Obama plans Danish trip to seek Olympics
The touring Springboks are also playing Tests in Argentina on 9 and 16 November and against France on 30 November and 7 December.. Football George Graham, who was banned from football for a year after his involvement in the Rune Hauge "bung" scandal, is expected to become Leeds United's manager within the next 24 hours following the end of Howard Wilkinson's eight-year reign yesterday. Wilkinson, the sixth managerial casualty in a season barely three weeks old, was sacked for the first time in his career in the aftermath of Leeds' 4-0 home defeat by Manchester United. Now let the same criteria bring peace between our unions and our clubs. To the club owners I say that before you insist on early returns from your investments, stop and think, and in some cases learn, what you've become part of I intend to play a central role to bring about a conclusion. There will be a fair proportion of matches on terrestrial TV - at least 50 per cent."Cliff Brittle, chairman of the RFU executive committee, who brokered the deal that saved England after they had been slung out of the Five Nations in July, acknowledged that the internal dispute between Twickenham and the clubs which threatens to tear the game apart now has to be resolved."By using intelligence and common sense we have brought peace with the Five Nations. England have also overturned the old order of there being a fair share-out of the TV spoils for the Five Nations' Championship.Vernon Pugh, who has been particularly outspoken against the principle of satellite TV coverage throughout the rancorous summer yesterday found himself saying: "We have taken sensible, commercial decisions We have a duty to the public Most, if not everybody, will be satisfied. The resulting sum will be divided up as follows: 90 per cent of the income will be shared equally among the five countries; 2.5 per cent will go to the tournament winners - the first time prize money has been offered; the runners-up will receive 1.5 per cent and one per cent will go to the third placed nation.
A further five per cent will be apportioned according to the number of clubs affiliated to each union - England having 2,000 compared with Scotland's 200.The other unknown, until possibly early next year, is just what will be on satellite television and what on the more accessible terrestrial channels.Twickenham has conceded no single country has the right to sell the television rights to the Five Nations once the five-year contract with Sky runs out, otherwise the whole shooting match appears to be an England victory.First, Twickenham gets to keep all its satellite cash; that means it can honour its agreement with the clubs and hand over the promised pounds 22.5m and the other unions have accepted the principle of live satellite TV coverage of Five Nations matches, an idea pioneered by England and what originally aroused the indignation of the Celtic fringe in particular. To that end the Five Nations committee has decided to approach independent arbitrators who are experts in the broadcast media.These specialists will decide what the 10 Five Nations matches are worth to television. Details of the so-called climb-down by the Rugby Football Union to ensure England's continued participation in the 87-year-old Five Nations' Championship were made public in Dublin yesterday. A lot emerged, but a great deal is still unknown. That England will have to part with some of the pounds 87.5m they are to receive over the next five years from BSkyB has always been accepted by Twickenham But precisely how much is not known. Rugby Union The Five Nations has been sold, subject to valuation. Karle Hammond, the St Helens loose-forward or stand-off, and the Keighley winger, Jason Critchley, played in the Premiership finals at Old Trafford on Sunday to underline their claims."Jason has played very well for Wales and Karle has forced his way into the squad from nowhere," said Larder, who is delaying a decision on whether to replace the St Helens pair, Paul Newlove and Chris Joynt, until he receives an update on their condition.Joynt has had an exploratory operation on his knee, but Saints' coach, Shaun McRae, said Newlove is out for at least six weeks with a hamstring tear and that he will miss the tour.. "The game is in disastrous trouble, and now the Super League clubs have formed their own limited company," he said.
"This isn't a breakaway, but what we have may well be the first stage of a breakaway."Clubs concerned about Super League's domination did meet last month, but those at that meeting have denied anyone was authorised to approach the ARL.An ARL bail-out would also involve giving clubs - including a handful from Super League itself claimed to be interested - a better deal than they are currently getting from News Corp, and that would be formidably expensive.The meeting will also have to decide the shape of its divisions for next season, but the question of who has said what to the ARL is potentially time-consuming.The Great Britain coach, Phil Larder, has called up two more replacements for the tour to Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand. As he spoke, a helicopter from the Ifor peacekeeping force hovered above the stadium.When the meeting began, every throw, every jump, however modest, received the rapturous applause usually reserved for world records or championship- winning feats. When the teenaged Bosnian, Anton Sisul, won the first event on the new track, a junior 1,000 metres, he got as warm a reception as Michael Johnson had enjoyed at the cash-rich IAAF Grand Prix finals in Milan two days earlier.The absence of the likes of Johnson, some through fear, did cause some loathing in Sarajevo. Concerns about the incongruity of a multi-million-dollar sports event staged amid so much suffering were dispelled, however, by the warm, welcoming smiles from the Sarajevans."The meeting shows that, from the ruins, we can begin the fight for new life," said Dr Haris Silajdzic, the former Bosnian prime minister and foreign minister who has combined election campaigning with work for the local organising committee. "Only when you see the city can you really understand what has happened," the Olympic 100 metres hurdles champion said.