Grant Holt: Norwich City reject striker's transfer request

The 31-year-old was on target 17 times this season in all competitions and was the Premier League's second-highest English marksman with 15 goals.

Norwich have refused to confirm that the former Nottingham Forest forward has asked to leave the club.

But BBC Radio Norfolk has learned of his surprise request, which comes after three years at Carrow Road in which he has helped them into the top flight.

Holt joined the club when they were in League One, helping them win back-to-back promotions, and has finished as Norwich's top scorer every season, netting 70 goals in 130 appearances.

His form this term had led to speculation he could feature in Roy Hodgson's England squad for this summer's European Championships.

The powerful striker was not included, although team-mate John Ruddy was selected as one of Hodgson's three goalkeepers for the tournament.

Holt, who has two years to run on his Norwich contract, was brought to the club by Bryan Gunn, the predecessor to current manager Paul Lambert.

He arrived from Shrewsbury for a reported £400,000 fee after spells with Halifax, Barrow, Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale and Forest.

The future of Lambert has also been subject to speculation after the Scot guided the Canaries to mid-table security in their first Premier League campaign for seven seasons.

He had been strongly connected to the vacant Aston Villa post, but the Midlands club are in talks with former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Source By bbc.co.uk

Twitter Teams Up With ESPN for Custom Ad Programs

Twitter has launched a deal with ESPN to create custom ad programs around major sporting events.

The program to be announced at ESPN’s upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday, will begin with a campaign around the upcoming NBA finals. That effort will be promoted over Twitter, ESPN, ABC and ESPN’s various digital properties.

“Working together, ESPN and Twitter are giving marketers a clear and powerful way to link on-air and online social conversations around sports,” said Joel Lunenfeld, Twitter’s vp-global brand strategy, in a press release announcing the move. “It’s the first time advertisers can engage the audience around ESPN’s premier content across screens and where the conversation is happening on Twitter.”

The NBA Finals program, called GameFace, will be integrated into live ABC broadcasts and ESPN’s NBA Tonight programming with a dedicated Twitter hashtag #GameFace.

Fans will be encouraged to tweet photographs of their “game face” in the campaign. NBA Tonight analysts will then reveal the best photographs on-air at the conclusion of each game.

On Twitter, #GameFace will be supported through Twitter’s Promoted Products suite (including a Promoted Trend during the Finals), and will be promoted via the @NBAonESPN Twitter handle. When the Finals end, ESPN basketball analyst Jalen Rose will tweet his top five favorite #GameFace entries. The winner will get a tour of ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters.

Upcoming campaigns under the partnership will include the Super Bowl, the World Series and the NASCAR Chase for the Cup, among others.

Source BY Mashable.com

Sporting Chances In South Sudan

The close links between sport and national identity are all too evident in many countries today.

Democrats and demagogues alike have at times used sport to plunder and unite their people.

In Sporting Chances, Farayi Mungazi explores the power of basketball to create a national identity in newly independent South Sudan, as well as give its people a sense of dignity and pride.

Source BY bbc.co.uk