Philadelphia 76ers announced the acquisition and relocation of an NBA Development League franchise that will play its games beginning this November in Newark, medic Delaware and be known as the Delaware 87ers.

“This Development League team is just the next step in what we’ve said we’re going to do, which is to really improve and facilitate a high-quality basketball operation and to bring a consistent winner to Philadelphia,” said Managing Owner Josh Harris during Saturday’s announcement.

When the NBA Development League was established in the fall 2001, it featured just eight teams, all located in the southeastern United States. Today, there are 17 Development League franchises spanning 13 states, with all 30 NBA teams holding some type of affiliation with a D-League club. However, unlike in Major League Baseball, direct ownership of minor league teams is still rare for franchises in the NBA.

The acquisition of the 87ers makes the Sixers one of just six teams with 100 percent, direct ownership of a Development League affiliate, joining the San Antonio Spurs (Austin Toros), Los Angeles Lakers (L.A. D-Fenders), Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors), Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge), and Oklahoma City Thunder (Tulsa 66ers). For those teams, the benefits of their close D-League relationship are palpable.

“(The six teams who directly own their Development League affiliate) are on the cutting edge of a growing trend in the NBA,” said D-League President Dan Reed. “With some recent rules changes to the collective bargaining agreement in the NBA, we’ve seen an explosion in player movement from the NBA to (the D-League).

“In all, 132 current NBA players (roughly one-third of all players in the league) have D-League experience.”

In addition to the logistical advantages of having a D-League affiliate less than an hour drive away, sovereignty over the coaching and front office staffs of the 87ers will be beneficial as well.

“The Delaware Sevens will have the exact same systems, strategies, and plays as the parent 76ers team,” said Sixers CEO Adam Aron. “(This means) if a player is playing (in Newark) Wednesday night and needs to be called up to play for the Sixers on Friday, there won’t be a lag, and there won’t be learning a whole new set of terms and plays.

“This is one of the things that makes (the relationship) so synergistic and something we can’t do if we just have a loose affiliate relationship with some (D-League) team that’s involved with three or four other (NBA) teams.”

The West Indies Cricket Board has confirmed there will be a franchise-based Twenty20 league in the Caribbean next year.

The competition is likely to comprise six city-based franchises with the majority of players from the West Indies. As part of the arrangement, arthritis the WICB will receive annual funding for more retainer contracts for players than its current 20.

WICB president Dr Julian Hunte said: “A significant number of players at the regional level will benefit through greater financial stability both from playing in the league and from year-round retainer contracts while having an international platform on which to showcase their skills and talent.

“Most importantly, the league will bring a huge financial injection into the Caribbean and create significant job opportunities across the region in a wide cross section of sectors.”

The NFL is receiving increased criticism in its second week of games without regular officials.

The regular officials are locked out having failed to reach a new labour agreement with the NFL. The replacement officials have been recruited from the second level of college football and lower.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and quarterback Joe Flacco were among the most vocal critics, saying there were several officiating errors in their team’s 24-23 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles.

“There’s some serious calls the refs missed, and it’s just the way it is all around the league,” Lewis said.

Flacco told reporters the substitutes are “affecting the integrity of the game.”

Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said that the work of on-field officials “is never perfect.”

“The current officials have made great strides and are performing admirably under unprecedented scrutiny and great pressure,” the league spokesman said. “As we do every season, we will work to improve officiating and are confident that the game officials will show continued improvement.”

Pay, pensions and operational issues have kept the NFL and the referees’ union from reaching a new labour deal. To date the league has made a schedule for the replacements to work through Week 5 of the regular season.

“We are ready to negotiate at any time with the National Football League Referees’ Association,” Aiello said.

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour chief Brad Drewett admitted today there were “frustrations” among tennis players but played down swirling talk of a strike after several spoke out over pay and conditions.

The new  men’s boss was speaking after an outcryl of discontent prompted strike rumours and a brief rift between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Drewett said he heard “loud and clear the other night about their issues” after meeting players on the eve of the Australian Open, which is continuing in Melbourne.

“There are frustrations out there. As I said, I plan to take them on board. I’ve heard them,” he said, adding: “Nothing’s ever perfect in any world, and certainly not in the tennis world.”

“The player meetings are a very rare opportunity for these guys to get into one room. You have 150, 200 players. That only happens once, maybe twice a year,” said the Australian.

“Last weekend they were very vocal about a number of issues, but that is not new. I mean, I’ve been in plenty of player meetings where the guys get in there and voice frustrations.”

Players have long complained about the tough tennis calendar, often blaming it for injuries, and they are reportedly unhappy over Davis Cup scheduling and their share of prize money at grand slams, among other issues.

A number of the top male tennis athletes have spoken out this week, including former world number one Andy Roddick, who said there was a strong mood for change after the “passionate” pre-tournament meeting.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said he also supported improvements and Nadal accused Federer, the ATP Player Council president, of not doing enough to back his fellow players.

When asked about the possibility of a strike, Drewett said: “I’ve read the articles. I think they’re quite sensational in lots of ways. I’m obviously not going to go there.”

Drewett, who took up his post at the start of the year, refused to be drawn on any initiatives he was planning but highlighted a shorter season in 2012, by two weeks, and a 20 percent increase in prize money over the next three years.

Despite the frustrations, Drewett said the men’s game was riding the crest of a wave and was “in an unbelievable position, arguably the best ever”.

Roddick yesterday became the latest top player to speak out, saying the circuit needed “fundamental” change to give more power to the players.

“U2 doesn’t ask to go on tour. They go on tour. So I think that’s the fundamental issue at hand,” he said.

Australian Open top seed Djokovic also spoke of the need for changes but said he preferred to keep talks behind closed doors.

Russia’s Alex Bogomolov Jr, who earlier tweeted strong support for a players’ strike, said yesterday it was inspiring to see players united — but he was more circumspect on calls for a walk-out.

“Everybody is on the same page and everybody wants to grow the game and make it better. We’ll see what happens,” Bogomolov Jr said.

Federer and Nadal quickly made up their differences, with the Swiss saying he had “no hard feelings”. Spain’s Nadal said he regretted making his feelings public.

Whats you opinion on the players stance, join our discussion here

A Chinese referee, considered one of China’s best, has admitted in court to taking bribes to fix local and international matches, including making sure a local team won the toss in a friendly involving Manchester United, state media has reported.

The case of Huang Junjie, a referee for more than 20 years who has been nominated as one of the country’s best, is one of a number of hearings under way following a probe into Chinese football corruption.

He accepted $245,000 of bribes to fix two international friendlies and taking 20 bribes from six Chinese clubs between 2005 and 2009, Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

The international matches included a 2007 exhibition match between the English Premier League’s Manchester United and China’s Shenzhen. Huang took 100,000 Hong Kong dollars ($13,000) in bribes to let Shenzhen win the coin toss, Xinhua said. Manchester United went on to win the game 6-0.

The other international match was a 2009 fixture between Shanghai Shenhua and Australian club Sydney, which the Chinese club won 2-1.

“At no stage during the trip or the match was there anything that would have alerted Sydney FC to the situation that has been raised today,” the club said in a statement on Wednesday.

Coach Vitezslav Lavicka said he remembered nothing suspicious about the match.

“I remember that game … but there’s no point to give it any credit, it’s a very strange situation,” he said. “I don’t remember anything out of ordinary … that’s in the past now.”

Huang, who was nominated as China’s referee of the year in 2009, also took bribes from his colleague, referee Zhou Weixin, to sway results, Xinhua said. Zhou is charged with corruption and bribing civil servants.

Their trials in northeast China are part of a crackdown on Chinese football corruption that has implicated players and top officials including the former head of the Chinese Football Association.

Queens Park Rangers is cutting season ticket prices a week after the takeover by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes.

Supporters of the Premier League club who’ve bought tickets will receive a “significant” refund, allergist the team said on its website. There will also be reductions on match-day tickets, QPR said.

Fernandes is reacting to complaints by fans of the west London club after prices of season tickets were raised by the previous owner, Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone, for its first season in English soccer’s top flight since 1995-96. Prices were raised as much as 40 percent.

Jenny Elliott, QPR’s box office manager, said on the website: “This is a major step forward in terms of rebuilding the bond between the club and its supporters.”

Fernandes’s Tune Group last week bought a 66 percent stake in QPR from Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. The Guardian reported it was worth $56 million.

Fernandes has become chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd. with Amit Bhatia resuming his role as vice-chairman. Bhatia, the son- in-law of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, whose family owns the remaining 33 percent in the club, quit the board earlier this year because of differences with Ecclestone and Briatore over ticket prices among other matters.

Spanish La Liga side Real Mallorca has appealed against Europe’s football governing body, UEFA, decision to ban them from next season’s Europa League competition because of their financial situation.

In addition to the official appeal, Mallorca has also issued a statement about its intent to fight, and defeat the ban.

The statement says the decision threatens to deprive “the club of a series of revenue in different concepts such as ticketing, sponsorship and income from the competition.

“Ethically and legally, RCD Mallorca believes reason is on their side and [the club] will not relent in the effort to show that he has earned the right to challenge the Europa League.”

New manager Michael Laudrup is confident the decision can be overturned. He said: “I’m optimistic – I know Platini [michel, president of UEFA] and I know he’s fair.

“The committee [of control and discipline] took the decision, but we’ll see what happens. There has been no final word.”

A date for the appeal hearing has yet to be confirmed.

China is the latest venue to be added to the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) series schedule.

Qingdao will host the ‘Qingdao Match Cup’ which has been added to the 2010 tour, and will take place between 19-25 October.

President of the Qingdao Yachting Association, Wang Xiulin, and Peter Gilmour, President of the WMRT signed a five-year agreement through to 2014 for Qingdao to host an annual stage of the WMRT.

Gilmour said: “The ability of the city of Qingdao to organise a stage of the WMRT in such a short amount of time was something we analysed carefully.

As both a competitor and organiser I am delighted to see that the penultimate stage of the 2010 Tour will be simply outstanding as the city of Qingdao is now ready for the Tour.”

Qingdao was home to the sailing events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have announced the appointment of Micky Lawler as President of the WTA.

Lawler has close to 30 years of experience at Octagon, Lawler will report to WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster and be responsible for driving the WTA’s international growth strategy, business development, marketing and new fan engagement programs, and member and industry relations. Lawler will begin in her new role on January 1, 2015 and be based out of the WTA’s global headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“Micky Lawler has been at the center of the growth of professional tennis for nearly three decades, driving innovation and business across athlete representation, events, international expansion, governance and sponsorship,” Allaster said.

“In her 11 years as a WTA Board Member and 27 years as a leader of tennis at Octagon, she has been instrumental in shaping and contributing to our strategy for growth, importantly including opening new markets for the sport. As we embark on a new strategic business plan to support our members’ business and increase our fan base, I cannot think of a better executive to join our senior leadership team.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work even more closely with Stacey and her team at the WTA at this fantastic moment for women’s professional tennis,” Lawler said.

“The sport has reached new levels of popularity, social and digital interconnectivity, and globalization, while the next generation of exciting champions is now emerging alongside the game’s current iconic superstars. I am excited to help lead women’s tennis to even greater success through continued international growth, enhancement of the fan experience across multimedia channels and in-stadium, and the development of new products and assets to support the business of women’s tennis.

“As this evolution in my professional career is set to begin, I want to thank Phil de Picciotto and all of my friends and colleagues at Octagon, who have given me so much both personally and professionally for the past many years and who continue to do so. Their ongoing support was an essential consideration in my decision to accept this position.”