NBA All-Star Dwight Howard Highlights Duracell’s “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” Olympic Games Program

Inspired by the hard work and training of American athletes as they prepare for the London 2012 Olympic Games, Duracell, a Procter & Gamble (P&G) brand, announced today the launch of its “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” program. Headlined by six-time NBA All-Star and 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Dwight Howard, and featuring Olympians Hunter Kemper (triathlon), siblings Mark and Diana Lopez (taekwondo), and Olympic Gold Medalist Summer Sanders, “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” gives consumers a portal to provide encouragement for the athletes through videos, pictures and texts as they train and compete for the Games in London.

Olympians (from left to right) Mark Lopez, Diana Lopez, Summer Sanders and Hunter Kemper pose at the Duracell “Rely on Copper to Go For the Gold” Olympic Games launch event, Wednesday, March 21, 2012, in New York. The “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” program allows consumers to support Team USA as they train and compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games by visiting Duracell’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/Duracell) and leaving messages, photos or videos of support in the Virtual Stadium. (Photo: Business Wire)

Just as athletes rely on the power of their devices when training, they also rely on the power of fan support. Duracell’s online Virtual Stadium will offer consumers the unique opportunity to experience the road to the Games through the eyes of these world class athletes, and in turn, send them the power of encouragement and inspiration through video, text and photo messages. Additionally, by submitting motivational messages to the Duracell Virtual Stadium, consumers have the chance to win a trip to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games or a $500 Visa® gift card.1

“Whether in training or using battery power in their everyday lives, athletes trust in Duracell to make sure they are always prepared for what life has to offer,” said Volker Kuhn, General Manager for Duracell North America. “Duracell is committed to powering Team USA, and it’s our privilege to provide consumers with a tangible and meaningful way to help athletes achieve their Olympic Games dreams.”

Duracell Virtual Stadium
Duracell is encouraging fans to band together in its online Virtual Stadium to support the athletes who are hoping to make Team USA. Here people can leave video, text and photo messages of encouragement for specific athletes, sports or Team USA in general. The site also features a navigable mosaic that allows consumers and athletes to search for messages left for a specific athlete or sport. Culminating at the Games, Team USA athletes will be able to interact with the Virtual Stadium in person through motion-sensing technology. Consumers and athletes can access the Virtual Stadium via Facebook (Facebook.com/Duracell) and a free mobile application. Consumers can also participate via Twitter by using the hashtag #GivePower and letting @Duracell know who they are supporting.

Duracell Power Athletes
The Duracell roster of athletes will bolster the “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” program through their support at events, social media activations and ongoing fan engagement.

“Training for the Olympic Games is an incredibly grueling process, and hearing, seeing and reading fans’ messages of support remind us that we represent the red, white and blue. That makes us train harder, try harder and compete with a winning edge,” said Summer Sanders. “Please join me in supporting the athletes by heading to the Duracell Virtual Stadium to cheer on Team USA.”

Dwight Howard: Arguably one of the most dominant and charismatic forces in professional basketball, Howard is teaming with Duracell on his path to the Olympic Games. Howard has an arsenal of accolades for his powerful game including an Olympic Games Gold medal, four All-NBA First Team selections, six NBA All-Star appearances and three consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards. Summer Sanders: An Olympic Games Gold medalist and mother, Sanders will serve as the brand’s Copper Correspondent for the duration of the program, rallying fans behind Team USA and providing insight and regular updates as the Duracell athletes train for the gold. Sanders understands firsthand the power of fan support to motivate and inspire, as it helped lead her to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where she emerged as the most decorated U.S. swimmer, winning four medals – two gold, a silver and a bronze. Hunter Kemper: A highly-decorated triathlete and father, Kemper recently experienced the strength of fan support as he persevered through injury to now be training for his fourth Olympic Games. Kemper has twice been named the United States Olympic Committee’s (USOC) Triathlete of the Year, and in 2005 was named the USOC Male Sportsman of the Year. Mark and Diana Lopez: The youngest members of the “first family of Taekwondo,” the Lopez siblings know the importance of support from those around them. Since a young age, they have trained at their family’s facility in Houston and competed at the national and global level. In 2008, their family made Olympic Games history by becoming the first to have three siblings competing on the same U.S. Olympic Team since 1904. Both Mark and Diana hold a world championship title, and a silver and bronze Olympic Games medal, respectively.

To learn more about Duracell’s “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” program and to support Team USA, visit Duracell’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/Duracell).

Proud Sponsor of Mom
Duracell’s “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” program is a part of P&G’s larger sponsorship of the Olympic Games. As part of its “Thank You, Mom” campaign for the London 2012 Olympic Games, P&G is taking the time to thank one of the most powerful people in an athlete’s life – Mom. Whether getting them started in the sport, being in the stands, or offering a shoulder for tears of victory or defeat, a mom powers her children, and for that P&G is saying “Thank you, Mom.”

In support of Moms and the “Thank You, Mom” campaign, Summer Sanders and other Olympians are taking the time to recognize these important women. Defining her as her largest source of inspiration, Summer said, “I am very confident in saying I could not have won my gold medal without her unwavering love and support. Thank you, Mom!”

To learn more about the “Thank You, Mom” campaign, go to http://www.facebook.com/thankyoumom.

About Duracell
Part of the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), Duracell has been powering people around the world for more than 40 years. Our products serve as the heart of devices that keep people connected, protect their families, entertain them and simplify their increasingly mobile lifestyles. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance alkaline batteries, Duracell also innovates in lighting, renewable power and wireless charging technologies to help consumers live life without limits. Visit http://www.duracell.com for more information, follow us on Twitter.com/Duracell, and like us on Facebook.com/Duracell.

About Procter & Gamble
P&G touches and improves the lives of about 4.4 billion people around the world with its portfolio of trusted, quality brands. The Company’s leadership brands include Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, and Ambi Pur®. With operations in about 80 countries, P&G brands are available in more than 180 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

1 Only video submissions are eligible for the Grand Prize trip to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. All submissions (video, photo and message) are eligible to win one of the available $500 Visa® gift cards.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50213554&lang=en

Component 1: The Truth About Quickness Insider’s DVD ($149 Value) – The ultimate compilation of speed and quickness training information ever put together on one disc. In the DVD, Kelly and I go over and hand you every last thing we know about speed and quickness training. You’ll also find the entire Truth About Quickness Video Library here, to have your own magic-bullet collection of speed and quickness exercises. And I’m not even close to being done.. Component 2: The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Program Manual ($99 Value) – If the DVD is the key to your speed transformation, then this is the safe it opens up. The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Program Manual contains 48 WEEKS of speed and quickness programming, designed specifically for athletes to get faster, quicker and more agile. We’ve made this so fool-proof and simple that all you need to do is simply follow the programs word-for-word, and the results are yours forever.  Component 3: The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Workbook ($49 Value) – It has been proven over and over keeping track and charting your training always leads to better results and better peformance. Everybody I know who has ever made some serious progress keeps track of their workouts, and we’ve made it incredibly simple with The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Workbook. Designed specifically for Truth About Quickness workouts, you simply mark a few numbers and notes down, and you’re tracking your training easier than ever before.  Component 4: The Truth About Quickness Ultimate Insider’s Warm-Up ($49 Value) – A proper warm-up is key to your health and longevity as an athlete…doing it The Truth About Quickness way is just a major, major bonus, as I take you through the exact same warm-up I take my most advanced athletes through before each and every one of their Truth About Quickness workouts. Make no mistake, the right warm-up is key, and can actually make or break the effectiveness of your workouts. Component 5: The Flexibility Formula ($69 Value) – After almost 2 years of getting requests from athletes worldwide for a simple, yet effective flexibility protocol to follow, I finally put it together, as “The Flexibility Formula”. Inside, you’ll find an Online DVD/eReport combination, as I take you through the entire 8-minute flexibility routine I use daily in the Online DVD, along with laying out the whole routine for you and explaining the science behind it in the eReport. Never again worry again about potentially injuring yourself or not recovering fast enough because of limited flexibility, with the “Flexibility Formula” on YOUR side. Component 6: Equipment-FREE Explosiveness($59 Value) – After surveying past Truth About Quickness customers, we found that many wanted strength-building workouts they could follow FROM HOME, without equipment. Hearing the call, Kelly Baggett went to work and designed 12 weeks of muscle-defining, explosiveness-getting bodyweight workouts that you can sue RIGHT ALONG with The Truth About Quickness FROM HOME. These athletic-based workouts are also great to do anywhere on the road, when you can’t get to the gym or don’t have access to equipment. Component 7: The Champion’s Mindset Online DVD ($39 Value) – If 90% of sports are mental, the question remains for you: How much time are YOU spending on your mental game? In “The Champion’s Mindset”, I take you through the 3 most-powerful, eye-opening mental exercises I’ve ever stumbled across. Upon completing these 3 exercises, you’ll find your mental toughness heightened, mental awareness raised and your motivational levels through the ROOF. This is one resource you absolutely cannot go on without in your library. Component 8: Fat-Loss Finishers For Athletes($39 Value) – From our good friend and author of “Bull Strength Conditioning” Joe Hashey, “Fat-Loss Finishers” combines 20 different 8-10 minute “finisher” workouts for you to use AFTER your workouts. Now, these workouts are WAY different than what me or Kelly had ever really seen before, and they are strategically designed to accomplish TWO things: 1. Strip unwanted, blubbery FAT away from all of your problem areas and 2. Jack up your sports conditioning levels, to prepare you for your most intense moments in every game or practice. This is a brand-new bonus you’re absolutely going to love having inside your arsenal. Component 9: Eating Explosively ($49 value) –It’s a commonly-held truth that diet can be worth up to 80% of your results as an athlete, and that’s why we created "Eating Explosively", the video/PDF combo containing 30 full days of meal plans where we clearly lay out for you exactly what to eat for an entire month in order to maximize every ounce of your training results. With "Eating Explosively" guiding your diet every step of the way, you’ll find yourself moving quicker, feeling stronger and looking leaner within DAYS of starting the meal-plan program. Guidelines on how to manipulate the meal plans for fat-loss or muscle gaining are included in the follow-along video that comes complementary with Eating Explosively as well. This is one component any serious athlete cannot afford to miss out on..  Component 10: The "3-Minute Glutes" Online DVD ($19 value) – Quick: Name the most overlooked muscle for speed? If you said the "glutes" you were right. Congrats! As a no-BS type athlete, you need access to the latest and best exercises from the training world, and that’s exactly what you’ll find in 3-Minute Glutes, or "Glute Speed". Featuring a sizzling 3-minute series of the very best glute activation exercises around, Glute Speed will help upgrade your "sprinting engine" (glutes, hamstrings and lumbar muscles) to Ferrari-type levels. Don’t go on training without this one-of-a-kind exercise in your arsenal…your results will thank you for it almost immediately. Component 11: The Supplement Code ($19 value) – From supplement expert Kelly Bagget comes the brand-new "Supplement Code". Inside, you’ll discover exactly which supplements youneed to take as an athlete, which ones they’ll try to tell you are "essential" (but really not), plus important questions answered.. Protein powders…good or bad? Vitamins…necessary or a waste of your money? Plus, Kelly’s got some new "supplement tricks" hidden up his sleeve that he’s revealing here for the first time ever. This one is sure to be a "fan favorite".. FREE Bonus #1: The Top 7 Classic Muscle-Building Exercises ($29 value) – Take a look around and you may just notice it’s the almost always the strongest athletes who are also the most powerful. That is no coincidence, muscle means strength, and strength means power. In this super high-quality, easy-to-follow online DVD, skinny guy savior Vince Delmonte takes you through the Top 7 Classic Muscle-Building Exercises to help you add some lean muscle mass and simplify your weight training workouts. This is truly a complementary bonus. FREE Bonus #2: Lifetime 15% OFF Coupon to JumpUSA (Priceless) – As a happy owner of The Truth About Quickness Insider’s System, you also get special Insider’s Access forvever to any of the powerful products sold at the web-based JumpUSA athletic superstore.

NBA All-star Bryant suffers broken nose

Kobe Bryant moved past Michael Jordan to become the leading NBA all-star game scorer but the milestone proved costly as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar suffered a broken nose.

The 33-year-old American Bryant fractured his nose in the third quarter after being hit in the face by Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade, on Sunday.

Wade was assessed a foul for reaching in and slapping Bryant on the face and shoulder with just under nine minutes to go in the quarter.

Bryant finished with 27 points and had 271 career all-star game points by the end of the 61st NBA All-Star Game which was won by the Western Conference 152-149.

A bloodied Bryant stepped up to the free-throw line and sank both shots. He remained in the game, playing eight minutes in the fourth quarter and helping the West hold off a late charge by Team East.

“An initial CT scan revealed a nasal fracture and he will be re-evaluated on Tuesday,” Lakers spokesman John Black said Monday.

The Lakers said they would not know until doctors examined the nose Tuesday whether the four-time all-star game MVP Bryant would be able to play in the Lakers next game on Wednesday against Minnesota.

The Lakers host Miami on Sunday at Staples Center arena.

Wade made no attempt to apologize for slapping Bryant, painting himself as the victim of two earlier fouls from Bryant.

“I obviously didn’t try to draw no blood, but I took a foul,” Wade said. “Kobe fouled me two times in a row, so he’s still got one up on me.”

About four minutes after the Wade elbow, Bryant surpassed Michael Jordan’s previous record of 262 points when he took a pass from Kevin Durant for a dunk in the third quarter.

The injury comes a week after Bryant blasted the Lakers’ management in an expletive-laden outburst as he described his frustration with the way the NBA club was handling the Pau Gasol trade rumours.

Speaking after the Lakers loss to Phoenix February 19, Bryant said he was upset with the constant rumours circulating around Spain’s Gasol and the team since the start of the season. The NBA trading deadline is March 15.

Bryant was making his 14th straight all-star appearance which tied him with Jerry West, Karl Malone, and former Laker teammate Shaquille O’Neal for the most consecutive all-star berths in league history.

In last year’s all-star contest in Los Angeles, hometown hero Bryant scored 37 points in the West’s 148-143 win over the East at Staples Center.

Component 1: The Truth About Quickness Insider’s DVD ($149 Value) – The ultimate compilation of speed and quickness training information ever put together on one disc. In the DVD, Kelly and I go over and hand you every last thing we know about speed and quickness training. You’ll also find the entire Truth About Quickness Video Library here, to have your own magic-bullet collection of speed and quickness exercises. And I’m not even close to being done.. Component 2: The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Program Manual ($99 Value) – If the DVD is the key to your speed transformation, then this is the safe it opens up. The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Program Manual contains 48 WEEKS of speed and quickness programming, designed specifically for athletes to get faster, quicker and more agile. We’ve made this so fool-proof and simple that all you need to do is simply follow the programs word-for-word, and the results are yours forever.  Component 3: The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Workbook ($49 Value) – It has been proven over and over keeping track and charting your training always leads to better results and better peformance. Everybody I know who has ever made some serious progress keeps track of their workouts, and we’ve made it incredibly simple with The Truth About Quickness Insider’s Action Workbook. Designed specifically for Truth About Quickness workouts, you simply mark a few numbers and notes down, and you’re tracking your training easier than ever before.  Component 4: The Truth About Quickness Ultimate Insider’s Warm-Up ($49 Value) – A proper warm-up is key to your health and longevity as an athlete…doing it The Truth About Quickness way is just a major, major bonus, as I take you through the exact same warm-up I take my most advanced athletes through before each and every one of their Truth About Quickness workouts. Make no mistake, the right warm-up is key, and can actually make or break the effectiveness of your workouts. Component 5: The Flexibility Formula ($69 Value) – After almost 2 years of getting requests from athletes worldwide for a simple, yet effective flexibility protocol to follow, I finally put it together, as “The Flexibility Formula”. Inside, you’ll find an Online DVD/eReport combination, as I take you through the entire 8-minute flexibility routine I use daily in the Online DVD, along with laying out the whole routine for you and explaining the science behind it in the eReport. Never again worry again about potentially injuring yourself or not recovering fast enough because of limited flexibility, with the “Flexibility Formula” on YOUR side. Component 6: Equipment-FREE Explosiveness($59 Value) – After surveying past Truth About Quickness customers, we found that many wanted strength-building workouts they could follow FROM HOME, without equipment. Hearing the call, Kelly Baggett went to work and designed 12 weeks of muscle-defining, explosiveness-getting bodyweight workouts that you can sue RIGHT ALONG with The Truth About Quickness FROM HOME. These athletic-based workouts are also great to do anywhere on the road, when you can’t get to the gym or don’t have access to equipment. Component 7: The Champion’s Mindset Online DVD ($39 Value) – If 90% of sports are mental, the question remains for you: How much time are YOU spending on your mental game? In “The Champion’s Mindset”, I take you through the 3 most-powerful, eye-opening mental exercises I’ve ever stumbled across. Upon completing these 3 exercises, you’ll find your mental toughness heightened, mental awareness raised and your motivational levels through the ROOF. This is one resource you absolutely cannot go on without in your library. Component 8: Fat-Loss Finishers For Athletes($39 Value) – From our good friend and author of “Bull Strength Conditioning” Joe Hashey, “Fat-Loss Finishers” combines 20 different 8-10 minute “finisher” workouts for you to use AFTER your workouts. Now, these workouts are WAY different than what me or Kelly had ever really seen before, and they are strategically designed to accomplish TWO things: 1. Strip unwanted, blubbery FAT away from all of your problem areas and 2. Jack up your sports conditioning levels, to prepare you for your most intense moments in every game or practice. This is a brand-new bonus you’re absolutely going to love having inside your arsenal. Component 9: Eating Explosively ($49 value) –It’s a commonly-held truth that diet can be worth up to 80% of your results as an athlete, and that’s why we created "Eating Explosively", the video/PDF combo containing 30 full days of meal plans where we clearly lay out for you exactly what to eat for an entire month in order to maximize every ounce of your training results. With "Eating Explosively" guiding your diet every step of the way, you’ll find yourself moving quicker, feeling stronger and looking leaner within DAYS of starting the meal-plan program. Guidelines on how to manipulate the meal plans for fat-loss or muscle gaining are included in the follow-along video that comes complementary with Eating Explosively as well. This is one component any serious athlete cannot afford to miss out on..  Component 10: The "3-Minute Glutes" Online DVD ($19 value) – Quick: Name the most overlooked muscle for speed? If you said the "glutes" you were right. Congrats! As a no-BS type athlete, you need access to the latest and best exercises from the training world, and that’s exactly what you’ll find in 3-Minute Glutes, or "Glute Speed". Featuring a sizzling 3-minute series of the very best glute activation exercises around, Glute Speed will help upgrade your "sprinting engine" (glutes, hamstrings and lumbar muscles) to Ferrari-type levels. Don’t go on training without this one-of-a-kind exercise in your arsenal…your results will thank you for it almost immediately. Component 11: The Supplement Code ($19 value) – From supplement expert Kelly Bagget comes the brand-new "Supplement Code". Inside, you’ll discover exactly which supplements youneed to take as an athlete, which ones they’ll try to tell you are "essential" (but really not), plus important questions answered.. Protein powders…good or bad? Vitamins…necessary or a waste of your money? Plus, Kelly’s got some new "supplement tricks" hidden up his sleeve that he’s revealing here for the first time ever. This one is sure to be a "fan favorite".. FREE Bonus #1: The Top 7 Classic Muscle-Building Exercises ($29 value) – Take a look around and you may just notice it’s the almost always the strongest athletes who are also the most powerful. That is no coincidence, muscle means strength, and strength means power. In this super high-quality, easy-to-follow online DVD, skinny guy savior Vince Delmonte takes you through the Top 7 Classic Muscle-Building Exercises to help you add some lean muscle mass and simplify your weight training workouts. This is truly a complementary bonus. FREE Bonus #2: Lifetime 15% OFF Coupon to JumpUSA (Priceless) – As a happy owner of The Truth About Quickness Insider’s System, you also get special Insider’s Access forvever to any of the powerful products sold at the web-based JumpUSA athletic superstore.