Tuesday, 26th June 2007

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

Chris Benoit, Family Found Dead

Source: WWE Official, 26th Jun 2007
World Wrestling Entertainment was informed today by authorities in Fayetteville County, Ga., that WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and his son were found dead in their home. Authorities are investigating, but no other details are available at this time. Instead of its announced programming for tonight on USA Network, WWE will air a three-hour tribute to Chris Benoit.

Chris was beloved among his fellow Superstars, and was a favorite among WWE fans for his unbelievable athleticism and wrestling ability. He always took great pride in his performance, and always showed respect for the business he loved, for his peers and towards his fans. This is a terrible tragedy and an unbearable loss. WWE extends its sincere condolences and prayers to the Benoit family and loved ones in this time of tragedy.


Source: Impact Wrestling, 26th Jun 2007
Impact Wrestling was informed that police were dispatched to the Benoit home after receiving a call from WWE officials who were concerned that they were not able to get in touch with Benoit. Impact Wrestling was also told that police found the bodies at around 4pm local time and that police would not say how the family died other than they were not shot to death. It could have been carbon monoxide but we do NOT want to speculate on anything.

Source: The Winnipeg Free Press, 26th Jun 2007
Chris Benoit was known to pro wrestling fans around the world as the “Canadian Crippler”. Benoit, 40, was born in Edmonton, trained by the famous Hart family in Calgary and is considered one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. He began his career in 1985, working for Stu Hart’s Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling promotion. Benoit moved to Japan in 1989 but returned to North America in 1994, working for Extreme Championship Wrestling and the Ted-Turner led World Championship Wrestling. Benoit went to work for Vince McMahon in 2000 and had been with WWE ever since.

Source: AOL Sports, 26th Jun 2007
This is why WWE really shouldn't have done that whole "Vince McMahon is dead" storyline. The WWE first announced the deaths of Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy and their 7-year-old son on its web site this afternoon, and for much of the day, fans everywhere expressed "yeah, right" skepticism because the WWE was in the midst of a storyline in which they had faked the death of McMahon, the WWE's owner. But the Journal-Constitution and Atlanta TV stations have quoted local law enforcement authorities confirming the deaths, and McMahon himself showed up in the opening of tonight's Monday Night RAW to explain that Benoit's death was real.

Source: TNA Wrestling Official, 26th Jun 2007
Everyone in the TNA family joins the entire wrestling world in mourning the untimely passing of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their son Daniel. Many TNA staff and stars worked closely with Chris throughout his career and we are all shocked and saddened to lose a friend and legendary competitor. Benoit was considered a consummate professional both in and out of the ring. Please keep Chris and the Benoit family in your thoughts and prayers during this time of tragedy.

Source: Pro Wrestling Insider, 25th Jun 2007
Word is spreading that Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit and their son Daniel were found dead in the Benoit home today. Benoit's other children from his previous marriage were not at the home. WWE.com has posted a photo gallery of Benoit pictures and removed all references to the Mr. McMahon explosion storyline from the main page of the website. As previously reported, the plans for tonight's Raw have been discarded, and the show will now be a tribute to Chris Benoit.


THIS WEEK

Tue, 26th Jun 2007
Copa America 2007: Group A - Venezuela v Bolivia, San Cristobal
Copa America 2007: Group A - Uruguay v Peru, Merida

Wed, 27th Jun 2007
Copa America 2007: Group B - Mexico v Brazil, Puerto Ordaz
Copa America 2007: Group B - Ecuador v Chile, Puerto Ordaz

Thu, 28th Jun 2007
Copa America 2007: Group C - USA v Argentina, Maracaibo
Copa America 2007: Group C - Paraguay v Colombia, Maracaibo

Sat, 30th Jun 2007
Masters Football: North West Masters
Copa America 2007: Group A - Bolivia v Uruguay, San Cristobal
Copa America 2007: Group A - Venezuela v Peru, San Cristobal

Sun, 1st Jul 2007
Copa America 2007: Group B - Mexico v Ecuador, Maturin
Copa America 2007: Group B - Brazil v Chile, Maturin


SPORTS SHORTS

* Informa Media says pay-TV in the Middle East and North Africa will grow by 36% over the next 5 years. The report says the region has 4.5m pay-TV subs at the end of last year, and will grow to 6.1m by 2012. Much of the growth will come from Israel and Turkey, neither of which are Arab markets. Of the region’s 54.8m TV homes, 30.5m have a multichannel TV service, giving a 55.4% penetration rate. This will grow, says the study, to about 40m homes by 2012 or a 62.3% penetration. Source: Rapid TV News, 25th Jun 2007

* EPL club, Portsmouth FC will take part in this year’s prestigious Asia Trophy Cup. The Asia Trophy Cup Tournament, which is jointly hosted by the Hong Kong Football Association and the Football Association Premier League (FAPL), will kick off next month in Hong Kong. In January this year, OKI Printing Solutions extended its sponsorship with Portsmouth FC until 2009, based on the success of the partnership over the past two seasons. Source: Sport Business, 25th Jun 2007

* Indian sports and TV rights management giant Nimbus Communications has made its first foray into movie rights. World rights to "Naqaab" are to be handled by the firm's Nimbus Motion Pictures division and will be released in India and elsewhere on July 13. Rights were secured in a deal with the Tips film and music conglomerate, previously responsible for hits including "Raaz," "Raja Hindustani" and "Coolie No. 1," but which has been out of the movie production business for the last three years. Source: Variety Asia, Indian Television, 25th Jun 2007

* The German Football League has warned that the future of ‘Sportschau', the Saturday evening highlights show covering the German Bundesliga, is not guaranteed in the next contract period. Public service broadcaster, ARD, currently pays around €85 million ($114.3 million) a year to broadcast Bundesliga highlights at 6.30pm on Saturdays, but the DFL is hoping to maximise its domestic revenue when the new contract period starts in 2009-10 and may look to offer more exclusivity to pay-television broadcasters.

* South African public service broadcaster, SABC, has secured rights to the next three Olympic Games and the English Premier League as it bids to overcome the loss of domestic soccer coverage to pay-television rival SuperSport. The deal with the Premier League is worth R285 million ($40 million) over three years and gives SABC rights to show live Monday night matches. The agreement is a boost for SABC after South Africa’s Premier Soccer League sold live rights for the next five seasons to SuperSport in a deal worth more than R1 billion. Source: Sportcal, 25th Jun 2007

* US broadcasters NBC and ESPN are reported to be close to finalising multi-year renewal with the All England Lawn Tennis Club for the TV rights of Wimbledon. The NBC deal, which takes effect next summer, is estimated to be worth between $12 million and $13 million a year until 2011. ESPN is also reported to be close to a deal that would give the media group TV rights and a more expansive set of digital rights that will increase the reach and breadth of its coverage. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 25th Jun 2007

* The All England Tennis Championships and Wimbledon are celebrating two major broadcasting anniversaries. The BBC first broadcast coverage of the tournament in 1937, albeit for only half-an-hour a day, and it began colour transmissions in 1967. Aside from those 70th and 40th birthdays, Wimbledon transmissions are into their second HD year and the Hawk-Eye computerized tracking system is now being used on court to allow players to challenge line calls as well as for TV analysis. Source: Rapid TV News, 25th Jun 2007

* Tinopolis has acquired APP Broadcast, a sailing and adventure sports production specialist, to join Sunset + Vine, the sports production company that it acquired last year. APP Broadcast was responsible for television production and distribution of Ellen MacArthur’s record-breaking sailing expeditions. The company, which has broadcast partnerships with sailing sponsors including Omega, Allianz and Volvo, recently completed a 12-part series, Ocean!, for the UK’s Channel 4 and distributes programming to over 140 countries every month. Source: Sportcal, 25th Jun 2007

* Fifa President, Sepp Blatter, has raised the possibility that a continental rotational policy for selecting World Cup hosts could be scrapped after the 2014 tournament. North and Central America and the Caribbean region is due to stage the 2018 World Cup, with USA having already expressed an interest in bidding. But Blatter said that the competition had become such a big event, it no longer mattered where it was played. Fifa’s executive committee will make a decision on the policy in November. Source: Sportcal, 25th Jun 2007

* France’s hopes of staging soccer’s 2016 European Championships are gathering momentum after Jean-Pierre Escalettes, the president of national soccer federation the FFF, confirmed that he was considering a bid. France last hosted a major tournament when it played host to the World Cup in 1998. Source: Sportcal, 25th Jun 2007

* Uefa has decided on the format for the region’s qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. There will be eight groups of six teams and one group of five, with the group winners qualifying automatically and the best eight runners-up will play home and away play-off matches to determine the other four qualifiers. As a result, a total of 13 European teams will make the trip to South Africa for the finals. Uefa president Michel Platini is reportedly happy with the system. Source: Sportcal, 25th Jun 2007

* Players on the PGA's Champions Tour will play for a record $55.2 million in 2008. The PGA released the 2008 schedule for what was formerly called the seniors tour Monday. There will be 29 Charles Schwab Cup events in 16 U.S. states as well as two tournaments outside the United States. The foreign events are the March 31-April 6 tournament in the Dominican Republican and the Senior British Open in Scotland July 21-27. Source: Earthtimes, 25th Jun 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

The Tim Vickery Column
Source: Tim Vickery writes about South American football for The BBC, 25th Jun 2007

Brazil's Kaka, Ronaldinho and Ze Roberto have all pulled out of the Copa America, and Luis Jimenez made himself unavailable for Chile. But plenty of South America's stars are in Venezuela for the tournament. Argentina's Lionel Messi tops the bill, but many other big name players from the top European clubs have made the trip back across the Atlantic. It is the strongest line-up that the Copa America has had for some time.

That's not just because this year's tournament is taking place in a land famous for producing beauty queens. It has more to do with the timing of the competition in relation to the main event in South American international football - the World Cup qualifiers. Eleven years ago a new era began when the continent adopted the marathon format of World Cup qualification, with all 10 nations playing each other home and away.

At last it gave the South American teams the type of structure that European national sides take for granted. Until this point international football in South America had tended to take place in quick bursts, with huge gaps in between. Expanding the World Cup qualifiers meant that there would be regular competitive matches, thus allowing the traditionally weaker countries to keep a side together and grow in confidence and tactical awareness.

The rise of the likes of Ecuador and Venezuela is directly attributable to this change. But as a consequence the Copa America inevitably became devalued. In recent Copas, a country's approach to the tournament was heavily influenced by where they were standing in the World Cup qualification table. Those doing well tended to send experimental squads in order to look at fringe players. Those doing badly used the Copa as an opportunity to regroup.

That criteria does not apply to this tournament in Venezuela. No-one is doing either well or badly because we are not in the middle of a qualification campaign. The next one is due to get under way in October, which makes this Copa America the perfect opportunity to prepare a team for the battles ahead.

Venezuela will win the 2007 Copa America no matter what happens on the field. This explains why the squads in Venezuela are stronger than they have been for recent tournaments. A new cycle is beginning, and a fresh set of coaches want to have a look at what they have. Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay are playing their first competitive matches under their current coach. Argentina, Uruguay and Peru have re-appointed men who were previously in charge - well over a decade ago in the case of the first two.

For their coaches, these are the first competitive matches of their second spell. The only coach who remains from the last Copa America, held just three years ago, is Venezuela's Richard Paez. That is precisely because he has been building towards this tournament. Everyone else is primarily concerned with preparing for World Cup qualification.

This is important for Venezuela, too. But as hosts they have a responsibility to put on a good show in the Copa. History is against them. Venezuela's only win in the competition came in 1967, 40 years and over 40 games ago. But they have made great strides in recent years and their task is eased by the fact that they have been placed in the easiest of the three groups.

The home crowds are expectant - it will be fascinating to see how the team cope with the pressure. Hosting the competition has spurred Venezuela towards making massive investments in their footballing infrastructure. They are using nine stadiums - three of them brand new. It is a very ambitious Copa - possibly too ambitious, and there could be problems along the way. But after the headaches have been forgotten the stadiums remain, allowing Venezuela to increase its first division from 10 clubs to 18.