Johnson on Bus Driver Demands; Distrust of Indian NOC; U.S. Sailing Selections

Boris Johnson on Bus Driver Demands

Olympics mayor Boris Johnson says he’s not the man to solve a row that has London bus drivers demanding additional payments during the Games.

British trade union Unite unveiled plans Thursday to begin balloting up to 21,000 members beginning next week in hopes that the threat of strike will help them secure $800 bonuses for a summer that will see them accommodate an expected 800,000 extra passengers.

"These contracts are the responsibility of the bus companies themselves and it would be wrong of me really to step in and replace the bus companies in the negotiation," Johnson told London radio station LBC 97.3 FM on Friday.

"What I can say about the tube drivers and that negotiation is that they were genuinely being asked to do more time, to show real flexibility."

Olympic bonuses are already promised to employees of London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railways, Network Rail and Virgin.

"They are the only transport workers in London who will not receive an award for their major contribution to keeping London moving during the Olympics," union official Peter Kavanagh said Friday in a statement.

"Boris Johnson has turned his back on over 20,000 bus workers who will be on the frontline during the Olympics."

Maken: Government Can’t Trust IOA

India’s sports minister, V.K. Malhotra, says the India Olympic Association cannot be trusted as long as Suresh Kalmadi remains in office.

The statement came in a letter from Malhotra asking to postpone the South Asian Games until the "second half of 2014". The Games were originally scheduled for 2012 and then re-scheduled for 2013.

"Under the current scenario, the IOA is facing flak and has been unsuccessful in removing Suresh Kalmadi even after facing such serious corruption charges. It is not possible to trust the IOA and they do not seem competent to hold any big games," Maken was quoted by Indian news outlets.

Kalmadi stepped away from his responsibilities as IOA president following corruption allegations around his organization of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. He has yet to relinquish the role to acting president VK Malhotra but did send a letter to the IOA effectively retiring from the "first line" of its administration.

Perhaps to underscore his sentiments, Maken added that as long as Kalmadi is in office, the IOA "shouldn't really expect the federal government to believe in it or shoulder any responsibility to it."

USA Sailing Selections

Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi will sail for Team USA when women’s match racing makes itsOlympic debut at London 2012.

They booked their berths by winning this week’s "first-to-six-wins" final of the US Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta in Weymouth and Portland, where the trio will return in less than three months for sailing events at the Summer Games.

Tunnicliffe won Laser Radial gold in 2008 while Capozzi competed in Beijing with Sally Barkow, who captained this week’s runner-up boat.Vandemoer is an Olympic newcomer.

Azerbaijan Stages Inaugural Cycling Tour

The inaugural Heydar Aliyev Anniversary Tour of Azerbaijan ended this week.

A release from the Baku 2020 bid says 180 cyclists from 17 countries competed.

Baku 2020 CEO Konul Nurullayeva said the race showed cycling is gaining momentum in Azerbaijan.

"This fits perfectly with our Bid’s stated aim, which is to offer the Olympic Movement a new, sustainable model of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, based on genuine existing and future demand for sports facilities," she said.

Antigua Olympic Project Held Up

The president of the Antigua & Barbuda Olympic Association says an Olympic project in the country is possibly being delayed by politics.

Chet Greene, also a senator with the opposition Antigua Labor Party, says the government blocked plans for the ABOA to assume responsibilities of the islands’ former Nurses’ Hostel. The NOC would renovate the facility, creating a multi-sport training complex with offices for all national federations.

He tells The Antigua Observerhe heard rumors that politics were at play, saying: "It sounds to have some truth to it.

"I don’t want to rush to conclusions because I want to believe people would see sports the way that I do, as an apolitical or non-political endeavor," he added.

Greene insists he has documentation from the IOC and Pan American Sports Organization supporting the proposed center.

"So I am left to wonder what really could be the reason, other than politics, why they are not giving us the center."

Media Watch

Sail World analyzes the potential impact of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation’s admission that its representative at last weekend’s mid-year meeting of the International Sailing Federation went against instructions when casting his ballot for kiteboarding over windsurfing. The final tally was 19-17.

"Had the Spanish councillor voted according to what RFEV claim were his instructions, then the controversial vote would have been tied 18-18, and it is likely that windsurfing as the incumbent sport would have been retained," writes Richard Gladwell.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.

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