Warwickshire County Cricket Club have announced a 50 per cent increase in turnover last year and a dramatic return to profit following the completion of the £32million ($49.5m) redevelopment at Edgbaston, advice

The club made a profit of £326, look 828 ($505, order 867) in the year ending September 2011, compared to a loss of more than £2m ($3.1m) in 2010.

Craig Flindall, Bears’ finance director, said: “The redevelopment is an essential part of creating a more rounded and robust business model and has already shown to be paying dividends for the club after it was opened on schedule for the India Test Match in August.

“The main contract was also delivered under budget, which represents a significant achievement for the club.

“It has made the last 12 months one of the most exciting periods in the club’s history and these results are certainly a step in the right direction following the disappointment of 2010.”

NBA Commissioner David Stern has given the NBA players until Wednesday to consider his latest offer to end the lockout otherwise the situation will get worse.

“Right now, we’ve been given the ultimatum, and our answer is that’s not acceptable to us,” union president Derek Fisher said.

But the next proposal promises to be worse, surely moving players and owners even further apart and threatening to destroy the 2011-12 season.

Early Sunday morning, the league said it offered players up to 51 percent of basketball-related income, a figure the union insists is fiction. Regardless, it will drop to 47 percent Wednesday if players don’t accept the current offer by the league-imposed deadline.

No agreement by the deadline likely will trigger more calls to disband the union and take on the league in court, a battle that would take months.

Players don’t seem too perturbed by Stern’s latest warning.

“These are professional basketball players, the finest athletes in the world. How do you think they feel about threats? How do you think they feel about efforts at intimidation?” attorney Jeffrey Kessler said.

Fisher and Kessler said the league’s time-sensitive deal — Stern refused to call it an ultimatum — came near the conclusion of Saturday’s talks.

The sides had hoped they could complete a deal this weekend with the help of federal mediator George Cohen’s. He released a statement Sunday commending the parties for “their willingness to examine solutions to their current dispute” and offering to assist in the future. Although the revenue gap has narrowed, the sides are at a standstill on the system issues players insist are just as important.

National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell has not given up hope that collective bargaining negotiations could begin before next month’s Draft, something that is only likely, however, if the NFLPA faced significant setbacks.

The outside counsel to the NFLPA and class counsel to the players who launched a lawsuit against the league’s lockout have offered to talk to the league about settling the lawsuit. However, as the NFLPA has professed not to be a union, it cannot engage in collective bargaining. 

Goodell stated: “There will hopefully be negotiations before the Draft. It would be terrific if we could sit down and work towards an agreement before the Draft. We’ll have to wait and see on the litigation steps and see what the courts determine.” 

The commissioner ruled out using replacement players if games are lost, and strongly suggested the last offer to the players might not ever come back because of mounting economic losses caused by the lockout.

Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire accused of running a scheme that persuaded investors to buy certificates of deposit from Stanford International Bank, located in Antigua, has filed a countersuit against US prosecutors, accusing them of depriving him of his constitutional rights.

Stanford has been in custody since June 2009 and is now seeking US$7.2bn in damages from the SEC and FBI in a lawsuit which claims prosecutors “undertook illegal tactics” in their investigation of Mr Stanford’s alleged pyramid scheme that they claim defrauded investors of $7bn.

Mr Stanford was ruled unfit to stand trial last month by US federal judge David Hittner over concerns of his ‘mental capacity to assist his lawyers’. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud, conspiracy and obstruction.

Mr Stanford rose to prominence in the UK and the Caribbean for his lavish sponsorship of cricket and in 2008, he bankrolled a high-profile $20m cricket match between England and a Stanford All-Stars team in Antigua.

Italy’s second-tier football division, Serie B, will be rebranded Serie bwin after a two-year sponsorship deal was signed with the Austrian betting company.

The deal will bring much-needed revenue to the division, which has seen several years of financial difficulties.

Serie B will run its own affairs in the new season, after top flight Serie A broke away from the two-division professional league.

Serie B president, Luca Ferrari, said: “The breakaway of Seri A was consensual. The newly created Serie B has already faced many challenges and there will be others in the future, but with bwin by our side, we can achieve great things.”

Bwin Italy CEO, Paulo di Feo, added: “We are delighted to be working alongside the new Serie B in this exciting new adventure. Today, with the advent of Serie bwin, we are facing a very exciting new challenge, giving us real contact with local people, the chance to support a competition strongly linked with the Italian tradition in which we will pay particular attention to the youth.”

Horizon Communications, pills a leading provider of wireless solutions to large venues and events, medicine has been announced as an official provider of Wi-Fi to the Special Olympics 2014 USA National Games to be hosted in New Jersey, ampoule from June 14 to June 21, 2014.

“We are excited to have been selected as the official Wi-Fi provider for the Special Olympics 2014,” said Mike DeGraw, CEO at Horizon. “We look forward to supporting these world class athletes, their coaches, families and their fans by enabling Wi-Fi connectivity at this event.” Fans at the event and across the country will be able to monitor results real time and view certain events via streaming video on the Special Olympics website. “We are proud to help share remarkable experiences by providing a more engaging and interactive experience for all,” added DeGraw.

Horizon has installed wireless solutions at some of the most recognizable sporting venues in the Western United States, including AT&T Park, SAP Center, Dodger Stadium and the Honda Center. 

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) have announced today for the first time ever a World Triathlon Series event will be held on the continent of Africa as the race joins the 2014 schedule.

The race is slated to be held at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa on April 26-27, 2014.

The World Triathlon Cape Town race will serve as the second stop on the eight-city tour, which kicks off in Auckland on April 5-6. Cape Town is one of only two cities to debut on the WTS calendar in 2014, with Chicago also hosting an event for the first time as well. 

“We have been working to secure a WTS event in Africa for a long time,” ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado said. “We are very excited to bring our fast paced, action-packed style of racing there. The location is an ideal spot for premium racing, and will also serve as an important development tool for all of Africa.” 

Race organizers have proposed a two-lap 1500m swim within the V&A Waterfront, followed by a scenic eight-lap 40km bike ride along Beach Road and a four-lap 10km run with constant ocean views for the elites. The weekend of events will also include races for mass participation events. 

Furthermore, the heart of the event will be the Race Village hosted at the Look Out Venue at the V&A Waterfront which will feature a lifestyle expo and will contain grand stands from which the public has a clear view of the finish line. 

“South Africans are passionate about sport, and will be very excited to have another world-class, premium sporting event to add to their active lifestyles,” said Bruce Parker-Forsyth, CEO of local delivery partner, WORLDSPORT.  

“The World Triathlon Series is an exciting multi-city global series, during which athletes earn points throughout the season for a chance to be crowned the ITU Triathlon World Champion at the Grand Final,” said CEO Lagardère Unlimited Events AG, Christian Toetske. “Every 2014 WTS event will feature age-group races, with all elite women’s and men’s races broadcast live to an international audience in more than 160 countries, as well as streamed online live. Equally important, these events give the public the opportunity to compete on a World Triathlon Series stage.”  

“We are proud to see Cape Town, South Africa – indeed Africa added to the World Series calendar,” said Debbie Alexander, President of Triathlon South Africa. “This event will contribute to the continued growth of triathlon in not only South Africa – but all of Africa.”