The merger between GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series has resulted in a new series called the United SportsCar Racing.

United SportsCar Racing will debut in 2014 with the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. 

“The new name says it all,” said Ed Bennett, president and CEO of GRAND-AM Road Racing. “In only six months, GRAND-AM and the ALMS have taken huge strides to become one organization that will redefine sports car racing in North America. United SportsCar Racing reflects the fundamental spirit of how we are working together toward a common goal.” 

Bennett and ALMS President and CEO Scott Atherton unveiled the organization’s new logo at Sebring’s Chateau Elan, along with the names of the series’ five race classes. The lead Prototype (P) class combines GRAND-AM’s Daytona Prototype with the ALMS’ P2 and DeltaWing cars. Prototype Challenge (PC) and GT Le Mans (GTLM) will retain the existing ALMS classes. GT Daytona (GTD) combines the GRAND-AM’s current GT class and the ALMS’ current GTC class. GX is retained from the current GRAND-AM structure. 

The announcement culminates a four-month project that involved New York-based SME Branding, which conducted stakeholder research as well as fan input to develop the series’ name, logo and brand identity. 

“When it came to the branding of our newly merged entities, we felt we had one chance to get it right – and now we believe we have done just that,” Atherton said. 

Also announced was the retaining of the storied International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) as the sanctioning body for United SportsCar Racing, with an updated version of the iconic IMSA logo unveiled. IMSA, co-founded in 1969 by Bill France Sr. and John Bishop, will also sanction the organization’s ancillary series, including the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Ferrari Challenge, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series, which was introduced this morning at Sebring.

Schmidt-Curley Design, one of golf’s most active and innovative design firms, has announced its extensive renovation of Siam Country Club’s Old Course which will be showcased during the Honda LPGA Thailand, Feb. 21-24.

Originally opened in 1971, the Old Course was rebuilt from tee to green by the Schmidt-Curley team in 2006-07. While the routing remained intact, the project required construction of new greens and bunkers, installation of new turf, expansion of water hazards and removal of approximately one quarter of all trees.

“We are experts not only at building new courses from scratch, but also fixing poorly designed or outdated layouts,” says 40-year industry veteran and firm co-founder Lee Schmidt. “At Siam Country Club, our work on the Old Course has been so well received that the LPGA will bring its only Thailand event there for the fourth time since 2007.”

Eighteen new greens were built to eliminate issues with standing water and reclaim pin locations. All bunkers were tiled to assist with drainage and high flashed to help give the course a distinctive, uniform look. The extensive tree removal not only improved strategic options on many holes, but also enhanced turf health by increasing air flow and sunlight exposure.

The Old Course is a par 72 and will play 6,469 yards for the Honda LPGA Thailand. In 2012, Yani Tseng successfully defended her title capturing a one-shot victory over 2010 champion Ai Miyazato.

The NBA will launch the NBA 3X presented by Sprite in India. The free interactive event will combine basketball and entertainment to bring an NBA experience to fans in four cities from September 15 to October 21.

The event will visit Delhi, unhealthy Hyderabad, asthma Chennai and Mumbai. It will be the first time the NBA visits Hyderabad. It will be the largest 3-on-3 tournament ever staged in India with 400 teams expected to take part.

There will be two age divisions: 16-18 and 18-23. The winners in each city will be flown to Mumbai to compete in a national championship on October 21. The National Champions in each division will qualify to participate in a 2013 FIBA/NBA Asia 3-on-3 basketball tournament. {jcomments on}

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hoping the proposed India series and the Twenty20 league it has planned will help it overcome a shortfall of $US 7.5 million in its budget for 2011-12.

The deficit was confirmed at the board’s governing council meet in Lahore on Wednesday.

The PCB financial problems are largely because of teams refusing to tour Pakistan security concerns following the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. Pakistan has since had to host teams at neutral venues.

The 2010-2011 budget also showed a deficit before it was boosted by the hefty compensation that the ICC paid PCB after Pakistan was removed as co-host of the 2011 World Cup.

“We are forced to play away from home, this makes a difference,” a member of the PCB’s governing board said. “But we have plans and the board is optimistic that by the end of this fiscal year, [even if we do] not cover [the deficit], we will be able to reduce the gap.” {jcomments on}

There likely will be one less Football Bowl Subdivision conference in 2013 after Conference USA and the Mountain West announcing they are working on finalizing a merging the two leagues.

The new unnamed league would include Alabama-Birmingham, East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, Tulane and Tulsa from C-USA and current Mountain West schools Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming.

WAC schools Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii, which were planning to join the Mountain West in 2013, will also be part of the league, with Hawaii being a football-only member.

According to a joint release, the plan for the new conference would include 18 to 24 schools and hold a football championship format that includes semifinals and a title game.

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson admitted the new league still has much to work out before the agreement is formalized.

“Today’s announcement is both a culmination of several months of discussion between the presidents and chancellors of these 16 universities and an historic starting point to forge a ground-breaking, new conference,” Thompson said in a statement. “There are a myriad of details and moving parts that will be finalized in the weeks and months ahead, but there is positive momentum toward long-term stability and a tremendous opportunity for all involved.”

The creation of the new league would look similar to structure to the Western Athletic Conference expansion to 16 teams in 1996 when it added Southwest Conference schools TCU, Rice, SMU along with UNLV, Tulsa and San Jose State.

Three years later, eight teams broke off from the league and formed the Mountain West because of concerns about revenue decline, loss of rivalries and travel costs.

Logistics should also be an issue in the new league. The football conference will span from Honolulu to Greenville, N.C., a distance of more than 5,700 miles. Other sports would see travel from western cities Fresno and Reno to eastern locations in Birmingham and Huntington, W.V.

by Ismail Uddin

It is reported that up to 15 representatives of Caribbean countries could now face investigation as part of the explosive bribery scandal that has seen the life-suspension of Asian soccer chief Mohamed Bin Hammam at the weekend. 

FIFA’s secretariat may be asked by its Ethics Committee to open a flurry of new cases connected with the scandal.

Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb, who chaired the hearing of Bin Hammam’s case, revealed that “in the light of evidence disclosed” the Committee would request a further probe “into the conduct of others” who attended the infamous May 10-11 meeting in Trinidad where the bribes were allegedly offered.

Soccerex have announced that this year’s Global Convention in Rio de Janeiro on 26-30 November, will see a new technology focused initiative launched in collaboration with Major Events International (MEI).

With the increasing interest in the use of innovative ways of delivering and promoting the game, in collaboration with Major Events International (MEI), Soccerex will coordinate a dedicated area in the main exhibition hall to bring greater coherence to this important part of this iconic conference and exhibition.

David Wright, Marketing Director of Soccerex, said: “We are all aware of the debate about the use of technology in football, but the spectator and viewing experience alone means it is an area which we must cater for to enhance our delegate and exhibitor time at our event. Major Events International (MEI) will help to bring best in class international companies to Soccerex in November and a dedicated area for technology will, I am sure, attract significant attention.”

CEO MEI, Dennis Mills added: “Working collaboratively with Soccerex on a dedicated Technology area is complimentary to MEI’s core role of assisting our clients to gain greater market profile and customer access. We are delighted to lead this new initiative and assist exhibitors in achieving greater attention and creating an interesting area for delegates to learn more about the way technology can help achieve their personal objectives.”