Canada qualifies 2 marathoners for London Olympics

Reid Coolsaet took a risk in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday, walked away with a berth in next summer’s London Olympics, and nearly a Canadian record. The 32-year-old from Hamilton narrowly missed Jerome Drayton’s 36-year-old mark, crossing the line in an unofficial two hours 10 minutes and 55 seconds for a third-place finish. Drayton ran 2:10:09 in Fukoka, Japan, in 1975. “I decided to roll the dice and [run] with the leaders,” Coolsaet told CBC’s Scott Russell after the race. “I wanted in the middle but because of the wind I had to pick [a race position]. “It was a lot faster than I had planned going out. I thought I’d take a risk today and it kind of blew up in my face at 36, 37 [kilometres]. I didn't think I was running fast anymore and was just happy to be in third...

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Posted in: London 2012,London 2012 Olympic,London 2012 Olympics,London Olympics Marathoners

49ers Win One Battle, Then Start Another

There was a time — last season, for instance — when a game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers would have meant so little that it would have elicited a shrug and a snooze. That was then, when the teams started the season a combined 1-9. This is now, when a melee breaks out after the game because the coaches — the head coaches — nearly come to blows. The 49ers’ 25-19 victory over the Lions on Sunday gave the Lions (5-1) their first loss and solidified the 49ers (5-1) as one of the biggest surprises of the season. It was messy (21 penalties) and it was physical (seven sacks). And that was before the postgame handshake, which required a tale of the tape. Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco’s coach, and Jim Schwartz, Detroit’s coach, briefly crossed paths much earlier in their...

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NFL Scores Week 6: 49ers Come Back, Win 25-19 Thriller Against Lions

San Francisco came back to beat Detroit behind Alex Smith. But Jim Harbaugh's demonstrative celebration didn't sit well with Jim Schwartz. Oct 16, 2011 - Alex Smith's finest moment as the 49ers' franchise quarterback may have come in San Francisco's 25-19 win over Detroit on Sunday. But chances are that Jim Schwartz' postgame altercation with Jim Harbaugh will be the talk of the NFL pundit class for the next few days. Smith threw for just 125 yards, but led the Niners down the field late and found Delanie Walker for the game-winning touchdown pass with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Frank Gore helped the Niners, too, with 141 rushing yards and a touchdown. But Schwartz took exception to what he saw as Harbaugh's excessive celebration, and went after the first-year San...

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England Tour of India 2011 Schedule

England team who performed exceptionally well against India in the test and one day series on their backyard will travel to India for five match ODI series and one off twenty20 internationals. England tour will start with two tour games on 8th and 11th of October 2011. They will play first ODI at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad on October 14th 2011. While 2nd, 3rd, 4th and final ODI’s will be played on 17th, 20th, 23rd and 25th of October 2011 at Delhi, Mohali, Mumbai and Kolkata. Kolkata will also host only twenty20 internationals to be played between India and England on October 29th 2011. India v England complete Fixtures Series 2011 Fixtures (All timings are mentioned in GMT+05:30) Timing Teams...

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Liverpool v Manchester United - as it happened

"I have always considered Manchester United versus Liverpool to be the game of the season in English football," says Sir Alex Ferguson. "We are talking about the two most successful clubs in England historically, and a rivalry that goes back to how industry changed when they opened the Manchester Ship Canal." You can't really argue with him - the fixtures between the two teams are always huge - but that's not going to stop the gloriously stubborn Kenny Dalglish trying. "If that is what he thinks then fine. That is up to Fergie. For me, I've always said the most important game is the next one. It's Manchester United this time and next week it will be Norwich City." Kick off in the big Liverpool v Norwich City clash: 5.30pm, Saturday 22 October. In the meantime: United are at Anfield today,...

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Rugby World Cup 2011: How the Jackals can have their day

Wales are going up in the world. No doubt about it. Thursday night's team meal ahead of Saturday's semi-final was at the top of the Sky Tower – a kind of Post Office Tower with knobs on, which dominates the Auckland skyline. You feel like you're 1,000 feet in the air. And the food's not bad either. If this is the price you pay for success I could get used to it. Who would have thought you could dine out on defence? But that's the way this tournament is going with attention increasingly on the Jackals – the Richie McCaws, David Pococks and Sam Warburtons of the World Cup, who are proving you don't have to have all the ball to win games. I know; the first time you say it, it's a bit like telling someone that water can flow up hill. But I'm prepared to give examples. In 2004 Wasps beat Toulouse...

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Remembering Matthew Shepard: 13 Years Later

October is LGBT History Month. It's also the month that we remember the life and tragic death of a young man that brought hate crimes into sharp focus for a nation that, at the time, didn't want to talk about the subject. Thirteen years ago, on Oct. 12, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard died after a brutal attack in Laramie, Wyo. In the words of his parents, who started the Matthew Shepard Foundation in his memory: The story of Matthew Shepard began on December 1, 1976 when he was born to Judy and Dennis Shepard in Casper, Wyoming. He went to public school in Casper until his junior year of high school when he moved with his family to Saudi Arabia. Matt had to finish his high school education at The American School in Switzerland because there...

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London ceremony must be over by midnight: IOC

The opening ceremony of next year's London Olympics must finish by midnight so athletes will be encouraged to march and still get to bed at a reasonable hour, the IOC said Friday. Denis Oswald, head of the International Olympic Committee's coordination commission for London, said arrangements should also be made to allow athletes to leave before the end of the ceremony. Some athletes at recent Olympic opening ceremonies have complained they have to stand for hours as the show ran over the scheduled time. Thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries will be marching into London's Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012. The London ceremony, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle, is expected to start around 9 p.m. "We insisted the ceremony should not finish after midnight so the...

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Posted in: London olympic ceremony,London olympic ceremony 2012

London 2102 Olympics: Todd gives another masterclass to the young pretenders

One is  loath to tempt fate  with the show jumping still to come, but even if Mark Todd  does not win Boekelo three-day event tomorrow, it is increasingly difficult to bet against the 55-year-old claiming a fourth Olympic individual medal – 28 years after his first – at London 2012. With NZB Campino,  a relative newcomer to this level, Todd led both after dressage and cross-country in Holland.  He is the only rider from the first two days to have remained in the top 10, after giving riders of all generations a lesson in bold but economical riding over Sue Benson’s trademark  accuracy fences. Boekelo is a three-star event, a level  below Badminton and Burghley but always a  fantastically competitive  end to the horse trials season in northern Europe....

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2012 Olympics broadcast

Ericsson will bring the 2012 London Olympic Games to a global audience of almost 5 billion after supplying the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with solutions for the delivery of coverage of the event, and other future sporting occasions, to broadcasters around the world. This premium global sports content will be distributed to EBU members and other rights holders globally over both satellite and fibre networks in MPEG-2 Standard Definition (SD) or MPEG-4 AVC 4:2:2 High Definition (HD) using nearly 1,000 Ericsson RX8200 professional receivers. This extends the relationship between the EBU and the Ericsson team, which has previously provided the EBU with solutions for major sporting occasions including the 2008 Games in Beijing, Tour De France, Wimbledon and European football. “The EBU...

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Posted in: 2012 London Olympic,2012 London Olympics,2012 Olympic Games,2012 Olympics broadcast,London 2012,London 2012 Olympic,London 2012 Olympics

London 2012 Olympics: Sir Clive Woodward backs technology 'gamechanger' to deliver Olympic golds

Sir Clive Woodward is a man who most English rugby union fans would love to see come to the rescue of the national team after their disastrous World Cup campaign, but he is currently property of the British Olympic Association, where his innovations continue to produce results. One of his slogans in his previous tenure as head coach of the England team, a time defined both by his methods and his victories, was typical of his efforts to do anything to gain an advantage: "If you win in IT, you tend to win". Between 1998 and 2004 Woodward implemented a number of methods that raised eyebrows amongst his rivals but that ultimately gave England small "half a per cent" advantages over their opponents. He employed a vast backroom staff including...

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Posted in: London 2012,London 2012 Olympic,London 2012 Olympic Games,London 2012 Olympics,London Olympic 2012,London Olympics,London Olympics 2012

London 2012, Atos launch Technology Operations Centre

The launch of the centre follows the first phase of London Prepares Series London 2012 and Atos, the IT Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, have launched the Technology Operations Centre. The new centre is designed to be the mission control for all 94 Olympic competition and non-competition venues. Atos said the launch of Technology Operations Centre follows the first phase of the London Prepares Series. Technology Operations Centre monitors and controls the IT systems that deliver the results from all the Olympic and Paralympic sports competitions to the world's media in real time and Atos expects to process 30% more results data than in Beijing, said the company. Atos predicts that the London Games are set with 8.5 billion PCs, smartphones and tablets connected to the Internet...

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2012 Olympic organisers urged to support sustainable merchandise push

The organisers of the London Olympics have been urged to work with the licensed manufacturers of official merchandise to make sure they have clear and transparent ethical production policies. As of September 2011 about 3,500 individual product lines out of an expected 10,000 were already on sale, ranging from metal pin badges and keyrings to sportswear, bags, towels and train sets – many featuring the Wenlock and Mandeville mascots and official logos. A report called Sustainably Sourced? analyses the work done by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) to implement sustainable merchandising policies, in line with the commitment to host the "greenest" Olympic Games ever. It is published by the Commission...

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Posted in: 2012 London Olympic,2012 London Olympics,2012 Olympic,2012 Olympic Logo,2012 Olympic stadium,2012 Paralympic

London 2012 Olympics: officials to be questioned by Parliament over collapse of stadium deal

The news came on the day that the West Ham deal collapsed, leaving a black hole of £100 million that may have to be funded by the taxpayer. Andrew Altman, chief executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company responsible for negotiations with West Ham, is among the officials who will be called before the influential Public Accounts Committee on Dec 14. Details of the inquiry can be disclosed as it emerged that the collapse of West Ham’s deal to take over the Olympic Stadium has left a shortfall in the public funding package. Margaret Hodge MP, the committee’s chairman, said the cost of reconfiguring the stadium was certain to be raised by MPs. She said that the officials in charge “appear to be oblivious to the constraints that the rest of the public sector are experiencing.” Dennis Hone,...

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Posted in: London 2012,London 2012 Olympic,London 2012 Olympics,London 2012 Olympics Tickets,London 2012 Stadium,London 2012 Tickets