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World Sports News Roundup
England
LONDON NAMED ULTIMATE SPORTS CITY
London has won the coveted title SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City of 2012,
snatching victory from former three times winner Melbourne.
The highly prestigious accolade was awarded by the sports business
publication SportsBusiness International at the annual SportAccord Convention
in Quebec.
The win marks the first time that London has taken home the ‘Gold’ top position,
having come third in the 2010 table. The capital beat off other international
sporting destinations including Melbourne which came second, Sydney which
was third and New York and Manchester all within the top five.
Over 25 finalist cities were ranked by the number of annual sports events
hosted or secured between 2006 and 2014, plus additional criteria including
transport, government support, public interest and quality of life. Other cities in
the twenty-five include, Singapore, Berlin, Vancouver, Paris, Istanbul, Rio de
Janeiro, Glasgow, Doha, Madrid, Moscow and Budapest.
Over the last decade, London has strengthened its position as a sports
destination to become recognised globally as a leading city for major sporting
events, having already won the bid to host major sporting events post-
2012 including the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships, 2013 UEFA
Champions League Final, the 2013 ITU World Championship Series Triathlon
Grand Final, the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships and a brand new
world class two day festival of cycling which will take place in the summer of
2013.
As well as the Olympic related events, London boasts a range of regular major
sporting events such as the Wimbledon Championships, the FA Cup Final and
The London Marathon which have for years captured the imagination of the
world.
USA
NFL DISPUTE WITH REFEREES
CONTINUES
While it doesn’t generate the kind of heat
the lockout of players did last summer, the
NFL’s current stalemate in negotiations
with its officials is every bit as ugly.
“The lockout seems to be their negotiating
strategywitheverybody,”MichaelC.Arnold,
the NFLRA’s (NFL Referees Association)
legal counsel and lead negotiator said.
Arnold said that since talks broke off
3rd June, they’ve heard nothing from
the league. In the meantime, the NFL is
preparing to pick crews of replacement
officials from retired officials and those
who have called lower levels, as those
who do Division I football aren’t under
consideration. The NFL has held several
of what NFLRA refers to as “scab clinics”.
“The folks who are going to be on the
field are not of NFL quality that coaches,
fans and players are used to seeing,” said
NFLRA President Scott Green.
While many fans and players treat this
lockout with littlemore than a shrug, officials
say their absence will be significant as the
league tries to stress player safety.
Longtime official Ed Hochuli said players
are aware of his presence when he’s on
the field, and believes they’ll push the
envelope on rules infractions if they know
replacement officials are on the field.
At issue, as you might imagine, is the
economic proposals in play. One primary
point of contention is pension benefits,
which they contend the league wants to
“freeze, then end,” Arnold said.
Arnold described the gulf between the two
sides as small, saying over the course
of a five-year agreement, it’s as little
as $100,000 per team, per year. That’s
another way of saying $16 million. (source
Pro Football Talk)
India
INDIA RESUMES TEST CRICKET AGAINST PAKISTAN
One of sport’s most celebrated rivalries is set to resume after the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reopened bilateral ties with its Pakistani
counterpart by inviting Pakistan to tour the country later this year.
The last series between the two teams sawPakistan tour India in 2007, although
India did defeat Pakistan in last year’s World Cup semi-final in Mohali. Bilateral
cricket between the neighbouring countries was ended after the 2008 Mumbai
terror attacks in which 166 people were killed. India blamed Pakistan-based
militants for the incident.
Pakistan cricket has suffered further with no international games having been
played in the country since the 2009 Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan national
team.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said Pakistan will be invited to play three
one-day internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 internationals.