NBA’s Phoenix Suns have joined forces with Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) to help eradicate hunger in Arizona.

As part of their 2012 “February Frenzy,” the AIA will hold a food drive at US Airways Center prior to the Suns game against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, February 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Suns fans will have the opportunity to help their community by donating canned goods or cash prior to the game, with all proceeds benefitting St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. For every 10 cans or $10 donation, a person will receive a chance to win a 2012/2013 AIA Season Pass or other various prizes, including autographed Suns merchandise. Drawings will be held at the end of the month, following the conclusion of “February Frenzy.”

St Mary’s, the world’s first food bank, distributes more than 74 million pounds of food annually and nearly 275,000 meals per day to meet the ever-rising needs of Arizona’s hungry.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association is a voluntary association of public and private high schools. Its mission is to create and sustain an ethical culture through activities that encourage maximum student participation while providing AIA member schools an even playing field.

by Ismail Uddin

Team Sky Pro Cycling has extended their agreement with TrainingPeaks to be their official supplier of training software for the 2012 season.

Building upon a successful implementation in 2011, link Team Sky will continue to collect and monitor heart rate and power from each rider’s training and racing for analysis in TrainingPeaks by team coaches and staff. In addition to analysis, cheap TrainingPeaks is used to plan each rider’s training program based on the fitness trends presented in the software.

“TrainingPeaks has been invaluable for me as a coach with Team Sky, prostate ” says Bobby Julich, Team Sky Rider Coach. “TrainingPeaks is easy for our team members to use, and it gives me access to cutting edge metrics and charts which help me better analyze and plan. The system is infinitely more powerful as we enter the second year of data collection and analysis.”

Building on a successful first year partnership, team members including Olympic gold medalist Bradley Wiggins and 2011 Tour de France green jersey winner Mark Cavendish upload training and racing data from their SRM power meters directly to the TrainingPeaks.com training log. Team coaches, directors and medical staff then access and analyze the files from anywhere in the world for a multi-faceted team approach to monitoring and planning each athlete’s racing and training program.

“We are proud to have our products selected for a second year by Team Sky,” says Dirk Friel, Co-Founder and TrainingPeaks Chief Evangelist. “Their choice confirms the importance of TrainingPeaks as a platform for using science and technology to produce world-class results in the sport of cycling.”

Throughout the 2012 cycling season, training and racing data from various Team Sky cyclists will be made available for public viewing and analysis on TrainingPeaks.com.

by Ismail Uddin

Dubai-based conglomerate Saif Belhasa Group said on Tuesday it has inked a deal to sponsor Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona.

The agreement was announced by Al Wasl Football Company where Maradona is head coach.

Under the new agreement, asthma Maradona will sport Belhasa’s logo during his appearances with Al Wasl team in all local competitions and at press conferences.

Marwan Bin Beyat, thumb chairman of Al Wasl Football Company, said the deal was the latest in a long history of collaboration between Saif Belhasa Group and the football club.

“This rises from years of affinity between Al Wasl and Belhasa, starting from when the group sponsored Al Wasl Football Team three years ago, then Al Wasl Football Academy last year and now, with Maradona,” he said.

“We hope to extend and expand on this partnership over the next years, as we work together to upgrade the status of UAE Football worldwide,” he added.

Maradona said: “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Saif Belhasa for exclusively selecting me for this sponsorship opportunity, which is a great honour at the threshold of a new dawn for the club.

“I hope that this initiative will be fruitful and successful over the next season, which we are highly enthusiastic about.”

Maradona, who signed a two-year contract with Al Wasl last year, said he and his players were “doubling their efforts”, adding that the team was heading in the right direction after winning the last three matches and progressing to fourth spot in the league.

by Ismail Uddin

Porsche has renewed its longstanding title sponsorship of the Rolex Grand-Am Series race at Barber Motorsports Park in a multi-year deal announced Tuesday.

Porsche has sponsored the race at the 2.38-mile road course every year since 2004. The first year the race was held in 2003 there was no title sponsor.

“We are pleased to continue our title sponsorship of this Rolex Grand-Am event such a short distance from our corporate headquarters in Atlanta,” said Detlev von Platen, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “Beautiful Barber Motorsports Park provides a great setting for our employees to witness Grand-Am in person, and, with our sweep of the GT podium last month at Daytona, all of our Porsche fans are looking forward to seeing continued success on the race track.”

The Porsche 250 is part of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama weekend scheduled for March 30-April 1. The Grand-Am race is scheduled for March 31 at 3 p.m. and will be the next race on the Grand-Am calendar after a long hiatus from the Rolex 24-Hour race at Daytona last month. The race will be broadcast by Speed. Tickets are available at the Barber website.

“Barber Motorsports Park consistently hosts one of the most attended races on the Grand-Am calendar and Porsche’s involvement has been a huge part of its success,” said Gene Hallman, president of ZOOM Motorsports, which promotes races at Barber. “We’re very pleased to continue our partnership with Porsche and look forward to growing the relationship and the event together.”

Barber Motorsports Park is also home to the Porsche Sport Driving School.

by Ismail Uddin

The NHL along with the NBC Sports Group has signed a multi-year partnership renewal with Verizon Wireless.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Verizon has been an NHL partner since 2007.

According to the NHL, the new pact greatly enhances and expands upon the alliance. Fans immediately will see the results with exclusive content via the Verizon edition of the NHL GameCenter smartphone and tablet apps.

The renewed deal gives Verizon Wireless exclusive marketing and promotional rights as the NHL’s  “official wireless service provider” in the U.S., and category-exclusive U.S. marketing rights for such marquee NHL events as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, NHL All-Star Weekend in the U.S., and the NHL Awards and NHL Lester Patrick Awards.

Verizon Wireless also will have “considerable media presence” on the broadcast, cable, and digital platforms of NBC and NBC Sports Network, including digital promotions on NBCSports.com banners, videos and live streaming games.

Customers of the Verizon NHL GameCenter Premium App now have the ability to stream programming, “taking fans inside all the action from around the league, including live look-ins, real-time scores, team press conferences, expert analysis and on-location access” to such events as the Bridgestone Winter Classic, NHL All-Star Weekend and Stanley Cup Final, according to the league. 

Verizon said that 4G LTE Smartphone and tablet customers would be able to get the NHL GameCenter Premium experience for free while all other Verizon customers can access to the app for $9.99. (Other charges may apply according to a customer’s data plan.)

“With more fans using mobile phones and tablets to access NHL content, we are focused on growing this area to provide the best customer experience possible.”

In addition, all NHL games that air on NBC are now available to all Verizon Wireless customers using the Verizon editions of the NHL GameCenter App, Basic and Premium.

The Verizon NHL GameCenter Premium App has been enhanced to include Star Cam feed, with NBC broadcast bonus camera angles; NBC Sports’ “Inside the Glass” analysis from the national network broadcasts: key in-game replays not available during the live on-air broadcast on NBC; NHL On the Fly, the NHL Network’s signature show;  and weekly “NHL Plays of the Week” VOD.

“With more fans using mobile phones and tablets to access NHL content, we are focused on growing this area to provide the best customer experience possible,” Keith Wachtel, svp-integrated sales at the NHL, said in a statement. “An important step in accomplishing this is to extend our partnership with Verizon, a leader in the wireless category, to bring our tech-savvy fans the premium NHL content they demand through the medium of their choice.”

by Ismail Uddin

HendrickCars.com will sponsor three NASCAR teams for select races during the 2012 season.

For the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, symptoms the company will sponsor Phoenix Racing with 2004 Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch. He will also carry the logos in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona. The Hendrick group will also be the primary sponsor of JR Motorsports and driver Cole Whitt in the March 17 Nationwide event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In addition, HendrickCars.com will be a major associate sponsor of the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet with driver Elliott Sadler in the Daytona 500.

The sponsorships will promote the new-look retail automotive website, which re-launched Feb. 1, and coincide with the HendrickCars.com “2012 Indy Dream Weekend” sweepstakes.

“Last year’s Daytona 500 broadcast alone averaged more than 15 million viewers, and we expect 2012 will be even stronger,” said Rick Hendrick, chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, which owns HendrickCars.com. “Combined with our sponsorship in the Nationwide Series, that’s tens of millions of people seeing our brand, hearing our message and then visiting HendrickCars.com. We wanted to showcase the new site, and there’s no more effective marketing tool than NASCAR.”

In 2009, when the site sponsored driver Tony Stewart in the Daytona Nationwide race, he won the race and drove record traffic to it.

by Ismail Uddin

Leading online betting exchange Betfair has become the new sponsor of ‘The 600’ classic, the final of which will take place at Shelbourne Park in May.

The announcement was made at Shelbourne Park on Monday, where those in attendance included Irish Greyhound Board chairman Phil Meaney, the Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Shane McEntee TD and Graham Ross, Betfair Ireland’s Regional Manager.

‘The 600’ is a long-standing fixture on the Irish greyhound racing calendar and indeed was the first major race to be sponsored when it was known as the ‘Guinness 600’ way back when. Well, 1964 to be specific.

The classic was subsequently backed by Euro Off-Track, Ladbrokes and Hegarty Bookmakers, but Betfair have now taken over title sponsorship for a race in which several greyhound racing legends feature on the roll of honour, including Late Late Show, Tyrur Ted, Ardkill Jamie and College Causeway.

The new arrangement also sees a prizemoney boost, up from €20,000 ($26,300) to €25,000 ($32,800) this year, while another significant fillip is the return of live television coverage of the final on RTE 2 on Saturday May 12.

Trial Stakes will take place at Limerick, Cork, Tralee, Harold’s Cross and Galway, with winners receiving €500 ($658) and free entry to the Betfair 600, while the winner of the Gain Irish Cesarewitch at Mullingar will also receive free admission.

Irish Greyhound Board CEO Adrian Neilan said, “It’s great news to have Betfair as a high profile sponsor at Shelbourne Park for this classic event, coming on the back of several positive announcements in recent week’s regarding last year’s figures, increased prize money, the SIS Deal and the new sponsorship agreement for the SIS Live Gold Cup.

“We are expecting the Betfair 600 to produce some fantastic racing over the four-week period at Shelbourne Park and Betfair’s involvement ensures that the trend of an increase in prize money for all our major events continues at Shelbourne Park in 2012. This is another ringing endorsement of the popularity of Greyhound racing in Ireland and given we had over 750,000 visitors to our stadia last year I am very confident that Betfair will see a significant return for their investment in this industry.”

Graham Ross, Regional Manager for Betfair in Ireland, said, “Betfair is delighted to be associated with such an historic and significant race in the Irish Greyhound racing calendar. In light of the popularity of greyhound racing across our local and international business, we are pleased to be in a position to partner with the Irish Greyhound Board to promote our brand within the industry.

“Following the successful launch of our Global Operations office in the adjacent Watermarque office building in May 2011, this sponsorship represents an ideal opportunity to work with Shelbourne Park, an important part of our local community. We look forward to involving our 85 (and growing) staff in delivering what should be a memorable sporting occasion.”

This follows Betfair’s recent decision to sponsor another horseracing event.

by Ismail Uddin

The Yamaha Champions Riding School (YCRS) has announced it will sponsor Bloomington, store Indiana-based SGA Racing team for the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona 200 on March 17 and the 2012 WERA Endurance Series. 

The joint venture will be called the SGA Racing/Yamaha Champions Riding School team, and the team will enter AMA racer Tommy Aquino on its No. 827 SGA Racing/Yamaha Champions Riding School Yamaha YZF-R6 for his return to the iconic Daytona 200, the season opener for the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Championship. The team will also field Phil Horwitz on the No. 26 SGA Racing/Yamaha Champions Riding School Yamaha YZF-R6 in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West championship. 

The SGA Racing/Yamaha Champions Riding School team’s WERA National Endurance Series program will be a two-bike campaign, including a variety of riders, running in two four-hour races and two six-hour races. World Superbike Champion Scott Russell, championship-winning racer Dale Kieffer and AMA Pro racers Aquino and Chris Peris are rotating members of the first team. The other is currently an all-women’s team, with AMA Pro racer Melissa Paris and Katharin Zimpel doing the majority of the riding. 

SGA Racing owner Charlie Grannon has attended numerous Yamaha Champions Riding Schools and has first-hand knowledge of the school’s professionalism and dedication to developing better riders and racers. 

“I can’t believe how lucky I am to have the support of such a first-rate riding school,” he said. “I look forward to competing in and winning races with our Graves-prepared Yamaha YZF-R6s, our professional crew and these experienced riders.” 

YCRS Lead Instructor Nick Ienatsch is excited to have the school supporting SGA Racing. Grannon and Zimpel are graduates of the school, and Russell, Kieffer, Peris, Aquino, Paris and Horwitz have served the school as instructors, so it was a natural fit. 

“When SGA approached the Yamaha Champions Riding School about sponsorship, we saw a great way to back this new team,” said Ienatsch. “Tommy Aquino finished 2011 with a win, and the SGA team simply has to deliver reliable support at Daytona; Aquino has the talent and desire to win the 200. In addition to Tommy’s debut with the team, it’s great to have Phil Horwitz on an SGA R6 in the SuperSport West championship. 

“SGA also plans to run the WERA Endurance Series, and we jumped at the chance to back this program because endurance racing is the heart of our sport. Bike setup and horsepower takes a second seat to rider input, and that’s what our school is all about: the rider.”

by Ismail Uddin

Decorating specialist Dulux Decorator Centres has become an official partner of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

The partnership will see Dulux Decorator Centres be the only decorating supplier with its branding visible throughout the PDC calendar of events, adiposity including all Premier League Darts matches.

Other events include the UK Open, World Matchplay, Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship, with brand and logos being used across all marketing communications, such as adverts, leaflets, websites and programmes, as well as video adverts.

Beverley Whitehead, marketing and communications manager at Dulux Decorator Centres, said: “We are really excited to be stepping up our involvement within the darts arena which has significantly grown in popularity over the last few years.

“Darts is a sport which attracts a high proportion of our target market, and our increased presence at these high profile events throughout the year will help Dulux Decorator Centres continue to engage with core customers.”

Barry Hearn, PDC Chairman, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Dulux Decorator Centres as a partner of the PDC, and thank them for their support at an exciting time for darts.

“Dulux is a brand name which is known worldwide and we hope that, through their partnership with our major tournaments, they enjoy a successful year and continue their growth,” added Hearn.

Dulux Decorator Centres will also continue to sponsor World Darts Champion, Adrian Lewis, who will showcase the Dulux Decorator Centres’ logo on his match shirt during every competition and will make personal appearances at some of the company’s biggest events, including the Apprentice of the Year final event.

by Ismail Uddin

Triathlete Craig Alexander, medicine also known as Crowie, has selected TrainingPeaks to be his official training software.

Building upon several years of reliance on the software, the 3-time Ironman World Champion and 2-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion will use TrainingPeaks together with his performance team throughout 2012 and 2013 to monitor, analyze and plan his training and racing.

“It’s a true honor to publicly partner with Crowie. He’s not only an outstanding athlete but also a humble ambassador for triathlon who is well respected by everyone involved with the sport,” said Gear Fisher, CEO of TrainingPeaks. “We are really looking forward to helping Crowie and his team utilize our tools to have another season with incredible results.”

Alexander tracks all his workouts and races, then uploads his heart rate, power and GPS data to TrainingPeaks for analysis by his coaching team. Using tools including the Performance Manager ChartTM and each workout’sTraining Stress Score they get in-depth insight into his fitness required to adapt his triathlon training for optimal results.

“TrainingPeaks is an essential tool my performance team relies upon. Every workout is tracked within TrainingPeaks and the post-workout analysis helps drive my training program so we can easily measure my fitness gains,” said Alexander. “As I get older the science of training becomes more important to incorporate into my workout selection. TrainingPeaks is at the leading edge of science and training and I have found nothing else compares.”

by Ismail Uddin