The second weekend of the Premier League season "saw an average capacity at Premier League grounds of almost 96%, just over 1% down on the opening day of the season, mainly due to lower attendances at Sunderland."
Of 365,000 tickets available for the weekend's 10 home games, 15,822 seats "were unfilled, 7, 621 of them at Sunderland's Stadium of Light." In comparison just over 6,000 seats "were unsold on opening weekend" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 8/18). ... For the 15th edition of the IAAF World Championships, the IAAF presented its World Record Programme where athletes achieving a world record will be eligible for a bonus worth $100,000 with the support of IAAF partners TDK (men's events) and Toyota (women's events).
The performance must be an improvement on the existing IAAF world record. Performances which equal the existing record will not be eligible for a bonus (IAAF). ... National Rugby League side Melbourne Storm players "were forced to hail taxis on the side of the road to get to their match against Cronulla on Monday night." The Storm players "arrived at Remondis Stadium in separate cabs after their bus failed to start at the team hotel" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/17).
