Sports news you may have missed - Oct 20
Northern hemisphere rugby could be set for a significant makeover as clubs discuss a new 'super league' concept involving South Africa.
With English clubs feeling the financial pressure, with Wasps, Worcester Warriors and London Irish all going under, a competition involving the Premiership, the United Rugby Championship [Ireland, Wales, Scotland and South Africa], the Six Nations and British & Irish Lions pooling their resources to reduce competition costs and increase commercial attractiveness to investors, has been under discussion during the Rugby World Cup in France.
England's Daily Telegraph said, as well as the format being discussed, they were also looking to keep the European Champions Cup, a sticking point in past negotiations for change, by possibly having an FA Cup-style competition that would allow for the involvement of Top 14 French clubs.
Organisers will study more deeply after the World Cup and look to have a structure within three years to coincide with introducing a world club championship.
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Tennis great Billie Jean King would like to see the game develop a combined Tennis World Cup.
King said having the men's Davis Cup and the women's Billie Jean King Cup developed into a World Cup made sense.
"It's really important to have a World Cup for tennis. The whole world understands a World Cup. They know it's country versus country."
While there were many questions to be sorted before it could happen, the 39-time Grand Slam winner said having the men and women play together would enhance tennis.
The idea had the backing of women's tournament director Conchita Martinez, who said she favoured the move so long as women got equal time on the show courts and the same access to practice courts.
King added, "I want us together, I always want the men and women together. I think we can enhance it and make more of a focus on us. People like it when we are all happy together."
The call comes when the Davis Cup needs help to stay relevant, especially after a 25-year $US3 billion agreement signed in 2018 with Kosmos was cut short in January. The arrangement was beset with difficulties, starting with the decision to do away with the home-and-away format and replace it with a World Cup-style event.
It was unpopular with players and fans. Covid was another blow, while a five-year deal to stage the event in Abu Dhabi was controversial because of the lack of talent in the Middle East and concern over whether it could attract crowds.
Beyond the Kosmos agreement, the tennis calendar's growth is also a cause of concern.
The Billie Jean and Davis Cup finals will be played next month.
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Watch out for basketball legend LeBron James to make more of an impact in the media world, not just on the basketball court.
A dominant force in the game since his introduction to the NBA in 2003 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he is a product of the modern mass social media era.
When Warner Bros decided they needed a sequel to Michael Jordan's Space Jam movie, LeBron was their man. But rather than just acting, James was a producer with his company, The SpringHill Company, one of the production firms involved.
As far back as 2008, when 'More Than A Game', a documentary covering James' high school career, was aired, James and his business partner Maverick Carter formed SpringHill [the name is the housing estate in Akron, Ohio that James grew up in].
More films and TV appearances followed, including the ESPN special, 'The Decision', which covered which team the free agent James would play for. And it wasn't Cleveland, but rather the Miami Heat.
It was a controversial moment, especially for Cleveland. James won two NBA titles with Miami before rejoining Cleveland and helping them to their first NBA title in 2016.
His subsequent YouTube show 'Uninterrupted' has had five seasons of content involving guests from the sporting and entertainment industries.
Now working with an expanded SpringHill Company, which has $US100 million in funding, the concept is to produce content for audiences neglected by mainstream television with deals secured with Netflix and Disney.
Such production companies are becoming more common among top-flight sportspeople, with tennis champion Naomi Osaka the latest to develop a company.