Rogge Offers Condolences for Crash Victims; 2012 Olympic Gang Warning

Condolences Follow Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Crash

IOC president Jacques Rogge offers his condolences in the wake of a Wednesday plane crash that killed an entire Russian professional hockey team.

"This is a very tragic day for the world of sport," he wrote in a letter sent to the National Olympic Committees of Belarus, Germany, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia as well as Sweden and shared partially with Around the Rings.

"Our thoughts are with their families during this very difficult time."

Athletes from each of those six countries boarded the flight to Belarus for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s opening game of the Kontinental Hockey League season, but the plane crashed shortly into take-off after flying into radar equipment.

International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel later referred to the accident as "the darkest day in the history of our sport" and quickly rerouted his flight plans to Moscow instead of the Russian city of Saransk, where he was scheduled to attend a sports forum.

"In this very hard time, I wanted to be with my friends from the hockey family," he told Russian Ice Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak during a Friday press conference.

"My heart is bleeding with you."

Fasel will travel to Yaroslavl on Saturday for memorial services.

Of the 43 passengers killed in the crash, 35 were players, officials and staff of the local hockey club, including several Olympic and world champions.

Gang Warning for Games

Britain’s Home Secretary warns that the 2012 Olympics could be targeted by London’s gangs.

A retired officer told the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee that the organized criminal groups would target the Games. MPs then relayed the fears to Theresa May, who spoke to a parliamentary committee Thursday cautioning them that the gangs could be the same ones involved with last month’s London riots.

One media report quoted May as saying: "Gangs can commit crimes during the Olympic Games."

She added, however, that Games organizers are "studying ways of fighting against criminals on the basis of experience of riot suppression this August."

The Guardian says gangs are "prevalent" in London’s East End, where the Olympic Park and other venues are located.

New Canadian Olympic Consortium

A Canadian media consortium will end up bidding for the 2014 and 2016 Olympic broadcasting rights.

On Friday, the CBC said it would join with Bell Media to bid for the broadcasting rights just a day after Rogers said it would not be part of the consortium. The current partnership broadcast the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and has the rights to the 2012 Games.

The current Bell/Rogers agreement sees the two organizations sharing the Games 80/20 with Bell takingthe lion's share. However, CBC sports chief Jeffrey Orridgesaid their deal would be "much more equitable."

"We’ve been involved in five Olympics prior to 2010 and 2012," he said. "We’ve got experience, expertise in terms of production. We feel the complement of talent we have here is unparalleled."

Commonwealth Games Evaluation

Hambantota 2018 received quality marks from the Commonwealth Games Evaluation Commission.

The commission wrote in its report that the Sri Lankan city proposed "the most compact Commonwealth Games concept designs ever developed."

In a statement, Hambantota Bid CEO/Director Nalin Attygalle said: "We know there is still a great deal of hard work to be done in the final race to the finishing line but we welcome the finding that we meet every single technical requirement."

Gold Coast, Australia is the other city bidding for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. There was no immediate reaction from Gold Coast about the report.

The host city will be announced at the Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly in St Kitts & Nevis on Nov. 11.

Media Watch

Salt Lake broadcaster KSL recalls the impact 9/11 had on the 2002 Olympics.

On The Guardian’s sport blog, Richard Williams writes that the Paralympics "will be no sideshow" in London next year.

With reporting from Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.