NASCAR team owner Gene Haas has confirmed his interest in joining the Formula 1 grid from 2015 or 2016.

With the 12th slot in the sport having remained unfilled since Spanish minnows HRT folded at the end of 2012, the FIA in December announced the opening of an application process to find a new outfit to join the championship from potentially as early as next year.

It has now emerged that Haas, the joint owner of the North Carolina-based Stewart-Haas Racing which competes in the premier stock car series in the USA, is in the running.

“We have responded to the FIA’s call for expression of interest regarding a Formula One entry on behalf of Haas Racing Development,” a Haas statement read.

“We respect the FIA’s evaluation process and will share more details in the coming weeks.”

Former Red Bull and Jaguar Technical Director Guenther Steiner is reportedly working alongside Haas on the project.

The full application process for prospective entrants closes on February 10, with a decision on any winning bid due on February 28.

The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships are heading to Cardiff, Wales for 2016, it has been announced.

The Welsh capital city’s annual half marathon was held on 6 October and for the first time incorporated the British Half Marathon Championships.

The World Half Marathon Championships will take place in March 2016 and be open to elite and amateur runners.

“This is a major coup for Cardiff and Wales,” said Welsh Athletics CEO Matt Newman.

“It is a huge endorsement of the excellent work that has been put into the Cardiff Half Marathon over the past decade.

“I am excited to see what the world’s best athletes will able to produce on such a flat and fast course”

The event is the first of its kind to be staged in Wales and elite athletes will use it as part of their preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games.

“It is a major achievement for a small nation like Wales to be able to win an IAAF major championship event and our successful bid proved the power of the partnerships we have been able to build in recent years with the Welsh Government and Cardiff Council. Both agencies were vital parts of our bid,” Newman added.

“Now we have less than three years to prepare for one of the most prestigious sporting events ever staged in Wales and we intend to make it one to remember.”

The 2016 race will be the 22nd running of the event and Cardiff will follow Copenhagen, who host the 19th Championships on 29 March, 2014.

“It will be the fourth time the race has been run in the United Kingdom: South Shields staged the inaugural Championships in 1992 and it has also been held in Bristol in 2001 and Birmingham in 2009.

In an attempt to capitalise on China’s rapidly growing interest in tennis, Tennis Australia staff are publishing a variety of Australian Open-related content on Chinese digital platforms during the tournament.

The content includes news, photographs, audio, video clips and live scores and is being published on Yuku, Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ. The platforms have millions of users throughout the world’s most populous country, partly because global networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and several major news sites, are blocked.

Coinciding with the emergence of stars such as Li Na— 2011 Australian Open finalist and winner of the 2011 French Open— tennis is starting to take of in China. There are now an estimated 14 million participants nationwide— up from 1 million a generation ago. The game is also very popular among Chinese television viewers.

Tennis Australia Digital and Publishing Manager, Kim Trengove, thinks China is a key territory for the Australian Open’s growth. “We feel that, ‘Hey, this is our region and we’re in the best position to do something.’ We think there’s a big opportunity for us and we’re so much closer to educate.” Trengove said.

The Australian Open will be promoted on Sina Weibo— the Chinese equivalent of Twitter—  and Yuku, a social networking website. Tencent QQ, one of most popular portals in China, has sent four journalists to Melbourne to cover the event.

Tennis Australia has employed Chinese language students from universities in Melbourne to help promote Melbourne Park to China. Are other initiatives include live online scores in Mandarin and creating apps for Chinese tennis fans.

Trengove believes the growth in interest in China is very exciting for the Australian Open. ”It is all a huge unknown, and, having the journalists coming from Beijing, we’re going to learn a lot,” she said. ”There will be a lot more trips to Beijing to understand this market. But for us, this is really where our future is. Not just for the Australian Open but for people playing tennis.”{jcomments on}

Sky Ride, a series of recreational cycling events and local rides from British Cycling and Sky which have succeeded in getting over 700,000 people into cycling – was named ‘Campaign of the Year’ at last night’s Bike Biz awards.

Reacting to the news, Stewart Kellett, British Cycling’s Director of Recreation and Partnerships, said: “This is fantastic news. The philosophy behind Sky Ride events and the goskyride.com website is simple. No matter who you are or where you live, we’re got thousands of fun and easy ways to get on a bike. You can enjoy a mass participation Sky Ride city centre bike ride, or enjoy a Sky Ride local led ride with British Cycling ride leaders, or join a new online social network and get together with other cyclists for informal rides wherever you are. All of this is supported by a huge marketing and behavioural change campaign – the biggest ever national promotion of cycling for fun.

“Over 200,000 people every year take part in our programmes and this award is great recognition of everything that we’ve achieved. I want to thank all the supporting local authorities, participants, ride leaders and volunteers who’ve worked hard to make Sky Ride activities such a success.”

Sky Ride was up against stiff competition for the award as the Times’ Cities Fit for Cycling was also nominated in the same category.

Over the past year the British Cycling and Sky ‘Sky Ride’ programme has worked in partnership with 45 local authorities to promote and deliver cycling opportunities.

• They set up over 1,700 free community bike rides for anyone to join, delivered16 mass participation traffic-free city centre events and created a social network for cycling Social Cycling Groups. 

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) says it is “extremely disappointed” by the legal challenge made by the International RS:X Class Association against its decision to drop windsurfing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The sport’s world governing body announced in May that the class would be replaced by kiteboarding after London 2012.

The decision was met by surprise and frustration within the windsurfing fraternity and has been challenged by the International RS:X Class Association.

ISAF said in a statement on Thursday.

“ISAF intends to fully defend the decision of the ISAF council.

“ISAF expects the normal submission process to be used in order to ask council to reconsider its decisions and therefore ISAF is extremely disappointed that this course of action has been taken.

“Initiating legal action in the middle of the Olympic Games might damage not only the performance of the affected sailors but also the reputation of sailing in general.”

As the midway point of the 2012 Major League Baseball season nears, the Boston Red Sox remain the most expensive ticket in baseball according to data compiled by Ticket Liquidator, the second-largest ticketing website on the secondary market. 

The Red Sox are the only Major League team to top the century mark at an average ticket price of $101.11 in 2012, more than 26 percent more expensive than the next-most-expensive ticket — the New York Mets at an average ticket price of $80.15. Rounding out the top five are the Toronto Blue Jays at an average ticket price of $76.51, the Chicago Cubs at an average ticket price of $74.57, and the New York Yankees at an average ticket price of $71.15. The cheapest ticket in baseball is the Pittsburgh Pirates at an average price of $33.21.

Despite being the most expensive ticket in baseball, the Boston Red Sox have sold the third-most tickets on Ticket Liquidator during the first half of the 2012 season. The only teams outpacing the Red Sox in total tickets sold are the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, who have sold the most. The team who has sold the least amount of tickets on Ticket Liquidator during the first half of 2012 is the Oakland Athletics. A variety of reasons exist why the Red Sox tickets are so much more expensive than all the other teams, but one obvious factor is supply and demand. Fenway Park, which celebrates its’ 100-year anniversary in 2012, is one of the smallest stadiums in baseball, with a seating capacity of 37,495. In contrast, Yankee Stadium has a capacity of 50,921.

Tickets for the 2012 MLB All Star game at the Kansas City Royal’s Kauffman Stadium have also been in high demand, as Kauffman Stadium’s capacity of 37,903 is similar to Fenway Park. The All Star game takes place on July 10, 2012, as baseball fans get a chance to see the return of former St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa as he comes out of retirement to coach the National League. Tickets for the 2012 MLB All Star Game have sold for an average price of $469.33 on Ticket Liquidator. 

AFL club Carlton has been fined $(AU) 7500 because three of its players players used social media to criticise AFL umpires.

Marc Murphy, Jarrad Waite and Jeremy Laidler used their Twitter accounts to vent their feelings over the officiating.

AFL football operations manager, Adrian Anderson, warned that players will face the same disciplinary measures for criticising officials via social media as they would for comments made in interviews or press conferences.

“A player’s use of social media to make comments around umpiring will be subject to the AFL’s rules in exactly the same way as comments made in a formal interview or any other media environment,” Anderson said.

“The AFL competition must continue to set a positive example on conduct towards umpires.”

Carlton coach Brett Ratten has received a formal warning for comments about officials he made during his press conference last Thursday.

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Sportswear giant Nike Inc has announced plans to develop a headquarters in Shanghai, discount China.

The investment is a key part of Nike’s business growth strategy in the region.

Nike celebrated the landmark of 30 years of business in China in 2011, and, last June, accrued more than $2 billion in revenue for the first time in the area. In addition, in its second quarter FY12 earnings, Nike reported a 35% increase in its revenue in the region.

VP & GM of Nike’s Greater China geography Craig Cheek has stated, “This announcement is very exciting and a strategic investment in our continued growth in China.

“This new campus headquarters will allow us to elevate and expand on our facilities and capabilities while bringing all of our Shanghai based employees together from our portfolio of Nike Inc. brands into one central campus.”

The centralized campus will span nearly 600,000 square foot and will be located at Tishman Speyer’s newest development, The Springs in Shanghai’s Yangpu District.

Tishman Speyer co-CEOs Jerry Speyer and Rob Speyer expressed their delight at Nike’s committment.

“When we broke ground on The Springs in June, we were confident that world-class companies would recognize the value and importance of establishing a presence in Shanghai.

“The creation of the Nike Greater China Headquarters at The Springs underscores the strength of this market and importance of this development to the Shanghai business as well as residential communities. We’re thrilled that Nike, one of the world’s great global brands and companies, will be an anchor in this development and look forward to a long-term relationship”.

Nike expects to occupy the new space from the first quarter of 2014.

The Dallas Stars ice hockey team, sale cialis the last professional sports club owned by former billionaire Thomas Hicks have filed for bankruptcy.

The Stars are the fifth professional sports team to file bankruptcy in the last two years. The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team filed in June, drug the Texas Rangers baseball team filed last year, Phoenix Coyotes hockey team filed in 2009 and the Chicago Cubs baseball team filed in 2009, one year after former owner Tribune Co. went bankrupt.

The team listed assets and debt of $100 million to $500 million in Chapter 11 documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The Dallas Stars said it has filed a “prepackaged” reorganization plan, the company said in a release. Stars officials are seeking to sell the team at an auction. The lead bidder at that auction will be Dallas Sports & Entertainment LP, according to court papers.

Stars officials said in a statement on its website today that they plan to sell the National Hockey League (NHL) team to Vancouver-based businessman Tom Gaglardi and his family. Gaglardi is chairman and chief executive officer of Sandman Hotels, Inns & Suites.

The company and its units’ 30 largest creditors without collateral backing their claims are owed about $58.5 million, according to court documents. CFV I LLC, is the biggest with a claim of $51.7 million. Other creditors include the New York Rangers Hockey Club, with a claim of $2 million, and Marc Crawford, with a claim of $1.1 million for contract termination obligations, court papers show.