World Sports Briefs: Football Win Provokes Mayhem, Ohuruogu Honors, Michael Jordan for Chicago 2016

Rioting broke out in Barcelona in the wake of its team’s Champions League final win over Manchester United. (Getty Images) Celebrations, Trouble for Barcelona

Fabled Camp Nou, home ground for Barcelona, 2009 Champions League winner, is the site of a celebration Thursday night for the team’s triumph in the UEFA Champions League final.

Barcelona easily claimed the title, its third, with a 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on Wednesday.

While the Italian police had no trouble with the crowds, the story was different in Barcelona. An outbreak of violence early Thursday morning has resulted in injuries to as many 242 people according to one report. Anarchists challenging a police line are blamed for the eruption. More than 100 people are reported to have been arrested.

More than 100,000 people gathered in Barcelona to see the match on TV screens set up outdoors.

Ohuruogu Honored at Buckingham Palace

Olympic and world champion Christine Ohuruogu received her MBE from Prince Charles in a ceremony Thursday at Buckingham Palace. British Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu receives an MBE from Prince Charles. (Getty Images)

Ohuruogu was the only British Olympian to win an athletics gold medal in Beijing, capturing the 400 meters. She will defend her 400m world title at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August.

"I am delighted to have been conferred such a prestigious honor," Ohuruogu said. "Receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace today alongside so many inspirational people has been a very special experience which I was pleased to share with my family.

"The British public's tremendous support and enthusiasm further to the success of the British athletes at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games gave me even more motivation for 2009 and all the way to London 2012."

She added that "receiving this honor has made me even more determined to retain my World title."

Ohuruogu has opted to open her outdoor season at a low-key meet in a Paris suburb on June 11 in lieu of the opening Golden League event in Berlin on June 14. That means she will not be in the running for the million dollar Golden League jackpot, which requires athletes to win every meet.

Jordan Gives Chicago a Boost

Michael Jordan is appearing in two public service announcements for Chicago 2016 that began airing on Windy City television stations this week with the tagline "Back the Bid." Michael Jordan is appearing in a couple of promotional videos for Chicago’s 2016 bid. (Getty Images)

In the first 30-second spot, Jordan, who won gold medals in 1984 and 1992, calls representing the United States at the Olympics "one of the proudest moments of my life."

"The Olympic Spirit, it's alive in Chicago," he adds, before deftly delivering the bid slogan, "Let friendship shine."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c26Anl6JpKI

In the other PSA, Jordan talks about Paralympian April Holmes. "What a tremendous lady," he says. "Any time I see her, I go over and give her a big hug because of the motivation that she gives all of us -- just by looking at her and understanding her dedication to the sport, her dedication to life."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLiJSQNnCHc

Some of the Jordan footage appeared in a greeting to the IOC Evaluation Commission in April and was in the athlete endorsement film, "Moments."

Additional PSAs based on the other short films will debut over the next few months before the vote on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen at the IOC Session.

"Having athletes like Michael and April appear in our PSAs reinforces the support we have from the athlete community while giving the people of Chicago a glimpse into how the Olympic Movement changed their lives," says Patrick G. Ryan, chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016.

Briefs…

…The Finnish Olympic Committee has set a goal for its athletes to win 12 medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Finland will attempt to improve on its performance at the 2006 Games in Turin, where it won nine medals –six silver and three bronze.

…AIBA has ordered the Tanzania Boxing Federation (TBF) to re-apply for membership after being expelled by the international boxing federation for a drug trafficking scandal last year. The TBF had its AIBA membership revoked after two boxers and a coach were arrested in Mauritius on a drug trafficking charge, with former TBF president Shaaban Mintanga being implicated as well.

…The IAAF has reached agreements to televise the 2009 world athletics championships in Berlin in 212 territories worldwide, a record for the event. The figure was achieved after the Asian Broadcasting Union agreed to extend its current deal to include the Indian sub-continent, which was the last territory to be covered.

…The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) named its first Women’s Baseball Committee and reviewed a plan to continue the development of women’s baseball globally Wednesday. The committee will also review the 2010 IBAF Women’s World Cup site and the IBAF Women’s Baseball World rankings before the IBAF’s presentation to the IOC in June.

…USA Cycling has selected Andrea Smith to be its new director of media and communications. Smith was previously the communications manager for the organization.

…The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) awarded seven 2008 Jamaican gold medalists with souvenir gold coins Wednesday. Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Nesta Carter, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Michael Frater, Asafa Powell and Melaine Walker received the coins. BOJ also gave the coins tofive Jamaican Olympic staff members, including Bolt’s manager and coach.

…Paul Marshall, the first and only black Britain Olympic swimmer, has died after a fight with bowel cancer. He was 48. Marshall broke the 100m backstroke record in the 1978 Commonwealth Games, competed in the 1980 Moscow Olympics and eventually opened Madley Marketing, with his wife, Gina, who is pregnant with their first child together.

Written by Ed Hula, Karen Rosen, Greg Oshust and Isia Reaves