Corporate sponsorship
Antti Pihlakoski, evaluation panel chairman of the World Athletics (WA), center left, and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, surrounded by other WA members, pose for a photo before their talk in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Council member Nawal El Moutawakel, back, from left, Vice President Ximena Restrepo and Director of Competitions & Events Jakob Larsen join the photo session. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Tokyo a candidate for track and field world championships

By Stephen Wade May. 25, 2022 12:44 AM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2018, file photo, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jayna Hefford shakes hands with people associated with the hall before a hockey game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils in Toronto. Two officials with direct knowledge of discussions tell The Association Press that talks with select NHL teams and major corporate sponsors have intensified in the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association’s bid to form a pro league within the next calendar year. In a text to The AP, PWHPA executive Jayna Hefford would only say she is not in a position to comment at this point. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
PWHPA inching closer to forming women's pro hockey league

By John Wawrow Mar. 02, 2022 04:22 PM EST

Spectators cheer as they wait for the women's slopestyle finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
China crafts a carefully curated slate of Olympic spectators

By Sam Mcneil Feb. 14, 2022 10:09 PM EST

FILE - In this July 27, 2021, file photo, people walk past the National Stadium in Tokyo. The price tag for the Tokyo Olympics is $15.4 billion. Tokyo built eight new venues. The two most expensive were the National Stadium, which cost $1.43 billion, and the new aquatic center, priced a $520 million. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Tokyo Olympics cost $15.4 billion. What else could that buy?

By Stephen Wade Aug. 06, 2021 10:11 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 17, 2021, file photo, President of the Japan Community Health Care Organization Shigeru Omi attends a joint news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Japan's response to the coronavirus outbreak at Suga's official residence in Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympics are going ahead despite opposition from many quarters inside Japan. The Japanese medical community is largely against it. Omi has said it’s “abnormal” to hold the Olympics during a pandemic. (Issei Kato/Pool Photo via AP)
Olympics, pandemic and politics: There's no separating them

By Stephen Wade Jul. 21, 2021 04:37 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 13, 2015 file photo, Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda, left, and IOC President Thomas Bach pose with a signed document during a press conference in Tokyo as Toyota signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in a landmark deal, becoming the first car company to join the IOC's top-tier marketing program. Toyota won't be airing any Olympic-themed advertisements on Japanese TV during the Tokyo Games despite being one of the IOC's top corporate sponsors. The unusual decision by the country's top automaker underlines how polarizing the Games have become in Japan as COVID-19 infections rise ahead of the July 23, 2021, opening ceremony.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Olympic sponsor Toyota pulls Games-related TV ads in Japan

By Yuri Kageyama Jul. 19, 2021 04:02 AM EDT

FILE - In this Saturday, July 10, 2021, file photo, the Olympic rings are illuminated outside the Narita International Airport prior to the 2020 Summer Olympics near Tokyo. The Olympic corporate sponsorship program has been a key part of the Olympic experience since it began in 1985. But all that magic from the Olympic sponsorship is being undermined because of the virus. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Olympic sport of schmoozing eludes corporate sponsors

By Anne D'innocenzio Jul. 15, 2021 11:03 AM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2016, file photo, ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel poses with then Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, unseen, during a break in taping of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in Los Angeles. Kimmel announced Wednesday, June 17, 2021, on his show that he will be the title sponsor of college football's LA Bowl that is scheduled to be played Dec. 18 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Ca. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Jimmy Kimmel to be title sponsor of inaugural LA Bowl

By Greg Beacham Jun. 17, 2021 01:51 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, the Olympic rings floating in the water in the Odaiba section are seen from a window of a water bus, in Tokyo. Public sentiment in Japan has been generally opposed to holding the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. This is partly based of fears the coronavirus will spike as almost 100,000 people — athletes and others — enter for both events.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Why are Olympics going on despite public, medical warnings?

By Stephen Wade Jun. 17, 2021 12:20 AM EDT

Corey Conners, of Canada, celebrates after a hole-in-one on the sixth hole during the third round of the Masters golf tournament on Saturday, April 10, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A steady diet of limited fans on PGA Tour though end of May

By Doug Ferguson Apr. 13, 2021 06:58 PM EDT

Jordan Spieth watches his drive from the No. 7 tee during a round of 16 match at the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
This Masters tradition is a pictorial surprise for champions

By Doug Ferguson Mar. 30, 2021 04:05 PM EDT

Manchester United players celebrate after Manchester United's Amad Diallo scored his side's opening goal during the Europa League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Manchester United and AC Milan at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Man U worries soothed by new sponsor, certainty in Solskjaer

By Rob Harris Mar. 19, 2021 09:25 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2019, file photo, Canada's Meaghan Mikkelson (12) and Marie-Philip Poulin (29) defends against United States' Hilary Knight (21) during the third period of a rivalry series women's hockey game in Hartford, Conn. Knight has played in rinks large and small spanning globe during her 14 years representing USA Hockey. That does not prevent the three-time Olympian from getting chills in anticipation of hitting the ice for the first time at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, for the opening stop of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association Dream Gap Tour's second season. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Women's hockey set for puck drop at Madison Square Garden

By John Wawrow Feb. 26, 2021 06:22 PM EST

PGA Tour gets early Florida start, Sorenstam back on LPGA

By The Associated Press Feb. 23, 2021 11:46 AM EST
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PGA TOURS WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS-WORKDAY CHAMPIONSHIP Site: Bradenton, Florida. ...

LPGA to have Match Play event at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas

By Doug Ferguson Feb. 18, 2021 12:17 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shadow Creek opened its course to the PGA Tour in the fall, and now it’s the LPGA Tour’s turn. The LPGA announced...

Kamaiu Johnson hits from the 10th tee of the Spyglass Hill Golf Course during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
McIlroy to become 1st international player on PGA Tour board

By Doug Ferguson Feb. 16, 2021 05:17 PM EST

Dustin Johnson watches a shot during the second round of the Tournament of Champions golf event Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at Kapalua Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)
Cognizant sets standard with marketing money in PGA and LPGA

By Doug Ferguson Feb. 09, 2021 03:26 PM EST

Alaska gas line group seeking federal funds for 1st phase

By Becky Bohrer Feb. 04, 2021 08:45 PM EST
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state-sponsored corporation has proposed seeking federal infrastructure funds to advance an initial phase of a mega-gas project to...

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2017, file photo, Penn State head coach James Franklin, right, is greeted by Fiesta Bowl executive director Mike Nealy in preparation for an upcoming NCAA college football bowl game against Washington in Phoenix. Nealy and the Fiesta Bowl organizing committee faced unique challenges this year running two games. The Fiesta Bowl, one of the New Year's Six bowl games, went off as planned but the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, which was scheduled for Dec. 26, 2020, was canceled after there weren't enough teams to fill all of the bowl spots. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
Bowl games look to future after weathering challenging year

By Joe Reedy Jan. 16, 2021 02:36 AM EST

World Golf Championship moving from Mexico to Florida

By Doug Ferguson Jan. 15, 2021 03:46 PM EST
The World Golf Championship is moving from Mexico City to the Gulf Coast of Florida this year, a change driven by the COVID-19 pandemic that has put...