Monday, 16th July 2007

RESULTS

Source: ESPN Soccernet, 16th Jul 2007
Brazil produced a ruthlessly efficient performance to beat old rivals Argentina 3-0 on Sunday and win the Copa America for the second time in a row. Brazil stung Argentina with a fourth-minute goal from Julio Baptista then Argentina captain Roberto Ayala, making his 115th appearance, put through his own goal before halftime. Although Argentina had more possession, Daniel Alves added a third as Argentina coach Alfio Basile, lost a Copa America match for the first time in a run spanning 19 games. It was a bitter pill for Argentina, who lost on penalties to the same opponents in the 2004 final and were favourites to win this time against a Brazil team missing Kaka and Ronaldinho.

Source: Eurosport Yahoo!, 16th Jul 2007
Mika Hakkinen caused a major upset by winning the sixth round of the DTM at Mugello in Italy. The ex-Formula One world champion started way down in 15th on the grid in his AMG Mercedes after Audi dominated qualifying by locking out the top six places in qualifying. But he had a large slice of good fortune to thank as he made his final pit-stop before the safety car was deployed, which was enough to see the Finn leapfrog most of the field and claim an unlikely second win of the year and the third of his career. Pole-sitter Mattias Ekstrom was the fastest man on the day in his Abt Audi and duly led the field until the safety car was sent out for a three-car accident that eliminated the Persson Mercedes of Britain's Gary Paffett, and the Audis of Martin Tomczyk and Christian Abt.

Source: Eurosport Yahoo!, 16th Jul 2007
Jason Plato claimed a well-deserved double win at a very wet Donington Park to re-claim the lead of the British Touring Car Championship. The 39-year-old Briton had to take a back seat as polesitter Gordon Shedden won the opening race of the day but proved untouchable in the later two encounters in his SEAT to leave his title rival Fabrizio Giovanardi clutching at straws.


THIS WEEK

Sat, 14th Jul 2007
Masters Football: London Masters

Sun, 15th Jul 2007
WWE Special: The Great American Bash, San Jose
AVP Crocs Tour: Long Beach Open, California
World Superbikes Championship 2007: Brno, Czech Republic


DID YOU KNOW…?

Men average 458 minutes of monthly wireless phone usage, and women average 453 minutes. The largest historical gaps since the survey's inception in 2001 were in 2002, when men averaged 589 minutes and women talked only 394 minutes, and in 2005, when men averaged 571 minutes and women talked only 424 minutes. AT&T survey results also indicate that 45% of wireless subscribers use the text-messaging features on their device and 44% use the camera feature; 17% of subscribers play games on their wireless device and 11% access wireless e-mail.

Women use the gaming, camera and text-messaging features more frequently, and men use their device for wireless e-mail and accessing the Internet more frequently than women. Both men and women continue to use cell phones more than home phones on average (455 minutes compared with 394 minutes), a trend that began in 2005. Women, on average, spend more time on home phones than men; women talk for 532 minutes compared with only 237 minutes for men. Source: Ken Radio, 13th Jul 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* Real Madrid are confident on the completion of a deal to sign Arjen Robben as a new player at the Bernabéu next week. The Spanish giants' interest in the Blues' winger has been no secret and president Ramón Calderón had promised during his election campaign last summer, to bring Robben in along with Kaká and Cesc Fàbregas. However, Arsenal has revealed that Fabregas will stay with the Gunners, adding that the loan deal with Jose Antonio Reyes and Real Madrid is set to become a permanent contract. Source: Premiership Latest & Goal.com, 14th Jul 2007

* Inter Milan has furthered plans to reach out to Asia by opening a club store in Shanghai located within the 21st Century Sports City commercial centre in the busy Sichuan Road North shopping area. The shop aims to be more than just a merchandising outlet and features changing rooms and benches similar to the Serie A champion's San Siro home, internet cafe and permanent exhibition of 60 photos depicting the club's history. Inter hopes to introduce products tailored to the local market and open more outlets around China. Source: PA Sport, 13th Jul 2007

* The Trophee des Champions, the French season's curtain-raiser, will be held in France and not in China, as previously hoped. League chiefs had wanted the fixture between Ligue 1 Orange champion Olympique Lyonnais and Coupe de France winner Sochaux to be held in Beijing on July 24, in an ambitious attempt to promote French football in Asia. However, the Ligue de Football Professionnel has announced it is rescheduling the match for July 28, with the game being played in either Lyon or Sochaux. Source: PA Sport, 13th Jul 2007

* The SANZAR rugby unions were warned by their national broadcast partners that a repeat of this season’s selection policy would not be tolerated. The Australian, New Zealand and South African unions met with reps from Fox Sports, Sky Sports and SuperSport at a strategy review in Christchurch. The warning was a response to New Zealand resting their top All Blacks in early rounds of the Super 14 and South Africa sending a squad to Australia & New Zealand that excluded their best players. Both unions justified these decisions on the need to prepare for the World Cup. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 13th Jul 2007

* The International Rugby Board welcomed news that rugby union is one of two sports to be added to the list to be played at the 2011 Pan American Games in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. Rugby is popular in countries in the Americas, notably Argentina, and its inclusion is a boost to hopes of a return to the Olympic Games. The sport failed in its bid to be added to the London games of 2012. However, the IRB said: ‘The IRB believes the decision by Pan American Sports Organisation will strengthen rugby’s case for its return to the Olympic Games sporting programme.’ Source: Sportcal, 13th Jul 2007

* Formula 1 has failed in a bid to obtain exclusive rights in the UK to the ‘F1’ abbreviation. The trademark registry in London found that people identify Formula 1 as a type of sport, rather than as a brand name. The registry used media articles and an entry in Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia, as evidence for its judgment. It said: ‘As Wikipedia comments, F1 is the highest class of single-seat, open-wheel formula racing. There is no hint in the Wikipedia references to indicate that F1 is seen as anything other than a particular form of motor racing.’ Source: Sportcal, 13th Jul 2007


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/General: Milan Reaps Rewards of Champions League Win

The power of the UEFA Champions League as a revenue-generator has again been demonstrated with a new report showing that even the poorest performing club in last season's group stage managed to rake in close to that earned by UEFA Cup winner Sevilla. UEFA has issued details of the amounts distributed to the clubs that took part in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup, and the figures illustrate why Europe's clubs fight so desperately for a place at the top table.

Last season saw the start of a new three-year cycle for the marketing of UEFA's club competitions and in 2006-07, the UEFA Cup was marketed centrally from the quarter-finals onwards. In the Champions League, half of the total amount was issued as a fixed sum, with the other half distributed in terms of the value of the commercial markets of the national associations involved. Fixed sums saw each club receive a participation premium of €2 million, with surplus revenue granting each club an extra €1 million.

Each team also received €400,000 per group match played, which is where the performance bonuses kicked in. Group victories were worth €600,000, and each draw €300,000, meaning that participation in the group stage alone provided a major shot-in-the-arm for the minnows of European football. The 16 teams that reached the first knockout round received a bonus of €2.2 million each, rising to €2.5 million for each of the quarter-finalists, and €3 million for the semi-finalists. AC Milan's 2-1 win over Liverpool in the 2006-07 final gave the Serie A TIM (sponsor) giant €7 million, while the Barclays (sponsor) Premier League club's pain was eased to the tune of €4 million. In total, AC Milan earned €39.5 million from its successful campaign and it was Chelsea, not Liverpool, that was the next most profitable with €34.7 million.

Liverpool earned €32.2 million, while PSV Eindhoven (€31.6 million), Manchester United (€31.5 million) and AS Roma (€31.1 million) were the only other teams to break the €30 million mark. Bulgarian club Levski Sofia managed to earn €5.6 million despite failing to pick up a single point in its group. In contrast, Sevilla's win over fellow Primera División club Espanyol in the UEFA Cup final in Glasgow only earned the Spanish giant €6.3 million. The final win itself was worth €2.5 million, illustrating the huge divide between the two competitions. Beaten finalist Espanyol earned €5.3 million for its run. Source: PA Sport, 13th Jul 2007