the US broadcast rights negotiations. “We want to make sure that they come with their best and highest (bids). I would certainly support it if they want to go to four Games, and do all the way to 2020.”

The IOC has delayed the start of the US rights negotiations for more than a year due to unfavourable economic conditions and a slump in the advertising market; however, Carrion said that he expects the IOC to press ahead with the tender in the first half of 2011.

Broadcast rights fees provide the bulk of the IOC's revenues, with the US share accounting for more than half of the total. Back in 2003, NBC paid around $2 billion for the rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

But a word of caution: Rolling forward financial agreements for such an extended period could end up being a high-risk strategy and one that may bite back. 

Few could predict with authority the shape of the media industry looking so far forward.   And future key players in the media world may end up sharing very few similarities to the great and the good in today's current market.

Why risk commitment to organizations so far down the road when a new set of 'players' may be dictating a very different looking media-marketplace?

life after   winning and all change at the top

There is no question that Asia has its eye on the ball.  And this particular ball is mega-sporting events

Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan has replaced long-serving Chung Mong-joon as a vice-president on the FIFA executive committee after a stunning victory in a vote at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Congress.

Ali, 35, is the son of Jordan's late King Hussein and Queen Alia, and will become the youngest member of the FIFA executive committee (ExCo). Ali secured the role thanks to a 25-20 win in the vote, ending South Korean Chung’s 17-year spell on the ExCo.

Prince Ali’s older brother Faisal and sister Haya are both members of the International Olympic Committee.

In the late 1990s, Chung was one of the architects of South Korea joining Japan as a co-host of the World Cup. The 59-year-old is also the controlling shareholder in industrial giant Hyundai Heavy Industries, which is a major FIFA sponsor.

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Mohamed Bin Hammam has vowed to take football in Asia to a new level after securing a new four-year term as president of the AFC. The Qatari, who started in the role in 2002, was elected unopposed and will serve at the helm of the biggest football confederation in the world through to 2015.

“I dreamed that Asia would one day stand tall in the world of international football; and that Asian teams, with their Asian players, coaches and administrators would hold their own and challenge for dominance in world football. In August 2002, this Congress gave me the wonderful opportunity to be in the driving seat, to work on these beliefs and to start my journey of bringing our dreams to reality.”
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