MUMBAI: Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent, will bring live all the excitement of the World Darts Championship.

The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship began last week, with 70 players starting out in the battle for the sport?s biggest ever prize. Stars from 22 countries started the battle for ?740,000 in prize money at London?s Alexandra Palace, with the champion on Monday, January 5, taking home a record ?125,000 cheque, apart from the prestigious trophy.

Catch the live telecast of a group round match at 12.30 AM IST on December 31 only on Ten Sports. The World Darts Championship final will be telecast on January 5 at 12.30 AM IST.

With defending champion, Canada?s John Part, being knocked out on the opening night itself, all eyes are definitely on Phil Taylor, the 13-time World Champion, despite not having picked up the title since 2006.

Having been beaten in a sudden-death leg of the final by Raymond van Barneveld two years ago, Taylor lost in the quarter-finals of last year?s tournament against Wayne Mardle to end a disappointing 2007. However, he has roared back this year, claiming a fourth successive Premier League Darts title and wins in 19 of 26 tournaments he has entered ? including record-breaking displays in claiming the World Matchplay and European Championship.

Taylor said: ?I feel great and I think I?m playing better than I?ve ever done,? said Taylor. ?I?m more relaxed and really looking forward to it. In my mind, you?re only as good as your next tournament. It doesn?t matter what my record this year is - I lost the last tournament in Germany.

?I don?t like losing but it has made me feel a bit hungrier for the World Championship. I?m very confident and if I don?t win the World Championship this year, I want a kick up the backside, because I?ve been in great form this year and want this so much.?

World number three James Wade, who has won three major titles since mid-2007, is the third favourite is looking to put a disappointing autumn behind him.

?I?ve proven what I can do time and again but I?ve been going through a bad patch so I?m due a good run,? said Wade. ?It?s massively important because it?s the biggest tournament in the world. It?s the pinnacle of our game and I would love the title to be mine.?

The tournament also features the debut of Russian star Anastasia Dobromyslova, the 2008 Women?s World Champion who recently joined the PDC circuit.

MUMBAI: EuroKids International Pvt. Ltd, the leading player in Pre School education and one of the first organized players to venture into pre-school education in India bagged the Franchisor of the year 2008 award at Franchisee India 08, organized by Indian Franchise association & Franchise India Holdings Limited.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Uday Mathur‘s, MD, EuroKids International said, "We are extremely delighted to receive the Best Franchisor of the Year award. This award goes to re-establish our commitment to our franchisees and our best practices in this industry. We take immense pride in having created a brand in a completely unbranded space along with local entrepreneurs in more than 160 towns & cities in India."

MUMBAI: The fourth episode on 90210 focuses on Dixon whose likeable personality seems to be mirroring Brandon from the original series.

Dixon accidentally knocks a mirror off of his friend‘s car when parking the family van. The friend needs $500 to fix it within a week. He doesn‘t want to involve his parents or the insurance company because he heard his parents discussing money problems so he meets Nat and gets a part time job at the peach pit.

Nat is very impressed with the likeable Dixon and even compares him to Brandon Walsh.

Meanwhile, Tabitha replaces the director of the school play. At first Harry is thrilled that his mother is helping out but Tabitha turns out to be an overbearing stage mother who is very critical of Annie and the rest of the girls.

With Kelly‘s help, Harry remedies the situation by getting Brenda to assist Tabitha. Brenda very subtly shows Tabitha how overbearing she is and Tabitha graciously bows out, leaving Brenda now in charge of the school musical.

Annie is not happy with Ty about ditching her at the bowling alley so she happily accepts a date from Ethan. Ty tries to make it up to Annie but she blows him off but later regrets it when Ethan stands her up to help Naomi with family problems.
Silver points out that Ethan and Naomi are in a "Bubble" and even though they are broken up, it won‘t last... Annie rethinks her crush on Ethan and decides to stick with Ty. Annie tries to apologize by baking Ty cookies but he initially rebukes her apology until she passionately kisses him.

MUMBAI: Blue Lotus Communications, a leading public relations agency in India has bagged the national PR mandate for the luxury realty category creator, Lodha Group. Lodha has been redefining and revolutionizing high quality realty with a vision to build better lives.

Elaborating on this new addition, Mr. N. Chandramouli, CEO of Blue Lotus Communications said, "We are proud to partner with the Lodha Group as its image management and public relations consultant. Our focus on strategic thought and focused implementation helped us get the mandate from among a host of other agencies".

"Since it is Lodha Group‘s philosophy to partner with the best in every field, we are privileged to have been finalized, tested and chosen. We are working together to ensure that home-buyers see the exclusive and relevant value in Lodha properties. Having considered the buying option of a Lodha property myself, I can understand how privileged a Lodha customer must feel. We will ensure we reach out to many more discerning buyers", Chandramouli added.

Lodha‘s recently launched accessible-luxury realty brand, CASA by Lodha, offers the most luxurious, community living experience with all modern amenities. The first of the properties, CASA Univis (Gorbander Road, Thane) was launched recently at an extremely attractive price of Rs. 2,997/- per sq. ft. This property is available in 1, 2, 3 and 4 BHK formats.

"Lodha is extremely brand savvy and has professionals who are experienced in launching and managing India‘s top FMCG and product brands. This, I am sure will make the engagement a learning experience for sure", averred Chandramouli.

MUMBAI: Star Gold is set to premiere the grand finale of its Bollywood opinion poll base awards, Lux Sabsey Favourite Kaun, on 27 December at 8 pm.

The event will be hosted by Sajid Khan and Manjiri Phadnis and will see performances from Minissha Lamba, Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif.

Star Gold GM Sameer Rao said, ?Lux Sabsey Favourite Kaun has emerged to be an ultimate reflection and the only barometer of an actor?s popularity as the winners are chosen solely by their fans.?

All the winners of the contest have been chosen by fans from across the world. The channel claims that the voting process for the awards covered 30 towns in India and over 60 countries internationally. The votes were received via SMS, the Internet, tele-voting and on ground city visits.

MUMBAI: Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent, will bring live all the excitement of The King George VI Chase ? one of the most prestigious steeplechase events in the world.

The three-mile race was first run in 1937 to commemorate the ascension of King George VI. This year will be the 57th running. Many great horses have run and won the King George VI Chase, with the honour roll including Desert Orchid, Arkle, Wayward Lad and Best Mate. Originally held in February, the King George VI Chase is now held each year on Boxing Day (December 26) as part of the Stan James Christmas Festival. In 2006, the King George Chase returned to Kempton Park Racecourse after the All Weather Track redevelopment.

And this year too, the King George VI Chase will be run on Friday, December 26, and it will be live on Ten Sports from 7:00 pm IST.

Former Gold Cup winner Kauto Star, bidding for a third consecutive win in the race, heads the contenders. Paul Nicholls? stable hero will need to recover from a poor show in the Betfair Chase where he unseated Sam Thomas. Only Desert Orchid has won the Christmas showpiece three years in succession.

Of 12 other confirmations, former Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Voy Por Ustedes will race over three miles for the first time for Alan King. Our Vic, runner-up last year but conqueror of Kauto Star at Aintree in April, will make his seasonal reappearance alongside David Pipe stablemate Tamarinbleu. Exotic Dancer, Paddy Power and Air Force One are also entered in both races.

However, with three defeats in his past four outings, Kauto Star is returning to the scene of his most impressive triumph with a point to prove. But his handlers say Kauto is flying up the newly surfaced gallops and is ready to defend his title on Boxing Day.

Nicholls regards Kempton as home ground for Kauto, who seems to relish the flatlands of Kempton Park, where speed rather than outright stamina is the key.

Nicholls said: ?The great thing about Kempton is that they go a great gallop, so you?ve got to have plenty of speed and you?ve got to stay. It plays into his hands. Everything about the race suits him, so he?s got every chance.?