Allgemeines » he battled the various forms of cancer.

MANILA, Philippines - While 2014 wont be considered a vintage year for Asian football, continental organizers still have plenty to celebrate this weekend when they reflect on how far the game has come since 1954.As always, however, politics and controversy will not be too far away.In Manila six decades ago, 12 nations came together to form the Asian Football Confederation. Now 46 member associations, hundreds of delegates, players, officials and Sepp Blatter, head of the games world governing body, will attend the party in the Philippines.The fact Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran went winless at the World Cup in June has not dampened the mood, with AFC president Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa vowing to improve standards.We had a disappointing World Cup in terms of performances but Asia, I think, does tend to surprise, he said recently. Were looking at ways in which we improve the overall level of football in the continent ... there will be better results for Asia in future.In the 60 years since the AFC was formed, professional leagues have been established all over the continent and started producing players who can be seen in the big leagues of Europe. Asias growing financial muscle increasingly attracts famous world stars to join clubs from the Gulf to China, India, Japan and Australia.Despite the poor showing in Brazil, Asian powerhouses Japan, South Korea and Australia have reached the latter stages of previous World Cups. Japan and South Korea hosted the 2002 tournament, when the South Koreans made the semifinals, and the World Cup is due to return to the continent in 2022 in Qatar.The AFC has only been getting (serious) recognition in the world of football and business in the last decade, Lou Sticca, managing director of Tribal Sports, a Sports Marketing company based in China and Australia, told The Associated Press. By 2022, the AFC will have had two World Cups and given the growing importance of China and others, there will likely be more. That exemplifies the financial power that Asia is now wielding globally.There could be more political power to come if, as has been reported in the British media, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, a FIFA Vice-president, decides to challenge Blatter for the top job in football administration. Al Hussein is also expected to run in the AFC elections in May to preserve his seat on the world governing bodys powerful executive committee. There are expected to be at least five other candidates vying for the three seats up for grabs and election campaigns, formal or otherwise, will step up a gear in Manila.As well as the battles for power and influence and the constant drive for development around the continent, there are long-standing issues that need to be addressed. Asia is regarded as one of the worlds hotspots for match-fixing. The most recent scandal has been in Vietnam, but even continental heavyweight South Korea endured a high-profile episode in 2011.Declan Hill, a noted expert on match-fixing, said the problem was deep-rooted and widespread.Hill said the AFC and national federations had been ignorant to the problem in the past but needed now to be proactive: It has to stop, otherwise all of football is at risk.The treatment of players in parts of the region is another issue. Players in Japan and Australia, and other leading leagues, are usually treated well but standards are inconsistent. In 2012, Diego Mendieta, a Paraguayan player in Indonesia, died reportedly after his clubs failure to pay his salary meant he could not afford medical bills.There are so many more opportunities for players in Asia than ever before, said Brendan Schwab, chairman of FIFPro Asia, an organization that represents thousands of players worldwide. However, in too many countries, a lack of good governance means that the games commercial opportunities are not being fully realized.This also leaves players vulnerable to abuse, non-payment, unilateral contract terminations and poor medical treatment. Threats to the integrity of sport such as match manipulation are also disproportionately present in parts of Asia, added Schwab, who has called for the development of independent players associations at national level.The players at the top level of Asia have other things on their mind in Manila. The Asian Player of 2014 will be named on Sunday. On the final shortlist of three are Nasser Al Shamrani of Saudi Arabia, Qatars Khalfan Ibrahim and Ismail Ahmed of the UAE. There was some surprise in Australia at the omission from the shortlist of Ante Covic, the goalkeeper who starred as Western Sydney Wanderers won the continental club title and was voted most valuable player of Asian Champions League. Wanderers boss Tony Popovic is, however, in the running for Coach of the Year. Connor Williams Jersey . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. 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The NFL creates a unique interest of not who is "the best", but much more who is "the best this week".MIAMI -- Jack Ramsay served his country in World War II, coached Portland to the NBA title, was enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame and became one of the games most respected and revered broadcasters. His life was, by any measure, complete. "Our father led the greatest life that one could lead," the Ramsay family said in a statement released Monday, hours after the man that just about everyone in basketball called "Dr. Jack" died in Naples, Fla., at the age of 89. No cause of death was announced, but Ramsay had fought several forms of cancer for many years and more recently was diagnosed with a marrow syndrome. Ramsay ended his broadcasting career with ESPN last year because of health problems and word came last week that he had been placed into hospice care. "From his coaching tenure to his broadcast work, Dr. Jack left an indelible mark on every facet of our game and on every person he came in contact with, including me," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. Added Miami Heat president Pat Riley, who was close to Ramsay for many years: "This is a very sad day for basketball, not just professional basketball, but the entire basketball world. The game has lost a giant." Ramsay coached in the NBA for parts of 21 seasons before embarking on a second career as an NBA analyst, eventually working for ESPN. He was diagnosed with melanoma in 2004 and later battled growths and tumors that spread to his legs, lungs and brain, as well as prostate cancer. Through it all, his affinity for fitness never wavered. Ramsay, who competed in at least 20 triathlons during his life, worked out regularly into his 80s, even as he battled the various forms of cancer. He often spoke of his love of swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Even in his final year as a broadcaster, it wasnt uncommon for friends to marvel at how well he was moving about. "Jack was a great man," Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird said, "and I dont use that term lightly." Ramsay also spent several years late in his life caring for his wife, Jean, who was diagnosed in 2001 with Alzheimers disease. She died in 2010. "He was that rarest of men with a unique style that was inspirational and motivational about basketball and life itself," said Paul Allen, who owns the Trail Blazers. Ramsay enjoyed enormous popularity within the league. To commemorate his 89th birthday this year, Portland coach Terry Stotts wore a loud checkered jacket and open-collared shirt for a Blazers game -- a nod to Ramsays style of dress when he coached the club. "Jacks life is a beacon which guides us all," Bill Walton, who was on Ramsays 1977 title team in Portland, told USA Today in 2007. "He is our moral compass, our spiritual inspiration. He represents the conquest of substtance over hype.dddddddddddd He is a true saint of circumstance." John T. Ramsay was born Feb. 21, 1925, in Philadelphia and enrolled at Saint Josephs in 1942, eventually becoming captain of the basketball team for his senior season. He earned a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949, which explains the "Dr. Jack" moniker. Ramsays began coaching Saint Josephs in 1955. He was wildly successful there, going 234-72 and taking the Hawks to the NCAA tournament seven times and the Final Four in 1961. "Great man," Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson, who played at Saint Josephs a generation after Ramsay departed, wrote on Twitter. "The Greatest Hawk ever." To Ramsay, the most significant part of the Saint Josephs years was this: "I met my wife there," he said. He was a founding father of sorts for the growth of the Big 5, the annual Philadelphia basketball series involving Saint Josephs, La Salle, Penn, Villanova and Temple. "The Big 5 was clearly the biggest thing any of those schools were involved in at that point," Ramsay said in a 2004 interview. Ramsay became coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968, joined the Buffalo Braves in 1972 and brought his craft to Portland in 1976. With a team featuring Walton, Lionel Hollins and Maurice Lucas, he delivered an NBA championship in his first season, beating the 76ers in six games for the title. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one that I will cherish forever," Ramsay said in 1997. Indeed, that was his lone NBA title. Walton got hurt the next year, crippling Portlands chances of getting back to championship form during that era. Ramsay coached the Blazers for nine more seasons without another trip to the Finals. He spent the final three years of his NBA coaching career in Indiana, resigning from the Pacers in 1988 after the team started 0-7. Ramsay was 864-783 in his NBA career and in 1996 was honoured as one of the leagues all-time top 10 coaches. And when Micky Arison bought the Heat, the first person he turned to was Ramsay, who wound up long being considered part of the franchises family and even accompanied them to the White House to celebrate winning an NBA title. "He will be sorely missed by us all," Arison said. When he left the Pacers, Ramsay carefully did not use the word "retire," and began working as a television analyst on 76ers games. Eventually, he worked on Heat television broadcasts for eight seasons before moving full time to ESPN for radio and TV commentating before the 2000-01 season. "So grateful that his path crossed ours," his former Heat broadcast partner Eric Reid wrote on Twitter early Monday. "Hall of Fame coach and man." Ramsays funeral is Thursday. 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