Short Sport, February 27, 2013

Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday he would happily sign a contract for Melbourne to host the Grand Prix for 50 years, declaring "everybody loves Australia". The sport has a contract with Melbourne until 2015, but beyond that it is up in the air, and other cities have expressed interest in snapping up the event which Ecclestone has previously said is the "least viable" on the F1 calendar. "Everybody loves Australia, loves Australian people and it's good to be there because it's the first race, it's nice, it's relaxed," he said. "We hope we're going to be in Melbourne forever, although I understand we do get a little bit of criticism and I don't know why. "We're happy with Melbourne. I'd be happy to sign a 50-year contract." Reuters

Tom Brady, the most successful NFL quarterback of his generation, reached a three-year contract extension that will probably keep him a New England Patriot for the rest of his career, a person familiar with the contract said on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced it. Brady is now under contract through the 2017 season, when he will be 40. But the contract will pay him just US$27 million, far below the US$20 million a year that is the current average for the game's top quarterbacks. AP