USA

The USA Track and Field (USATF) board of directors has voted to sack outspoken chief executive officer Doug Logan, the first commissioner of Major League Soccer who had been hired to promote a reshuffle in the sport after a disappointing performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The North American National Hockey League (NHL) has fined the New Jersey Devils $3 million and taken away the franchise's first-round draft pick for trying to get around the league’s salary cap with its initial contract offer to Ilya Kovalchuk.

The US and International Olympic Committees have reached an agreement to resolve their long-standing dispute over the Olympics. According to the Associated Press, the USOC will contribute $18 million to cover administrative costs of staging the Games.

Business advisor Heidrick & Struggles International has become a sponsor of global sport and development initiative Beyond Sport.

Season-ticket sales for the National Football League are down 5 per cent in 2010 from last year and a decline in overall attendance is projected at one or two per cent. The season kicks-off today when the Minnesota Vikings play the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome.

The Arena Football League, the indoor American football competition founded in 1987, has hired long-time sports marketing and media veteran Stuart Layne as its new Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer.

Apparel giant adidas has signed a new sponsorship agreement with North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) with four years still remaining on the current deal. The eight-year contract, understood to worth more than $200 million, begins with the 2011 season and follows a 10-year, $150-million deal that started in 2005.

US-based mixed martial arts company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has appointed Mark Fischer as its new executive vice president and managing director for Asia.

National Basketball Association (NBA) team Orland Magic has agreed another corporate sponsorship deal for the new Amway Center. According to the local newspaper Orlando Sentinel, the NBA franchise has inked a five-year deal with insurance provider Geico worth more than $1 million per year.

Discover Financial Services has bought the four-year naming rights to the Orange Bowl, the annual college football game at Sun Life Stadium.

The National Football League inched closer to an 18-game schedule yesterday after Commissioner Roger Goodell said there is “overwhelming support” to add two games to the schedule.

Major Arsenal shareholder Stan Kroenke was yesterday approved by National Football League franchise owners as the new majority owner of the St. Louis Rams at a vote conducted in Atlanta.

The United States Tennis Association announced consumer electronics giant Panasonic has become an official sponsor of the US Open in a new three-year agreement. Under the deal, the USTA, Panasonic and CBS Sports will spearhead the first ever 3D broadcast of the tournament.

The National Basketball Association and Shanghai Film Group, the largest movie company in China, yesterday announced a partnership to produce the first NBA-themed motion picture outside of North America.

Anheuser-Busch beer brand Budweiser will be a sponsor of Orlando Magic’s new Amway Center after extending its sponsorship deal with the National Basketball Association team.

Long-time Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker and Super Bowl winner Derrick Brooks has been unveiled as an ambassador to Beyond Sport, the global initiative that promotes, develops and funds the use of sport to create positive social change across the world.