With the FA announcing that Roy Hodgson is the new England manager, we take a look at his managerial CV
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/gallery/2012/may/01/roy-hodgson-managerial-career-gallery
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? Synchronised and According To Pete fatalities not preventable
? Officials say too early to say if changes will be made to the race
The two horses killed in last month's Grand National died as the result of "factors one could neither have foreseen nor prevented", according to a preliminary report on the race by the sport's ruling body. The British Horseracing Authority added that it remains "too early to speculate" whether any changes will be made to the famous Aintree race, though the starting procedures will be the focus of particular attention, as all 40 riders are judged to have broken the rules before the event finally got under way.
After an examination of the available footage, including some that has not been broadcast, the BHA found that Synchronised sustained a broken leg while running loose about half a mile after he fell at Becher's Brook, the sixth fence on the National's first circuit. The report says the horse "appears to decelerate into the [11th] fence and does not jump it cleanly, dragging his hindlegs and hindquarters through the fence. It would appear he fractured his right hind tibia and fibula in the process".
As for his original fall at Becher's, the report says Synchronised "appeared to have a clear sight of the fence and did not make a significant error but became unbalanced prior to landing and fell sideways on to his left side".
The report discounts the possibility that a pre-race incident, when the horse unseated Tony McCoy and galloped loose around part of the course, could have made any contribution to his eventual injury. He was examined by a vet after being caught and was judged to be fit to compete. His heart rate at that point was "barely elevated above normal resting rate".
According To Pete, the other horse killed, broke his off-fore humerus when brought down at Becher's Brook on the second circuit. The report describes him jumping the fence "well" but having "nowhere to go" on the landing side, thanks to On His Own falling in front of him.
However, the report notes that crowding at the fence may have made some contribution to the incident. According To Pete had a clear sight on the approach to Becher's but On His Own "was possibly left a little unsighted" as the leaders drifted in front of him from his right. This caused him "to get in close to the fence and consequently he landed steeply with reduced forward momentum, knuckling on landing and rolling to his left, into the path of According To Pete".
As for the starting procedures, the BHA ruled that all 40 riders broke the rules, either by lining up before the starter instructed them to do so or, thereafter, by lining up when the starter had explicitly told them not to do so. However, the report admits two extenuating circumstances, relating to the drama caused by Synchronised getting loose as well as "complications experienced" while the tape was reset after being broken.
In the circumstances, none of the riders will be subjected to disciplinary proceedings. The BHA has confined itself to writing to them all, expressing its "disappointment" at their conduct.
Even so, its conclusion drew a swift, disputatious response from the Professional Jockeys' Association, whose chief executive, Paul Struthers, does not accept that his members breached the rules. He said he had "made submissions to the BHA explaining why we felt disciplinary action would be both ill-advised and unfair".
Struthers added: "We are keen to work closely with both the BHA and Aintree ahead of the race next year in order to minimise as much as possible any contributory factors that cause difficulties for the jockeys, the horses and the starting team".
Jamie Stier, the BHA's director of raceday operations and regulations, said: "At this stage, it remains too early to speculate as to whether any changes will be made to the Grand National; either to the start or to other aspects. Naturally, we will be liaising closely with Aintree in collating and examining all relevant evidence from this year's meeting.
"While the focus of attention is inevitably on the Grand National, it should not be forgotten that, throughout the three days, Aintree staged top-class and highly competitive jump racing under near perfect conditions. The course deserves considerable credit for implementing the changes recommended in the 2011 Review to such good effect and for the overall success of the meeting."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/01/grand-national-report-british-horseracing-authority
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By Tasmuntjeikry Tuiloma
Samoa is the final stages of preparing the team for the London Olympics, in two months time. Fiu Peni Asi, Chief Executive Officer of Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC), says the team will be small.
?Up until now, only three athletes have confirmed their seats to represent Samoa in the upcoming Olympic Games,? he says. The athletes are Kaino Thompsen Fuataga and Talitiga Crawley, for Taekwondo and Moreen Tuimaleali?ifano for Archery. Fiu says the athletes have been granted a great opportunity to be trained abroad in preparation for London.
?Moreen is currently training in China and will later be transferred to London to await the Olympics. The same goes for Kaino and Talitiga who will be training in Korea and will arrive in London before the Games begin.? No one from boxing has yet to qualify. Weightlifting, Judo and Athletics are awaiting their qualifying tournaments.
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US planemaker to buy half of China Eastern's fleet of 10 Airbus A340 jets as part of a $6 billion deal to sell 777s to the airline
Boeing may soon be looking for buyers for long-range passenger jets built by arch-rival Airbus under a rare trade-in deal with China's third largest airline that underscores all-out competition between the planemakers.
The US planemaker has agreed to buy half of China Eastern's fleet of 10 Airbus A340 jets as part of a $6bn deal to sell 20 Boeing 777s to the airline, the Shanghai carrier said in a stock exchange filing.
Airbus has itself agreed to take back the other half of China Eastern's A340 fleet as part of a separate deal to sell 15 A330 jets, but faces likely delays in getting the deal done due to a row between China and Europe over emissions.
The two deals lift a veil on an obscure corner of the jetliner industry, where planes are traded in like used cars.
Just like car dealerships, the world's dominant aircraft manufacturers sometimes offer to take back their old models when trying to persuade airlines to upgrade to the latest models, in an industry with $100bn in annual new sales.
But experts agree it is unusual for aircraft to cross over the barrier separating Airbus and Boeing in their combative duopoly, and when they do it stokes up emotions on both sides.
"It sometimes happens but it is not their preferred route at all," said Karl Bruenjes, managing director of UK-based RPK Capital Management, a specialist in second-hand aircraft.
The deal echoes a move by Boeing to buy A340s from Singapore Airlines in the mid-1990s including some still in assembly. Back then, the aim was to support a blockbuster sale of 777s. When delivery came there was a brief spat over whether Airbus would support the A340s, according to people familiar with the deal.
The subsequent trading spawned a joke inside Boeing headquarters that Boeing had placed more A340s than Airbus that year ? a source of irritation for Airbus that may be repeated if Boeing quickly sells the jets it plans to buy this time.
Airbus halted production of the slow-selling A340 last year.
In 1984, according to industry sources and web databases, Boeing bought a handful of brand-new Airbus A310 models assigned to Kuwait Airways to allow the airline to take Boeings instead.
In the European camp, in 2008 Air Algerie told the United States that Airbus had offered to buy its entire Boeing fleet to prise open a key Boeing client, according to an unconfirmed account in a cable marked "sensitive" and released by Wikileaks.
Airbus said its policy was not to buy Boeing airplanes.
"It is very rare in this industry that someone buys their competitor's aircraft. We do not do it," sales chief John Leahy told Reuters.
Boeing said it did not comment on specific transactions, but a spokesman added: "In general it is fair to say that at times we do take airplanes in trade, including occasionally non-Boeing airplanes, as part of our orders transactions."
The A340 entered service boasting "four engines for long haul" in 1993, shortly before the 777 ushered in an era of two engines for all but the biggest aircraft or the longest routes.
While the 777 enjoyed record sales last year, Airbus decided to halt production of the A340, which was outsold four to one.
China Eastern's A340 fleet includes five A340-600s, until recently the world's longest jetliner and still relatively young at an average age of 8.3 years.
According to UK consultancy Ascend, the notional market value of these jets, which are due to be sold to Boeing, is $55m each, but some dealers called the figure optimistic.
"The A340 is a difficult market and they will be competing with the manufacturer," Bruenjes said, noting that Airbus already has nine A340s on its own list of trade-ins for sale.
"The value will mainly be in the engines, not so much the airframe. An existing operator might be interested in getting some at cheap prices, but we wouldn't pay more than $30 million each, and that's if we looked at them at all," Bruenjes said.
Airbus faces an even tougher task if gets the green light from Beijing, since its half of the proposed A340 fleet trade-in is older at roughly 15 years and the model has less range.
Ascend's market value for those five A340-300 jets is $15m each, but Bruenjes estimated a seller would be lucky to get much more than the value of the engines ? some $4m.
The A340 averaged $250m new at list prices before it was taken out of production. In practice jetmakers take trade-ins to facilitate new sales rather than make extensive profits.
Airbus says a future jet, the carbon-composite A350-1000, will leapfrog the 777 and wrest back one of the most lucrative parts of the global airliner market from Boeing. Pending that jet's arrival in 2017, the smaller A330 is selling well and the 777 is said to compete on occasions with the much larger A380.
Boeing is considering revamping the 777 to protect its grip on the 300-400 seat market and try to pre-empt the challenge from the A350-1000, which is still trying to establish momentum.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/apr/30/boeing-trade-in-deal-chinese-airline
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