Independent sports journalists shortlisted for awards

Three of The Independent's journalists have been shortlisted for the 2007 British Sports Journalism Awards.

Nick Harris has been nominated in the Sports News Reporter category, while Brian Viner has been recognised among the Sports Interviewer shortlist.

Alan Hubbard of The Independent on Sunday was nominated in the Sports Diarist category for his Inside Lines column.

The awards, organised by the Sports Journalists' Association, take place on 17 March in London.

Below are links to some of their best aticles of 2007.

Nick Harris

Liverpool buyer went bankrupt in the US: "George Gillett Jnr, the prospective owner of Liverpool, has a spectacular bankruptcy on his CV, which involved the collapse of his business empire in 1992 with debts of $1bn (£508m), and led to a personal bankruptcy to the tune of $66.2m, The Independent can reveal."

The two part coverage of Arsenal's takeover:

- Revealed: the US billionaire who is in talks with Arsenal: "Arsenal are involved in advanced talks with a billionaire American sports tycoon, Stan Kroenke, about forming a ground-breaking partnership with Kroenke's Major League Soccer franchise, the Colorado Rapids, The Independent can reveal."

- 'Silent Stan' makes noise as a major player in US: "Stan Kroenke is about as self-promoting as David Dein is shy and retiring. In other words, not very. The 59-year-old is an intensely private man who rarely speaks in public, and is known in Denver as "Silent Stanley". So as and when the proposed partnership between Arsenal and Kroenke's MLS team, the Colorado Rapids, comes to fruition, it is safe to say he won't be reaching for the mic to announce it himself."

Stars will buy into 'pay as you go' system: "Offered the chance to sign Frank Lampard for £8m this summer, or Steven Gerrard for £5m next year (when 28, and in his prime), many of Europe's biggest clubs would jump at the opportunity. Theoretically, it could happen, and Chelsea and Liverpool would be powerless to stop it.

Why Fifa's claim of one billion TV viewers was a quarter right: The myth that the World Cup final attracts a global television audience of more than a billion people has been debunked by an Independent investigation into TV viewing figures that shows that true audiences are between a quarter and a third of that size."

Ebbsfleet make fantasy football a virtual reality: "'Own the club, pick the team.' That was the slogan, coined in April this year, that launched MyFootballClub, a groundbreaking internet-based project with the stated aim of buying a football club and transforming its fortunes."

Brian Viner Interviews:

Kevin Beattie and Billy Bonds: Two greats from the Seventies recall the days when contract negotiations took 15 minutes, backpassing took 10 minutes and one of them was on the dole a couple of years after retiring"

Peter Ridsdale: Struggling Cardiff's chairman is still optimistic and ambitious, despite some dark days at Leeds

Sir Garfield Sobers: In a rare interview the West Indies legend explains what has gone wrong with his country's cricket, the way the game has changed (for the worse) and the Lord's century he struck after a night on the town

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson: Britain's mordantly witty, record-breaking Paralympian is preparing for her final race next week. Now in business, and intrigued by a career in sports administration, she will not be resting on her laurels

Alan Hubbard

Inside Lines, 7 January 2007

Inside Lines, 1 July 2007

Inside Lines, 26 August 2007

Inside Lines, 2 September 2007

Inside Lines, 23 September 2007

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