ROME - Avoid going head-to-head with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.Dont stop for Christmas.Its that easy to make drastic improvements in the slumping Italian league, according to the man whose company controls Serie As foreign TV rights.Said Italian entrepreneur Riccardo Silva, The bottom line is that the Spanish league is more interesting than the Italian league.His remedies involve moving more Serie A matches to Friday or Monday nights, starting them earlier than the Spanish games, and playing over the Christmas and New Years holidays when TV viewership soars.Its the best period for viewing, Silva said in an interview with The Associated Press. People are home and they dont know what do. If you want to be viewed, do these types of things. Try not to clash with the Spanish league. Play at Christmas time. Its not so difficult to understand.In October, Silvas company, MP & Silva, renewed in a three-year deal with Serie A worth an average of 185 million euros (more than $200 million) per season — a 60 per cent increase over the previous deal.For a league beset by an exodus of top players, falling attendance, fan violence and racism, thats a lot of money. So its no wonder Silva is frustrated.I took my kids to see Tottenham-Chelsea on Jan. 1 while our (Italian) players were sitting in the sun, Silva said, referring to Serie As two-week holiday break, when clubs like AC Milan usually decamp to places like Dubai.Silva rarely speaks with the media, making him somewhat of a mystery man in the intertwined world of media rights.Most of the stories written about him have focused on his sprawling penthouse in Miami, the lavish parties filled with models on his luxury yacht, or his close ties to AC Milan and fellow media company Infront.Maybe it was our mistake. We didnt communicate enough, Silva said. I dont want a positive story. I just want the truth. I dont have anything to hide in my story.Born into a family that owns one of the biggest cleaning soap businesses in Italy, the 44-year-old Silva started a media career instead, and founded MP & Silva in 2004 with a couple of fellow Milanese.MP & Silva holds the rights for the English Premier League in 51 territories — mainly in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. The company also distributes Roland Garros in Europe; the NBA in Latin America and Scandinavia; plus numerous other leagues and events.We are not a business (for) consumers, so we dont really need to have advertising, Silva said. We just buy from the leagues and federations and they all know us. We sell to TV channels and they all know us.With an annual turnover of $700 million, MP & Silva ranks third in the sports media rights business behind New York-based IMG and Switzerland-based Infront.With 100 people in 20 offices dotted around the globe, MP & Silvas profits this year will be about $90 million.Last year, the company set up its tax base in Luxembourg.The first nine years we had 20 different companies. It was a nightmare. Then some of the leagues asked for consolidated balances. So we created a holding company, Silva said. Its super-transparent.Silva specializes in selling clients products like Serie A that they hadnt intended to buy.For example, when Silva throws Serie A into a package deal for a client in, say, Vietnam, that already includes the Premier League, the French Open, 10 smaller tennis tournaments and the NBA, the TV station is more inclined to take it.Then they can build a programming schedule, Silva said. The channels like to deal with one company that provides so much content.In the insular world of Italian football, however, Silvas connections to Infront have been a source of concern.The MP in MP & Silva stands for Media Partners, the Milan-based agency led by Marco Bogarelli that was folded into Infront, the company controlled by Philippe Blatter — the nephew of FIFA president Sepp Blatter — in 2006.Bogarelli and Silva each got their starts with Milan Channel and Infront advised Serie A in its bidding process for foreign rights, which MP & Silva was awarded over two significantly lower offers from IMG and B4 Capital.The leagues 20 presidents selected MP & Silva unanimously.In Italy its very transparent because its an auction, and whoever makes the best bid wins. There is no negotiation. It doesnt matter if Im friends with Marco Bogarelli, Silva said. We won with a 30 per cent margin so we probably overbid.What matters, Silva says, is improving the product, and thats an area where Serie A needs help.___Andrew Dampf can be followed at www.twitter.com/asdampf Stitched NHL Jerseys . Woods said Friday that his charity event, which attracts a world-class field even without being part of any tour, will move in December 2014 to Isleworth, the course where he honed his professional game from 1996 until moving away to south Florida two years ago. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Authentic . The 18-time champions, who havent won the title since 1990, moved two points behind Arsenal after the leaders were stunned 6-3 at Manchester City on Saturday. Defending champion Manchester United trails Arsenal by 10 points after winning 3-0 at Aston Villa to avoid a third successive league loss. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . -- Down to 10 men and behind on the scoreboard, Toronto FC displayed its perseverance. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Online . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs. Authentic NHL Jerseys Cheap . Rajon Rondo had 18 of Bostons season-high 38 assists and the Celtics committed just seven turnovers in a 118-111 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.While the Milwaukee Bucks have been dealt a pair of blows to their roster since last taking the court, the Toronto Raptors record continues to take hits. The Raptors head to Milwaukee Monday night and will try to win for just the third time in 10 games while facing a Bucks team that can add a reserve point guard to a list of sidelined players. The Raptors (26-14) have dropped seven of nine, including two straight after Sundays 95-93 home loss to New Orleans. Toronto lost for the first time this season when allowing fewer than 100 points after winning its first 15 such games. The consecutive losses have included a 13-of-50 mark from 3-point range and an average of 37.0 first-half points. Were playing in mud right now, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey, whose team has dropped three straight on the road as it embarks on a three-game trip. DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 22 points, while Amir Johnson had 14 and 10 rebounds. DeRozan had been particularly strong in his first two games back from a torn abductor, averaging 22.5 points on 62.5 percent shooting, but he was 7 for 18 against the Pelicans. Terrence Ross was limited to a season-low 11 minutes and was replaced in the starting lineup in the second half by Greivis Vasquez. Ross was held scoreless for the first time this season and is shooting 33.1 percent in the last 12 contests. Weve just got to be there for him the best way we can, help lift him, just like we do everybody else, DeRozan told the teams official website. Weve all been there, playing in this league, everybodys been there in somme type of way.ddddddddddddWeve just got to help him out the best way we can, and get him back on his feet. Once he gets rolling, its going to be something he definitely needed when he looks back at it. The season series against Milwaukee started much better with a 124-82 home win on Nov. 21 to extend the Raptors winning streak in the series to five after 10 consecutive losses. Kyle Lowry had 20 points and is averaging 22.3 on 52.4 percent in his last three games against the Bucks. DeRozan, though, had one of his worst games of the season, scoring 7 points on 1-of-8 shooting. The Bucks (21-19) wont have Kendall Marshall after learning he suffered a torn ACL in Thursdays 95-79 win over New York in London and will miss the rest of the season. Well play the 11 that we have and well go from there, coach Jason Kidd said. Kendall brought a lot to the table for us, being able to anchor that second group, keep the ball moving and post up, too. The team is already operating without rookie Jabari Parker - out for the season with the same injury - and center Larry Sanders. Milwaukee learned Friday that Sanders, who hasnt played in the last 11 games, was suspended without pay for a minimum of 10 games for violating the NBAs anti-drug program. The Bucks are 7-4 in the games without Sanders thanks in large part to repeated strong defensive efforts, holding opponents to 86.7 points on 38.9 percent. Offensively, O.J. Mayo remained hot against the Knicks with 22 points. Hes averaging 15.3 and shooting 59.0 percent in the last four games. ' ' '