CAS Ruling Ahead Over USOC-IOC Row; Pan Am Broadcaster

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CAS Ruling Ahead Over USOC-IOC Row

A dispute between the USOC and IOC over the eligibility of reigning 400m Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt – and any other athlete to receive a doping ban of more than six months – ends next week.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced Wednesday that its ruling on the Olympic Charter’s controversial Rule 45 will come Oct. 6.

USOC officials argue that barring an athlete from the next Olympics for any doping ban longer than six months amounts to a second punishment for a single infraction.

IOC president Jacques Rogge, however, contends that the punishment indeed fits the crime.

"For us, it's not a matter of sanction. It's a matter of eligibility to be able to participate in the Olympic Games," he said last month on the eve of the athletic world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

"We think the athlete cannot have been sanctioned for more than six months. There is a disagreement."

Merritt returned in July from a 21-month ban for taking a male enhancement drug and went on to win 4x400m gold as well as 400m silver in Daegu.

Next week’s decision could also affect two Team Great Britain hopefuls, sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar, who would otherwise be sidelined from London 2012.The British Olympic Association bars from the Games any UK athlete to have failed a drug test, a stance the BOA could be forced to rethink should CAS rule in favor of the USOC.

Pan Am Games Get Broadcaster

The network ESPN Deportes will air the Pan American Games from Guadalajara, Mexico next month.

The competition will be covered on seven ESPN channels with at least three hours of live coverage each day from Oct. 14 to 30.

"ESPN Deportes is fulfilling the needs of the U.S. Hispanic market by broadcasting this first-class sporting event in such a radically innovative fashion that fans will feel compelled to tune in," the company’s general manager Lino Garcia said in a statement.

The network is stepping up its coverage for these Pan Ams by producing content on-site for the first time ever with a team of 90 journalists and producers. Fifteen experts in the different sports categories will also provide commentary.

The website espndeportes.com will feature information about the Games such as scores and video highlights.

Glasgow 2014 Gets Games-Time Director

Jacqui Murdoch will serve as the director of Games-time delivery for theGlasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Murdoch previously worked as a consultant for the Rio 2016 Olympic bid and was vice president of services and accommodation for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

"Bringing 20 years of international sporting events knowledge and experience to Scotland, Jacqui’s role will be absolutely crucial in ensuring that we remain on track to deliver an outstanding Games in July 2014," Glasgow 2014 CEO David Grevemberg said in a statement.

The 2014 CWG will be staged from July 24 to Aug. 3.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ann Cantrell.