BREAKING NEWS:
UEFA has extended its sponsorship agreement with Sony Europe for the UEFA Champions League for the period between 2009 and 2012.
Sony Europe is the second of six official sponsors whose agreement with UEFA has been announced for the 2009-2012 period in European club football's most prestigious competition. With the renewal of this agreement, Sony will continue a partnership which started in 2006.
"We are extremely pleased that such a global player has chosen to extend its agreement with UEFA and the UEFA Champions League," said UEFA marketing director Philippe Le Floc'h. "The UEFA Champions League continues to be a very valuable platform for our sponsor partners and we are sure it will provide Sony with excellent opportunities to connect with the fans and further strengthen their brand identity."
"We are excited to be able to announce our continued sponsorship," said Sony Europe vice-president marketing communications Ben Moore, "as we see the UEFA Champions League as the ideal platform on which to be able to demonstrate the full capabilities of our HD products."
The 2009 Grey Cup Festival committee unveiled the 2009 Grey Cup Festival brand to a sold-out crowd at McMahon Stadium on Monday. Members of the Department of National Defence, the R.C.M.P., Stampeders alumni and amateur football players helped to unveil the brand in a special halftime presentation.
"It's a uniquely Canadian tradition and celebration of our culture," said Stamps president Scott Ackles. "Fans all come together, no matter what their team colours, to celebrate the great game of Canadian football and the national pride that comes with it. This is the essence of what our festival brand will capture."
The Grey Cup championship and festival has become an annual tradition for fans, stretching Canada's largest one-day sporting event into a week-long celebration. In 1948, Calgarians began the great tradition, when they made the trek across the country and took over Toronto with a party atmosphere that had never been seen before. The Stampeders went on to capture their first Grey Cup championship that week with a 12-7 win over Ottawa.
"Calgarians can take pride in adding an element of grandeur to the game which has made it the great celebration it is now," stated chair of the 2009 Grey Cup Festival committee Malcolm Kirk. "Stamps fans rode horses into the lobby of the Royal York Hotel, hosted pancake breakfasts on the steps of Toronto's City Hall, and created parades and festivities wherever they went. And that is going to be at the forefront of our celebrations next November."
Fans are encouraged to visit 2009greycupfestival.com and register to receive 2009 Grey Cup festival event and ticket information and email updates.
"In 2009 Calgary will host the best Grey Cup Festival that has ever been staged in the 61-year history of the festival", stated president of the 2009 Grey Cup Festival Greg Albrecht. "Our Grey Cup Festival staff, volunteers, committee and corporate partners will ensure a fantastic event that will leave a lasting legacy for the city and the province".
For the first time in nearly seven years, The Toronto Varsity Blues football team can celebrate a victory.Andrew Lomasney hit a 32-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to lift the Blues to a stunning 18-17 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Monday night, ending Toronto's 49-game losing streak. The Blues hadn't won a game since beating the Windsor Lancers 13-11 on Oct. 13, 2001.
The Blues lost last year's season opener 42-17 to the Warriors, kicking off a season which saw the OUA doormats lose all eight of their games by an average of more than 29 points. The Varsity Blues' best chance at ending the streak last season came against York, when Stephen Grochot's 36-yard field goal with 40 seconds left gave the Lions a 21-20 win.
Blues quarterback David Hamilton ignited the comeback Monday night. Down 17-8 with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter, Hamilton found receiver Drew Meerveld on a 29-yard touchdown pass, and the ensuing convert cut the deficit to two. Toronto then stopped the Warriors (0-1) with enough time to march down the field, setting up Lomasney's game-winning kick in front of 2,562 fans at Varsity Centre.
Hamilton finished 13-of-27 for 189 yards with one TD and one interception for the Blues (1-0), who haven't reached the playoffs since 1995.
In other CIS action Monday, it was: Queen's 35 McMaster 11; and Laurier 15 Guelph 13; and Western 35 Ottawa 31.
At Toronto, punter-running back Mark Stinson added a three-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a single to open the scoring late in the first.
The game was marred by sloppy play on both sides, with both teams losing three fumbles apiece.
Quarterback Evan Martin was nearly unstoppable for Waterloo, completing 21 of 30 passes for 375 yards and a pair of touchdown strikes to Joshua Svec. Martin's 53-yard touchdown pass to Svec to end the third quarter gave the Warriors a 17-8 lead.
Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could return to the UFC before the end of the year as part of an out-of-court settlement.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that now Couture could return for UFC 91 on November 15 in Portland - either in a co-promoted bout against Emelianenko, or the UFC's own marquee heavyweight Brock Lesnar.
UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins has stepped down after being told his contract would not be renewed following Britain's poor track and field performances at the Beijing Olympics.Although Britain enjoyed its best Olympics for 100 years with 47 medals and fourth place in the standings, the team won just four athletics medals - one fewer than it had targeted.
Charles van Commenee, who led the Netherlands to its second most successful Olympics in Beijing with an overall seven gold medals, is expected to succeed Collins.
Van Commenee is known in Britain for telling heptathlete Kelly Sotherton that she "ran like a weasel" in the competition's final event in the 2004 Athens Games, where he was UK Athletics multi-events director. Sotherton cried at being told by Van Commenee that she could have won silver instead of bronze had she tried harder, but later said he was correct.
Van Commenee's task is to raise performances in time for the 2012 London Olympics.
"Our planning for this next Olympic cycle got under way several months ago and this decision and any subsequent appointment is the culmination of this detailed process," UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos said.
"We now need to take the next step on the performance ladder and give ourselves and British athletes the very best chance of success at a home games."
Van Commenee was in contention to replace Max Jones as UK Athletics performance director four years ago, but opted to work in his native Netherlands after becoming frustrated by the lengthy interview procedure.
Collins took the post instead.
A private golf course in British Columbia's Lower Mainland is denying membership to non-English-speaking players, similar to a controversial plan by the LPGA.
The Vancouver Golf Club, which opened nearly 100 years ago in Coquitlam, B.C., rejects potential members who don't speak English.
The club's general manager, Brent Gough, has said the policy is designed to ensure all members are able to communicate and understand the club's rules.
Gough stopped taking calls on the issue Friday, but he told CBC that the policy was introduced a few years ago after prospective members — in particular East Asian immigrants — started applying with the help of translators.
Earlier, news surfaced that the LPGA Tour plans to implement a policy that would suspend players who aren't fluent in English.
The LPGA policy, which will sanction women golfers for not speaking English in pro-ams, trophy presentations and media interviews, faced immediate criticism, including from male golfers who aren't subject to the same rules.
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