East West Bank has announced it signed a three-year agreement with Houston Rockets. Like to try to capitalise on the popularity of the franchise’s recruit, Jeremy Lin, who draws large numbers of viewers from and Asia.

“He’s a good role model,” said Esau Liu, senior vice president and southwest region manager at East West Bank in Houston. “With the strategic alliance with the Rockets, in terms of marketing and promotion in China, I think it’ll be significant.”

Terms of the deal have not been announced.

East West Bank has operations in China and focuses its resources and strategy on both the U.S. and China markets.

The deal “should be a good tactic to support our corporate strategy for the U.S. and China markets,” Liu said.

The Houston Rockets are already a well-known entity in China because of Yao Ming, who played for the the club between 2002 and 2011.

The deal will give East West Bank “both in-arena and on-air exposure,” according to a statement. {jcomments on}

With 48,529 tickets sold for the Korea Baseball Organization’s (KBO) Sunday games, the number of visitors to baseball stadiums this year hit 6 million and seems likely to smash last year’s record of 6,810,028.

As of Monday,6,046,019 fans have attended KBO fixturessince the season started in April. This is the second consecutive season the attendance figure has reached 6 million since the inception of professional baseball in Korea.

An average of 14,430 fans per game visited stadiums, which is 9 percent higher than last year. The momentum has caused the KBO to predict that the number will easily surpass 7 million.{jcomments on}

British professional female jockeys are joyous following the news they will receive their own championship for the first time.

The race for the new title, sponsored by information technology business Prolinx, begins on the opening day of the Flat racing season at Doncaster Racecourse on March 31. It concludes on Town Moor too, on the final day of the season in November.

Hayley Turner, Britain’s top female jockey who rode her first two Group 1 winners last year, said: “This is excellent news and it will create a great deal of interest – and make us even more competitive – in the weighing room.”

Paul Struthers, chief executive of the Professional Jockeys Association, added: “We are thrilled to be launching the first ever Ladies’ Jockeys Championship and delighted thatProlinx has agreed to be the sponsor. This new championship reflects the impact that has been made by female Jockeys in recent years and their growing influence in the sport.”

The championship is segmented into three components – gold, silver and bronze. The gold award prize, for jockeys riding over 30 winners during the season, is £5,000; the silver award (10-29 winners) £3,000; and the bronze award (1-9 winners) £1,000. The winners will be the riders with the best strike rate – winners-to-rides ratio – in each section.

World Series of Boxing has announced that both the WSB Team Finals and Individual Championships will be held in London, stuff at the ExCeL, order | the venue for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

WSB originally planned to hold these two events in China. However, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) decided to promote its new groundbreaking initiative, the AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) program, by showcasing its WSB competitions in the heart of upcoming Olympic City.

Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, AIBA President and WSB Board Chairman, said: “With these WSB Finals being the pinnacle of the season, we decided to bring this fantastic show to the city whose heart will be beating for boxing in just a couple of months time. Great Britain is one of the hubs of the sport and we are convinced that fans from all around the country will come to the ExCeL to witness the best Olympic boxers competing in a pro format. We will also be unveiling the latest plans with regards to AIBA Professional Boxing. We look forward to seeing you all there.”

The WSB Team Finals will be held over two days, 1 and 2 May and the Individual Championships will be held on Saturday 9 June.

by Ismail Uddin

Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s Culture Secretary has urged the British Olympic Association to drop their case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport with regards to the current dispute with the Games’ organising committee (LOCOG).

The BOA is effectively seeking a bigger cut of any financial surplus to arise from the Games, as well as the Paralympics which take place after the event. The disagreement escalated late last week when BOA chairman Lord Moynihan and CEO Andy Hunt were barred from LOCOG board meetings.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek, Hunt stated: “This is not the right argument to be having so close to the Olympics in our country. I think it is an extraordinary thing that just over a year before the Games that we are going into this sort of dispute, which frankly is not going to benefit anyone.”

Hunt added: “We need to sort it out quickly, it is just very disappointing and I do not think anyone would say it is the right way to be focusing our energies…I can’t really see how anyone’s going to be a winner from this because there is no more money.”

The BOA has insisted that the Paralympics should be kept separate on the final balance sheet, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently backed LOCOG’s claim that the Olympics and Paralympic Games should be combined before surplus payments are distributed.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) extended a sponsorship agreement with toiletries manufacturer Right Guard yesterday, February 16, making the Henkel brand an official partner of Noche Latina 2011.

This year’s Noche Latina events will get underway at NBA All-Star Weekend in L.A. with a party presented by Right Guard today, February 17.

Noche Latina presented by Right Guard will continue in March with marketing street teams in Chicago, Dallas, L.A., Miami, N.Y., Orlando, Phoenix and San Antonio

The chief of Paris bid 2012 bid committee, closest rivals to the London Olympic Bid, has claimed that the row over the future of the Olympic Stadium is a result of Olympic chiefs not taking legacy plans seriously enough.

Phillipe Baudillon saw his Paris bid narrowly beaten by that of London, for the right to stage the Games after a huge lobbying effort in Singapore in 2005.

Baudillon spoke of his lack of surprise with regards to the uncertainty of the future of London 2012’s main venue, with Premier League soccer teams Tottenham and West Ham both vying to move in.

“I’m not surprised because the process of choosing a host city is not focused on legacy,” said Philippe Baudillon. 

“The 100 people who decide who gets a Games don’t have any incentive to choose the best legacy proposal. It’s not an important parameter for [the International Olympic Committee]. 

“They choose where they think is best for the Olympic brand and London was very good on this [during the bidding race]. 

“Legacy isn’t a problem for the IOC – it’s a problem for the hosts. I think they will have to take legacy into account more, otherwise people will get fed up with paying for something that only lasts 15 days.” 

Baudillon admitted the London 2012 bid team did a better job of selling their strengths than the Paris team, but thinks the IOC must change its selection criteria to reflect changes in the wider world. 

“Thirty years ago there was no talk of legacy, the environment or sustainable development with Olympic bids. It’s coming now but the evolution is very slow and the mindset of the IOC members is also slow,” he added. 

“There’s a gap between what is happening in business and government, and what the IOC is doing. Now we’re in the middle of an economic crisis, legacy planning has become crucial. 

“There have been some good examples, like Barcelona and Sydney, but Beijing, which was a great Games, is having problems with its Olympic infrastructure and Athens is a complete disaster.”

In an interview on Russian state television, cialis Arsenal investor and owner of Metalloinvest, ed Alisher Usmanov stated his desire to raise his stake in the top English soccer club to 29.9 per cent.

Usmanov who currently holds a 27 per cent stake in the club would join Stanley Kroenke as the majority shareholder, were he to increase his stake to the desired amount.

The Opening Match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™ will set a new European attendance record for women’s football. It was announced today that over 50,000 tickets have already been sold for the clash between hosts Germany and Canada at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on 26 June 2011.