Gladstone Dainty, President of the USA Cricket Association, is attempting to arrange another set of matches involving New Zealand later this year, with the potential of staging in New York. 

Dainty told ESPNcricinfo: “We’re very seriously looking to do something in August. We don’t have another [team] yet, but we’re looking to do something in August.” 

USA hosted New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Florida last May for a pair of Twenty20 games that took place shortly after the conclusion of the World Twenty20 in the West Indies. 

While matches may again be played in Florida, New York could also become a viable option after Dainty revealed plans to install a turf wicket at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field. A USA XI played two matches against a West Indies XI captained by Brian Lara at the same ground in 2006. 

Dainty added: “We’re still working on getting this facility in New York going. I’m hoping that it’ll be ready by August.”

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which recently gave English Premier League soccer club West Ham their support as preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium, has appointed Victoria O’Byrne as its new chief of media and external affairs.

O’Byrne has left her post as a consultant at the Institute for Public Policy Research, after working as director of internal affairs for the company, in order to join the OPLC.

Additionally, O’Byrne has also held communications roles in and around government over the last ten years, most recently working as special adviser to Tessa Jowell MP, where she was responsible for the then minister’s London and Olympic briefs.

Her responsobilities will now involve leading the Olympic Park Legacy Company press, public affairs, and website operations, working with executive director for marketing and communications, Karen Webb.

According to UK Junior Heritage Minister John Penrose, the government owned bookmaker, The Tote will continue to split its profits equally with the taxpayer after it is sold.

The company was set up 83 years ago to provide racecourse punters with alternatives to illegal bookmakers and ensure money went back into the sport and currently injects half its profits into racing.

However, calls were launched in the UK House of Commons for the dividend to be increased with the coalition likely to sell the Wigan-based company, which employs more than 4,000 staff, later this year.

Penrose stated: “There have been various comments that 50% isn’t enough and it ought to be 100% of the proceeds going to racing – but that isn’t where we are.”

Last year, Chancellor George Osborne promised to secure value for taxpayers while recognising the support the Tote gave to the industry, he said.

Mr Penrose added: “Given the state of the national finances, it’s going to be extremely hard – in fact, completely impossible – to argue we should be doing more than a 50-50 split.”

The Iran National Olympic Committee has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in a threat to boycott the London 2012 Olympics after claiming the Games’ logo is “racist”.

The nation’s Olympic Committee secretary general Bahram Afsharzadeh, sent the letter to the IOC claiming that the emblem resembles the word ‘Zion’ – a biblical term for Jerusalem.

The letter also urged other Muslim states to oppose the “racist logo”, but a statement from the IOC said: “The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else.”

Afsharzadeh, in his letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge, stated: “There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the games, especially Iran which abides by commitment to the values and principles.”

A statement from the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) said: “(The logo) was launched in 2007 following testing and consultation. We are surprised that this complaint has been made now.”

Chief financial officer for Formula 1 team McLaren, Andy Myers has stated that it will not be following its British rival Williams to the stock market.

50 per cent of the ownership of McLaren is held by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat sovereign wealth fund with the remaining shares in the hands of its chairman, Ron Dennis, and Saudi tycoon Mansour Ojjeh. 

In November 2009, they bought out former shareholder Mercedes’ 40 per cent stake but the motivation was not to list the business according to Myers, who stated: “The McLaren group has no plans to float in the future.”

Tomorrow, March 2, Williams will become the first F1 team to float when it lists 28 per cent of its shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange with the majority of the offering sold by its co-founder Patrick Head, who intends to retire this year.

Myers said McLaren’s strategy “is to remain as a private company in the ownership of a small number of focused shareholders, since we believe that best suits our business model”.

Soccerex have announced both Begoña Sanz, physician Deputy Sales and Marketing Managing Director, unhealthy Real Madrid CF and Salvatore Cuccu, story Commercial Director, ACF Fiorentina will be speaking on club commercial challenges and strategy at the Soccerex European Forum, 30-31 March 2011.

The news comes the week after Spain’s La Liga topped the European merchandise and licensing revenue charts, according to a study by Sport+Markt and PR Marketing. The study showed that 80 per cent of the leagues 2009-2010 season total, which surpassed the English Premier League, was generated by the countries two biggest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The news sets the scene for the panel discussion titled “All clubs great and small – the differing commercial challenges”, which will look to assess the varied commercial opportunities available to clubs of different sizes.

This highly topical subject is part of a diverse agenda reflecting the latest issues in European Football including Financial Fair Play, sponsorship, rights holder relationships, digital media and fan interaction and International FA development.

Weber Shandwick Sport, a leading communications agency, has been appointed by The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in horseracing, as its centrally retained communications agency.

Weber Shandwick Sport will work alongside Scott Bowers, The Jockey Club’s group director of communications, to provide communications support aimed at promoting the 260-year-old organisation and its 14 leading UK racecourses, training facilities, breeding operation, charity arm and other interests.

Weber Shandwick Sport was also recently appointed as the retained communications agency for British Champions Series, UK horseracing’s new premier Flat racing series, in which The Jockey Club is the largest shareholder.

The Jockey Club’s racecourses host many of British racing’s iconic festivals, including the John Smith’s Grand National Meeting at Aintree, the Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Downs, the Cheltenham Festival and the Guineas Festival at Newmarket.

Scott Bowers stated: “The Jockey Club is at the heart of the UK’s second biggest spectator sport, but we are also a multi-dimensional company with a wide range of interests. In Weber Shandwick Sport we have a partner offering award-winning sports expertise and a track record of reaching out to consumer and business audiences across the board, which should complement us well.”

Fiona McLachlan, head of sport at Weber Shandwick, added: “We’re very excited to work for the leading commercial group in British horseracing, in a sport that is making every effort to market itself better. The Jockey Club owns many of racing’s most iconic and valuable assets, including some of the UK’s most famous racecourses.”

A suggestion made by Birmingham City Council Leader, Mike Whitby, to charge local residents to watch top athletes like Usain Bolt and Allyson Felix train there before London 2012 to help cover a US$345m budget cut, has angered many in the area..

Whitby led negotiations which saw Birmingham sign deals with the athletics teams from Jamaica and the United States to set-up pre-Games training camps there next year, representing somewhat of a coup as the two countries are arguably the most high-profile athletics teams competing at London.

Whitby has estimated that the deals could be worth up to $24m to Birmingham’s economy, with the US team set to be based at Alexander Stadium while Jamaica are to train at the University of Birmingham.

Whitby, who represents the Conservative party in the UK, wants to use the opportunity to raise extra cash to help offset the massive cut in funding Birmingham City Council is facing, and stated: “We need a more effective way of generating revenue.

“We have a tremendous capacity to increase revenue. 

“We have the Olympic training camps coming next year which is a fantastic opportunity.

“We are looking at charging to watch the athletes train.”

Perry Barr Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, who represents communities surrounding Alexander Stadium, has led opposition to the controversial plan, telling the Birmingham Post: “It’s absolutely disgraceful.

“This is a scrooge measure by this Council which will deter ordinary people in Birmingham from engaging with the Olympics.

“How are we supposed to encourage and inspire young people from poorer backgrounds to enjoy sport if we exclude them when these athletes are on their doorstep?

“The people have already paid for the Olympics through their taxes. 

“This should be abandoned before it goes too far.”

Whitby later claimed to insidethegames that the suggestion had been just an idea and not one he planned to pursue, stating: “Quite rightly we will and do look at a whole range of revenue generating ideas but this is not something we will be taking forward.”

The ticket prices have been announced for the Europa League final, to be played on May 18 at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, a week after UEFA revealed their rocketing Champions League prices.

In fact, the most expensive tickets for the Europa League final will cost less than the cheapest tickets generally available for the Champions League final.

UEFA’s category one tickets for the Europa League final in Dublin have gone on sale priced at £129 (US$208.37) almost £50 ($80.76) cheaper than the lowest priced Champions League tickets at Wembley, including a £25 ($40.38) booking fee, with all fans able to buy category four seats, the cheapest, for £77 ($124.4).

UEFA angered fans in England last week when it was announced the cheapest tickets on general sale for the Champions League final at Wembley would cost £176 ($284.4) – including a £26 ($42) administration fee.