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Formula One is on the verge of a multi-billion dollar takeover by John Malones Liberty Group, with a two-stage $8.5 billion deal expected to get underway on Tuesday.While Liberty and Malone have been linked with the purchase of an F1 stake -- controlling or otherwise -- since February 2014, on-going talks have reached a satisfactory conclusion, according to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.Speaking to reporters in the Monza paddock, the 85-year-old F1 czar was confident that the sports new owners would not affect his own position. I will do what I have always done, Auto Motor und Sport quoted Ecclestone as saying. What role I play is my decision.In the immediate future, there is no reason to expect much change in direction for F1. But the paddock rumour mill suggests that any guarantees of Ecclestones position remain in place for only the first tranche of the $8.5 billion handover; once the deal has been completed in full it is entirely possible that the man who turned Formula One into a billion-dollar business will find himself in a role more sinecure than senior.So what does the future hold for Formula One under its new owners?First and foremost, expect to see better marketing of F1 in the United States, home to Malones businesses and fortune. As the owner of a multimedia group that includes cable services provision, internet access, and direct-to-consumer sales, Malone is in a unique position when it comes to exploiting his existing businesses to maximise the value of his latest investment.And America is not the only market in which Malones companies hold sway: Liberty Media may be headquartered in Colorado, but through sister company Liberty Global and a 29 per cent stake in Discovery Communications, Malone is also a key media influencer on an international level.Historically, Malones purchases have increased in value after his acquisitions; the American businessman has targeted businesses with unrealised potential and added value before off-loading his stake for a profit. But Malone is no short-term operator: in the early 1990s he spotted the opportunities in digital cable services, and over the course of the following decade his businesses expanded into content creation as well as service delivery.While any $8.5 billion deal has to be seen as something of a gamble given the sums involved -- not forgetting that F1 has no guaranteed longevity beyond the 2020 expiry of the current round of Memoranda of Understanding that replaced the Concorde Agreement -- Malone would not be on the verge of doing the F1 deal had he not spotted opportunities for growth and profit within the sport.Perhaps the most obvious area for expansion is that of general marketing and promotion. The Formula One Group lacks a centralised marketing department, and the bulk of event promotion is done by individual host circuits as they attempt to drum up ticket sales in an attempt to claw back the cost of hosting a race.There is no centralised cohesive effort to ensure that Formula One remains in the public imagination long after the F1 circus has left town, and little is done to create public anticipation in the run-up. Where such promotional events do take place, it is largely at the behest of individual teams and sponsors: Shell held a Sebastian Vettel fan event before the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim, while Petronas traditionally make the Mercedes drivers sing for their suppers at the twin towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur.If F1s new stakeholders want to get a return on their investment, they have to make the sport more profitable. The most obvious way to do so is to increase the size of the sports fanbase, both those watching at home and those attending grands prix in person.Bringing the sport back to terrestrial television is one way to improve the home audience, but as Malone is a man who made his millions off the back of the subscription TV explosion, it is unlikely that we will see the sport back on free-to-air channels at his behest. Instead it is in his interests to improve the general promotion of the sport so that those not currently interested in Formula One choose to pay their hard-earned cash to check it out, either in person or by subscribing to a service that airs it (preferably one owned by Malone, naturally).In America there is a fine tradition of selling both sport and show as separate entities. Millions of people with little-to-no interest in American football will tune into the Super Bowl for the infamous half-time show. Even high school sports use the lure of cheerleaders to entice the uninterested into the bleachers.This year the Circuit of the Americas provided a perfect example of using the show to boost the sport: COTA secured Taylor Swifts only concert of the year for their Saturday night post-qualifying entertainment, meaning that any tween within reach of Texas who wants to see her play live will need to fork out for a three-day race ticket whether or not they know what F1 is. It may not lead to packed grandstands once the tweens have left on Sunday, but the strong ticket sales have provided a boost to COTAs hopes of a long-term future.Expect to see similar -- and centralised -- efforts to promote the sport when Liberty Media take over. 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With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Mike Piazza Mets Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. NICEVILLE, Fla. -- Iowas Peter Jok won a personal scoring duel with a career high 42 points while Memphis Dedric Lawson put up 35, but Lawsons Tigers carried the day in a back-and-forth contest for third place in the Emerald Coast Classic.Jeremiah Martin pitched in with 14 points and hit a pair of three-pointers that brought Memphis from behind and put the Tigers ahead to stay Saturday for a 100-92 win in the consolation game.The game featured three ties and 15 lead changes before Martins two long-distance shots put the Tigers (5-1) up for good 68-65 after trailing Iowa (3-3) by a point early in the second half.Thats what its about, said Memphis coach Tubby Smith. Theyve got Peter, whos their ace in the hole and the guy they go to and we have Dedric Lawson. He had a double-double for us, plus he gives up the ball. Hes just a total all-around player.K.J. Lawson had 17 points, Markel Crawford scored 16 and Craig Randall II added 15 points for Memphis.Shout out to Iowa and Peter Jok, Dedric Lawson said. He was a phenomenal player for them tonight. I just wanted to get the win at the end of the day `cause we lost yesterday. I wanted to go home at least 1-1.Memphis lost to Providence in the semifinals.Jok, the Big 10s scoring leader, rebounded after No. 7 Virginia, which boasts the nations top scoring defense, held him to only 13 points in Iowas Fridays 74-41 semifinal loss. Jok was averaging 24.3 points per game going into Saturdays contest. Tyler Cook was the only other Hawkeye scoring in double figures with 17.Its a shame when you have a guy play that well that you cant ride that to victory, said Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery. Obviously a better effort than yesterday, but (giving up) 54 points in the paint is not a recipe for success.Virginia held Jok in check by denying him the ball and double teaming him.So I watched film last night and talked to my trainer, Jok said. He sent me some clips on what I needed to do today to have a better offensive game.Each team had a big run in the first half. Memphis opened a 12-point lead, the largest advantage for either team, with a 14-2 run that began witth Crawfords three-point shot to break a 7-7 tie.dddddddddddd Iowa immediately responded with a 16-4 run to tie the game at 25-25.Dedric Lawsons jumper put Memphis back in the lead 27-25. Iowa never could get closer than one point behind before the half ended with Memphis up 54-51.BIG PICTUREMemphis: Defeating the Big 10s Hawkeyes was redemption for the Tigers after blowing a 12-point lead in Fridays 60-51 semifinal loss to Providence out of the Big East. That loss knocked some of the luster off the Tigers 4-0 season-opening record against weaker opponents. Their schedule will strengthen in December against the likes of 5-1 Mississippi and 4-1 Oklahoma.The hometown Lawson brothers, sophomore Dedric and freshman K.J., led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding going into Saturdays game. Dedric averaged 20.4 points 11.6 rebounds per game and K.J. was second in both categories with 13.4 points and nine rebounds per game.Coach Tubby Smith has acknowledged the Tigers have had some growing pains early in his first year at the helm. Smith blamed himself for not having the team adequately prepared for the zone defense that Providence used to help erase the Tigers lead in Fridays game. Smith, though, said theres still plenty of time to improve before getting into the meat of the Tigers schedule.Iowa: The trip to the Florida Panhandle was a bust for the Hawkeyes even though they easily had the largest fan contingent at the Emerald Coast. The loss to Virginia left those fans stunned and showed the Hawkeyes have plenty of work to do despite a gaudy 96.2 scoring average going into the tournament. Virginia, which leads the nation in scoring defense, held Iowa to less than half that figure. The challenges will continue to mount with a visit to Notre Dame next on the agenda and visit from No. 21 Iowa State looming on Dec. 8.UP NEXT:Memphis: The Tigers host struggling Jackson State (1-4) on Wednesday.Iowa: The Hawkeyes visit 5-0 Notre Dame in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge on Tuesday. ' ' '