| NFL is battling digital distractions in effort to fill seats One day pro teams will play in studios rather than in stadiums. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Snake in athletes' room is latest worry • Workers racing against time to ready accommodation • Indian Army is asked to build replacement bridgeEngland's Commonwealth Games team began moving into the trouble-hit athletes' village tonight as criticism continued of preparations made by local organisers for the event.Workers painted walls, drained out rain water from basements and removed a snake at the £150m complex as India raced to address complaints that the showpiece complex was "uninhabitable" a week before the start of the event. India had hoped the Games, which have cost the country £2m-£4m, would provide an opportunity to showcase the nation's recent growth. However, shoddy construction, allegations of widespread graft, an outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever and security fears have led to local newspapers talking of the "Shame Games".Two more athletes, the Australian cyclist Travis Meyer and the table tennis player Stephanie Sang, pulled out of the event , adding to a long list of top sportsmen and women who will not be attending. The Scottish tennis player Elena Baltacha, Britain's No1, withdrew yesterday citing concerns about disease and hygiene.While international sports officials have said the situation had improved dramatically in the athletes' village after inspections last week turned up rooms spattered with spit and human excrement, some teams said problems remained. Tuelo Serufho, head of the Botswana contingent, told Press Trust of India that his team's rooms were "unlivable for our athletes", with filthy bedsheets, bathroom fixtures that did not work and construction debris to be cleared away. Others reported problems with lifts, fire alarms and plumbing.Lalit Bhanot, secretary general of the Games organising committee, blamed workmen. "Labourers have done a very bad job. They had spit 'paan' [chewing tobacco] on the walls, stains of which are almost unremovable," he said. Harris Majeke, South Africa's High Commissioner to India, told reporters a snake had been found in the room of an athlete at the Games village. "That was really a threat to the lives of our athletes," he said. "When everything is done, then we will ask our teams to come."Craig Hunter, the England chef de mision, said that there was still "much to be done". The English team had been staying in five-star hotels because their accommodation was not ready. However around two dozen support staff have now moved into the village complex, built on floodplains beside the heavily polluted Yamuna River, to. Nearly 50 athletes will follow tomorrow. Another 500 are expected to arrive in India over the next week. Hunter said that support staff had been "working round the clock" to prepare for their arrival. "It has been a challenging experience but one which will make us stronger as we strive to be successful now on the field of play," he said.The English sprinter Mark Lewis-Francis said: "For me the most important thing is the track, a roof and a bed. I think Delhi will put on a good show."Indian organising committee officials met again today to review the work at the Games Village where 7,000 athletes and officials will stay."All finishing work is going on in full swing," said Dalbir Singh, mayor of the complex. Athletes from 11 countries have arrived so far and contingents from seven more nations, including New Zealand and Canada which had delayed their arrival, were expected today. Most of the venues are now largely ready with some athletes already training in new or upgraded facilities. They include a purpose-built 6,000 capacity netball stadium, an entirely refurbished swimming pool complex with a new earthquake-proof roof and the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the opening ceremony will take place.Built originally for the 1982 Asian games, it has been fitted with a new membrane roof, state of the art lighting and a 150‑metre tunnel. Plans to place drummers on a platform slung below a giant balloon during the ceremony have now been shelved. The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, today opened a brand new sports injury clinic, one of the first in the country. Though the new three-mile long flyover linking the Games village to the stadium is now ready, it is unclear if the £800,000 footbridge that collapsed last week, injuring 27 workmen, will be replaced. Officials are reported to have asked the Indian Army to build a temporary bridge in coming days. Delhi is bracing for chaos after organisers insisted that special lanes for athletes and officials remain blocked to normal traffic round the clock.The city authorities have ordered thousands of decrepit local buses off the roads during the duration of the event. Sniping between Indian and international officials has become increasingly acrimonious in recent days.Comments by the Australian Olympic Committee president, John Coates, saying that Delhi "should never have been chosen" have sparked local outrage. Michael Fennell, chief of Commonwealth Games Federation, has said India's image has been damaged. He rejected the argument of the chief Indian organiser Bharot that Indians and Westerners have different standards of hygiene. "Hygiene has no nationality. Good hygiene is the same all over the world," he told the CBN-IBN television channel.Commonwealth Games 2010AthleticsJason Burkeguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Under Armour extends Baltimore Marathon sponsorship Under Armour Inc. has extended its top sponsorship of the Baltimore Running Festival through 2012. (UA) feeds.bizjournals.com |
Brett Favre: Game streak could end if arm pain lingers Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre suggested on Wednesday that he would consider doing something he hasn't done since 1992 -- sitting out a start ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Manassero sets European Tour record • Manassero, 17, captures Castello Masters by four shots• Englishman Gary Boyd slips to third after nightmare roundItaly's Matteo Manassero, 17, became the European Tour's youngest winner when he captured the Castello Masters title by four shots today. The youngest previous tour winner was New Zealand's Danny Lee, who was 18 when he triumphed at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia, in February 2009.Manassero, born on 19 April 1993, started the day two shots behind the leader, Gary Boyd, but a red-hot homeward nine and a collapse by the Briton led to victory for the teenager.The Italian closed with a four-under 67 for a 16-under total of 268 to win comfortably from Spain's Ignacio Garrido (68), whose late spurt earned second place. Manassero said: "It's just a fantastic feeling. I have always worked for this moment."Boyd, who shot a course record-equalling 63 on Saturday, slumped to a 74 to share third place at 11 under. His challenge evaporated at the par-three 16th, where he found water and recorded a double-bogey five.GolfEuropean Tourguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |