International Tennis Federation facing mounting questions over Davis Cup deal after Gerard Pique’s Kosmos group brings legal action January 26, 2023 Former footballer Gerard Pique’s Kosmos investment group has heaped more pressure on the embattled International Tennis Federation by launching legal action over the early termination of their $3bn Davis Cup deal. The ITF ripped up the 25-year agreement after less than five years earlier this month in response to Kosmos asking to renegotiate the $120m-a-year [...]
Sponsors departing the England crease opens up chance for a new wave of commercial interest while the Test team are on a high January 26, 2023 They say bad news comes in threes. For the England and Wales Cricket Board, the announcement last week that three of its major sponsors would not be renewing their deals looked on the surface like a significant challenge for its commercial team. Yet, for the nation’s second most popular sport, there are plenty of reasons [...]
World Rugby should be taking the lead on tackle heights, not following January 26, 2023 It is the work of just a minute or two to create a petition on the Change.org website, to be one of the ‘people taking action’ whose signatures the public-benefit corporation claims to be turning into ‘victories every day’. Takes only a few seconds to add a signature to a petition. By contrast, seven years [...]
Revealed: Chelsea owner’s plans to pump money into women’s tennis – and why some insiders are alarmed January 25, 2023 Billionaire part-owner of Chelsea Mark Walter is the US businessman in talks with the International Tennis Federation over a controversial proposal to bring private investment to the Billie Jean King Cup, City A.M. has learned. We revealed yesterday that the ITF is close to agreeing a major new partnership with a US group to promote [...]
Billionaire Mark Walter: Who is he, what sports teams does he own and what is his net worth? January 25, 2023 Mark Walter is a 63-year-old American businessman who’s chief executive of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners and a keen player in the world of sports team acquisitions. Walter, from Cedar Rapids in Iowa, may be best known to British sports fans due to his recent part-acquisition of a Premier League football club. He was part [...]
Women’s IPL: Winning bids confirmed for league valued at £450m January 25, 2023 The five winning bids for the Women’s IPL – known as the Women’s Premier League – were confirmed this morning with a combined value of £444m. The five Women’s IPL teams will see franchises in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Lucknow – the series kicks off this year. The inaugural Women’s IPL comes 15 years [...]
Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light lacks a compelling story January 25, 2023 Empire of Light review and star rating: ★★☆☆☆ Empire of Light is one part of a broader artistic response to the peril cinemas found themselves in during the pandemic. Steven Spielberg’s love of the big screen will soon be explored in The Fabelmans, and Babylon was another of 2023’s odes to cinema. Olivia Colman stars [...]
Reddit user’s outrageous pan project sends internet into meltdown January 25, 2023 There is an unlikely new star of Reddit: a user called fatmummy222 who has become perhaps the most famous cast iron pan seasoner in history after larding, buffing and heating the same pan 80 times until it glistens like a portal into another dimension. The user posted the epic experiment to the subreddit r/castiron and [...]
Till film review: America’s shameful history retold elegantly from perspective of Black victims January 25, 2023 Till star rating: ★★★★☆ Nearly seventy years on, the murder of Emmett Till stands as one of the most shocking and shameful moments in American history. In 1955, 14-year-old Till was abducted while visiting family in Mississippi and lynched for a perceived offence to a white woman. His horrifyingly disfigured remains were found, and the [...]
Manchester United and Liverpool fans put rivalry aside to call for government action over club sales January 25, 2023 Rival supporters from Manchester United and Liverpool have set aside their differences to demand that the UK government toughens up rules on club ownership before an independent football regulator is established. The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) and the Liverpool-affiliated Spirit Of Shankly (SOS) want urgent action since both clubs could soon have new owners [...]