FBD Extends sponsorship of Connacht League
The FBD Connacht League is to retain its headline sponsor for at least one more year.  The Event gets underway next week and will this year include London as well as NUI Galway and Sligo Institute of Technology.  The winners of the tournament will travel to play New York in the autumn.
FBD has sponsored the early season tournament since its inception in 1995.
Stormont urged to lift ban on poker
A new lobby group is urging the Stormont executive to lift a ban on commercial poker as part of an ongoing review of gambling legislation.  Northern Ireland is one of four states in Europe, the others being Andorra, Turkey and the Vatican, where poker is forbidden.   Poker players will always insist that their chosen game is a sport rather than a game of chance, and with billions being played for online and at organised commercial tournaments, it is certainly a lucrative one for those who are good at it.
Speculation surrounds BBC Soccer coverage
The BBC has refused to comment on speculation that it’s Football League Show, covering action from the Championship and Football Leagues will be axed at the end of this season.
Two programmes over Christmas were dropped from the schedule with conflicting stories that this was a budget or a scheduling issue.  All the goals that would have been shown in the regular Saturday night show were still shown online on the BBC website.
The BBC is reported to be seeking a cut of 15% in its sports rights acquisition budget.