IMG Media on Tuesday announced that its IMG Tennis Division has purchased the eight-man, singles-only AAMI Classic in Melbourne from Colin Stubs Enterprises, which started the event in '88 in partnership with the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. IMG and KLTC will be equal partners in the venture. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed (IMG Media). ... Infighting within Pakistan's "sports officialdom continues to hurt national athletes" as it is feared that the country "will not be able to feature in the 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games" from Sunday to Oct. 1 in Indonesia. The Pakistan Olympic Association, which is "battling to topple the IOC-recognised POA, will not be able to send the national contingent to Indonesia" (PAKISTAN TODAY, 9/16). ... More than 20,000 people have registered for the 2013 Taiyuan Int'l Marathon. This year, "the event will attract more runners from abroad, and 36 athletes from 14 countries, including Kenya, Germany and Canada, have been invited" (XINHUA, 9/17). ... Organizers of Hong Kong's Marathon are "urging runners not to take 'selfie' pictures of themselves with their mobile phones during the next race after a pile-up at this year's event." Organizers "ruled out a complete ban on mobile phones as impractical," but said that they were using Facebook, TV and radio to "promote the anti-selfie message in the run-up to the next event" Feb. 16 (BANGKOK POST, 9/17). ... NFL China announced that four members of the New England Patriots cheerleaders will visit Guangzhou on Oct. 19, Beijing on Oct. 20 and Shanghai on Oct. 27 as part of the NFL Home Field initiative. The tour will support NFL China’s “Think Pink” campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This will be the squad’s second year visiting China. NFL Home Field is a nine-week grassroots event at universities in the three above cities featuring flag football games, a Nike Pro Training Challenge and a “tailgate experience.” NFL Home Field sponsors include Nike, Wilson, Visa and Budweiser (SBD Global).
