Intermec, viagra Inc. today announced that The PGA of America, an organization of 27,000 men and women golf professional members, has selected the Intermec CN50 and CK71 rugged handheld mobile computers for data collection at its signature tournaments.

Previously renting equipment for each tournament, the PGA estimates it will save upwards of $3 million by 2016 by using in its own new technology solution, and also expects reduced pre-tournament configuration and volunteer training time as a result.

Teaming with Florida-based barcode and RFID technology specialists Scan Read Technologies, the PGA worked with Intermec and Scan Read to deploy the new system in time for the 2012 PGA Championship. The PGA has a network of nearly 4,000 volunteers, including walking scorers, who use the CN50s to enter shot data in real-time, as it happens on the course. The data is then transmitted directly to the PGA’s group of on-site quality control experts. The CK71s are used for scanning tickets at entry gates.

“For the PGA, one of the most well-known brands in golf, it’s absolutely crucial that all of our data is as accurate as possible because it is being fed in real-time to the media, including television, radio and Internet,” said Lou Manz, PGA Director of Information Technology. “With the rugged design, extended battery life and high-performing scanning capabilities, the Intermec solution offered us the most intuitive choice for our team of volunteers to use seamlessly with very little training.”

“Intermec’s unique portfolio of mobile solutions continue to be a best-in-class option to support customer needs for exceptional performance with no room for downtime,” said Earl Thompson, Intermec Senior Vice President of Mobile Solutions Business. “The PGA’s choice of the CN50 and CK71 will help to further advance their goal of offering the best spectator experience possible.”

Nike expansion plans may include doing a sponsorship deal with the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to the president of the multi-billion dollar brand.

Charlie Denson, president of the Nike brand, traveled to the SportAccord convention in Quebec City to deliver a keynote address Wednesday that underlined the sportswear giant’s desire to broaden its ties with the Olympic movement.

“We’ve always focused on the athlete,” Denson said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The misperception might be that we don’t spend time with the federations or the organizing committees or things like that. This is an opportunity at this event to engage with them more directly on a broader scale.”

Nike has dozens of agreements with national and international governing bodies, including federations in China, Brazil, Russia and Qatar. The U.S. Olympic basketball and track and field teams that will compete at the London Games also are backed by Nike.

“We look at the Summer Games as one of the biggest opportunities we have to introduce new products and technologies,” Benson said.

While Adidas is an official sponsor of the London Olympics, Denson confirmed Nike is interested in becoming the sponsor for Rio in 2016, the first Olympics in South America. Brazil also will host the 2014 World Cup.

“We don’t have anything in place yet and we never comment on ongoing conversations,” Denson said. “We have great relationships in Brazil. We’re always interested in whatever types of relationships we can engage in. At the end of the day, (a deal can be done) if it works for everybody, and we come to a mutual set of agreement and expectations.”

This summer, the London Olympics will provide a high-profile battleground for the rivalry between Nike, Adidas, Puma and other shoe manufacturers. While Adidas is the official sponsor, Nike will be highly visible through its own sponsored athletes and teams. Nike also has a big retail store in the giant Westfield shopping center on the edge of the Olympic Park where thousands of spectators will pass through every day during the Games.

Ambush marketing is a major concern during the Olympics but Denson said Nike stays within the rules.

“We take advantage of our opportunities where we have them, and in some cases we may create new ones,” he said. “We feel very comfortable and confident that we can stand on the merits of what we do within the rules and the guidelines that have been set out by the IOC or the local organizing committees.

“Sometimes there’s quite a bit of gray area in some of the rules and we try to interpret them the best we can.”

The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is to get a major $191 million makeover following the decision to demolish three spectator stands in favour of one huge state-of-the-art grandstand.

Known as the city’s “grand lady”, the SCG began life as a military cricket ground in the 1850s and hosted its first Test, against England, in 1882.

The ground celebrated its 100th Test on Tuesday with Australia’s second Test against India, and Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a sweeping upgrade of the “iconic sporting arena” to mark the occasion.

“This is an exciting project, not only for Sydneysiders but for all Australians, who have grown up watching the New Year’s Test and relishing in the history and tradition of the ground,” Gillard said in a statement.

“Today marks the beginning of the next stage of SCG’s development to ensure it maintains its rightful place as a world-class sporting facility.”

Work is expected to begin shortly after Australia’s one-day international against India in February and the upgrade is scheduled for completion in time for the Ashes series against England in early 2014.

Three stands will be demolished to make way for one extended multi-level stand which will improve the view from many seats and bring up to 85 percent of them under cover as part of the Aus$186 million ($191 million) upgrade.

Making way are the M.A. Noble, Dally Messenger and Bradman stands, although the Noble stand’s famed clock tower will be preserved as it is officially listed as a heritage item.

A rooftop terrace with views of the city skyline, 700-person dining room and secure player arrival area will also be part of the overhaul, which will also see a high-tech upgrade of media and corporate suites and new dressing rooms.

The refurbished SCG will also feature what Gillard said would be the “largest video screen at any Australian sports ground”, with a new scoreboard almost double the size of the current screen to be part of the works.

The Australian government and the ground’s Trust will each contribute Aus$50 million, and the New South Wales state government Aus$86 million.

Total capacity of the ground, which also hosts Australian Rules Football and National Rugby League games, will be boosted from 45,000 to almost 48,000.

However the AFL’s Sydney Swans who play their home games at the SCG will bear the drawbacks of this development financially as capacity will have to be reduced to 34,000 during the development.

AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan said: “The AFL in conjunction with the Sydney Swans looks forward to working closely with the SCG Trust on the precise timing of the project and the effect of the logistics of the redevelopment on Sydney Swans members and supporters in particular, and other aspects of staging AFL matches at the SCG during the construction phase.”

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Two senior African members Lamine Diack and Issa Hayatou have escaped without serious sanction from the IOC on Thursday in the ethics scandal that led to the resignation of former FIFA President Joao Havelange.

IAAF President Lamine Diack of Senegal received a warning and African football head Issa Hayatou of Cameroon was given a reprimand after an investigation by the Olympic body’s ethics commission.

Both men received payments from FIFA’s former marketing agency ISL. Neither were members of the International Olympic Committee at the time.

The verdicts by the IOC executive board came just days after the 95-year-old Havelange resigned to avoid suspension in the decade-old case dating to his days as FIFA president.

In differentiating between the rulings on Diack and Hayatou, IOC President Jacques Rogge said “a warning is not a sanction, a reprimand is a sanction.”

In any case, both men remain full IOC members and are free to carry out their duties as normal.

Rogge said the fact that both were not IOC members at the time served as “mitigating circumstances” in the decision not to suspend them.

“The IOC has proven it respects its own rules, that we have high respect for ethical behavior and we do not hesitate to act when needed and evidence is brought to us,” he said. “The IOC means business. The IOC is accountable and transparent.”

Hayatou, an IOC member since 2001, reportedly received about $20,000 from ISL in 1995. He denied any corruption and said the money was a gift for his confederation’s anniversary celebrations.

Diack said he received money after his house in Senegal burned down in 1993. Diack said he did nothing wrong.

The last IOC member to receive a reprimand was Rene Fasel of Switzerland, an executive board member and president of the International Ice Hockey Federation. He was reprimanded in April 2010 for breaking conflict-of-interest rules by helping a friend profit from a sports marketing deal.

Havelange, the IOC’s longest serving member with 48 years of service, had faced a possible two-year suspension for allegedly taking $1 million from ISL in return for World Cup television contracts.

The IOC ethics probe stemmed from a BBC documentary last year into kickbacks allegedly paid by ISL, which owned World Cup television rights and collapsed with debts of $300 million in 2001.

The ISL case was the subject of a Swiss criminal trial in 2008. FIFA has blocked the court in Zug from revealing which officials repaid $6.1 million in kickbacks. The officials repaid the money on condition that their identities remained anonymous.

Blatter, who is also an IOC member, said in October that FIFA’s executive committee would “reopen” the ISL dossier at a Dec. 16-17 meeting in Tokyo as part of a promised drive toward transparency and zero tolerance of corruption.

But, on Wednesday, FIFA said publication of the court papers would be postponed because of “legal measures taken” by a party involved in the case.

Holding company for a number of public relations, advertising, digital, marketing and design companies, Chime Communications has announced its acquisition of 60 per cent of Brazilian sports marketing firm Golden Goal Sports Venues in order to expand its presence in the South American market.

Golden Goal’s main area of business is in sponsorship consulting and rights selling for major organisations and sporting federations having been founded in 2005. Major clients of the sports business company include Serie A giants AC Milan, Brasileirão clubs Flamengo and Botafogo and major corporations Petrobras and Banco do Brasil.

Chime Communications’ acquisition of Golden Goal Sports Venues is reportedly worth US$3.9m in cash and sees its co-founders Cadu Ferreira and Mauro Correa each retain a 20 per cent stake in the company.

Speaking at Chime Communications’ annual general meeting the group’s chairman, Lord Bell, said: “The group’s track record of growth has continued into the first four months of 2011, with good organic growth and growth from acquisitions.

“We are looking forward to Golden Goal providing a base for the services of our recent acquisition Icon which played a pivotal role in the city branding programmes at the last Fifa World Cup in South Africa.”

Jim Glover, chief executive of the sports marketing division of Chime Communications, added: “Sports marketing is growing rapidly in Brazil, and with the Fifa World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016 both taking place there, we are in a great position to capitalise on the opportunities around these major events.”

The free-to-air broadcast rights in Ireland to show the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand have been awarded to RTE Sport. The company will broadcast 13 live matches during the tournament which will include all of Ireland’s group matches, the opening game, all quarter and semi-finals, the third placed play-off and the final itself. The new deal will mean that the company will also carry the games on their online platform at RTE.ie, and live on RTE Radio.

The Rugby World Cup 2011 will commence from September 9 and run until the final on October the 23. The event will include 48 matches played out between 20 competing nations.

RTÉ’s group head of sport, Ryle Nugent stated: “The tournament showcases the best teams in the world and fans can look forward to following the Irish team’s progression every step of the way on all of RTÉ’s platforms. The awarding of these rights to RTÉ is recognition of the quality of our sports coverage and we look forward to sharing what is set to be a momentous sporting occasion with the Irish public.”

Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) managing director, Mike Miller added: “RWCL is delighted to be extending its association with RTÉ Sport to broadcast Rugby World Cup 2011 throughout Ireland.

“RTÉ is recognised as a leading broadcaster of quality sports coverage and with its extensive broadcast experience of Rugby and commitment to the game, RTÉ will ensure the perfect platform for RWC 2011 to reach out to an extensive audience across Ireland.”

Milan’s Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, also known as San Siro, has been selected to host the 2016 UEFA Champions League final.

The decision was made at Thursday’s UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon and it will be the fourth time the European Cup has been decided at the stadium after showpiece occasions in 1965, 1970 and 2001.

The arena, first opened in 1926, is home to both AC Milan and FC Internazionale Milano, and has a capacity of nearly 80,000 seats for UEFA competitions.

Uefa also awarded the 2016 Europea League Final to St. Jakob-Park in Basle. It will be the first time Switzerland have hosted the showpiece. 

The decision was taken at Thursday’s UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon. The UEFA EURO 2008 semi-final venue, home of FC Basel 1893, is the successor to the previous stadium of the same name that staged four European Cup Winners’ Cup deciders.