Digger: Former Sunderland defender Phil Babb has rescued Golf Punk magazine from potential closure. By Paul Kelso The former Sunderland and Republic of Ireland defender Phil Babb has stepped in to save the award-winning Golf Punk magazine from closure, taking control of the publication through his company, JF Media. Babb was an early investor in the title along with his former Sunderland team-mates Michael Gray, Thomas Sorensen, Stephen Wright and Jason McAteer, and steps in with the magazine facing financial difficulties.
With the departure in the summer of the finance director, Jonathan Stobart, a freelance who had worked for the former investor the Ingrams Partnership, it became clear that the publication was facing financial problems. Freelance contributors report not being paid for assignments and some have been told to collect their wages in cash. Stobart had also been the finance director of the Non-League Paper, which went into administration in June.
Stobart says that his departure from Golf Punk and the Non-League Paper was not connected with his management of the companies. "I refute any suggestion that there were problems with the Golf Punk accounts. I left in May and continued to have cordial relations with them after I left.
It is absolutely not the case." The BBC has confirmed that Gabby Logan will front the sports news programme scheduled for BBC1 next summer. Logan, currently down the ITV pecking order after being replaced as the face of the Champions League by Steve Rider, impressed with her news sense and all-round skills at a recent screen test.
Significantly she will also work for Radio Five Live and present yet-to-be-specified live events, news which may have some established names at the BBC, including Sue Barker, looking over their shoulders. Speculation linking the Millennium Stadium chief executive, Paul Sargeant, with the vacancy of managing director of Wembley Stadium is bound to increase after the announcement that Sargeant is leaving his Cardiff post at the end of the week. WNSL's chief executive, Michael Cunnah, was forced out last week, leaving the Football Association's finance director, Alex Horne, in overall control while the search for an MD goes on.
Sargeant, who spent 14 years at the old Wembley, is well qualified having delivered record profits to the Millennium last year. The FA will have to move fast if it is interested in talking to him, however, because he is examining stadium management opportunities in Australia. London 2012 is confident that the Olympic project will be delivered on time and on budget - however much that turns out to be - but surely it is tempting fate with today's photo call featuring Sebastian Coe and Bob the Builder.
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