Kalamazoo in Michigan will host the 2015 USA Curling National Championships for the second time in five years, it has been announced.

Wings Stadium, which hosted the Nationals in 2010, will be the site for the 2015 championship, Feb. 14-21, 2015.

“Wings Stadium is extremely excited for the opportunity to once again host the USA Curling Nationals. We think this solidifies our place not only in the curling world, but also for hosting major events,” said Jeff Weber, facility events manager for Wings Stadium.

Wings Stadium will partner on the event with the Kalamazoo Curling Club and Discover Kalamazoo.

“We are extremely honored USA Curling has selected Kalamazoo to host its 2015 National Championships,” said Greg Ayers, president and chief executive officer for Discover Kalamazoo. “The popularity of this sport continues to grow, especially here in southwest Michigan. We look forward to collaborating with Wings Stadium and the Kalamazoo Curling Club in creating a memorable event!”

Wings Stadium is home to the Kalamazoo Wings of the East Coast Hockey League. The building capacity for ice events is 5,113.

“The people of Kalamazoo-including those at Wings Stadium, Discover Kalamazoo, and the Kalamazoo Curling Club-proved their capabilities in hosting championship event of the highest caliber in 2010, and we are honored to be invited back,” said Rick Patzke, USA Curling chief operating officer. “We have no doubts that they will raise the bar even higher in 2015.”

The weeklong national championships feature the top men’s and women’s teams competing for the chance to possibly represent the U.S. at the world championships.

USA Curling is sponsored by AtomAmpd, Nike, Brooms Up Curling Supplies, Sitrin, and The RAM Restaurant & Brewery and is partnered with Ludus Tours, CurlingZone, and RJM Licensing, Inc.

AFL chief executive, Andrew Demetriou believes Jeff Kennett is up to the task of running Australian Rules team, Melbourne.

Former Victorian premier and Hawthorn AFL club president Kennett has put his hand up to challenge current Demons president Don McLardy and take over the troubled club.

“He had a great record as premier and he was terrific at Hawthorn so he’s got the credentials but it’s not a decision for the AFL. It’s a decision for the members of the Melbourne Football Club,” Demetriou told radio station 3AW.

“They’ve got elections at the end of each year and at the moment it’s Don McLardy as chairman.

“If they decide to take a different direction it’s their perogative.”

Demetriou said Kennett had the ‘essential ingredients’ to be the Demons president.

“Jeff has demonstrated that he’s talented and he’s capable of effecting change and delivering on outcomes.”

The Demons are reportedly going to apply to the AFL for emergency funding next week, with the club facing a 2013 loss of close to $3 million.

Melbourne are set to argue that additional AFL financial assistance would provide more long-term value to the competition than a slow rebuild back to competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Demetriou defended newcomers Greater Western Sydney, who Kennett described as the AFL’s ‘Gallipoli’.

Kennett said the AFL risked crippling the rest of the clubs with its financial support for GWS, now in their second season.

“I fear we are on the verge within the AFL of committing our own Gallipoli, where leadership is not flexible enough to say we’ve made a mistake,” Kennett said.

Demetriou said Kennett was a great advocate for the expansion club during his time at the Hawks.

“We have always said it was a long term vision,” Demetriou said.

“Between 1990 and 1994 the Swans lost 27 games in a row.

“They had 3000 members in 1993, 3300 in 1994, 6000 in 1995 and GWS have 12,500 members.

“Off field they’ve got very good sponsorship and higher crowds than the Swans had, they are just losing games.

“I think they’re going to be a very good club.”

The Ryder Cup began today, but it wasn’t the only battle commencing in Chicago.

Swiss watch manufacturers Rolex and Omega have re-established a feud following Omega ending PGA of America’s 17-year sponsorship with Rolex by signing a five-year deal.

It was “a major coup” for Omega. Rolex had “practically owned the golf market until this deal came along,” and the tension between the two companies escalated to the point this summer that Greg Norman was banned from a Ryder Cup press conference and kept from playing the Senior British Open pro-am.

Omega’s deal with the PGA of America, which goes through 2016, gives the company marketing rights at the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.

However, it gets only the Ryder Cup in America as The European Tour, which has joint ownership of the Ryder Cup and negotiates its own marketing deals, has a longtime relationship with Rolex.

The PGA of America runs the Ryder Cup this year, meaning Rolex is not allowed any presence at Medinah Country Club in the Chicago suburbs. 

Time Warner Cable continues to enjoy its recently announced partnership with Victor Cruz, tadalafil #80 wide receiver, buy by presenting ‘Ball Machine,’ a TV spot debuting today across Time Warner Cable’s footprint. The spot features Cruz and playfully delivers the message that with Time Warner Cable video and Internet, he can enjoy his favorite shows and content, anywhere and anytime he wants.

Starting today, viewers can see how Cruz catches a number of his devices thrown by a ball machine — his smartphone, his tablet, his PC and even his 60 inch TV. The commercial serves as a fun way of showing the variety of devices customers can use to watch their favorite shows, just like Cruz.

Time Warner Cable’s “Enjoy Sports Better” partnership with Cruz also encompasses online media including: Time Warner Cable’s YouTube channel, Twitter and English and Spanish Facebook pages, www.facebook.com/twc and www.facebook.com/micultura where fans will see the recently launched “Enjoy Sports Better” tab giving fans the opportunity to engage more deeply with the sports that they love.

The British Racing Drivers’ Club, which owns the Silverstone circuit,  is looking to hunt for investors as it bids to realise its ambitious plans for the future.

With the circuit having secured a long-term deal for the British Grand Prix, the BRDC now wants to ramp up development of its 760-acre site to turn it into a leisure and business complex.

An exclusive agreement reached with one potential group of investors, believed to be from Qatar, is due to come to an end soon without a deal having been concluded yet – and the BRDC has made it clear that it will soon be open to beginning talks with other interested parties.

BRDC chairman Stuart Rolt said: “The commercial potential of Silverstone and the estate is significant and we are seeking external investment, from third parties who share our vision, to help us realise that potential more quickly.

“While progress has, and is, being made with our original preferred partner, negotiations have not yet developed into an agreement. As the period of exclusivity has come to a close we are now speaking to other potential investors.”

Rolt added that even if Silverstone was unsuccessful in attracting investors, the BRDC still had the resources available to keep improving the venue.

“If we cannot find a suitable partner, we shall continue with the development ourselves, albeit at a slower pace,” he explained.

Formula One Teams potential boycott of the Indian Grand Prix have been put on hold after race organisers offered to pay the bill for any customs duties and taxes arising from local legislation.

Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal who chairs the Formula One Teams’ Association, expressed concerns over the situation at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend. He told the BBC: “The teams are concerned about the implications of withholding tax in India and being taxed locally. You don’t go somewhere if you’re going to be penalised.”

Jaypee Sports International, the organisers of the race, have offered to cover costs which it estimates will reach around £1 million if customs duty is demanded on the temporary import of Formula One equipment – a possibility, given that the Indian government does not class Formula One as a sport.

Sameer Gaur, the company’s chief executive, in a statement: “JPSI has full support from the government, the sports ministry and the customs department for the F1 event scheduled for October this year. We have an in-principle approval from the customs department for creating a customs bonded area for F1 equipment that will be temporarily imported to India. If required, as per the law of the land, JPSI will pay customs duties and taxes etc. for the temporary import of equipment.”

The owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, Comcast-Spectacor, has agreed to sell the National Basketball Association (NBA) team to a group led by Joshua Harris, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management LLC.

Financial terms have not been disclosed, but it is expected that Harris will pay about US$280m.

Hariis said in a statement: “As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this city and the 76ers. We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season’s accomplishments.”

Harris co-founded Apollo Management in 1990. Shares in the company have dropped 14 percent to US$16.39 since they were offered to investors at US$19 each in March, valuing the private-equity firm at US$5.93 billion.

Comcast-Spectacor said a month ago that it was exploring a sale of the 76ers. The agreement does not include the Wells Fargo Center or the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, which Comcast-Spectacor will retain.

The seller’s statement said that the 76ers “will remain a long-term tenant of the Wells Fargo Center and will have a long-term cable broadcast agreement for its games with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.”

Comcast is the biggest U.S. cable television operator and bought a controlling interest in NBC Universal from General Electric in January.