THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014 SPORTS

College football begins with low-key opening game

ATLANTA: Welcome back, college football! The sea- ago. The Panthers were one of only two FBS teams “I like the idea of being able to go somewhere and a 6-5 mark last year as they made the transition to the son begins Wednesday night with a game that won’t that failed to win a game, joining Miami of Ohio. Now, start something new, start a new tradition, take a higher level. They had no trouble scoring against have any impact on the national championship race: they’re hosting the very first game of the season. “It’s team that really hasn’t won very many games and tougher competition, averaging 45.5 points and 487 Georgia State, starting its first year as a full-fledged a huge opportunity for us,” said Nick Arbuckle, bring them into an era of actually winning and maybe yards per game. FBS member, takes on Division I newcomer Abilene Georgia State’s new starting quarterback. “It brings a competing for the conference championship and win- After the low-key opener, there are plenty of big Christian at the Georgia Dome. It will be the first of spotlight to us, and hopefully we can take advantage ning some bowl games.” games spread over the rest of the holiday weekend, three games in four days at the stadium in down- of that.” Coach Trent Miles knows the most immediate pri- many of which could have an impact down the road town Atlanta, the others having a bit more curb The Panthers, who launched their football pro- ority is simply winning a game. “Our kids are just excit- on the new four-team playoff. No 9 South Carolina appeal. No 18 Mississippi faces Boise State on gram in 2010, have lost 16 straight games and 22 of ed to play, to go out and chase the victory and put the hosts No 21 Texas A&M in a Southeastern Conference Thursday night, then No 2 Alabama meets West 23 over the last two seasons. While they are now eligi- demons away,” he said. “It wouldn’t matter whether it’s clash on Thursday. Two days later, No 12 Georgia Virginia on Saturday. ble for the Sun Belt Conference championship and the first college game or the third or the 10th.” Abilene entertains 16th-ranked Clemson in nearby Athens; No Georgia State was forced to move its opener to the bowl invitations, those goals seem far down the road. Christian moved up from Division II to the Football 13 LSU takes on 14th-ranked Wisconsin in Houston; middle of the week to accommodate the Chick-fil-A Arbuckle hopes to get the process started after trans- Championship Subdivision after the 2012 season. The and top-ranked Florida State, the defending national Kickoff Games, but at least that gives the school a lit- ferring from a junior college in California. “There were Wildcats, a member of the Southland Conference, champion, travels to Texas to take on Oklahoma State tle something to brag about after going 0-12 a year a lot of people wondering why I picked here,” he said. have posted eight straight winning seasons, including at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington. — AP

Sponsorships lift extreme sports to the next level

WASHINGTON: Erich Wegscheider is a man with a plan: to com- pete in 28 of the world’s toughest cycling, mountaineering, triathlon and ultra-marathon events-and find sponsors to foot the bills. “It’s not cheap. To do all these events is well beyond my means,” said the California-based athlete as he prepared to tick the grueling 104-mile Leadville Trail mountain bike race in Colorado off his bucket list. He’s not alone. With extreme sports growing in popularity worldwide, more and more practitioners are partner- ing with corporate patrons to help cover the cost of their passion, if not make a living out of it. In North America alone, brands are projected to spend $14.35 billion on sports sponsorship this year, up 4.9 percent from 2013, according to sponsorship consultancy IEG in Chicago. The lion’s share of that bounty goes to professional teams and A-list mainstream athletes who can deliver huge num- bers of fans to brands looking for high-volume exposure. “But we’re definitely seeing some of that money trickle down to action sports,” IEG’s Sponsorship Report senior editor William Chipps told SINGAPORE: A man skis at SKI360Degree, a cable-ski facility set in a small lagoon along SINGAPORE: A girl starts to ski at SKI360Degree, a cable-ski facility set in a small lagoon AFP, although it remains “a very small sliver” of the overall sponsor- Singapore’s east coast. Singapore, which is known as a ‘nanny-state’ for strict regulations, along Singapore’s east coast. ship pie. Red Bull is the 800-pound gorilla of extreme sports spon- has developed safe versions of extreme sports to satisfy its citizens’ cravings for thrills sorship. It has backed hundreds of athletes in a variety of activi- while limiting the risks. — AFP ties-including Felix Baumgartner, who bore the energy drink’s logo on his record-setting 24-mile skydive to Earth in 2012 - as well as producing its own events. “Fundamentally, they want to do cool things with their brand,” Fast, not furious in said ice climber and paraglider Will Gadd, who credits Red Bull for enabling him to make a film about his 2006 expedition to climb icebergs drifting off Labrador, in his native Canada. “The reality is that I would have gone and done it anyway, even without Red Bull’s support, because it’s what I wanted to do,” said Gadd before Asia’s ‘nanny state’ setting off on his latest exploit-paragliding the length of British Columbia through the Rocky Mountain Trench valley, again with Red Bull’s support. “If you’re really good at what you do, that’s not really enough. What you have to do, year after, year, is do a good SINGAPORE: When 13 year-old Singaporean Choo Yixuan sitting on a rubber tube in an indoor “Snow City”, cable-ski- a lot of potential. There isn’t much land here in Singapore, job of representing a company to the public and to your core wants to take a break from her grueling daily schedule of ing around a pond, and wakeboarding along a tiny strip of but (these) places show that you can certainly do some out- sport. “If that comes naturally, then it’s usually pretty easy.” schoolwork and swim training, she dons a jumpsuit to go water. door sports in a small area too,” he told AFP after an after- skydiving-without a parachute. But her parents need not noon of wakeboarding at the Ski360Degree facility-a cable- Sponsors ‘doing the legwork’ worry - Choo’s thrice-weekly indulgence happens inside a Risk aversion ski facility set in a small lagoon along Singapore’s east coast. In the best-case scenario, a sponsored extreme sport athlete wind tunnel, shielding her from the risk of dramatic mishaps “The younger generation of Singaporeans are looking for However, others say cost remains a barrier hindering can earn “probably a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year,” in the sky. The self-confessed adrenaline junkie is among the extreme sports that offer exhilarating experiences, but they more people from coming on board as extreme sports said Gadd, who personally gets much of his income from TV com- growing ranks of young Singaporeans taking up versions of are also calculating the level of risk it poses,” Lawrence Koh, a enthusiasts in Singapore. Two hours at Ski360Degree will set mercials and stunt work. More often than not, the norm is spon- sports whose only extreme element is their level of safety. former veteran military skydiver who founded iFly Singapore you back Sg$64 ($51) on a weekend, while two 45-second sorship in kind instead of cash. US skydiver Taya Weiss considers “I don’t see anything ‘extreme’ about indoor sky-diving, in said. While the bulk of indoor skydivers at the facility-housed dives at the iFly Singapore wind tunnel costs Sg$99. herself “pretty lucky” to get her wingsuit, parachutes and harness- fact it is actually very, very safe,” said Choo, a student at the inside a gleaming glass building on the resort island Mastering special moves is the main allure at SKI360Degree, es from her sport’s artisanal equipment manufacturers, which elite Singapore Sports School and an aspiring professional Sentosa-are one-time thrill seekers, Koh said nearly a hun- where an automated cable system pulls wakeboarders or can’t afford grand marketing budgets. “If you want to get good at swimmer. Choo was recently part of a team that set a dred are committed local hobbyists. water skiers around a 650-metre (0.40 miles) circuit at a this, you really have to put your heart and soul into it, and a lot of Guinness World Record for the most number of passes Vernon Quek, a 28-year-old Christian pastor, is one of speed of up to 58 kilometres (36 miles) an hour. “Many of your time-and it’s expensive,” said Weiss, who reckons she carries through a hula hoop while indoor-skydiving. A study by them, making weekly visits to the wind tunnel to practice our customers see this as a safer alternative to doing water $8,000 worth of gear when she wingsuits out of a plane. Western Michigan University School of Medicine released “Dynamic 4 Way”, a form of synchronized indoor skydiving. sports out in the sea, it is a more controlled environment,” Kris Mathis, founder of SponsorPitch.com, a matchmaking earlier this year showed that out of four million injuries relat- The indoor version may be without planes or parachutes but said Roy Teo, the facility’s managing director. service for athletes and sponsors, said the idea of wearing a spon- ed to extreme sports in the United States from 2010-2011, 11 Quek says the skills required are similar to the real thing. “It The course has multiple ramps and sliders that allow sor’s logo and getting a check every month for doing so no longer percent of those were to the head and neck. is important to master the basic positions,” he said. “After cable-skiers to “trick-ski”, while some choose to slalom applies. “More and more, the successful sponsorship seekers that Such a trend would be unacceptable in Singapore, long that, the joy of being able to zoom around the tunnel, flying through the closed lagoon-located just metres away from an we are seeing... are putting in the effort to really think like a brand called Asia’s “nanny-state” due to government policy that is by controlling your hands, feet, body et cetera is simply awe- actual beach. Teo said while Singaporeans had come in manager,” and doing the legwork to find the right corporate part- seen as overprotective and controlling. The city republic’s some.” There are risks however. Quek said he once paid the droves when the facility opened in 2006, the numbers have ner, he said. The counter-cultural streak that ran through extreme tiny size-an airplane enters Indonesian and Malaysian air- price for sloppily-tied shoelaces. “I quickly learnt that when dwindled since, with most of the 100-odd skiers daily being sports in the past has meanwhile waned in response to the phe- space within minutes of takeoff from Changi Airport-also shoes get sucked up into the tunnel, they usually don’t make expatriates or tourists. Unlike iFly Singapore, cable-skiing nomenal growth of major events like the annual X Games, forces Singapore to make the most of its compact geogra- it back in one piece!” requires exposure to the elements-an experience some peo- which mark their 20th anniversary next year. “There’s less of a phy. iFly Singapore, the territory’s only wind tunnel for ple don’t enjoy too much in the humid and rainy tropical stigma attached to getting corporate dollars,” said indoor skydiving, has seen over 150,000 visitors since its ‘Controlled environment’ nation. “I think Singaporeans would love it if there was some- Georgetown University marketing professor Marlene Morris opening in 2011. There are other options for Singapore’s Greg Pavlov, a 22-year-old Australian expatriate, said the thing like this indoors. We cannot stand it when there’s no Towns.— AFP daredevil hardcore-such as sliding down a mini-slope while city-state’s extreme sports scene is expanding fast. “There is air-conditioning,” Teo said. — AFP

Rugbyl-super preview Australia dig deep; Godwin, Faingaa Chan eyes derby win called into squad

to aid play-off place : Australia coach Ewen McKenzie admitted he was down to bare bones in some departments after losing hooker Nathan Charles to a season-ending injury and back Pat McCabe LEEDS: Jason Chan might be days away club on a good note and hopefully I can to a neck fracture that looks like ending his career. The pair were from a crunch derby with adopted club do that. This club is clearly on the rise both injured in the 51-20 Rugby Championship defeat to New Hull KR but he’s looking past Friday’s with very good foundations and a suc- Zealand last weekend, forcing McKenzie to name a 30-man clash with fierce city rivals Hull FC and cessful under-19s side this season. The squad for next week’s test against South Africa in Perth without one place up the Super League ladder. future looks good.” them. McCabe fractured his neck for the third time in the match Chan is set to taste his first Hull derby Meanwhile Salford Red Devils for- and his coach Stephen Larkham told ABC radio on since joining Rovers on loan from ward Steve Rapira, who joined on a Wednesday that the 26-year-old would be retiring from rugby. Huddersfield Giants in the middle of two-year contract from NRL outfit New Charles, who got his chance after injuries to Stephen Moore July as the two meet in their third and Zealand Warriors last September, has and Tatafu Polota-Nau, was ruled out for the rest of the season final regular season clash at the KC returned home on compassionate with a pectoral tear he sustained at Eden Park. Uncapped centre Stadium. However rather than worry leave. Salford are currently tenth in the Kyle Godwin, scheduled to return this weekend after four about the small matter of Hull FC, who Super League table, two points adrift of months in the sidelines, was brought in to the squad to bolster are almost ruled out of play-off con- Hull KR with three games to go and a the backline along with 29-test hooker Saia Faingaa, who is likely tention, five points adrift in 12th, Chan trip to Wakefield up next on Sunday, to back up James Hanson in Perth. Polota-Nau, who suffered a is looking just above at eighth-place although Rapira is hopeful of a swift knee injury in the Super Rugby final, was also included in the Widnes Vikings. Widnes currently occu- return from New Zealand. “We will keep squad but will definitely not play the Springboks and is an out- py the last remaining play-off spot by in further discussions with Steve,” said side chance to face Argentina on the Gold Coast the following two points and a place ahead of Chan Salford chief executive Martin Vickers. week. “We’re digging deep in the hooking area,” McKenzie said. and Hull KR with three matches left but “At the moment he is planning to “James played really well the other day and Saia has the experi- have won just twice in their last six in all return.” ence. “With Tatafu, I have an idea in my head that if we have him with the group, he won’t be far away for the Pumas match. Next competitions. Rovers are seeking an his- Meanwhile Danny McGuire is deter- week’s a stretch but the week after is looking more positive.” toric maiden clean sweep of derby wins mined to ensure his pivotal role in by either team - although despite his Leeds. Rhinos’ first Challenge Cup final Not available reluctance Chan is looking a little fur- victory in seven attempts since last lift- McKenzie said it was hugely disappointing for Charles to suf- ther ahead to securing play-off football. ing the trophy in 1999 didn’t come at fer another serious injury after he missed much of the 2013 sea- “Widnes are catchable and with the the cost of injury. McGuire scored a try son because of a knee problem. “He’s done outstandingly well squad we have I think we can overtake and kicked a late drop-goal in the 23-10 and made a big contribution to this Wallabies squad, particularly them,” said the Australian-born Papa win over Castleford Tigers at Wembley technically,” he said. The versatile and pacy Godwin would prob- New Guinea international, who’ll return but damaged a rib during the match ably have already made his test debut had he not suffered from Down Under at the end of the season. and was rushed to hospital after the a string of injuries over the last couple of years. The 22-year-old “We have some very good structures in final hooter. Leeds are one of four missed the back end of the Super Rugby season for the Western place and we have to stick to them teams tied on 32 points in the Super Force because of a knee injury and is scheduled to make his against Hull, Catalan and Wakefield. League table and welcome leaders St return in the National Rugby Championship this weekend. They are all winnable games for us Helens on Friday. “It is nothing serious; “We’ve been impressed with him for some time, he just between now and the end of the sea- it’s just ribs - rib cartilage. I will just see hasn’t been available at the right time,” McKenzie added. “We son. “Between now and the end of the how it goes, see how it settles down,” want to see him and put him in among some of the players and season I want to play all the remaining said McGuire. “It is one of those injuries see what he’s like. “Hopefully we haven’t jumped the gun on games. I want to stay injury free and that takes a while to settle down and it him (but) whether he plays or not is another matter.” Adam BRISBANE: A file photo shows Australian Wallbies player Pat McCabe (center) being tack- play my part in getting Rovers to the might be a case of just cracking on with Ashley-Cooper is almost certain to start against the Springboks led in their match against the New Zealand All Blacks in Brisbane. Wallaby back Pat play-offs. “I’m determined to leave this it.”— AFP but his listing in the squad as one of four “back three” players McCabe has retired from rugby after fracturing his neck for a third time, his ACT indicated to some that he might not retain his position at out- coach Stephen Larkham said yesterday. — AFP side centre. —Reuters