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 William Carrier Jersey . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Golden Knights Jerseys For Sale . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.authenticgoldenknightsshopnhl.com/brad-hunt-jersey/ .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Green Golden Knights Jerseys . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The Battle at Bristol between No. 17 Tennessee and Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night drew an NCAA single-game record crowd of 156,990.The speedway was temporarily converted into a football stadium to accommodate this game.The previous NCAA record was 115,109 for Michigans 2013 victory over Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium. Also, a crowd of 120,000 to 123,000 fans is believed to have attended Notre Dames 1927 victory over Southern California at Chicaggos Soldier Field, though the paid attendance for that game was only 99,573.ddddddddddddThe NFL regular-season attendance record is 105,121 for a New York Giants victory at Dallas in 2009. A 1994 preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers in Mexico Citys Azteca Stadium drew 112,376 fans.---AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Authentic Jerseys ' ' '