| On the bag: Call sign, Pink Panther ... Creamer flies high Paula Creamer, who wears all things pink when playing golf, rested her surgically repaired left thumb last week instead of playing in the LPGA ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Wilkinson to become best-paid player • England's fly-half has racked up 102 points• President will 'pay any price' to keep his No10Toulon have opened contract talks with Jonny Wilkinson, saying they are prepared to make him the best-paid player in the world to keep him on the Mediterranean.The 31-year‑old England fly-half is in his second season with Toulon and his contract, which is worth a reported £300,000 a year, ends in June. The club's president, Mourad Boudjellal, believes that Wilkinson, who has scored 102 of Toulon's 159 points in seven Top 14 matches this season, is already the best investment he has made in a player."I want to extend Wilkinson's contract," said Boudjellal. "I didn't wait until after Saturday's game to begin discussions. It is my main priority but I'm not very worried. The player wants to stay and his president wants to keep him at any price so we should come to an agreement quite quickly."Leicester have been put on alert after the New Zealand Rugby Union said it was looking to secure a short-term contract in Europe for the All Blacks lock Ali Williams, who has not played for two years because of injuries. The Tigers have powerhouse problems with Louis Deacon, Geoff Parling and Richard Blaze all out of action. There are concerns over Deacon, who has a persistent back problem."I want to play some rugby before next year's Super 15," said the 29-year‑old Williams, who has put out feelers in Europe. "I want to be involved in next year's World Cup and I will be right to get back on the field in November."The Sale and Wales prop Eifion Roberts will not be back on the field until next season, ending what chance he had of making the World Cup. He faces knee reconstruction surgery after being injured during the victory over Harlequins last Friday.The Quins director of rugby, Conor O'Shea, has enlisted the help of the international referee Wayne Barnes to help overcome a rash of indiscipline in the closing stages of matches that has cost them three victories this season.Harlequins, who are at home to Exeter on Saturday, and Leeds are the only sides yet to win a Premiership match this campaign and O'Shea points to his players' tendency to concede penalties at the breakdown as a major reason why they are at the wrong end of the table. "We've led with six minutes, 11 minutes and eight minutes left on the clock and we are definitely not a side that deserves to be where we are," said O'Shea, who invited Barnes to the club's training ground this week. "It is the individual's responsibility to put the discipline side of things right. At times we have been overly competitive at the breakdown."Jonny WilkinsonToulonLeicesterRugby unionPaul Reesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Padres stay alive, deny Giants NL West title with 6-4 win Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer, Ryan Ludwick and Matt Stairs also connected and the San Diego Padres put San Francisco's potential clinching ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Westwood fails to become world No1 • Martin Kaymer wins Dunhill Links from Danny Willett• Westwood confirms he will not play again this monthLee Westwood failed in his bid to take over from Tiger Woods as the world No1 at St Andrews. Westwood needed to finish first or second in the Dunhill Links Championship, but ended up in joint 11th as Martin Kaymer made it an extraordinary three wins in succession with a three-stroke victory.Westwood, struggling with a recurrence of his calf injury, then confirmed he would not play again until next month at the earliest – and that guarantees he will end the five-year reign of Woods in three weeks' time unless the American changes his plans and enters a tournament.Kaymer, winner of the US PGA title in August and the KLM Open in Holland last month, shot a superb closing 66 in cold and windy conditions to leave England's Danny Willett still chasing his first European Tour title.Willett finished two shots behind the German while John Parry, who had a two-shot lead going into the final round, was another stroke back in third.Lee WestwoodGolfguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Power Snooker launch will be at O2 arena Snooker to be given Twenty20 cricket-style makeover, with eight-hour competition screened live on ITV4Snooker has become the latest sport to undergo a marketing makeover in search of new audiences, with a format played against the clock that will attempt to ape the razzmatazz of Twenty20 cricket.Power Snooker will debut at the O2 arena on 30 October, with a one-day tournament featuring players such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, Jimmy White, the Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui and current world champion Neil Robertson, competing for a £35,000 first prize. The eight-hour competition will be screened live on ITV4, albeit after Power Snooker "contributed" to the network's production costs.The format will feature loud music, crowd interaction and games lasting half an hour each, with 20 seconds allowed for each shot and double points scored for a two-minute period if the "power ball" red is sunk.It is the brainchild of Rod Gunner, the impresario behind productions such as Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance. He has been joined by Ed Simons, a co-producer of the film The Lawnmower Man and long-time business partner of the boxing promoter Frank Warren, whose wife also has a small shareholding in the snooker venture."We have come to the conclusion that snooker is in need of a huge transformation," Simons said. "We have been sanctioned by Barry Hearn's World Snooker to give us credibility. We don't want to be a threat. This will be another form of the game."The aim is to create a brand and then cash in on a multitude of possible revenue streams. First there are the events, which will generate ticket sales, overseas television rights and sponsorship, while there are plans to charge amateur snooker players to enter qualifying tournaments where the winner takes a slot in a Power Snooker "grand prix" event.Second, the brand is licensing its game into snooker halls, with Rileys, which operates 124 clubs, charging its customers an extra £2 to play. And then, there will be the sale of the brand's products, such as its iPhone app.The directors currently value the fledgling company at £1.25m, and Power Snooker says that its first event at the O2 has sold out. It predicts the company will turn over about £500,000 in the UK next year. However, this country is not the main focus, as the creators look east to China, where Simons claims that snooker is now more popular than table tennis.However, there is much to prove. Power Snooker has not yet signed a deal with a bookmaker, while the traditional game has suffered from a decline in popularity and sponsorship since its heyday in the 1980s and also received a recent shock from the John Higgins betting affair.Meanwhile, efforts in other sports to copy the success of Twenty20 – including little-known initiatives such as PowerPlay Golf – have not proved hugely lucrative.Hearn has not invested. Simons said that snooker's best-known promoter had played safe: "Our feeling is that he'll take a look at the event, see how it goes, and then we'll have another conversation."Travel & leisureSnookerTelevision industryTwenty20Simon Goodleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |