drivers not to make it into the final round were Johnson and defending series | Forum
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Mär 21 '19
RIO DE JANEIRO -- On Sunday night, right after the flame has been extinguished in Rio de Janeiro, another Olympic project will burst out of the starting blocks. Nike Air Max Plus Wholesale .Its the launch of the Olympic Channel, a $450 million venture designed to keep Olympic sports and athletes relevant in the years between each games and attract new, younger audiences to a sports movement that has recently been battered by corruption and doping scandals.The digital channel, which will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will go live after the closing ceremony of the Rio Games, providing a mix of live sports events, documentaries, archive footage, news and highlights. Its an undertaking that is still in evolution and whose success, or failure, will depend on whether todays generation finds it relevant or tunes out.This is just the starting point, not the end point, Yiannis Exarchos, the head of the new channel, said in an interview with The Associated Press. We want to be able to surprise people and make it look different. Its not an institutional tool. This is about telling stories in a way that can bring younger people to the world of sports.The project was approved in December 2014 as part of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bachs Agenda 2020 modernization program. The free channel will be available worldwide via a mobile app and online across mobile phones, tablets and other devices.The channel is based in Madrid, home of the Olympic Broadcasting Services, the IOCs television arm. Nearly 100 staff from 25 countries are currently working at the channels headquarters in Spain.Exarchos said the channel has already prepared more than 600 pieces of original programming, including 100 hours of high-end documentaries and premium content. Much of the content will be material from the Rio Games, which will be become available in full at the end of the year when global TV rights deals expire.Beyond producing feel-good stories, the channel has another, more challenging goal -- encouraging young people to get off the couch and play sports. That sounds counterintuitive from a channel that gives kids another excuse to stare at their screens.Were trying to push video to make people active, Exarchos said. For me this will be the criteria of success. Its not enough for the channel to be popular. It would be even happier if we demonstrate that these people go out and start doing sports. The channel needs to help in that. Lets see.The channel already has formal agreements with 27 of the 35 summer and winter Olympic sports federations. The IAAF and FIFA are not among those, though Exarchos noted that was because both had a lot on their plate this year, referring to corruption and doping issues. But he said soccer and track and field are super eager to get involved with the channel.The channel has signed up 11 sports events that will be shown live between September and December, including triathlon, canoeing, rowing and an Olympic ice hockey qualifying tournament.What the channel wont do is compete or pay for broadcast rights. It doesnt air the Olympics themselves, which are shown by networks like NBC in the United States after paying billions of dollars to the IOC for exclusive rights. Many sports federations also have rights deals in place for their own international events.Exarchos said the Olympic Channel has huge synergies with NBC, which holds U.S. rights through 2032, and that the American market is a key target.The channel will offer documentaries that feature inspirational, dramatic or emotional stories of some of the biggest athletes in the world, he said, adding they wont be presented in a didactic way.`That may be a little bit of a surprise to those used to a traditionalist story line, he said. It will be presented in way that can be enjoyed by younger people.At the channels disposal is the IOCs rich trove of archive footage, much of it never seen before by the public, and some going as far back as the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. About 42,000 hours of footage that was stored at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, has been digitized and will form a core of the channels content.We dont simply replay the archive, Exarchos said. We work with it, creating fresh ways of looking at it, sometimes even in a funny or bonkers way.The channel will be offered originally in English, but localized versions in other languages are also in development.The IOC is kicking in more than half of the $450 million to finance the channel for the first seven years. The international federations and national Olympic committees are paying the rest. Exarchos said he expects the channel will break even within seven years.Why launch the channel at the close of the Rio Games? To keep the spirit going and stave off the letdown associated with the day after each Olympics, Exarchos said.Its a big opportunity to reverse the emotional down of this day, he said. It will be very much linked to the games and the end of the games.--Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilson Nike Air Max Plus Clearance . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Nike Air Max Plus Uk .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. http://www.wholesaleairmaxplusuk.com/ . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Alex Bowman still has no ride for next season. On a weekend when the championship contenders are making a bid for the title race, Bowman made a case for a full-time job.Bowman won his first career pole Friday with a strong run at Phoenix International Raceway. Bowman, the replacement driver for concussed Dale Earnhardt Jr., turned a lap at 140.521 mph to earn the top starting spot.Im still waiting for the right opportunity to come along, Bowman said. Theres nothing that has really fit that has come along. Ill still probably have my day job at Hendrick Motorsports driving the simulator. Well go from there.Bowman, who is from Tucson, ran Earnhardts car to the top of the leaderboard with NASCARs most popular driver in attendance.This is his hometown, kind of, so its awesome that all his friends are around to see him do this, Earnhardt said. This is great for his career; this is exactly what we were hoping to happen for him. Hopefully, he can put it together on Sunday.Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott qualified second and third as Chevrolets swept the top three. They also shut out the championship contenders from the top of the scoring pylon.Only Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards have spots locked down for next weeks season finale, and six drivers are vying for the remaining two slots.Of those trying to race their way into the final four, Joey Logano qualified fourth and was followed by Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.We are in good position right now, said Logano. If that was the end of the race we would move on, I think. We just have to keep looking ahead and maake sure we keep the big picture in mind. Air Max Plus For Sale Cheap. Hamlin, who is racing against three of his teammates for a spot at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was pleased with his fifth-place qualifying lap.Four cars stand in my way. Just four, its not that big of a deal, Hamlin said.Harvick is the favorite to win Sunday and has won six of his last eight races at Phoenix. When asked why hes so good at Phoenix, Harvick joked that he found a magic wand at Disney that he waves over PIR.His mood was light considering hes in a must-win situation, and the law of averages predicts he cant beat 39 other drivers at Phoenix time and time again. But Harvick noted he didnt win last Novembers race and didnt appear to be the least bit concerned about the odds. He also wasnt worried about any potential payback from Austin Dillon , the driver Harvick accidentally wrecked last week.Everybody is in the same position we are, he said. If somebody wins, theres only going to be one points guy that goes through. You need to pretend like you are in a must-win situation if you want to plan on going to Homestead.The only Chase drivers not to make it into the final round were Johnson and defending series champion Kyle Busch. Johnson already has a spot clinched in next weeks finale, but Busch will start 19th on Sunday.Martin Truex Jr. wrecked during practice and was forced into his backup car. But it couldnt pass inspection before qualifying began and Truex will start last on Sunday. ' ' '
