National Rugby League club Penrith Panthers have agreed to play one home game in Bathurst for the next five years in a major boost to New South Wales rugby league.

The Panthers and Bathurst council on Friday penned a new deal to take professional rugby league to Carrington Park from 2014 until at least 2018.

Next year’s match in Bathurst will be the first top-level game played in the region since the City-Country fixture in 2001.

Panthers spokesman Justin Pascoe said the decision to shift a game a season away from Penrith had not been taken lightly.

“A lot of due diligence has taken place to ensure we are doing the best thing for both the game and the community,” he said.

“We are not going to emulate a copy and paste mentality as happens across other clubs and codes where we simply take a game away for commercial gain only.

“We are committing to the community of Bathurst and its surrounding communities for five years and the game itself will be a by-product of a whole raft of initiatives.

“These initiatives will focus on developing the game of rugby league in regional NSW, focusing on the development of players in Group 10 plus the development of coaches in the region through a coach the coaches program.

“We will also be tailoring merchandise and membership offerings specifically to the region allowing for a target approach to fan engagement, plus we will leverage the Bathurst leagues club, which is one of our greatest assets, to host several functions both community and sports based throughout the contract period.”

Hyundai has announced they will be a Super Bowl advertiser for the seventh consecutive year and will release two game-day ads during the first and fourth quarters of Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014.

Hyundai will open its Super Bowl advertising showcase with a 30-second spot titled “Dad’s Sixth Sense,” during the first quarter. In a sketch that any dad can relate to, the spot dramatizes the near-misses and saves of everyday parenting, giving a dramatic demonstration of the all-new Genesis and its Automatic Emergency Braking capabilities – one of the many features included in Genesis’ comprehensive suite of safety services, the Sensory Surround Safety System.

“Nice,” a 30-second in-game spot running in the fourth quarter, is inspired and made possible by the new sporty, compact Elantra. The humorous spot follows a young comedic talent in an escalating game of compliments between two identical Elantras, effectively showcasing the innovative performance, style and technology features of Hyundai’s new compact sedan.

“Cars have become more than just a means of transportation – they play an active role in many parts of our lives,” said Steve Shannon, vice president of Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “Our creative campaign this year highlights how Hyundai continues to be ‘there for you’ and your family. Whether it’s safely reacting to unexpected surprises on the road in the premium Genesis or dialing up the fun in an Elantra, Hyundai is an ideal driving companion.”

“Each year we challenge ourselves to come up with a new, inspiring way to showcase Hyundai during the biggest TV event of the year, while staying true to our audience and what’s most relevant to them,” said Greg Braun, Executive Creative Director, INNOCEAN USA. “This year we were able to take two different approaches to our spots – from fun and comedic, to endearing and sentimental – while still focusing on the essence of Hyundai. Our focus always has been how the Hyundai vehicle inspires and enables our consumer – whether you’re a first-time car owner or looking to upgrade into your first true premium car.”

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) officials announced today that Mrk1 Consulting, a Bahrain-based consulting agency specializing in the development and operation of motorsports venues and major sporting events outside the U.S., will work to support the NHRA Worldwide Network.

Mark Hughes, Mrk1 Consulting founder and managing director, brings to NHRA Worldwide Network more than two decades of motorsports experience, with success in numerous global sporting events, including Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship. Hughes has been involved with the NHRA since 2007, where he worked for Bahrain International Circuit as the operations director. He was instrumental in both Bahrain International Circuit and Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates joining the NHRA Worldwide Network.

As part of the NHRA Worldwide Network, Mrk1 Consulting will be assisting with the continued development of drag racing’s infrastructure throughout the Middle East and other emerging motorsports markets, as well as providing support for all existing and future NHRA Worldwide member tracks and racers.

In addition, Mrk1 Consulting will provide training, sales and marketing support and licensing services for all NHRA Worldwide Network member tracks.

In 2010, NHRA announced the creation of NHRA Worldwide Network, a program that enables drag racing facilities around the world to conduct events under the NHRA banner. Since its inception, Yas Drag Racing Centre, Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain Int’l Circuit in Sakhir, Kingdom of Bahrain, have joined NHRA Worldwide Network.

As the premier drag racing sanctioning body in the world, NHRA serves as the president of FIA’s Drag Racing Commission. The worldwide rules adopted by FIA for drag racing originate from NHRA’s Rulebook. Members of the commission meet annually to develop the rulebook and discuss drag racing on a global basis. Organized series are conducted in Europe and Australia.

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. 

English Rugby Championship club Moseley have announced their application, in conjunction with Birmingham City Council, for construction of a complex on the west side of their Billesley Common ground was approved by the City Council’s Planning Committee.

The proposed two storey building includes over 700 covered seats, clubhouse rooms, catering facilities and changing rooms.

A ‘national standard’ six lane indoor bowls rink is to be built at the rear of the building. This will be home to ‘The City of Birmingham Indoor Bowls Club’.  This facility, along with the club’s practical assistance, will provide a springboard for a wide range of additional community activities and sports for local residents.

Construction is scheduled for completion in time for the start of the 2014-15 season. The club plan to re-position the existing 650 seat stand and therefore provide a total covered seating potential of over 1300 in September 2014.

Moseley said in a statement: “The medium and long term aim remains to build the East stand as originally detailed and with planning permission approved. This is a strategic part of the club’s plans to build conservatively and within budget towards a facility capable of hosting matches of the highest level in the country.”

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) officials announced they have entered into a multi-year agreement with the Sun Valley Marina Corporation, buy a corporation of the Gila River Indian Community, to bring an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event to newly-named Wild Horse Motorsports Park outside Phoenix beginning in 2014.

Since 1985 the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series has visited the Valley of the Sun and this agreement ensures the stars of NHRA will continue to make an annual trek to the greater Phoenix area for years to come. Beyond the national event, preserving the right to race for the local and regional racers is very important to NHRA and this agreement ensures the track will remain open for business.

The track is scheduled to open in September and will begin running NHRA’s racing programs in October.

“We are extremely excited to announce today that the excitement of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is here to stay in Phoenix,” said NHRA President Tom Compton. “Working together with the Sun Valley Marina Corporation, the new management team, and the Gila River Indian Community we look forward to staging NHRA Drag Racing at all levels of competition at the track well into the future.”

NHRA will announce the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule soon, but NHRA fans can anticipate the Phoenix event being held in its traditional place at the beginning of the season. The facility also will continue to host an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing series divisional event.

Wild Horse Motorsports Park, formerly Firebird International Raceway, is under new management led by Paul Clayton and Darren Smith of Copper Train Development Partners. Most recently, Copper Train Development Partners hired long-time Daytona International Speedway track executive Dick Hahne to oversee operations.

Goodwood Festival of Speed have announced that they are to change the dates of the event from July 5-7 in order to avoid a clash with the rescheduled German Grand Prix.

The FIA announced on Wednesday that it was bringing the German Grand Prix forward a week to July 7 and also creating a slot in Formula 1’s calendar for another as-yet unconfirmed European race.

The Festival of Speed, which takes place annually at Lord March’s estate in Sussex, draws a number of F1 drivers and teams. New dates have yet to be announced.

A statement on the event’s website read: “Due to the FIA unexpectedly announcing a further change to the 2013 F1 calendar, the German Grand Prix will now take place on 5-7 July, the same weekend on which the Goodwood Festival of Speed was scheduled.

“Given that the Festival of Speed is the only event in the world outside of a World Championship Grand Prix where you can get a close up view of the latest F1 cars and drivers in action, we will now have to change the Festival’s date in order to avoid this conflict with the amended Grand Prix calendar.

“Goodwood is now reviewing the 2013 Festival of Speed dates and will confirm these very soon.”

Organisers also confirmed that tickets already purchased will be valid for the new dates.

In a bid to rescue the Chester Jets, the British Basketball League (BBL) have taken over management of the financially stricken club Jets on a short-term basis.

The BBL confirmed the move to save the club, two days after withdrawing the franchise from new owner Hadyn Cook.

Cook had asked to postpone this weekend’s game against the Mersey Tigers due to ongoing financial problems, but the fixture will now go ahead while the BBL tries to find a new owner.

Cheshire captain Chez Marks encouraged fans to come to Sunday’s game to show the team can remain viable.

“This decision gives the team and the people of Cheshire a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate to any potential new owner how much this club means to the local community,” said Marks.

The Indian Premier League Governing Council has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Deccan Chargers owners, demanding they sort out the club’s financial issues.

The club has been mortgaged to two private banks who now want a stake in the team, which is not allowed by IPL rules.

Neither the IPL council or the club has commented on the story.{jcomments on}

 

American televison channel HBO has announced Miami Dolphins will appear on “Hard Knocks” this summer. 

The Dolphins will be the newest subject of its popular reality series documenting NFL training camps. The seventh season premieres Aug. 7, with four more one-hour episodes airing on subsequent Tuesdays.

Coming off a 6-10 season, Miami has a new coach in Joe Philbin. He said the Dolphins’ involvement in the show was a football decision made with the blessing of owner Stephen Ross.

“Our owner supported this decision but in no way, shape or form forced us to make the decision,” Philbin said in South Florida following an offseason practice Tuesday.

This season marks the 40th anniversary of the Dolphins’ undefeated championship squad – the last team to win the Super Bowl with a perfect record.

Miami’s most recent title came a year later, in 1974.

“Hard Knocks” was not produced last year because of the NFL lockout. In 2010, the Dolphins’ AFC East rivals, the Jets, were the subject of the show, making coach Rex Ryan a reality star.

“It’s a great opportunity to connect with our fans, for the people who aren’t going to be able to come out here daily in 110-degree heat index weather and watch our guys participate in training camp,” Philbin said.