My Sports News Digest

LONDON, Feb 1 – Some of Britain’s poorest regions are battling each other and neighboring France to boost their local economies by hosting Olympic athletes at training camps before this year’s Games. Britain has budgeted to spend 9.3 billion pounds ($ 14.68 billion) on staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, mostly on facilities in London, and the capital is expected to hog most of the benefits. But regional authorities dealing with government funding cuts and high unemployment rates want a slice of the cake. “Clearly it’s difficult times that the country is going through in terms of austerity but the [...]

Read the full story

ATHENS, Feb 1 – The flame for this year’s London Olympics, scheduled to arrive in Britain on May 18, will land at a military base in Cornwall before starting the torch relay that will end with the Games’ opening ceremony on July 27, documents revealed on Wednesday. In the documents seen by , Games organizers are planning for the flame to arrive from Greece at the Culdrose base near Helston with a British Airways flight between 1730 and 1830 GMT. “The Olympic flame will be flown into the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose near Helston in Cornwall,” London torch relay [...]

Read the full story

LONDON – Memo to Brazil: That idea of putting up a giant Jesus statue in a London park is not going over well. Brazil’s tourist board floated the notion of erecting a 30-foot (9-meter) replica of Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue – a symbol of peace and a well-known landmark of the city. The idea would be to promote the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The Camden New Journal newspaper first reported that local authorities had been approached to consider the idea of putting up the statue on Primrose Hill, timing it to the London Olympics. Though no formal [...]

Read the full story

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The IOC awarded Japanese broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics to a national consortium on Friday in a deal worth 36 billion yen ($ 472 million). The Japan Consortium includes state broadcaster NHK and the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters of Japan. Four years ago, the same group paid 32.5 billion yen (worth $ 426 million at today’s rates) for rights to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and 2012 London Olympics. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said in a statement that the IOC is “delighted to continue our long-term relationship with the Japan Consortium.” [...]

Read the full story

Published: Feb 2, 9:10a ET Updated: Feb 2, 9:10a ET By Associated Press LONDON – Transit officials have rejected a petition for London’s black cab drivers to bump up fares by 20 percent during the Summer Olympics. Transport for London said Thursday it had denied the requested fare hike by a drivers’ association, who say members need the incentive to work during the games. Officials say they came to the decision after consulting the drivers themselves, who feared the increase would drive away customers. Authorities did grant a 5.3 percent increase for the coming year to meet rising costs. The [...]

Read the full story

LONDON – The IOC wants governments to do more to tackle illegal betting, match-fixing and other corrupt activity that authorities say could pose a bigger threat to sports and the Olympics than doping. The International Olympic Committee will host a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday of sports leaders, government ministers, licensed betting operators, lottery companies and the international police agency Interpol. The meeting, which comes less than six months before the London Olympics, will act on a series of recommendations for cracking down on the multi-billion-dollar underground illegal sports gambling industry. IOC director general Christophe De Kepper tells The [...]

Read the full story

MADRID – Spain’s financial crisis should not affect Madrid’s third consecutive Olympic bid and hosting the games could help the country recover from the recession, leaders of the 2020 candidacy said Monday. Madrid unveiled a colorful bid logo, stepping up its latest campaign after failed attempts for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Spain’s economic downturn has left nearly one in four Spaniards unemployed and a youth jobless rate of 45 percent, but organizers believe the Olympics could help Spain emerge from its prolonged downturn. “Today is an important day for the future of Spanish sport, for the future of this [...]

Read the full story

LONDON – The British Olympic Association says it has received a submission from Glasgow to be the candidate city if the BOA bids for the 2018 Youth Olympics. The BOA says the 2014 Commonwealth Games host was the only city to meet Monday’s deadline for British cities to declare their interest. The BOA and officials from the Scottish city will now meet over the next four weeks to decide whether a viable bid can be made. The International Olympic Committee’s deadline for submissions is March 1. The IOC will publish its shortlist in January 2013 and announce the host city [...]

Read the full story