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TOKYO -- How much did Nintendo pay to land that dream marketing opportunity at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony, where Japans prime minister popped out dressed as the red-hatted plumber Super Mario?Zero.The Japanese video game maker behind Pokemon and Zelda got the coveted stage that corporate sponsors pay millions for after they were approached by those creating the festivities for cooperation, not the other way around, says Nintendo Co. spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa.I want to make that clear. We did not pay, he said in a telephone interview. And we are not going to become Olympic sponsors either.Prime Minister Shinzo Abes emergence in a Super Mario costume was the highlight of the handover section for Tokyo, the host of the 2020 games.The segment was so favorably received in Japan as surprisingly playful and tasteful, given the staidness usually associated with Japan Inc., that Abe earned a new nickname, Abe-Mario.Tokyo city official Masahiro Hayashi said Japans top advertising company Dentsu Inc. was tapped to produce the handover segment, with a total budget for the Rio Olympics and the Paralympics of 1.2 billion yen ($12 million).He refused to say how much Dentsu was paid, or give other details.The city of Tokyo and the organizing committee are under intense pressure to trim costs, which have ballooned over the years, partly because of the weakening yen but also because planning fiascos, such as decisions to redo designs for both the main stadium and the Tokyo 2020 logo.Organizing committee spokesman Motoki Okumura would not give details of the spending for the closing ceremony. Dentsu also declined to comment.Top Olympic sponsors pay millions of dollars to the IOC for permission to promote their brands to a massive global audience. Nintendo just did it for free. With Japans prime minister as their pitchman. Easily the marketing coup of the Rio games, said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing analyst and creative director at Baker Street Advertising of San Francisco.Purists might feel the commercial branding was a bit overdone, and argue for other ways to promote Japanese culture, according to Dorfman, who has lived in Japan.But gaming and anime are certainly major aspects of modern Japan, and Mario is a universal icon. As someone who doesnt take sports or the Olympics too seriously, I found the whole thing pretty funny and entertaining, he said.---Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyamaHer work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama Cheap Swingman Bucks Jerseys .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Cheap Bucks Jerseys Authentic . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. http://www.cheapbucksjerseys.com/ . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Giannis Antetokounmpo Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Tyler Zeller Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. A lot of Chicago Cubs fans have waited a long time to see them win the championship. In this case, it feels like forever.How many people can say they went to the very first World Series game at Wrigley Field?That was in 1929, and future Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was there. He was in the box seats behind third base a few Octobers later, too, and saw Babe Ruth call his shot.Very definitely, Stevens told The Associated Press this week by phone from Florida. He pointed his bat.Now, at 96 and outdating the ivy on the outfield walls at the cherished ballpark, Stevens planned to be at Game 4 Saturday night when his Cubs host the Cleveland Indians.And he had a playful wish. Well, beyond the obvious.Tossing out a ball from the mound at Wrigley, as he did in 2005. Only this time, at the World Series.Id love to, the veteran right-hander said. Id like to see if I can throw it over the plate again.Stevens said he was still on that bench, but added with a bright tone, I suppose theres a couple days left.The Cubs trailed 1-0 going into Game 2 on Wednesday night at Cleveland. The Series then shifts to the city where Stevens grew up.Not since 1908 have the Cubs won the World Series. They were led by the Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double play combination that became famed in verse -- the same year, Take Me Out to the Ball Game was written.Born in 1920, Stevens said he has no recollection from his boyhood days of older friends and family members talking about that championship club.Of the some 7.4 billion people on the planet, no telling for sure if theres anyone around who would recall those Cubs.They are alive, but do they remember? said Robert Young, a senior consultant for gerontology for Guinness World Records. I think theres probably a few.Young estimates there are 4,000 people around the globe who were alive then, most of theem outside the United States.dddddddddddd.Its amazing to me the Cubs franchise lasted that long without winning, he added.Before the World Series opener, Stevens had already formed his opinion on the outcome.I think the only question is whether it will be four straight or whether it will take five games for us to win it in Chicago, he said.And even though the Indians and their crowd have been waiting since 1948 for a crown, its been much longer on the North Side of Chicago.The Cubs are entitled to win in this one, I think, he said.Justice for the Cubs, so to speak.Stevens served on the Supreme Court from 1975 to 2010 and in his chambers he had an autographed photo of Cubs great Ernie Banks and a jersey of Chicago pitcher Mark Prior.Stevens also had a framed scorecard from the 1932 game when Ruth pointed. It was a gift long ago from a fellow law clerk, who knew Stevens had seen the Bambino that afternoon as a 12-year-old.As a kid, he followed the Cubs in the fledging days of radio. With more modern devices, Stevens rooted for them as often as he could this season.The Cubs began their drive to end the championship drought this year at spring training in the Phoenix suburbs -- in 1908, Arizona wasnt even a state.They led the majors with 103 wins, but Stevens wasnt about to celebrate early. After so many years of hope and so little success, this is their first World Series trip since 1945.Its hard to acknowledge, but it happened, he said.Just like Stevens imagined, sort of. Shortly before opening day, he told the AP he was anticipating big things from this new, talented bunch of Cubs.I dont think its a question of whether theyll win a championship, he said then. Its whether Ill still be here to see it. ' ' '