NCAA Division One Top 10 Finalists Announced for National ARA Sportsmanship Award
The results are in for this year’s top 10 finalists for the Awards and Recognition Association (ARA) seventh annual sportsmanship award www.arasportsmanshipaward.com, given to one outstanding NCAA Division I collegiate football player who best personifies the spirit of sportsmanship.
The 2011 Sportsmanship Award recipient will be chosen from 10 finalists and announced this November.
“This year’s candidates are an outstanding bunch, there is no shortage of positive role-model athletes,” according to former Brigham Young University Head Football Coach LaVell Edwards who chairs the selection committee.
Previous winners are Arizona Cardinals and former University of Texas defensive end, Sam Acho (2010); Miami Dolphin and former Kansas State University tight end, Jeron Mastrud (2009), Chicago Bears and former Northwestern University receiver Eric Peterman (2008); Winnipeg Blue Bombers and former Washington State quarterback Alex Brink (2007); Cincinnati Bengels and former Rutgers University fullback, Brian Leonard (2006) and, Carolina Panthers and former University of Memphis running back, DeAngelo Williams (2005). Read more
MTG Acquires Exclusive Distribution Rights to NHL Ice Hockey
Modern Times Group MTG AB announced that it has acquired the exclusive distribution rights to the National Hockey League (NHL) in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland from Medge Consulting. The rights include, but are not limited to, exclusive live coverage on free-TV, pay-TV and the internet, until the end of the 2015-16 season. MTG has held rights to NHL games since October 2009.
MTG has the rights to show live coverage of approximately 1,300 NHL games each season on its pay-TV channels and Viaplay online multi-screen video streaming service across the Nordic region. Certain games also will be made available on MTG’s free-TV channels.
The launch of the 2011-12 NHL season included the New York Rangers playing the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, and the Anaheim Ducks playing the Buffalo Sabres at Helsinki’s Hartwall Areena. All three games were distributed live on Viasat channels and Viaplay.
Swedish viewers will be able to watch live NHL games on ice hockey pay-TV channel Viasat Hockey and premium pay-TV channel Viasat Sport, with selected games also shown on free-TV channel TV10. Read more
Novak Djokovic clinches year-end 2011 ATP Rankings no. 1 for the first time
Novak Djokovic will finish as the No. 1 player in the year-end South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings.
He is the 16th different player to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973).
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal’s third-round loss at the Shanghai Rolex Masters assured the Serb of the top ranking come the end of the season.
The 24-year-old Belgrade native is the first Serbian man to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973). It also marks a record eighth straight year a European is the No. 1 player on the ATP World Tour. For seven years from 1985-91, Europeans finished No. 1. Read more
Baseball Legends Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson Back Together Again
Sports memorabilia and charity fundraising company Grandstandsports.com is bringing together Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson to relive the infamous moment that linked them together in baseball immortality.
The reunion charity eventwill take place at Bowlmor Lanes in Times Square on Oct. 25, which is exactly 25 years to the day of game six of the 1986 World Series.
In the 10th inning, with the score tied, Wilson stepped in with a full count and the winning run in scoring position. Hitting a slow ground ball up the first base line that appeared to be playable for Boston first baseman Bill Buckner, Wilson dashed out of the box only to see the ball sneak between the legs of Buckner, who was playing on two bad ankles. The ball skirted around Buckner’s glove and rolled slowly into right field. The Mets win.
Proceeds from the event will go to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of New York. Grandstandsports.com CEO, Howard Schwartz, spoke about his affinity for the organization: ”The opportunity to bring these two legends together is a dream come true for baseball fans everywhere. This is going to be an unforgettable evening for all and the fact that Ronald McDonald House Charities are benefitting from the outcome makes it a ‘home run’ in every sense of the word.”
A fun night out for adults and kids alike, the evening will consist of meet and greet opportunities with both Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson, along with photographs and autographs of the legends. There will also be an organized question and answer portion of the evening along with a large silent and live charity auction. Auction items include a VIP Tour of Citi Field with a former Mets World Series legend. The night also includes open bar, hors d’oeuvres, and free bowling during the event.
Fans can purchase tickets (Starting at just $199) by calling 1-888-78-GRAND (888-784-7263) or at www.grandstandsports.com/1986.
Hannover 96 vs. FC Kobenhavn UEFA Europa League preview
Hannover 96 will aim to protect their unbeaten record in the UEFA Europa League as FC København go in search of a goalscoring milestone in Germany.
The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition, in what is Hannover’s first UEFA game against Danish opponents.
FCK’s four contests against German sides ended W0 D1 L3 (W0 D1 L1 in Germany).
Hannover beat a Danish side, B1909 Odense, 3-2 at home and 1-0 away in a 1969 tie in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the non-UEFA affiliated predecessor of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League.
The clubs that merged to form FCK both played German teams in UEFA competition. Kjøbenhavns BK took on FC Schalke 04 in the preliminary round of the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs’ Cup, winning 3-0 at home, losing 5-2 in Gelsenkirchen and then going down 3-1 in a replay at the Diekman Stadion in Enschede, the Netherlands.
B 1903 København, meanwhile, lost 2-0 away and 3-2 at home against 1. FC Köln in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup first round. However, they eliminated FC Bayern München in a 1991/92 UEFA Cup second round tie, beating them 6-2 at home on 22 October 1991 – just shy of 20 years before this encounter with Hannover – and losing 1-0 away.
Hannover’s 2-1 win at FC Vorskla Poltava on matchday two was their first victory on the road in UEFA competition at the third attempt.
Hannover are the only team in this season’s group stage who have never lost a UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League game; this is their fifth outing in the competition.
København have won only one of their last five European away games, beating Shamrock Rovers FC 2-0 in this season’s UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.