The company added that the contract will be headed by its Senior Consultant of the Sports Performance Division, Steve Roush, who will work with the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the national federations with the goal of improving the performance of athletes at the Olympic Games through the use of proven models of success. In addition to this contract, TSE said it will provide consultation on sport-related activities for the Rio 2016 organizing committee in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

Carlos Arthur Nuzman, Brazilian Olympic Committee President commented, “The arrival of Steve Roush will bring an immense contribution to the development of Olympic Sports in Brazil. His experience leading the American team during three editions of the Olympic Games will certainly be very useful. His presence will add to the planning being done by the Brazilian Olympic Committee, together with the national federations, for the next Olympic cycle.”

Michael Buckner

Television ratings for golf may not collapse as dramatically as has been feared in the wake of the Tiger Woods scandals. Indeed, they may soar precisely because of it once the major tours launch this spring.

That is the view of Florida sports lawyer Michael Buckner.

He says: “The public’s fascination with reality-television, which uses our curiosity in celebrity and scandal, will fuel tremendous interest if and when Tiger comes back to golf. The first tournament (and, especially, the first major) Tiger competes in will have one of the largest ratings for a sporting event during the last few years.

“It will be a spectacle and the public—sports fans and the casual viewer—will tune in at record numbers. This is what makes the decisions of several of Tiger’s sponsors so interesting.”

Nike and Gatorade are two sponsors who have remained loyal to Woods and others may wish they had not pulled away so hastily.

Buckner says: “I predict several of his former sponsors will re-sign Tiger once it is apparent that his endorsing power has not been affected and it is ‘safe’ to do so.”

The Nielsen Company reported, before his recent scandals, that if Woods featured in a TV ad sponsors would see a 16pc higher recall of the commercial itself. But when Woods took time off for knee surgery then ratings for the PGA Tour took a hit.

In another Nielsen study when he returned to play last February they found ratings had been down 47pc for the earlier tournaments he had missed.

This impacts all PGA Tour advertisers. So, despite his personal issues, the day Woods steps on to the tee again TV ratings will probably go through the ceiling and everyone will remember what he wore.

Such a revival of sponsor interest in Woods would be undoubtedly be commercially driven. Buckner notes that reaching a decision founded on ethical considerations is a more complex procedure.

He says: “The ethical issue is that if an organization believes Tiger’s behaviour, and the negative coverage concerning it, warranted ending an endorsement deal under a code of conduct or morality, then high golf ratings a year later does not justify re-signing Tiger.

“Ethical companies apply codes of conduct or morality consistently, not for convenience, public relations or profit.”

Either way, Woods will be around for a long time yet. For example, the Tiger Woods Foundation will continue to be the beneficiary of the AT&T National PGA Tour as it is under contract until 2014.

Ty Votaw, Tour Executive Director who led the bid to get golf back on the Olympic program, has said publicly that Woods would not be hosting the AT&T National event in 2010 July 1-4 since he has taken an indefinite leave from the game.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has made one comment that he was disappointed in the golfer’s behaviour but the Woods scandal exploded more than two months after golf’s return to the Olympic Games in 2016 had been confirmed by the International Olympic Committee.

One of the key points of the golf campaign was to bring to the Olympics athletes such as Tiger Woods as well as the huge TV following and mega sponsorship dollars. The IOC chose golf and rugby over baseball, softball, roller sports, karate, and squash.

Last week SportsFeatures.com reported that this scandal would have a US $12bn effect on the shareholders of Nike, Gatorade and his other sponsor entities. This was a rude wake up call hitting them smack in the most sensitive of places ‘their pocketbook’.

A study was released by the University of California, Davis by two economics professors, Victor Stango and Christopher Knittel, assessing the economic tsunami of the Tiger Woods scandal could reach up to $12bn for shareholders of Nike, Gatorade and his other sponsor entities. See our story

The study was based on nine sponsors with publicly available stock prices: Accenture; American Express; AT&T; Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf (Electronic Arts); Gillette (Proctor and Gamble); Nike; Gatorade (PepsiCo); TLC Laser Eye Centers; and Golf Digest (News Corp.).

However, the sponsors which have remained with Woods may find that loyalty rewarded with some substantial gains.

The project is headed by Steve Roush, TSE Senior Consultant – Sports Performance. Steve joined TSE in February 2009, having just left his eight-year post as Chief of Sports Performance at the US Olympic Committee where he oversaw a period of record success for USA’s Olympians.

TSE will work with the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the national federations with the goal of improving the performance of athletes at the Olympic Games through the use of proven models of success. London 2012 will act as a large milestone to evaluate progress, but 2016 is the main target for the project. Also, as part of the contract, TSE will provide consultation on sport-related activities for the Rio 2016 organising committee in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

Carlos Arthur Nuzman, Brazilian Olympic Committee President:

The arrival of Steve Roush will bring an immense contribution to the development of Olympic Sports in Brazil. His experience leading the American team during three editions of the Olympic Games will certainly be very useful. His presence will add to the planning being done by the Brazilian Olympic Committee, together with the national federations, for the next Olympic cycle.

Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing Director of TSE Consulting:

We are extremely honoured to have been brought on by the Brazilian Olympic Committee as they start their planning for 2016. With Steve’s expertise and the use of proven models, sport in Brazil will reach new levels. We look forward to working closely with the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the national federations to strengthen Brazil’s sports performance over the coming years.

TSE is currently also assisting other NOCs in this field, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, with many other projects in the pipeline.

TSE Consulting is a management consultancy specialised in sport. With its head office in Lausanne, Switzerland and regional offices in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, TSE’s clients include both national and international sports organisations as well as public sector clients who are investing in sport. In addition to sports performance services, TSE also provides consulting in the areas of: sports management, communication, digital marketing and PR, event appraisal, campaigning and environmental-impact planning.

Richard Carrion, who negotiates the US rights for the IOC, told The Associated Press he has already received several expressions of interest and plans to make a deal sometime in 2010.

He says he expects “a minimum of three players”.

The negotiations were postponed a year ago, due to the global financial downturn, but the IOC are now prepared to open the bidding sometime after February’s Winter Games in Vancouver.

At stake are rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“We will expand investments in public security threefold, but we need even more [funds],” Tarso Genro said at a seminar on averting violence in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

The minister said the money will be spent on police patrolling and establishing so-called “reconciliation police detachments” intended to maintain order in high-risk areas, particularly, in city’s slums – favelas.

Genro said such detachments have already been established in eight favelas, adding other 42 detachments should be set up in the city by 2016.

Rio, which faced stiff competition from Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, is the first South American city to host the Summer Olympics.

Appearing on the “Late Show with David Letterman” Williams speculated Rio won the right to host the 2016 Games because it sent “50 strippers and a pound of blow” to compete with Chicago’s entourage that included President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey. The comments have been played and replayed on Brazilian television.

Rio’s Olympic Committee responded by saying its lawyers are reviewing whether they can take legal action against Williams.

There’s going to be no end to the jokes and speculation about the world’s greatest golfer. Particularly now that Us Weekly has a story out saying that Jaimee Grubbs, a cocktail waitress who appeared on the “Tool Academy” reality TV series, is claiming to have had a 31-month affair with Woods. (Photo by AP/VH1)

How bad are things for Tiger? Well, both John Daly and Charles Barkley have weighed in with damage-control advice, which is kind of like having Jack Kevorkian as your volunteer spin doctor.

Tiger engaged in wishful thinking with a statement on his website that said, in part:

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

All of which makes it worthwhile to dig into the archives, to read again perhaps the only article that really took a look at Tiger’s seamier side. Charles Pierce’s 1997 profile for Esquire was filled with dirty jokes and double entendres, and made repeated use of the word “hound.”

For those who don’t mind X-rated language, it bears another look while we wait for Woods’ next public appearance.

Meantime, what’s the difference between a golf ball and a car? Tiger can drive a golf ball over 300 yards.

Here are some other lunchtime topics to munch on:

. . . If Tiger’s situation isn’t enough of a wake-up call for athletes on the prowl, consider that the Chiefs’ Chris Chambers had an affair with a woman who now faces 11 misdemeanor charges for allegedly stalking him. The groupies have definitely stepped up their game lately.

. . . But hey, a video of Marilyn Monroe smoking pot has surfaced and there’s no sign of Joe DiMaggio in it, so at least one sports legend remains untainted.

. . . On Twitter, the Titans’ bolt of lightning, Chris Johnson, says he has heard that the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo wants to arrange a 40-yard dash showdown. In full pads, it would be no contest for CJ.

. . . Real Clear Sports.com is calling John Calipari the “Urban Meyer of college basketball” for still having John Wall on the floor to make this dunk with 2:11 left in a 92-54 blowout against UNC-Asheville.

. . . Bill Belichick told Boston reporters there’s no move afoot to extricate Charlie Weis from the unemployment line and return him to the Patriots’ coaching staff. Duh. And this just in, the Pats don’t have a welcome-back mat out for Eric Mangini either.

. . . Yes, Brazil really is considering legal action against Robin Williams, for his comment on Letterman that Rio de Janeiro beat Chicago for the 2016 Olympics because they sent “50 strippers and a pound of blow” to do their lobbying. If it gets to court, all Williams needs is any five minutes of video from Carnival.

. . . The New York Jets brought in Yankees manager Joe Girardi to give Mark Sanchez a lesson on how to slide. Appearing next as a guest coach for the Jets, Dr. Heimlich.

. . . Longterm fantasy alert: The Bush era is over at the White House, and also apparently coming to a close in New Orleans. Next season’s $8 million cap number for Reggie Bush reportedly will be too much to bear for the Saints, and who thought we’d see him on the free agent market so soon?

. . . Ron Artest admits to The Sporting News that he used to throw down some hard liquor at halftime. So, when he got triple-vision, did he just aim for the hoop in the middle?

. . . The Allen Iverson road show may never come to an end. I’m guessing it won’t be long until he leaves the 76ers for the Globetrotters.

Rio Police dismantled a scam operation involving Olympic construction projects on Wednesday

Police in Rio de Janeiro dismantled a group that targeted rigging bids for government construction projects for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Police arrested 12 individuals on corruption and conspiracy charges on Wednesday using raids with 120 officers. Police named the bust “Operation Monopoly.”

Falvio Porto, director of the Center for Combating Corruption and Money Laundering, said the alleged scammers reaped between $11.4 million and $55.4 since 2008 in colluding for government contracts. Twelve companies were involved in the scheme that overpriced government contracts by 10 to 20 percent.

“The group worked for three years and documents obtained today indicate that the injury to the public coffers was much greater,” Porto told local media.

Investigators said the scheme started in 2000 and it involved businessmen, civil servants, an inspector and an engineer.

Porto said scammers targeted projects for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

The scheme worked by having the winning bidder pay kickbacks between $6,000 and $15,000 to the other colluding companies. Firms not involved in the scheme would face trouble from corrupt civil servants, police said.

The investigation began when the Civil Police started looking into its own contracts. A total of 24 projects are under investigation including Lloyd George’s Hospital.

The Center for Combating Corruption and Money Laundering began operations last year to investigate white-collar crimes. Operation Monopoly was the first major investigation for the center.

Athletics South Africa President and Board Suspended

The South Africa Olympic committee suspended the head of Athletics South Africa for lying about his actions in the Caster Semenya gender-testing controversy.

On Thursday, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee suspended ASA President Leonard Chuene along with the ASA board, pending the outcome of an investigation. The committee recommended SASCOC board member Ray Mali take over as the administrator of ASA.

In a statement, ASA offered an apology and agreed to abide by SACOC’s ruling.

Athletics South Africa wishes to publicly and unconditionally apologize to Caster Semenya and her family, the President of South Africa as well as to all South Africans for the handling of her gender verification processes and the subsequent aftermath,” ASA said.

ASA said it would meet with Semenya, her family and government officials to “bring closure to a very unpleasant episode for Caster.”

SASCOC is also considering taking action against the International Association of Athletics Federations for violating Semenya’s rights to privacy. SASCOC did not specify the nature of the action.

Semenya gained attention after news broke that she was undergoing gender-testing by the IAAF. The IAAF has not released test results.

Semenya won the women’s 800 meter title at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August.

Venue developments will include the £250m refurbishment of Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Soccer Stadium and the opening of a football museum.

“There will be a huge amount of hotel investment coming from international hotel chains,” said Brazil Tourist Office director Glauco Chris Fuzinatto.

The country is also introducing an international one-to-five-star hotel grading system.

Rio de Janeiro’s airport capacity will grow to 20 million a year by 2014.

Brazil’s conference and incentive business is expected to increase by at least 7% in each year leading up to the events.

Brazil has long been a candidate to host the World Cup, last held there in 1950, as well as the Olympic Games, never before held in South America. The fact that the Brazilian economy is strong and the country has fared relatively well during the financial crisis, combined with President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s charisma and the backing of very professional lobbying, has contributed to the success of its latest attempt to host the Olympics. The choice of Rio de Janeiro, one of the world’s most beautiful cities and the second-largest in Brazil, was widely expected. The fact that the budget of $11.6 billion was the largest of the four cities competing may also have contributed.

Rio Risks

Each year, Rio de Janeiro hosts two major events–the Carnival and the New Year’s Eve fireworks party on Copacabana beach, watched by 2 million spectators–and enjoys considerable experience in this area. However, the specter of the 2007 Pan-American Games, which ended up costing $3 billion–10 times the original budget–hovers over plans for the Olympics. In theory, the International Olympic Committee has powers aimed to ensure the agreed timetable is adhered to, and the various undertakings Brazil promised in its bid are fulfilled. However, Brazil’s byzantine bureaucracy remains a concern, as does the crime rate in the densely packed city.

Fringe Benefits

Although the preparations for the Games themselves were costed in Brazil’s bid, reports prepared by several European governments suggest that up to $50 billion will be spent over the next seven years in preparing for the two events, about 2.5% of Brazil’s GDP. It is estimated that 120,000 jobs will be created each year from now on, many in construction.

In addition to buildings and roads, $700 million has been earmarked for upgrading the electricity system, and $500 million for improvements to communications infrastructure. Most will be financed by the federal government, involving amounts far exceeding normal annual infrastructure spending. Millions of trees are to be planted, but few details have emerged as to how to address the city’s most important problems–sanitation and pollution–as well as improving health and education facilities, far inferior to other large cities.

If properly spent, funds could allow hospitals, schools and leisure facilities to be built, as well as improvements to the slums housing one in seven of the Rio’s 7 million residents. However, there are fears that local interests will squabble over the allocation of funds. Moreover, most events will take place far from where the majority of residents live, so apart from short-term jobs, the Games may not improve life in the city as a whole, with funding merely transferred from other projects.