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Year In Review 2013

They Said It: Quotes Of The Year, Part II

It's been very disappointing to read some of the reaction to Paolo's appointment.
-- Sunderland CEO Margaret Byrne on the reaction to the hire of Paolo Di Canio as head coach.

I don't think it's good for French football, it's not good for French clubs and it's not good for the place of Ligue 1 in the world.
-- Paris St. Germain Chair Nasser al-Khelaifi on France's 75% tax on annual salaries above €1M.

At some point another final in Munich is in the realm of possibilities.
-- Bayern Munich Chair Karl Hopfner on how expansion of Allianz Arena could lead to hosting another Champions League Final.

Sometimes women do have a different approach and thought process and that can help on all sporting boards.
-- New Australian Olympic Committee board member Nicole Livingstone on the code's quest for gender equity.

We are happy to take Sky's advertising, but they seem afraid of taking ours. It's like a rottweiler running away from a newborn puppy.
-- BT Retail Consumer Division Managing Dir John Petter, on BSkyB's refusal to book advertising for BT's new sports channels.

Before honing its soundbites or filing yet another complaint, this £22B gorilla in puppy's clothing would do well to look at its own double standards.
-- BSkyB Corporate Affairs Dir Graham McWilliam, on BT's claims that BSkyB is refusing to sell ad space to its competitor.

They’ve scuppered all of us.
-- Wigan Athletic Supporters Club Committee member Jason Taylor, complaining that the FA Cup final's 5:15pm kickoff to accommodate TV means supporters could miss the final trains home after the match.

It is a tremendous feeling and an absolute piece of luck.
-- BV Chemnitz President Detlef Müller, on the second-tier basketball club receiving an anonymous $1.3M donation.

It would be natural to expect the gap between those who get the most and those who get the least to narrow.
-- Spain Secretary for Sport Miguel Cardenal, on the impact of a new law requiring football clubs to collectively bargain for TV rights.

I have made a catastrophic error.
-- Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni, after tests by the British Horseracing Authority found prohibited substances in 11 of his horses.

My personal position is that I totally believe in equality, but I do also believe that there are times when men need to socialize with men and women need to socialize with women.
-- R&A CEO Peter Dawson, defending the governing body's continued stance in allowing male-only clubs to stage the Open Championship.

I will say something which is crazy, but less democracy is sometimes better for organizing a World Cup.
-- FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke on the governing body's experience organizing the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Juventus is known as ‘the girlfriend of Italy.’ It’s probably the woman everyone wants to be with.
-- Juventus President Andrea Agnelli, who says despite his club's success, Italian football has fallen victim to the problems that have hit the country as a whole.

I went to the toilet for the last minutes, locked myself in, covered my ears and looked at my watch.
-- Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, on how he spent the final minutes of his club's Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.

We do not think the fans are cows, who you milk. Football has got to be for everybody. That's the biggest difference between us and England.
-- Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeneß, on why the Bundesliga club keeps its ticket prices so low.

Is it a token position? I wouldn't treat it as that. If you are given an opportunity to contribute to the top table then you have got to make the most of that opportunity.
-- Australia FIFA Exec Committee candidate Moya Dodd, one of five candidates for the organization's new woman's seat on the committee.

It is the right time.
-- ManU Manager Alex Ferguson, on his surprise announcement to retire at the end of the season.

It isn't just about selling a million tickets -- it's about making the games accessible to all.
-- Glasgow 2014 Chair Robert Smith, on the Commonwealth Games' plan for most tickets to cost less than $40.

If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over 100 times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy.
-- David Beckham, reflecting on his career after announcing his retirement.

If you want to carry on doing business in Russia, here's the tax you need to pay -- the kind of a tax that he wants you to pay.
-- Former Russian PM Mikhail Kasyanov, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin is forcing tycoons to pay for Sochi projects.

I am not sure legally you can say 'we'll just play in winter.'
-- Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert, predicting legal challenges if the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is moved to winter.

The extension project is monstrous. There's concrete everywhere and they want to pour more.
-- Neighborhood Association Chair Roger Lebon, vowing to fight the proposed expansion of Paris' Stade Roland Garros.

I don't have any medicine that you get instant result. We don't have any such kind of a magic.
-- Board of Control for Cricket in India's interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, asking for time to investigate spot-fixing and corruption charges.

If the LFP wants war, it will have it.
-- Spanish club Guadalajara President Germán Retuerta, vowing to fight the Spanish Football League over its sanction for alleged financial irregularities that sent the club to the third division.

What we really want to understand is, can the market support a franchise long term there.
-- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, on the league's long-term vision of having a team in London.

We knew the numbers were going to be bad, but nobody knew exactly how bad they were going to be.
-- Brasileiro Flamengo President Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, on the club's $350M debt.

If Argentina beat Brazil, in the final, I'll kill myself. They have Messi and the pope. They can't have everything.
-- Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, joking about his biggest worry as the city prepares for major int'l events over the next four years.

Fans need to be aware that there is going to be an exodus of players over the next three to four years.
-- Spanish Football League President Javier Tebas, warning that La Liga is going to lose many of its stars as clubs struggle to get out of debt.

It’s a mockery; it’s like making Pavarotti sing once a year.
-- KHL VP Vladimir Shalaev, on the league's planned 52-game schedule in '13-14 that will allow a month break for the Sochi Games.

I've never felt the need for a bodyguard. It might be a bit of overkill.
-- Melbourne Storm's 6-foot-4, 230-pound Ryan Hoffman, on the National Rugby League's suggestion to assign bodyguards to players to keep them out of trouble.

We are branding Rome.
-- Boston-based AS Roma Owner James Pallotta, on his strategy to transform his Serie A club into one of the most profitable in Europe.

It was not a raid, but an acquisition of documents. I am very calm about it.
-- Inter Milan President Massimo Moratti on Italian financial police raiding the offices of more than 40 clubs.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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