HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- NASCAR chairman Brian France staunchly defended Sunday the health of the sport, saying that it is in a good spot to replace Sprint as an entitlement sponsor amid television ratings and attendance declines.In his first general news conference with motorsports media since January, a feisty France also staunchly defended his commitment to diversity, a commitment that was challenged when he endorsed Donald Trump earlier this year.Nobody wants to hear my political views ... so I wont be talking about that, France said before the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But on diversity, nobody in this company has worked harder, done more and resourced it better than me.I founded [NASCARs] diversity council. I fought for every single thing that makes sense because thats my core belief: Diversity is very, very important. I talk about it frequently. And my efforts there should never be challenged no matter what my political view. Thats a ridiculous thing to do.With all but two of the Chase for the Sprint Cup race television ratings down at least 10 percent, the track public-operating companies reporting admission revenue down 9 percent after the Daytona 500 and potentially seven of NASCARs charters (its version of franchises) changing hands as teams still have trouble finding sponsorship, France said the sport is in a better position than those numbers indicate.We are still very pleased with our position in sports, France said. The audience isnt going away at all. Its sliding to different places, consuming in different ways. ... Our digital consumption is off the charts.Multicar teams Richard Petty Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing are among well-established teams that are still seeking significant sponsorship to field one of their cars in 2017 that they fielded in 2016.You have some teams that for whatever the reasons cant compete at such a high level and they have some problems, and thats throughout history, France said. Its not abnormal at all.The other hurdle for NASCAR this year has been finding a replacement for Sprint, which will leave this year after 13 seasons of sponsoring the sport. NASCAR has not announced a new sponsor. Industry insiders have indicated Monster Energy is the leading candidate. Monster Energy sports marketing director Mitch Covington said last week he would not respond to rumors.Its taken a little longer than I thought, France said. But its also a big agreement, and its an important agreement. Its not just dollars and cents. Its a fit for us. ... Im confident were going to end up in a very good spot.France also said that NASCAR will look at rewarding the regular-season champion and that discussions continue to bring additional manufacturers into the sport.Would I like to have everything perfect? Of course I would, France said. Thats sports and thats a competitive business, and the model is changing a little bit, too. ... Were pleased with the health of the sport. Wholesale NCAA Football Jerseys . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Cheap College Basketball Jerseys . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. http://www.cheapncaajerseysfastshipping.com/ . 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Only the most cynical traditionalist - you know, the ones still calling themselves crickets fustiest word, purist - could have failed to be impressed with the manner in which the Big Bash League, the bold, brash Big Bash League, strode into 2016.The last night of 2015 saw Travis Head pull off an outrageous heist - compelling cricket, whatever your favoured format - for the Strikers against the Sixers in front of 46,389 adoring Adelaidians, supporting a team (with genuine gusto) that did not exist six years ago. The next night, Hobart Hurricanes hosted their first-ever sell-out at Bellerive Oval (by seasons end, they had had two more).January 2, however, was the whopper, with 80,883 (breaking the competitions record by more than 30,000) at the MCG and over 20,000 more at the Waca. At the G, vendors were out of food by half-time, conservative estimates suggested 1,500 people gave up when queuing for tickets, and A$80,000 of merchandise was sold. Only three of the 45 games hosted by the MCG in the 2015 AFL season - a veritable Melbourne religion with 150 years of tradition and deep-seated rivalries behind it - drew a larger crowd.When placed alongside a Test summer against weak opposition on dreary pitches (and, in Sydneys case, under rainy skies) these numbers were arresting evidence that the BBL had changed Australian cricket in ways greater than simply succeeding in encouraging fans - young and old - to don a literal cardboard bucket, meant for housing fried chicken, on their heads.No, the impact of the competition, gearing up for its sixth season for men and into its second for women, has been profound, and the landscape altered for good. It has muscled its way to the very heart of the summer; in every sense of the word, the BBL is primetime. When the holidays start, the BBL starts; when the holidays end, the BBL ends, and for 40 days, there is cricket on almost every evening - it pauses for thought on Christmas Eve (although Sydney Sixers want to play then too), Christmas Day (when Melbourne Renegades fancy a game), and the days that Australia play their January ODIs. The trick has been in its regularity, and sheer simplicity. Administrators argue that the BBLs schedule sits neatly alongside the summers international calendar, and that the shortest form is the gateway drug that is conscripting the next generation of Test obsessives. In essence, the BBL extended the cricketing day; Australia play Tests, then their fans switch the channel at the close of play and watch the shorter stuff. Those administrators may be right - and there is no doubt the BBL has brought new fans to the sport, particularly kids, women and ethnic minorities - but whether that translates into sold-out Tests in years to come, it really is far too early to tell.For players, opportunities are greater, and deeper. Six teams became eight, providing more slots, with Channel Tens free-to-air broadcast elevating their profiles; non-international players are household names, playing before large crowds and huge TV audiences. A new type of staar emerged too, like Craig Simmons, from outside the mainstream - for some, this will lead to highly lucrative careers in leagues around the world, without ever playing an international.dddddddddddd Among professionals, Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the game, but do kids now grow up dreaming of playing BBL, not international cricket?This has come at a price, with the less lucrative or marketable - and thus popular - Matador Cup and Sheffield Shield shunted to the summers margins. If Australias Test fortunes do not pick up, the BBL is likely - rightly or wrongly - to be blamed. As one player says: they have probably been the victims of the success. They are hotly contested but the wider public arent really interested and they are also increasingly treated as sort of talent-development competitions by administrators. This cant help but flow down to how the players feel about them.TV has made stars of those players, and the BBLs newfound power in the broadcast market was indicated by American giants NBC showing 10 games this year. In the UK, BBL was a key plank in BT Sports decision to snap up the rights for all Australian cricket, but things will be most interesting at home: later this summer, the next batch of rights (the current lot expire at the end of the 2017-18 season) for Australian cricket will be sold. Network Ten paid $20m a season for the last round of BBL rights, while Channel Nine paid $80m for international cricket; industries experts anticipate that the gap between those figures will narrow significantly, with the BBLs value at least trebling. Channel Seven may want a slice of the pie, while it is thought Fox Sports may set up a dedicated cricket channel.Perhaps, though, beyond the increased participation, crowds and players opportunities, the shuffled shape of summer and economic expansion, the BBLs greatest impact has on the sports image. CA were brazen in their belief that cricket was too male, pale and stale and have targeted non-traditional audiences with abandon.While some of the BBLs gimmicks pursued to this end have been excruciating, the atmosphere at games is welcoming and seldom boozy (unlike T20 in England or international cricket in either country), the crowds are diverse and, most eye-catchingly, full of families and kids - at whom everything is aimed. It is these values that mean young girls now have cricketing role models through the WBBL and underpinned CAs absolute conviction that Chris Gayle, the human with more runs in the competitions format than any other, would not return this year having compromised the BBLs values last year.Image matters and, as a result of the pursuit of these ideals through the BBL, cricket is a broader, bigger sport. The game has changed for good.BT Sport is your new home for Australias home international matches and Big Bash League, including the 2017-18 Ashes series. 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