The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Australia beat Thais to advance in World Cup qualifying Posted: 15 Nov 2011 06:54 AM PST  Brett Holman (left) celebrates his winning goal. Behind him is striker Josh Kennedy. — Reuters pic Holman popped up unmarked in the area in the 76th minute and nodded home a Brett Emerton cross from five metres to see off a Thai side that battled to stay in the competition but paid a heavy price for missed chances. Australia struggled in the Bangkok heat but ended up winners of Group D with one match left to play, taking 12 points from five games, ahead of Saudi Arabia who meet Oman later today. Datsakorn Thonglao directed most of the Thai attacks, floating the ball out to the wings and pacy winger Suree Sukha, who could have scored twice. Australia were without the injured Harry Kewell, and lofty forward Joshua Kennedy proved largely ineffective, beaten several times in the air and kept at bay by the diminutive keeper Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool. Kennedy had a chance in the 28th minute and almost put the visitors ahead, bending low and nodding an Emerton cross into the hands of Sinthaweechai. Suree almost broke the deadlock for Thailand in the 35th minute, latching on to a perfect lofted ball from Datsakorn but blasting over the bar from six metres with only keeper Mark Schwarzer to beat. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Phelps ahead of opposition with London Olympics deal Posted: 15 Nov 2011 04:52 AM PST NEW YORK, Nov 15 — The 2012 London Olympics are still more than seven months away but Michael Phelps is already one of the biggest winners. The American swimmer, who has already won a record 14 Olympic gold medals and is expected to add to his glittering stockpile in London, has just signed a lucrative endorsement deal with the International Olympic Committee's newest worldwide partner, Procter & Gamble.  Michael Phelps, swimmer with the mostest with a head of hair Head & Shoulders above the competition for confidence. — Reuters pic "Michael Phelps is a three-time Olympian and one of the most iconic global athletes of our time," Belen Carazo, the director of global communications for Head & Shoulders, told Reuters ahead of the announcement. "We feel that Michael Phelps is a great ambassador for confidence — when performing at the highest level of sport, there is simply no room for doubt." P&G said the contract with Phelps would run for two years, until 2013. The company would not reveal the financial terms of the deal although industry experts said the swimmer's fee would almost certainly be a seven-figure sum. "At this point of his career, it's not about financial remuneration for Michael," Peter Carlisle, Phelps' agent at sports marketing firm Octagon, told Reuters. "His promotion of a product has to go much deeper and allow him to accomplish more things. "Michael has always wanted to help grow the sport of swimming and he needs global brands that can help him spread his message all over the world." Pulling power Carlisle, who has worked with Phelps for around a decade, has been flooded by endorsement offers for his client but said less than 10 per cent ever got signed because of the complexity of striking a deal with the most decorated Olympian of all time and his ambition to spread his message worldwide. "He's one of the few truly global iconic athletes, but only a few brands can really match him," Carlisle said. "That's why this was such a compelling match for both sides." As much as anything else, the deal with P&G also serves as testimony to Phelps's rising popularity and pulling power after his record-breaking eight-gold medal haul at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His public image took a battering when the now defunct British tabloid News of the World published photographs of him inhaling from a glass pipe used for smoking marijuana, but he has survived unscathed. Phelps apologised and was suspended by USA Swimming for three months, but his sponsors stuck with him despite ongoing speculation they would ditch him en masse. Only Kellogg's, whose deal with Phelps was about to expire shortly after the pictures were published, did not renew their contract with him. Phelps, now 26, weathered the storm and is steadily adding more companies to his bulging portfolio in the final countdown to London, his fourth and final Olympics before he hangs up his goggles. "Who would have thought, five years ago, that a swimmer would sign a deal for a hair product," Phelps told Reuters in an interview. "But this was a good match and it's a product I have actually used for years because I'm in chlorine so much. "My sponsors are like family. Some have been with me from step one. They have always supported me through the good times and bad times." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan