We have just completed week 3 of The UK Sports Network and have been delighted by the discussions that have taken place around the topics, the amount of people who are coming to the site and where articles have been quoted on other sites but more about that later.

As I write many of you will be waiting in anticipation to Tiger Woods staged press conference after his sabbatical from the public arena.  Is the timing of this conference in any way co-incidental with the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona starting tomorrow?  Ernie Els, Oliver Wilson and Paul Casey certainly think his timing was poor to put it politely. 

“It’s selfish. This takes a lot away from the tournament,” Els told American magazine Golf Week.

Other points of debate have the continuing sagas at Portsmouth FC.  Portsmouth has asked the FA and FIFA for permission to sell players outside of the transfer window to help generate much needed income ahead of their next High Court date on the 1^st March.  Even West Ham United co-Owner David Gold has offered £10m to help keep them afloat!  You have to feel for the fans as their season goes from bad to worse on a daily basis.

The FA has come up with the innovative and unique idea of a Play-Off to decide who will qualify for the final sport in the Champions League.  As Mark Segal pointed out in his article this week (http://www.theuksportsnetwork.com/the-battle-for-seventh-no-thanks/) there is the small issue that we are not guaranteed 4 places each year as it’s based on past performances in the competition by the country.  What would happen if went down to just 3 spots; would they move the play-off places up one to keep the idea alive?  Personally I think has as much chance as the brilliant 39^th game idea (not much!).

In Formula 1 all the teams are getting in some much needed testing ahead of the first race in Bahrain next month…… well not quite all the teams.  USF1 have suffered from sponsors pulling out and apparently don’t even have a car as yet whilst doubts remain about Campos being able to enter a car in 2010.  Waiting in the wings is a surprise contender from Serbia.  Stefan F1 has a car and close to announcing the signing of Jacques Villeneuve and Kazuki Nakajima if they get the green light.

Back to UKSN and we have been delighted that last week’s interview with Manchester City has been picked up so well around the globe.  It has been mentioned twice on the main www.mcfc.co.uk website on their articles on ‘Tweet if you love City’ and ’79,506 people like this’ as well as on the award winning US soccer site Pitch Invasion.

This week’s articles have been diverse to say the least.  Even I have been typing away with my thoughts on LinkedIn and how it should be used when building relationships.  Here is a summary of this weeks offerings…..

Can social media help bring fans back to your official site? (by Ash Read)

I recently put out a question on Twitter, blogs and fan sites: Sports fans, where do you go for information about your favourite teams/athletes, official sites or other sources? 

Is LinkedIn Enough? (by Daniel McLaren)

I and many of you who read this will be massive fans of LinkedIn and what it can do for your business and your own profile. But is it enough just to make new contacts, start discussions and become thought leaders?

The Impact of Sports Broadcasting: A bottomless pit or a road to oblivion? (by Dave Lowe)

Sports broadcasting has come a long way from its humble beginnings back in the 1920s in America.  The first broadcast was of a World Championship boxing match involving Jack Dempsey via radio before expanding to cover other sports such as baseball. 

The Battle for Seventh? No Thanks (by Mark Segal)

The Guardian’s ever-excellent David Conn’s report on Monday that the Premier League is proposing to introduce a play-off for the final Champions League place is the sort of story which gets people talking from the boardroom to the pub.

4 Concepts to Develop Your People (by Dr Richard Harris)

Professional development sees a person in only one dimension – their job (sport or otherwise). People development looks at that same person as a whole – a sum of specific roles e.g. athlete, partner, business owner and school governor.

JOB BOARD

Centre of Excellence Manager job – U9-U16 (from football-jobs.com)

Press Officer – international motorsport (from F1 Recruitment)

PR Senior Account Executive – immediate opportunity in sport! London (from Sporting Appointments)

Learning and Development Adviser for a leading insurance company based in Cheltenham (from Sport2Business)

I hope all have a great weekend, enjoy (or cringe) at Tiger Woods press conference and above all have fun! 

Don’t forget to sign up to the UKSN newsletter on the website.  You will be the first to hear about new development, events and features as time goes by.

Daniel McLaren

Founder @ The UK Sports Network