Former staff of the struggling Caterham F1 team are set to launch legal action against the team after being dismissed.

About 40 people, including several senior staff members, were released on the eve of the German Grand Prix after a consortium of Middle Eastern and Swiss investors took over the team.

A statement issued on Monday on behalf of the group of former staff said: “The summary dismissal of employees from Caterham was done without warning or consultation and will result in significant compensation claims against the team.

“Caterham has also reneged on promises that the employees would at least be paid in July. Lawyers for the group will take immediate action.

“It is understood that the employees, many of whom have supported the F1 team during its four years in the championship, will be requesting the FIA – as a responsible regulator – to fully investigate the F1 team’s conduct and the circumstances in relation to its recent change of ownership.”

The team has struggled this season at the back of the grid withour a single point. 

Red Bull Global Rallycross have announced that the series will return to DirtFish in Snoqualmie, bronchi near Seattle, abortion WA, for the penultimate round of the 2014 Red Bull GRC season.

The two-day event will take place on Friday, September 26, and Saturday, September 27, and will be broadcast on Sunday, September 28, at 1PM ET on NBC.

“We’re very excited to bring Red Bull Global Rallycross back to the Seattle market this September,” said Red Bull GRC CEO Colin Dyne. “Returning to Seattle has been a priority for us, and we’re pleased to partner with DirtFish to bring world-class racing to their grounds once again.”

“Returning to the site of the second-ever GRC event, and one of our all time favorite tracks, is something we’re really excited about,” continued Chip Pankow, COO. “We can’t wait to welcome back the fans from season one and see many new ones—they’ll be able to witness the progress the series has made since those early days first hand.”

The event will mark the second time that Red Bull Global Rallycross has visited DirtFish grounds, hosting a two-day show at the location back in April 2011. The event was a fan favorite, providing incredible race action through the dirt and an abandoned warehouse. Olsbergs MSE principal Andreas Eriksson won the first day’s event, while two-time Red Bull GRC champion Tanner Foust won the second day’s finale.

In 2014, the series will return to DirtFish with a completely reconfigured track and many fresh faces. Foust and Rhys Millen will headline the Red Bull GRC drivers making their return to the venue, while Olsbergs MSE, Subaru Rally Team USA, and Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing will also visit DirtFish as part of the series for the second time.

“People are still talking about the event we had in 2011 and we are often asked when we are going to have another one,” said DirtFish’s Marketing Director Troy Jorgensen. “We are very excited to have Red Bull GRC return to DirtFish and expect this event to be a favorite for both the fans and the drivers this season.”

USA Cycling and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have announced the official formalisation of the RaceClean agreement which expands the parameters of drug testing in the discipline.

Although the USADA will continue to independently conduct anti-doping, allergy the RaceClean program increases levels of drug testing across competition levels and in- and out-of-competition. In the first half of 2013 alone RaceClean has seen 100 tests at 10 USA Cycling calendar events, and it is expected that testing will occur in the majority of the year’s remaining events.

RaceClean also devotes funds to education and grassroots testing in addition to allowing both members and non-members of USA Cycling to donate to the “RaceClean Fund”.

Of the program’s formalization USA Cycling President & CEO, Steve Johnson, said: “As the program evolved from conceptual to experimental to contractual, both USA Cycling and USADA wanted to make sure we accurately captured the scope and intent of the program in the final agreement. As is often the case, this was a little more involved than anticipated as it ultimately required significant changes in our rider waivers and event contracts.”

The National Hockey League has confirmed the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will be played at 1 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day at The Big House on the campus of University of Michigan between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In addition, Bettman said Comerica Park in downtown Detroit will be converted into a rink for the SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival. 

The NHL anticipates setting a world record for attendance at a hockey game as upwards of 110,000 people are expected to pack The Big House on the campus of the University of Michigan for the Winter Classic game. An estimated 250,000 are expected to descend on downtown Detroit for the Hockeytown Winter Festival. 

“We’ve been excited about going to The Big House, and we’re glad that the plans are falling into place to do everything we originally planned to do and more,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

The Red Wings and Maple Leafs were originally scheduled to play at The Big House on Jan. 1, 2013, but the event was cancelled because of the lockout. 

The same plans are in place for the 2014 event, with the possibility of the NHL considering doing more with the added time to plan. 

“In terms of the ancillary events, I think we have the ability to do more and do some better planning,” Commissioner Bettman said. “We want to make sure that this event is as strong and as solid and as big as it can be. Everything we’re doing is in pursuit of that.” 

The marquee event before the actual Winter Classic game will be the 2014 Red Wings vs. Maple Leafs Alumni Showdown on New Year’s Eve. 

Nearly 100 alumni from both teams have asked to participate, requiring the NHL, the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs to plan for two alumni games at Comerica Park on New Year’s Eve. 

The NHL first showcased the Winter Classic alumni game in 2011 with Mario Lemieux and thePittsburgh Penguins. 

“People like to have a reason to come together and celebrate,” Leafs alumni Darryl Sittler told NHL.com. “The game is an event, but there is so many other things surrounding it. You talk about the alumni and I really look forward to getting back on the ice with Lanny [MacDonald] and Tiger [Williams]. In Detroit, they’ve had huge success over the last number of years and they’re going to have a little bit younger of an alumni team than us. But the fact that they’re having two games and every player who is an alumni of these two teams gets a chance to be a part of it, that tells you a lot about it.” 

The Winter Festival will also feature games of all levels of hockey (American Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, NCAA, high school and youth) being played on the temporary rink built atop the infield at Comerica Park from mid-December into the new year. 

“Usually you just think of the Winter Classic as a game and an unreal game, but what Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch have done downtown is they have turned this into an event,” Red Wings alum Kris Drapersaid. “It’s going to be special. It’s going to be a great time around the city of Detroit.”

Sports apparel company, Under Armour is suing Nike, alleging that its chief competitor is illegally using a version of the company’s new primary slogan, “I Will.”

The suit, which the company said it filed Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, seeks to force Nike to stop using any form of that phrase and asks for unspecified punitive damages for trademark infringement and unfair competition.

According to a copy of the suit provided by Under Armour, the complaint shows several instances of ads Nike placed on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter beginning late last year using slogans that all begin with “I will.” Text running over the arm of a basketball player dunking a ball reads, “I will finish what I started.” Runners can be seen standing at the starting line in another ad behind the words “I will sweat while they sleep.”

Lawyers for Under Armour also accuse Nike of trying to cause consumer confusion by using language that approximates the iconic “Protect this house” campaign that helped propel founder Kevin Plank’s company into the mainstream. Another basketball ad reads, “I will protect my home court.”

In a statement, Under Armour said: “The I WILL trademark is one of the cornerstone symbols of our company and its products and services, and has been for many years. We have initiated a lawsuit against Nike, Inc. based on its infringement of Under Armour’s federally registered I WILL trademark. We prefer to battle our competitors in the marketplace and on the field of play with our game-changing innovative products, but we will defend ourselves whenever necessary to protect what we’ve worked so hard to build. We will not allow a competitor to blatantly infringe upon our established trademark rights.”

Under Armour said that its rights to “I Will” date back to 1998 and that it has used the slogan in connection with hundreds of products, in TV commercials and on billboards. It called the phrase “a centerpiece of its brand identity” in the lawsuit. The first “I Will” trademark dates to 2000, and Under Armour filed for multiple trademarks on the phrase last May.

Both these properties are no strangers to meeting in the court room after Nike, in 2003, sued Under Armour, alleging that its moisture-wicking apparel infringed on Nike’s trademarked Dri-Fit style of clothing. The lawsuit also claimed Under Armour had registered several website URLs with various spellings of “Dri-Fit” and had them all redirect to the Under Armour website. A federal judge threw out the case.

Nike has reported a fall in new orders in China, and said it would alter its strategy in the country as investor concern over its performance sent its shares down

The company said that new orders from its greater China region, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, were 5 percent below last year’s level.

Nike Brand President, Charlie Denson, said “This is a natural evolution that we’ve seen in many markets, so it’s not a surprise. What is a surprise, like everything in China, is how fast it got here.”

Nike shares initially fell more than 4 percent after market trading, but later recovered slightly to be down 3.2 percent at US$92.90. {jcomments on}

The Japan Professional Baseball Players Association has decided to boycott  the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

All 24 player representatives voted against participating in the tournament.

Last year, store the union requested a bigger cut of tournament revenue and merchandising and sponsorship rights for the Japan national team. The request, ask which at the time was supported by Nippon Professional Baseball, was rejected.

World Baseball Classic officials still expect Japan to compete.{jcomments on}