Scottish Premiership side Rangers Chair Dave King has "no intention" of reversing a decision to cut Celtic's ticket allocation for the teams' meeting at Ibrox on Dec. 29. Rangers has given Celtic just 800 seats for the Old Firm league game." Celtic "responded in kind" for the Parkhead match in September, with CEO Peter Lawwell saying that Rangers' stance "damaged the fixture" (BBC, 11/27).
The NBA Brooklyn Nets and Juventus are joining together for a "viewing party" before the Nets play the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 7. Barclays Center will be outfitted in black and white, and the Juventus logo "will be displayed on both the interior and exterior of the arena." Juventus gear will be available in the Nets Swag Shop. Before the Nets-Raptors game begins, the Juventus match with Inter Milan will be shown on screens at Barclays (NETS DAILY, 11/24).
The 2019 Dakar Rally will not be a "cut price" edition "in spite of being hosted for the first time by a single country," Dir Etienne Lavigne said. Since the race switched for security reasons in '09 from its original route from Paris to the Senegalese capital, "it has enjoyed multiple hosts in South America." But this year, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia "all pulled out for reasons of austerity," leaving Peru as the sole host of the 41st edition. Lavigne: "It will not be a discount Dakar" (AFP, 11/27).
League Two side Port Vale Chair Norman Smurthwaite "reversed his decision to give Stoke City fans another stand" for their EFL Trophy Potteries derby. After Stoke sold out an allocation of 4,000 to see its U21 team at Vale Park, Smurthwaite "promised them more tickets." But after Vale fans objected to giving Stoke a "home stand" for the last-32 tie on Dec. 4, Smurthwaite "relented" (BBC, 11/27).
La Liga and EA announced the second edition of the Virtual La Liga eSports Tournament, which will run from December-May. The winner of the tournament will receive €10,500 ($11,900). Last year's event drew more than 2 million spectators through streams on La Liga's Facebook Live and Twitch (La Liga).
Haydock will reduce the height and depth of its fences before its next meeting on Dec. 5 "after a quarter of the runners in the four chases fell on Saturday." It emerged on Monday that the British Horseracing Authority "had ordered for fences to be trimmed before Saturday’s meeting" (LONDON TIMES, 11/27).
