A cost-cutting agreement between Formula One teams has hit problems with the top teams unwilling to control their spending according to Mercedes GP principal Ross Brawn.

Each f1 team ratified the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA) to help smaller outfits to survive at a time of global financial crisis in 2008 and early 2009. It expires in 2012.

It has been widely, and regularly, speculated some teams are not abiding to the rules or are finding ways to disguise their real spending.

Brawn, whose  team has made  high-profile technical signings recently and have Michael Schumacher as a driver, said: “I think it’s at a crossroads because it’s now starting to bite those three or four teams who have to control their resource to comply. I think there’s seven or eight teams for whom the RRA means nothing because they’re always going to be below the limit.”

Brawn stated the problem with the agreement was that it had not been structured well enough to include sufficient checks and reassurances in place.

Brawn believes the system leads to innuendo and accusations.

He said: “We’re total supporters of the idea of RRA, but for us it has to be much more robust in how it’s controlled, how it’s monitored, how it’s policed, because it’s a performance differentiator.

“You can’t deny that a team spending five million more each year will have an advantage over a team that doesn’t.”

The Olympic Park will see competitive sport today at its first ever test event in the shape of London International Basketball Invitational that takes place at a temporary arena built for the official games in 2012.

The test event will feature six teams with Australia, China, Croatia, France, Great Britain and Serbia all in action.Each day will feature three games scheduled for 3.30pm, 6pm and 8.30pm in the Basketball Arena which is one of the largest temporary venues ever used for an Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The tournament will run on five of the six days from August 16 until 21 with Friday (August 19) scheduled to be a rest day.

The majority of the teams will feature top NBA stars, including Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, who will lead Team GB in their pursuit of victory on home turf.

The sport will show supporters and organisers what to expect leading to the showcase event in 2012 while testing many parts of its operations including the field of play; results, timing and scoring systems; how teams work together and how people move around venues.

Debbie Jevans, London 2012 Director of Sport, said: “Having our first test event on Olympic Park makes the Games seem even closer and excitement is building.”

“We are looking forward to hosting our first ever tournament in the Basketball Arena and testing our operations which will include transport into Olympic Park as well as the venue operations and of course the sporting field of play.”

Patrick Baumann, FIBA secretary general and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, said: “This invitational tournament will be a very interesting and competitive one, with six of the best teams in men’s basketball.”

“The Olympic Basketball Arena is a wonderful and world-class venue.”

The venue was the fourth Olympic Park venue completed by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) earlier this year.

It has 12,000 seats with a black and orange design to represent the colours of a basketball while it is 35 metres high and 115 metres long.

It will be dismantled to be reused elsewhere at other UK and overseas events.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has banned Indian players participating in the upcoming Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) Twenty20 competition.

The BCCI has also elected to classify the SLPL as a private tournament, despite the tournament receving official sanction from all other cricket boards. 

The winning team from the SLPL will represent Sri Lanka in this year’s Cricket Champions League, a Twenty20 event jointly-organised by the cricket boards of India, Australia and South Africa.

The BCCI refused to budge on its stance to ban its players from participating in the tournament, despite the Sri Lankan Cricket board offering bank guarantees to safeguard the Indian players’ contracts.

Sri Lanka sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said: “It is their decision and we cannot force them to change their position. We knew that India was not going to change its stand. That was the reason why we did not go to India. We made an attempt to convince them but the BCCI told us that it cannot reverse its stand. They seem to have some apprehensions over the tournament.”

The absence of Indian players will have a huge impact on the television revenue for the SLPL, and a broadcaster of the competition is yet to be finalised.

Twelve Indian players were due to take part in the 16-day tournament, which will run from July 19 to August 4.

A potential collective bargaining agreement (CBA) being reached between the National Football League (NFL) and Player’s Association (NFLPA) still seems very far away after the league filed an unfair practices complaint against its player’s union to the National Labour Relations Board.

The NFL claim that the NFLPA isn’t bargaining in good faith on a new contract, using delays to “run out the clock” on talks before disbanding the union and suing the league under antitrust law for colluding to restrict players’ pay.

With the current deal expiring in just over two weeks time on March 3, the union has stated it expects the league to lock out players after saying that the NFL’s claim had “absolutely no merit” .

In yesterday’s filing, the NFL said the union’s threat to decertify is “a ploy and an unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process, there being no evidence whatsoever of any (let alone widespread) dissatisfaction with the union by its members.”

The US Soccer Federation is being sued for $US50 million ($51.5m) by a former promoter of professional games in the US.

The lawyer behind the legal action said that he had asked a US court last week to compel FIFA executives in Switzerland to disclose their dealings with the USSF on the suit.

Soccer powerbrokers in the US say they were confident they could beat the lawsuit and fend off any threat to their bid for the World Cup.

The US is the frontrunner for the 2022 event, ahead of Australia, Qatar, Japan and South Korea. A European bid is certain to win the 2018 World Cup.

A judge in Chicago gave heart to the litigants in July by ruling that the federation had a case to answer on claims that it was involved in racketeering, extortion and anti-competitive behaviour when it forced promoters to pay large fees for the right to hold matches in the US between foreign professional clubs, including Manchester United and Barcelona.

The promoter, ChampionsWorld, paid $US3m to hold such matches between 2003 and 2005, and sold more tickets than the US Major League Soccer competition.

ChampionsWorld claims those fees pushed it into bankruptcy in 2005 and its creditors are suing the USSF for $US50m damages.

A court ruling that the USSF and FIFA had no right to demand the fees would knock a hole in the federation’s revenue and set a legal precedent that could allow other promoters to demand repayment of millions more in fees.

Supporters of the lawsuit said the USSF could be bankrupted, compromising its ability to host the World Cup, if the court decided ChampionsWorld was driven out of business by predatory behaviour by the federation and FIFA.

Soccer United Marketing, an MLS spin-off, does most of the promotion of international soccer matches in the US. Its revenue has helped MLS to survive its growth years and fund the World Cup bid.

Alan Rothenberg, president of the federation when the US hosted the 1994 World Cup, said he expected the federation to defeat the lawsuit, and even if it lost it had a strong enough balancesheet to avoid bankruptcy.

The federation’s revenue stream from international matches ranked well behind its earnings from television rights and gate receipts for US national team matches, he said.

In the year to 2009, the federation made $US2.9m from fees on international matches, and this year it is likely to have taken more than $US3m from more than 40 international matches involving clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Jamie Brickell, the lawyer representing the creditors, said he hoped to be in court by the middle of next year and he was confident of success after a ruling in July by Circuit Court judge Harry D. Leinenweber.

“The judge agreed with us that there is no statute in American law that says the federation has authority over all professional soccer, or that FIFA has the power to give anybody the right to govern professional soccer,” Brickell said.

He hoped Judge Leinenweber would next week direct FIFA to provide information about its role in the matter.

The USSF tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing US legislation on sport, and internal decisions by FIFA, had given it the right to impose the fees on promoters, but Judge Leinenweber said the case should go ahead.

He ruled that the federation had no right to govern professional soccer except in the Olympics.

“ChampionsWorld has sufficiently alleged a pattern of racketeering activities,” Judge Leinenweber wrote.

US laws did not appear to give the federation monopoly control over professional soccer in the US, he said, and if it had that control, USA Basketball, which ran the amateur sport, would also have control over the NBA.

“It is extremely difficult to conclude from a reading of the plain text (of the relevant legislation) or its legislative history that Congress intended such a result,” he wrote.

“The court holds that, as a matter of law, the act does not give the USSF authority to govern professional soccer in the US, except to the extent necessary for USSF to govern the participation of professional players in the Olympic Games and related events.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced that Finance Director and Company Secretary Brian Havill will become Acting Chief Executive following the announcement that David Collier is to retire at the end of the current cricket season.

Mr Havill has been at ECB since August 2000, herbal joining them from Pentland Group (owners of Speedo, arthritis Kickers, clinic Ellesse and several other sports and fashion brands) where he was Commercial Director of Pentland Sports Group.  

On a voluntary basis, he served on the Council of the Lawn Tennis Association between 2008 and 2013 and he is currently an independent member on the Audit Committee of the Sport & Recreational Alliance. 

His appointment allows retiring CEO David Collier the time to conclude specific projects for both ECB and the ICC.

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.”