Cricketer Joe Root is set to earn about £1M ($1.3M) a year as "part of a revamp of England's central contract system." The shake-up has been designed to "better reward" one-day and Twenty20 int'l players. Yorkshire's Root is "one of four men to be awarded both contracts" by the England & Wales Cricket Board. The others are Warwickshire bowler Chris Woakes, Worcestershire's Moeen Ali and Durham's Ben Stokes (BBC, 9/29).
THE RIGHT GUY: Any London-based billionaires with an interest in American football should "give Jim Irsay a call." NFL Indianapolis Colts Owner Irsay in London said that he is "hoping the NFL will have a franchise in London." And he thinks that the key is "getting the right owner in place, someone who understands both American football and the European market." Irsay: "That's my goal as an owner, to find the right owner and the right team to come here" (AP, 10/1).
LEAGUE BRIEFS ...
A dispute between the European Broadcasting Union, Infront and Swiss-Ski with regard to the allocation and exploitation of the '16-17 to '21-22 Swiss-Ski media and broadcasting rights has been resolved and the respective rights remain allocated to the EBU. The parties conducted dispute resolution negotiations in the spirit of cooperation to find a solution (Infront).
For the fourth season of their partnership, the French Professional Football League (LFP) and HandiCapZéro released the audio, large character and braille guides to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for blind and visually-impaired supporters. The content includes schedules, results and standings for both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. The guides are available on the HandiCapZéro website (LFP).
