Category Archives: Featured

National Lacrosse League Announces Finalists for 2023-24 NLL Awards

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL) today announced the finalists for its annual season-end awards honoring the best NLL players, coaches, and executives for the 2023-24 regular season.

Highlighting the major awards is the NLL Most Valuable Player honor, with two Buffalo Bandits – Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith — joining the Toronto Rock’s Nick Rose as finalists.

The award winners will be announced in advance of the 2024 NLL Finals.

Most Valuable Player

  • Josh Byrne – Forward – Buffalo Bandits
  • Nick Rose – Goaltender – Toronto Rock
  • Dhane Smith – Forward – Buffalo Bandits

Rookie of the Year

  • Owen Grant – Transition – Vancouver Warriors
  • Tye Kurtz – Forward – Albany FireWolves
  • Alex Simmons – Forward – Albany FireWolves

Goaltender of the Year

  • Doug Jamieson – Albany FireWolves
  • Chris Origlieri – San Diego Seals
  • Nick Rose – Toronto Rock

Offensive Player of the Year

  • Josh Byrne – Buffalo Bandits
  • Dhane Smith – Buffalo Bandits
  • Jeff Teat – New York Riptide

Transition Player of the Year

  • Ian MacKay – Buffalo Bandits
  • Shane Simpson – Calgary Roughnecks
  • Jake Withers – Halifax Thunderbirds

Defensive Player of the Year

  • Mitch de Snoo – Toronto Rock
  • Ryan Dilks – Vancouver Warriors
  • Brad Kri – Toronto Rock

Sportsmanship Award

  • Keegan Bal – Vancouver Warriors
  • Tom Schreiber – Toronto Rock
  • Lyle Thompson* – Georgia Swarm

Les Bartley Award (Head Coach of the Year)

  • Glenn Clark – Albany FireWolves
  • Curt Malawsky* – Vancouver Warriors
  • Matt Sawyer – Toronto Rock

General Manager of the Year

  • Glenn Clark – Albany FireWolves
  • Jamie Dawick – Toronto Rock
  • Curt Malawsky – Vancouver Warriors

Executive of the Year

  • John Catalano – President and Chief Executive Officer, Halifax Thunderbirds
  • Mike Hancock – Director of Communications and Lacrosse Operations, Toronto Rock
  • Oliver Marti – Chief Executive Officer, Albany FireWolves

Tom Borrelli Award (Media Person of the Year)

  • Teddy Jenner* – TSN play-by-play and co-host, “Off the Crosse Bar” podcast
  • Adam Levi – NLL.com, Inside Lacrosse, NLLPA contributing writer and host, “Lacrosse Matrix” podcast
  • Graeme Perrow – NLL Chatter

*denotes 2023 winner

Each NLL team had the opportunity to nominate and vote for each of the awards with the exception of Teammate of the Year, as each NLLPA Player Representative nominated a player from their team for this honor that was voted on by the NLLPA and its 15 Player Representatives. The Teammate of the Year will be announced with all awards’ winners.

The League added Offensive Player of the Year to the lineup of awards this year to align with the other position-based honors: Defensive Player of the Year, Transition Player of the Year, and Goaltender of the Year.

Once nominations were finalized, each NLL team cast three ballots for each award and select media were eligible to vote for all awards except Teammate of the Year and Executive of the Year.

Voting members selected their top five choices for each award among all nominated persons. Points were distributed for each first through fifth place vote as follows:

  • 1st Place – 10 points
  • 2nd Place – 7 points
  • 3rd Place – 5 points
  • 4th Place – 3 points
  • 5th Place – 1 point

The person that accumulated the most points will be announced as the winner, while the top three in each category are designated as the award finalists. The All-NLL and All-Rookie teams are determined by the top vote getters in each position-based award. The All-Rookie team will be made up of six rookies, regardless of position. The All-NLL First Team and All-NLL Second Team will be made up of six individuals – two forwards, one transition player, two defenseman, and one goaltender – per team.

Walter Johnson, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax Items Head Most Valuable Items in New Heritage Auction

Countless offerings among the almost 3,200 available in Heritage’s May 16-18 Spring Sports Catalog Auction could serve as its centerpiece, its highlight — that one thing that belongs in a museum, if not a Hall of Fame. Like, say, the road New York Yankees jersey worn by Mickey Mantle during his final season in 1968, then signed and inscribed to a Yanks batboy. Or the photo-matched road Brooklyn Dodgers jersey Sandy Koufax wore during his rookie season in 1955 when he was not yet known as The Left Hand of God. Or the bat Ty Cobb used in 1922, his third — and final — season as a .400 hitter.

The list of must-sees and must-owns is seemingly endless, whether it’s a box of unopened Fleer basketball cards from 1961-62 or the pair of Adidas Crazy 8’s photo-matched to Kobe Bryant’s first All-Star Game in 1998. As has become tradition, the Spring Sports Catalog Event brims with the jerseys, sneakers, gloves, bats and helmets worn and used by some of sports’ most towering titans, from Willie Mays to Lionel Messi, Reggie Jackson to Gale Sayers, Warren Spahn to Tom Brady, Hank Aaron to Jim Plunkett, Carl Hubbell to Terry Bradshaw. The abundance of photo-matched jerseys in this auction alone qualifies it as historic, as do the cards featured throughout, among them a near-mint 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, a gem-mint Ty Cobb from the fabled Black Swamp find and the only known Elgin Baylor Topps card from 1969 graded a perfect 10.

But to begin, the relatively plain flannel jersey in this auction — gray, pinstriped, a small “W” stitched into each short sleeve — draws the eye first. It’s also a century-old jersey that still has tales to tell.

Collectors have always known who wore it: Walter Johnson, who spent all of his 21 seasons in the sun as the right-handed hurler for the Washington Senators. Johnson’s name is stitched into the collar in red cursive, just below the A.G. Spalding & Bros. label. We’ve always known, too, when Johnson wore it: during the 1919-1922 seasons, when the man sportswriter Grantland Rice called “The Big Train” was teammates with another right-handed pitcher, Eric “Swat” Erickson, to whom Johnson gifted the jersey upon Erickson’s retirement from the big leagues following his 1919-1922 stint with Washington.

Only days before this auction opened, Resolution Photomatching determined that the “one-time king of pitchers” — as Johnson was called in 1933’s Who’s Who in Baseball – wore this very jersey on April 29, 1920. That’s when the Nationals downed the New York Yankees 2-1 in front of 5,000 at the hallowed Polo Grounds.

Johnson recorded eight strikeouts that spring afternoon in New York, two coming against a newly minted Yankee right fielder named Babe Ruth, who recorded just a single hit (and RBI) against Johnson. The Big Train, who batted last in the Nats’ lineup, also got a hit that afternoon — a triple. In his 1920 book The Home-Run King, Ruth wrote that Johnson was “the best of them all.”

Earlier this month, Resolution photo-matched the jersey to a photo distributed by news agency Underwood & Underwood, whose caption heralds Johnson as “the unsurpassable speed twirler of the Nationals.” The photo also notes that Johnson’s “remarkable speed ball aroused all balldom several years ago” and that he pitched against the Yankees that April afternoon “with the same ‘pep’ that characterized his name.”

Two known Johnson jerseys have survived his storied career, during which The Big Train recorded 3,509 strikeouts (putting him at ninth on the all-time list), 417 wins (the most all-time behind only Cy Young’s 511 victories) and 110 shutout wins (still the record). One, from 1927, is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The other is in this auction.

“We have had the opportunity at Heritage Auctions to offer some incredible and museum-worthy jerseys over the decades,” says Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. “But this Walter Johnson example, photo-matched to his first dual with the great Babe Ruth in Yankees pinstripes, certainly qualifies it as a cream-of-the-crop rarity.”

The Koufax and Mantle jerseys are no less significant, as they serve as sort of spiritual bookends to two mythical Hall of Famers who were each a king of New York — at least until the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after Koufax’s three seasons playing for his hometown team.

The Dodgers jersey — worn by the native son of Borough Park, Brooklyn, when he was a 20-year-old rookie who made his debut in the fifth inning of a game against Milwaukee — has been photo-matched to two spring training games in 1956, when it was common for ballplayers to reuse the previous season’s uniforms. It has Koufax’s name embroidered into its tail, inside which Rawlings sewed washing and drying instructions — right next to the tag that reads “Set I 1955.” It hails from the collection of James Harwell, a Louisiana hurler who played minor-league ball for the Dodgers in the 1950s.

(The jersey would pair well with the PSA Mint 9 Koufax rookie card in this auction, one of just 25 of his 1955 Topps cards to receive the grade — with just three graded higher.)

NLL Announces Television Slate for National Lacrosse League Semifinals

The 2024 National Lacrosse League (@NLL) Playoffs will take center stage again this weekend with both best-of-three semifinal matchups on linear television in Canada and the U.S.

TSN features complete coverage of the top-seeded Toronto Rock (16-3) and defending champion and #4 seed Buffalo Bandits (12-7) series between the long-standing rivals. In the U.S., ESPNU will be the linear home for the second-seeded San Diego Seals (14-5) and #3 Albany FireWolves (12-7) first-ever postseason battle.

ESPNU will also present Game 2 of Toronto vs. Buffalo series. All NLL postseason games will also stream live on ESPN+ and TSN+.

The Toronto-Buffalo series, a rematch of last year’s NLL Eastern Conference semifinals, will feature the commentator team of Jon Abbott, Pat Gregoire,and Brianne Foley. Play begins with Game 1 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET from Hamilton, Ontario. Game 2 follows on Sunday live from Buffalo at 5:30 p.m. ET, with Game 3, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday, May 11, at 7 p.m. back in Hamilton, Ontario.

San Diego and Albany, a first-time playoff winner, opens on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT from San Diego, with Cooper Perkins, Nick Ossello,and Raine Michaels on the call. The teams travel to Albany for Game 2 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, with Brendan Glasheen, Dan Bahl,and Ashley Miller calling the action. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for Friday, May 10, at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT, with Perkins, Ossello and Michaels on the call.

The winners of each semifinal series will face off in the best-of-three 2024 NLL Finals, scheduled for Thursday, May 16, through Sunday, May 19, and Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, May 26. Additionally, should both semifinal series end in two games, the NLL may move the 2024 NLL Finals up to the preceding week.

To view the 2024 NLL Playoffs bracket, visit https://www.nll.com/standings/.

The complete 2024 NLL Playoffs semifinal round broadcast schedule:

(4) Buffalo Bandits vs. (1) Toronto Rock

  • Game 1 – Buffalo at Toronto, Friday, May 3, 7:30 p.m. ET, FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton, ON, TSN, ESPN+ (Abbott, Gregoire, Foley)
  • Game 2 – Toronto at Buffalo, Sunday, May 5, 5:30 p.m. ET, KeyBank Center, Buffalo, TSN, ESPNU, ESPN+ (Abbott, Gregoire, Foley)
  • *Game 3 – Buffalo at Toronto, Saturday, May 11, 7 p.m. ET, FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton, ON, TSN, ESPN+ (Abbott, Gregoire, Foley)

(3) Albany Firewolves vs. (2) San Diego Seals

  • Game 1 – Albany at San Diego, Friday, May 3, 10:30 p.m. ET, Pechanga Arena, San Diego, ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+ (Perkins, Ossello, Michaels)
  • Game 2 – San Diego at Albany, Sunday, May 5, 3 p.m. ET, MVP Arena, Albany, NY, ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+ (Glasheen, Bahr, Miller)
  • *Game 3 – Albany at San Diego, Friday, May 10, 10:30 p.m. ET, Pechanga Arena, San Diego, ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+ (Perkins, Ossello, Michaels)

Kitman Labs Artificial Intelligence Platform Breaks Down Sleepers FOR NFL Draft

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS platform providing the only single, centralized operating system today revealed its first-ever sleeper predictions for the NFL Draft, being held the next three days in Detroit Michigan.

For the 2024 NFL Draft, Kitman Labs  used their Artificial Intelligence models on NCAA and NFL datasets from 2010 to present to identify players that they think will be successful in the NFL. Kitman Labs staff also spent significant time on site at the NFL Combine again this year, looking at all data sets provided and using their own AI to help project results.

Below highlights five sleeper picks, the Kitman AI believes could have significant potential for NFL success.

Bo Nix – Oregon – QB  

NFL Draft Projection: 5th QB Selected

Kitman AI Projection: 73% chance of NFL Success – 1st QB

Looking like coming in at a 2nd round pick, Bo Nix ranks as the most likely Quarterback to be successful in this year’s NFL draft. Looking at his college stats it is easy to see why the model has this belief. 34 passing Touchdowns in your final college season are required by the model to have a significant increase in NFL success – Nix has 11 more. He also surpasses the threshold for Yards by nearly 700, his completion percentage is over 6% higher than required. While his rushing stats are not standout, the number of yards gained last season is high enough to show athletic ability, and his yards per carry is significantly over the threshold required by the model to increase his success rate.

Joe Milton III – Tennessee – QB  

NFL Draft Projection: 10th QB Selected

Kitman AI Projection: 31% chance of NFL Success – 3rd QB

Something that is apparent when investigating what our model values in a successful NFL QB, is that it believes that a Quarterback must possess either absolute elite arm talent, or have the explosive rushing ability to make splashy plays.  While the AI model highlights that Milton’s does not rank amongst the elite prospects in passing, and punishes him accordingly, it sees his rushing ability and gives him a significant chance of lasting several years in the league. Coaches and GMs may feel they can mould an athletic prospect, seeing future potential, and this phenomenon is something the AI may well be reaching back to.

Kendall Milton – Georgia – RB

NFL Draft Projection: 17th Drafted RB

Kitman AI Projection: 12% chance of NFL Success – 4th RB

The Kitman Labs AI model shows that an ability to get into the end zone in college is the number one indicator of future NFL success, far more so than yards, efficiency, or speed. With 14 rushing touchdowns in his final college season, Kendall Milton exceeded the required threshold for NFL success by 3 touchdowns. Our model also surprisingly rewards physical stature, with a taller running back being more likely to be successful. Perhaps this is due to a taller player’s greater ability to effectively carry mass, or their ability to participate in an NFL passing game. Whatever the cause, at over 6’1” Milton is one of the taller backs in the draft and the model rewards this accordingly. While Kendall Milton does have some drawbacks – the model penalizing him for lack of receiving ability, and him not hitting a required threshold in rushing yards – his ability to put points on the board see him nearly twice as likely to be a successful NFL running back than the average prospect at his position.

Malik Washington – Virginia – WR

NFL Draft Projection: 21st Drafted WR

Kitman AI Projection: 42% chance of NFL Success – 3rd WR

In a stacked 2024 WR draft class – our model rates this is by far the best class of the last decade and a half – it’s not surprising that some top tier talent is going to go in later draft rounds. However, our AI model surprisingly projects Malik Washington as being one of the top prospects in this year’s class. College receiving yards is the main indicator of future NFL success and longevity, and with 1426 yards in his final season Washington has approximately 40% more yards than the model believes necessary for a significant increase in NFL success probability. His 40 time of 4.47 seconds is also deemed fast enough to stand up in the NFL. Though this is right on the threshold our model has identified, in combination with his receiving yards and other statistics it significantly increases his chances of success. Interesting nugget; Washington did not participate in the 20-yard shuttle in the combine, but the AI has inferred from his other statistics he would have excelled at this.

Tahj Washington – USC – WR

NFL Draft Projection: 29th Drafted WR

Kitman AI Projection: 22% chance of NFL success – 15th WR

Tahj Washington is a curious case for our AI model. Not having participated in the 20-yard shuttle, the 3 cone drill, or the 40-yard dash at the combine, there are a lot of unknowns about this player. However, given his receiving yards, and his strong showing in both the broad jump and vertical leap, the model has inferred that he would have competed well, particularly in the 20-yard shuttle. Having completed these tests at his pro day, a dataset the AI had no access to, we can see he is potentially slightly below average in the 40 and 20 yards drills, but elite in the 3 cone drill. How this information would have influenced the models is unclear; however, overall the 3 cone drill ranks as the third most important feature for projecting success, so while the exact inference was wrong the model has seemingly correctly identified some possible elite athletic behavior from other available statistics. Washington still only ranks as 15th in our list of receivers, but given he is projected to be a day 3 pick and his success probability is twice that of an average WR, he still may present significant value in the draft.

NLL Welcomes Tampa General Hospital as the First NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Community Presenting Partner

A few months after launching its innovative continent-wide grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, the National Lacrosse League today announced its first local market, multi-year presenting partnership as Tampa General Hospital (TGH) will join the League to bring the NLL’s fast-paced lacrosse game play to more young boys and girls throughout the Tampa Bay area.

The “Tampa Bay Snowbirds™ presented by Tampa General Hospital” will begin the initial phase of NLL UnBOXed activations this year, with the League providing Snowbirds and TGH-branded lacrosse equipment to participating Tampa Bay-area elementary and middle schools for use in physical education classes for all students.

“A primary goal for NLL UnBOXed always centered on partnering with influential local leaders and community-driven companies to help us introduce and foster a new love of NLL-style, fast-paced lacrosse to young boys and girls across North America,” said Kurt Hunzeker, NLL Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations. “We are thrilled to begin this exciting journey with our friends at Tampa General Hospital and bring the Tampa Bay Snowbirds to life in Bay Area schools starting this fall.”

While the first wave of Tampa Bay-area schools who registered to bring NLL UnBOXed to their students will be announced in the coming weeks, any elementary and middle school administrators, athletic directors, and/or physical education teachers can request to become an inaugural participating school by registering at NLL.com/UnBOXed.

“Tampa General Hospital is committed to promoting health and wellness in our community to prevent illness and chronic health conditions,” said Kim Christine, administrator of community health and wellness at Tampa General Hospital. “This partnership not only helps us connect youth to the growing game of lacrosse, it allows us to invest in creating a healthier Tampa Bay.”

Tampa Bay joined seven other North American markets in the League’s inaugural class of “NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Communities” unveiled in November 2023. To illustrate its commitment to growing box lacrosse participation and skill development across Canada and the United States, the NLL created community-relevant team names and bold brand identities for each of the nine markets: Baltimore Ghost Crabs™, Charlotte Cobras™, Minnesota Lake Dragons™, Montréal Castors™, Seattle Shipwrecks™, St. Louis Howlers™, Tampa Bay Snowbirds™ presented by Tampa General Hospital, and Utah Spikes™.

NLL UnBOXed will drive the expansion of the League’s current multi-national activation footprint to include approximately 60 North American communities by the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles when sixes lacrosse, similar to the NLL’s 6-on-6 box lacrosse game play style, returns as a medal sport for the first time since 1908.

Officially licensed NLL UnBOXed merchandise, including a wide selection of Snowbirds’ apparel and collectibles, will debut later this year with exclusive reveals all summer via the League’s social media channels.

The 2023-24 NLL regular season wraps up this week before the 2024 NLL Playoffs begin on Friday, April 26.

American Association Hires Chris Browne As Vice President-Sponsorships

The American Association of Professional Baseball has named Chris Browne as, Vice President of Sponsorships.  Browne brings more than 30 years of experience in professional sports, including 23 years as an executive in baseball.  

In his role, Browne will handle sponsorship services for the league, coordinate sponsor related jewel events including the All-Star Game, the Miles Wolff Cup, and Baseball Champions League in addition to other leaguewide initiatives.  

“Chris Browne brings to the American Association a long history in sports business.  Specifically, his ideas around activation and relationship building will provide the American Association with an accretive element beneficial to our sponsors,” said Joshua Schaub, American Association Commissioner.

Browne previously spent twelve years as Vice President and General Manager of the Kansas City Monarchs predecessor brand, the Kansas City T-Bones, during 2008-2020.  Under his leadership, the club was twice named Organization of the Year and appeared in two league championship series, winning the Miles Wolff Cup in 2018.  Browne was also recognized by the Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau with the 2011 Excellence in Hospitality Award and named Tourism Advocate of the Year in 2015.  

In 2019, Browne was named as the Kansas City Sports Executive of the Year by the Kansas City Sports Commission.  The prestigious award had previously been given to Kansas City Chiefs CEO/Owner Clark Hunt and Kansas City Royals VP/GM Dayton Moore.  

Most recently, Browne led Perfect Game USA’s Midwest operation in Kansas City.  

“I am thrilled to join the American Association office and their dynamic leadership team led by Commissioner Josh Schaub and Deputy Commissioner, Josh Buchholz.  I look forward to working with our staff, partners, and member clubs,” said Chris Browne.

A native of Kansas City, Browne started his career working as a Clubhouse Attendant and Bat Boy for seven years for the Kansas City Royals, including the 1985 World Champion season.  After completing his degree with an emphasis in Sports Management from the University of Missouri, Browne worked as an executive for the Class AA Jacksonville Suns (now Jumbo Shrimp) and was Assistant General Manager for Major Arena Soccer League’s Kansas City Comets.  

Browne resides in Lenexa, KS with his wife Becky, son Brett and daughter (Pee Wee) Reese.  

National Lacrosse League Playoffs Begin Saturday; Schedule to Feature Broadcasts on TSN and ESPNU

The National Lacrosse League’s (@NLL) new unified standings aimed to make every game count, and it took until its 135th and final regular season game to set the 2024 NLL Playoffs bracket and schedule. With Rochester defeating Philadelphia, 12-3, the postseason field of eight is set, with quarterfinal play beginning on Saturday, April 27.

The top-seeded Toronto Rock (15-3) and No. 2 San Diego Seals (13-5) are joined by the No. 3 Albany FireWolves (11-7) and No. 4 Buffalo Bandits (11-7) in hosting single-elimination quarterfinal games next weekend.

Two teams, the No. 7 Panther City Lacrosse Club (9-9) and No. 8 Rochester Knighthawks (8-10), punched their tickets based on the wild final weekend results.

This year’s field includes six teams that advanced to the postseason in 2023, including defending champion Buffalo.

TSN will feature Rochester at Toronto to start quarterfinal weekend on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. ESPNU’s coverage will include the No. 5 Georgia Swarm at Buffalo Saturday night, 7 p.m. ET, and No. 6 Halifax Thunderbirds (10-8) at Albany on Sunday at 3 p.m ET. Every postseason game can be seen on ESPN+ and TSN+.

Here is the complete 2024 NLL Playoffs quarterfinals’ broadcast schedule (all times ET):

  • Saturday, April 27 – #8 Rochester at #1 Toronto, 4:30 p.m., TSN, ESPN+, TSN+
  • Saturday, April 27 – #5 Georgia at #4 Buffalo, 7 p.m., ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+
  • Saturday, April 27 – #7 Panther City at #2 San Diego, 10 p.m., ESPN+, TSN+
  • Sunday, April 28 – #6 Halifax at #3 Albany, 3 p.m., ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+

Quarterfinal winners advance to their respective best-of-three semifinal series, which will commence on Thursday, May 2, through Sunday, May 5, and continue Thursday, May 9, through Sunday, May 12.

The best-of-three 2024 NLL Finals are scheduled for Thursday, May 16, through Sunday, May 19, and Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, May 26.

Additionally, should both semifinal series end in two games, the League may move the 2024 NLL Finals up to the preceding week.

Exact dates and broadcast schedules for TSN and ESPN for the semifinals and NLL Finals rounds will be announced after the pairings and dates are set. To view the 2024 NLL Playoffs bracket, visit https://www.nll.com/standings/.

Kitman Labs Expands Performance Deal With NWSL Expansion Team, Bay FC

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS platform providing the only single, centralized operating system for performance intelligence in the elite performance industry, today announced a new deal with NWSL expansion team, Bay FC. On the heels of the NWSL’s deployment of the Performance Medicine Solution from Kitman Labs as its league-wide advanced EMR, Bay FC will expand the use of iP: Intelligence Platform across the Club’s First Team to include Performance Optimization and Coaching & Development.

Bay FC will now be able to combine player medical, performance and development data in a centralized and fully integrated advanced operating system – driving cross-departmental communication and supporting evidence-based, data-led decision-making across the Club. All relevant stakeholders will have access to a complete, real-time assessment of each player. In addition, both players and practitioners will be able to access and input data through a dedicated Coach and Player App to allow for real-time data capture on and off the pitch.

“As a new club, it’s important to us that we lay a technology foundation that is best-in-class, scalable and capable of immediately providing value to our coaching staff and players in terms of yielding actionable intelligence to help unlock our performance, health and wellness goals,” said Lucy Rushton, Bay FC General Manager.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Bay FC to not only help expand their data and analytics infrastructure but to partner with the Club to leverage the resulting intelligence to help accelerate their success within the League” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “In addition to providing a flexible framework to support the Club where they are today, iP: Intelligence Platform will future-proof the Club – ensuring they have the ability to continually innovate in terms of data collection and data science capabilities while supporting the kind of advanced analytics and research necessary to help propel the team forward season after season.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top leagues, teams and regulatory bodies across a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, rugby, and American football. The company’s technology is currently being used by leagues and teams within some of the world’s most elite sports organizations, including the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Major League Soccer (MLS), Premier League and National Football League (NFL). Kitman Labs has recently announced deals with Angel City FC, Gotham FC and the Houston Dash.

Lax.com Announces Acquisition Of Industry Competitor Universal Lacrosse

Lax.com, the leading lacrosse e-retailer and team dealer, today announced a substantial expansion of their scope in the marketplace, acquiring one of its chief competitors, Universal Lacrosse. The acquisition makes Lax.com the largest ecommerce (Lax.com and Universallacrosse.com) and team dealer dedicated strictly to the sport of lacrosse. Lax.com will also be acquiring Universal’s 10 retail stores.

“This move puts Lax.com in a great position to scale the business. The addition of John Flanagan and his team provides the added talent to launch Lax.com into an exciting new chapter” stated John Arrix, CEO of Lax.com. “As we unite these two companies, we are poised to harness the unparalleled expertise of our lacrosse team sales force, and we will raise the bar for customer service excellence in the industry. Our unwavering commitment to seamless relationships with our valued customers will drive a transformation of the Lax.com online platform, bolstered by synergies with Universallacrosse.com and our array of digital properties,” continued Arrix.

John Flanagan, CEO and Founder of Universal, stated, “We are excited for the future. The strategic positioning of Universal Lacrosse stores will remain instrumental in servicing vital lacrosse communities, strengthening Lax.com’s omnipresence from online to team to retail and ensuring that customers can engage with us on their own terms. This comprehensive approach underscores our dedication to meeting diverse consumer needs and preferences.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2024 and beyond, Lax.com’s growth trajectory will be guided by the collective efforts of the veteran teams, united under a shared vision of success. Together, the platform can capitalize on synergies, innovate relentlessly, and propel our combined group to new apexes of accomplishment within the lacrosse market. Universal’s 10 retails stores will continue under the Universal name. Lax.com and Universal will continue to run separate ecommerce platforms. Universal’s team sales division will move under Lax.com.

Additional details on the new combined business will be available in the coming weeks.

Kitman Labs Expands Performance Deal With Houston Dash

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS platform providing the only single, centralized operating system for performance intelligence in the elite performance industry, today announced a new deal with the NWSL’s Houston Dash. Capitalizing on the NWSL’s recent deployment of the Performance Medicine Solution from Kitman Labs as its league-wide advanced EMR, the Houston Dash will expand the use of iP: Intelligence Platform to include Performance Optimization for the Club’s First Team.

The Houston Dash will now combine player medical data with performance data (eg. game, training, gym, physical testing and more) in a single, fully integrated advanced operating system. By combining the critical data sets in one integrated platform, stakeholders and practitioners alike will have access to a complete, real-time, 360 view of each player and the ability to generate the analytics, insights and actionable intelligence necessary to support evidence-based decision-making across the team. In addition, the centralized platform will enable cross departmental communication, collaboration and knowledge transfer, eliminating the information silos that can cause inefficiencies, misdiagnoses and subjectivity.

“In our pursuit of enhancing player health and performance, it’s imperative to consolidate data from disparate sources. By centralizing both data and personnel within a unified platform, we equip ourselves with the transparency and analytical tools crucial for informed decision-making and achieving our desired outcomes,” expressed Alex Singer, General Manager of Houston Dash.

“Fragmented data leads to internal confusion and inertia” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “Our technology enables teams like the Houston Dash to harness the power of data to inform strategic and tactical decision-making at every level of the organization. The centralization and integration of that data in a single advanced operating system means practitioners and players can spend less time collecting and interpreting data and more time applying insights and practical intelligence on the pitch.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top leagues, teams and regulatory bodies across a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, rugby, and American football. The company’s technology is currently being used by leagues and teams within some of the world’s most elite sports organizations, including the National Football League (NFL), Premier League, Major League Soccer (MLS), National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

This launch follows other recent business strategy moves Kitman Labs has undertaken including two strategic acquisitions of The Sports Office and Presagia Sports. The combined companies represent the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations (2000+), creating the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

Elvis, Lennon, Monroe, DiMaggio Photos Key Historic Auction

Some 35 years ago, Jack Kramer asked a dear friend a favor: Would she make a scrapbook out of his mementos so he could relive fond memories stashed away and nearly forgotten long ago? The friend happily obliged Kramer, who was a solid right-hander in the majors from the late 1930s until the early 1950s — in fact, he won Game 3 of the 1944 World Series as a St. Louis Brown.

Kramer’s box contained newspaper clippings, programs, some baseballs — the usual keepsakes. But there was also something extraordinary in that box: the photograph of Mickey Mantle that became his 1951 Bowman rookie baseball card — a photo that’s “one of the true grails of Type 1 collecting,” according to no less an authority than Professional Sports Authenticator.

That photograph bats leadoff in Heritage’s Photo Legends Type 1 Showcase Auction on April 7.

While assembling that scrapbook, Kramer’s friend discovered a plain brown envelope bearing the New York Yankees’ logo, Yankee Stadium’s Bronx address and a handwritten note: “Pictures of 1952 New York Yanks all individuals.” Inside was an original, freshly printed set of 8-by-10 glossy black-and-white photos featuring members of the 1951 Yankees, for whom Kramer played his final season in the big leagues. They were taken by the team’s photographer, Bob Olen. Kramer was there alongside the legendary likes of Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto and a 19-year-old kid from Oklahoma named Mantle.

The photo is among the most defining of his career: Mantle wearing No. 6, with a bat perched on his right shoulder as he stares into the distance as though awaiting a pitcher’s delivery. This same image, colorized but otherwise barely altered, was used on Mantle’s first baseball card: the 1951 Bowman, the second-most valuable Mantle behind only the 1952 Topps card that reshaped a hobby. This immortal image was so perfect it was used time and again — for Mantle’s 1952 Berk Ross card and his 1953 Topps offering.

This photo, only the fourth known example of that iconic image, remained in that brown envelope for decades, sealed in a Ziploc bag and stored in a cedar chest. It has never been available at auction until now.

Olen’s 1951 photo of Mantle joins an auction rife with makers of monumental moments depicted in more than 120 familiar, beloved and iconic images developed from the original negative.

That’s how PSA defines Type I photos: “A 1st generation photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken).” They have become among the most coveted collectibles in recent years, as desired as any Ansel Adams landscape of the American West, Dorothea Lang Depression-era portraits or Annie Lebowitz celebrity session, given their role in documenting history in the present tense.

Shortly after PSA authenticated the Mantle photo, they proudly posted it to social media. The offerings in this auction are all PSA-authenticated, and they run the gamut from triumph to tragedy, sports to space, entertainment to editorial. Many were used in newspapers and magazines and meant to be disposable — publicity photos promoting Jane Fonda’s star-making turn as Barbarella or the latest James Bond movie or a new TV show called Star Trek, news photos of President John F. Kennedy in his limo driving through Dallas or lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda, portraits of Mantle’s Yankee teammates or a 1978 party pic of KISS’ Gene Simmons with a young Brooke Shields.

Fanatics Betting and Gaming Closes its Acquisition of the US Businesses of PointsBet

Today, Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG), a subsidiary of Fanatics Holdings Inc., closed on the final state, Illinois, in its previously announced acquisition of the U.S. businesses of PointsBet.  PointsBet Holdings Limited (ASX:PBH) confirmed receipt of the final installment of the headline purchase price of $225 million and has transferred the remaining entities to FBG, including all of the remaining entities that make up PointsBet’s United States sports wagering, advance-deposit wagering and iGaming operations, Banach Technology, a copy of the PointsBet platform and a license to use that proprietary technology platform. 

The acquisition accelerated the company’s growth plans, making the Fanatics Sportsbook available to 95% of the addressable online sports bettor market in the U.S.  By the end of the month, Fanatics Betting and Gaming will be operating online in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, pending regulatory approvals. Fanatics Casino is available online in Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia with New Jersey to follow. Fanatics Betting and Gaming will also provide the betting operations to nineteen retail locations, including the only retail sportsbook inside an NFL stadium at Commanders Field in Maryland. 

“The acquisition of the US businesses of PointsBet has super charged our expansion plans,” said Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming.  “In addition to our migration of PointsBet customers and technology to the Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino platform, we have also added an incredibly talented team of passionate leaders from the ranks of PointsBet USA that have already made an impact on our business.” 

Mark Hughes and Aonghus Mulvihill will join the executive leadership team at Fanatics Betting and Gaming from PointsBet USA.  In addition, more than 200 PointsBet employees are joining FBG in a variety of roles and the company has taken over the leases of the former PointsBet offices in Denver, CO and Dublin, Ireland.  

Over the last year, Fanatics Betting and Gaming has been seamlessly migrating PointsBet customers onto the Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino platform and incorporating PointsBet’s risk management platform and quantitative driven trading models from Banach Technology to enhance its market offerings. The Fanatics Sportsbook is the most rewarding online sportsbook giving customers up to 5% of their wager back in FanCash.  The Fanatics Sportsbook makes being a fan easy with fast signup, easy betting and transparent withdrawals.  The design, speed and quality of the navigation experience rival the sports betting apps in the market today that were not built specifically for iOS and Android.  The newly designed Fanatics Casino is embedded in the Fanatics Sportsbook app and features a range of classic and popular casino favorites like roulette, slots and blackjack.  Fanatics Betting and Gaming has also produced exclusive casino content including the popular Fanatics Blackjack game developed in partnership with Boom Entertainment. 

2024 National Lacrosse League Playoffs Open April 25-28 with Single-Elimination Quarterfinals

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) today announced its 2024 NLL Playoffs schedule that will start as early as April 25th.

Postseason positioning continues as the NLL’s “The March to May” playoff push continues this weekend with nearly every team still in contention for a playoff berth and many still in the hunt for a top-four seed and ability to host the single-game elimination quarterfinal later this month.

The exact dates and times of games will be determined as soon as practical before each playoff round, dependent on seeding, arena availability, and broadcast windows. Teams are not re-seeded after each round, resulting in a true “bracket style” format.

The single-elimination quarterfinals will be held between Thursday, April 25, and Sunday, April 28, at the home sites of the #1 through #4 seeds, hosting #8 through #5, respectively.

The best-of-three semifinals will commence on Thursday, May 2, through Sunday, May 5, and continue Thursday, May 9, through Sunday, May 12.

The best-of-three 2024 NLL Finals are scheduled for Thursday, May 16, through Sunday, May 19, and Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, May 26.

Additionally, should both semifinal series end in two games, the league may move the 2024 NLL Finals up to the preceding week.

The NLL postseason schedule, including the ESPN and TSN broadcast slate, will be released following the regular season, which concludes on Sunday, April 21.

Kitman Labs Joins ‘More Than Equal’ Quest To Develop First Female Formula 1 Champion

Kitman Labs, the sports technology and analytics company setting the industry standard for how elite sports organizations use data, today announced a partnership with More than Equal, a global independent motorsport initiative with a mission to find and develop the first female Formula 1 world champion.

The partnership will provide More than Equal with an advanced operating system which will centralize data for female drivers participating in More than Equal’s pioneering Development Programme, a high-performance preparation programme that supports young, talented female drivers who have the potential to develop into elite racing drivers. 

The ‘More than Equal Intelligence Platform’ is a single, fully integrated data and analytics platform designed to provide drivers and coaching staff with a comprehensive, unified and real-time view of the driver’s performance, athletic, and personal development data. 

Utilizing the latest performance monitoring technology, the platform will give More than Equal data accuracy and the ability to convert driver data into actionable insights and intelligence to support evidence-based tactical and technical coaching that is relevant to their gender and age. The More than Equal Driver Coaches, in collaboration with elite coaching group Hintsa Performance, will leverage the platform to track and support the drivers’ progress holistically, from their in-car performance, to their physical athleticism, to their social and cognitive development. The platform ensures the consistent and accurate collection of data for female drivers, with a goal to optimize the driver’s performance on and off the track. 

The platform will be supported by a dedicated staff and player app (iOS and Android), to support the real-time collection of driver data globally. 

The organization, whose mission is to find, nurture and develop female racing drivers, will leverage several Solutions in iP: Intelligence Platform, including: Performance Medicine, Performance Optimization and Coaching & Development.  iP will serve as the singular advanced operating system for the Organization – eliminating data and information silos, enabling cross-departmental communication and providing transparency and alignment across all stakeholders. 

“More than Equal is on a mission to revolutionize how female racing talent is identified, developed and supported,” said More than Equal CEO, Ali Donnelly.  “We are thrilled to collaborate with Kitman Labs to provide our driver cohort with access to best-in-class performance technology, allowing our coaches to optimize and personalize their talent development.”

“On a personal and professional level, we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with More than Equal to help realize their vision as they pioneer a new model in providing elite training and development for talented female drivers,” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “iP: Intelligence Platform was created for this – to leverage the power of data and analytics to enable and inform foundational change; to convert that data into the meaningful insights and actionable intelligence necessary to unlock human performance.  We are on a shared mission.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with the top governing bodies, leagues, teams and athletes across a variety of sports, including soccer/global football, basketball, rugby, and American football. The company’s technology has been used by teams in some of the world’s most elite sports organizations and universities including the NFL, NBA, Premier League, NWSL, WSL, MLS and NCAA.

This launch follows other recent business strategy moves Kitman Labs has undertaken including two strategic acquisitions of The Sports Office and Presagia Sports. The combined companies represent the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations and largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

Atlanta at the Top: Strat-O-Matic Simulation Tabs Braves Champions

While their 104-win 2023 season didn’t result in a World Series title, the Atlanta Braves come into 2024 with high hopes of turning their talented young roster into a postseason champion. Strat-O-Matic (@strat-o-matic), the market leader in sports simulation games, has simulated the 2024 baseball campaign, tabbing Atlanta as the winner of 99 games and the franchise’s third World Series title since moving to The Peach State. The Braves need only five games to take down A.L. winner Houston in the Strat-O-Sim championship.

Strat-O-Matic’s simulation has the Braves winning the N.L. East by seven games over Philadelphia, joining Central champ Chicago (90-72) and West winner Los Angeles (99-63) as division titlists. Arizona (97-65), Philadelphia (92-70) and San Diego (84-78) claim the wild card spots, with the Braves taking out the Dodgers in a sweep in the NLCS after dispatching the Cubs in three straight in the NLDS.

In the A.L., Houston (102-60) enjoys the majors’ best record, backing it up by edging wild card Tampa Bay (90-72) in the ALDS and sweeping Minnesota (96-66) in the ALDS. The Twins, Central Division winners, had upended No. 2 seeded New York (99-63) to advance through the ALDS. Texas (91-71) and Cleveland (86-76) were the other A.L. wild cards.

Major award winners in the American League are New York’s Aaron Judge, whose 48 home runs and 113 RBI to go with a .962 OPS earned the MVP, while Minnesota’s Pablo Lopez turns in a 20-8 mark with 3.15 ERA and 235 strikeouts to win the Cy Young. In the N.L., Mookie Betts’ move to shortstop makes him an even more integral part of the Dodgers, garnering his second MVP with a .281 average, .945 OPS, 40 home runs and 118 RBI. Atlanta’s Spencer Strider breaks through for his first Cy Young, posting a 20-5 record and stellar 2.79 ERA with 260 whiffs.

Rebet Launches Free-To-Play Social Sportsbook

Rebet, a new free-to-play social sportsbook, today announced its official launch.  The Rebet App, which is now available for download in the App Store across 47 U.S. states, is set to revolutionize the sports betting experience with first-of-its-kind features including an entire social sportsbook, peer-to-peer contests, and dynamic user social feeds. 

Overall, the Rebet App will provide users with access to official and real-time data for more than 60 professional and college sports leagues.

Founded by current students at Dartmouth College who boast diverse expertise across economics, technology, entrepreneurship, and software development, Rebet takes a community-centric approach to the social sports betting experience.  The platform is free-to-play and boasts several groundbreaking features to ensure the platform is accessible, fun, and inclusive for everyone, allowing sports fans of all kinds to connect, share, and celebrate their love for sports.

“Sports fandom is about our desire for social interaction and community, and until today those elements have been missing in both traditional and social sportsbooks,” said Carson Hubbard, CEO of Rebet.  “Rebet is revolutionizing this experience with all the essential elements of the sports betting experience in one easy-to-use, and interactive app. We know users are going to love our experience and we are thrilled to introduce Rebet to the world.”

Rebet reimagines the conventional sports betting journey, enhancing it with a social dimension that encourages interaction among sports fans.  Through its innovative social media feeds, Rebet takes features like followers, posts, comments, and DM to create an engaging community atmosphere. 

“Today is a historic day for Rebet as we are bringing together the sports betting community like never before in a seamless app offering unprecedented features,” said Bella DiGiovanni, CMO of Rebet. “With access to official data across all their favorite sports, we are providing our community with a new, and incredible, experience on Rebet.”

The “Rebet” Button and “Peer-to-Peer” Contests

Named after its signature “Rebet” button, Rebet facilitates seamless collaboration among users, giving community members the option to duplicate anyone’s pick with a simple click of a button. 

The app also revolutionizes the sports betting experience by introducing an unparalleled peer-to-peer contest feature, setting a new standard in the industry. This innovative approach transforms the traditional sportsbook landscape by empowering users to engage directly with their friends in spirited competition, challenging each other’s sports knowledge and strategies. 

Moreover, unlike conventional platforms where wagers are placed against predetermined odds or the house, Rebet’s groundbreaking feature places the power in the hands of the players. Users can now create personalized contests, set their own terms, and compete in a more dynamic, interactive environment, deepening the social connections within the community, making every wager a personal duel of wits and prediction prowess.

For more information on Rebet please visit, www.rebet.app, and download the app here on the App Store.

American Cornhole League, Play Anywhere Team For Interactive Experiences

The American Cornhole League today announced a partnership with Play Anywhere Holdings, the global pioneer in driving on-screen interactive experiences, to bring cornhole fans a wide range of live games and engaging content. Beginning this season,ACL fans will be able to interact and play along while watching the live stream of professional cornhole matches. The start of the ACL season begins with “The Kickoff Battle” in Palm Beach, April 4-7.

Under this exclusive agreement for its live streams on ACL Cornhole TV, the league will utilize the Play Anywhere® cutting-edge technology to roll out real-time on-screen interactive experiences.  Fans watching live ACL tournament matches will have opportunities, offered via the Play Anywhere overlay, to play predictive and trivia games, win prizes and buy merchandise.Play Anywhere’s state-of-the-art AI engine will personalize the viewing experience for each of the millions of cornhole fans.  Among its feature-rich capabilities, Play Anywhere enables sponsors to associate their brand with a “magic moment” in the sporting action.

Using the Play Anywhere financial clearinghouse, all the stakeholders in the content distribution value chain will benefit from these new revenue sources gathered fromsponsorships, advertising and e-commerce. Where permitted, gaming advertising and affiliate fees, will also be included for fans interested in betting.  

The ACL professional championships and international tournaments have grown rapidly in the last several years.  The cornhole fan base has exploded digitally, in large measure because of ACL’s state-of-the-art technology platform and streaming of thousands of matches over ACL Cornhole TV.  The combined TV and digital audience for professional cornhole now exceeds 50 million with matches airing on ACLTV, as well as on their partner broadcasters ESPN/ESPN+ and CBS/CBSSN. 

Stacey Moore, Commissioner and Founder of ACLcommented, “Our fans love to engage with our competitions, and this well give them lots of chances to get in on the action and easily buy their favorite merchandise. ACL has always been committed to using state-of-art technology, and we are excited about working with a trailblazing company like Play Anywhere.”

Pete Scott, Chief Strategy Officer of Play Anywhere and former VP of Emerging Media and Innovation at Warner Media-Discovery, stated, “We are honored to partner with one of the premier sports leagues in the world and excited to explore new ways to engage and provide interactive experiences to the ACL sports fan, while utilizing our patented technology to generate new revenue for every participant in the broadcast and streaming value chain. We will leverage our AI software to hyper personalize every ecommerce, gamification and targeted sponsorship so the user is getting their own one-on-one viewing and interactive experience.”

Kitman Labs Announces Performance Data Deal With Tampa Bay Rowdies

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS platform providing the only single, centralized operating system for performance intelligence in the elite performance industry, today announced a new deal with USL Championship club, the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Club has deployed iP: Intelligence Platform with the Performance Medicine and Coaching & DevelopmentSolutions across the Men’s First Team.

The Rowdies will now be able to combine player medical data with coaching and talent development data in a single, fully integrated advanced operating system – eliminating information silos, enabling cross-Departmental communication and supporting evidence-based, data-led decision-making. All relevant stakeholders across the team will now have access to a complete, real-time assessment of each player.

“One of our key objectives as a club is to provide our players with the holistic care and development they deserve,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “Kitman Labs is a platform that will help our staff achieve that ambition by equipping them with valuable resources and technology. From maximizing player readiness to mitigating injury risk to crafting detailed individual development plans, our team can now collaborate within a single platform to generate the actionable insights necessary to unlock the performance results we’re pursuing across the club.”

“It’s virtually impossible to institute or execute a holistic player care and development strategy with disjointed data and disparate operating systems and processes” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “Our technology unifies organizations around a shared, integrated platform and enables clubs, like the Tampa Bay Rowdies, to convert data into the analytical insights and intelligence necessary to support real-world, strategic and tactical-decision-making, on and off the pitch.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top leagues, teams and regulatory bodies across a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, rugby, and American football. The company’s technology is currently being used by leagues and teams within some of the world’s most elite sports organizations, including the National Football League (NFL), Premier League, Major League Soccer (MLS), National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

Kitman Labs represents the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations (2000+), creating the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

The Emirates FA Cup Takes Over New York With Unprecedented US Tour

The Emirates FA Cup, soccer’s oldest and most-esteemed national knockout competition, made its presence felt across the New York area last week, with an inaugural United States trophy tour scoring points and social posts with thousands of casual and diehard football fans, celebrities, youth groups and athletes.

The New York ‘Takeover’ included a special event held pregame at Madison Square Garden with Knicks star Josh Hart and soccer legend Tim Howard; a visit to UBS Arena for a pregame meet and greet with Islanders fans (and their UK supporters group who happened to be on hand that night); a stop in with John Oliver at the Beacon Theater; and visits to other New York landmarks like the board at NASDAQ, Central Park, Brookyln Bridge, 30 Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building. Additionally, local soccer influencers like Alexis Guerrero took the cup to his favorite NYC spots such as L’Industrie Pizzeria; Dylan Sadik, aka “The College Cuber” reimagined the trophy using Rubik’s cubes for fans to enjoy; and Frankie Flo freestyled alongside the famous silverware.

A major highlight of the tour was partnering with Black Star, a pioneering program dedicated to fostering the growth of soccer in Black American communities, and holding a special clinic at SoFive in Brooklyn. The event aimed to inspire the next generation of soccer players, while also highlighting the importance of diversity and representation within the sport. DaMarcus Beasley, renowned U.S. Soccer legend and Emirates FA Cup veteran, headlined the event and led a soccer clinic alongside local coaches. Beasley shared his personal soccer journey, spanning both sides of the Atlantic, and offered invaluable insights to aspiring players.

Speaking after the event, Beasley said: “Black Star teaming up with the Emirates FA Cup to grow the game in black communities and inspire the next generation is so important. Programs and clinics like these are much needed. My time spent with the kids was so much fun. To be able to watch them compete, learn and have fun was the best outcome I could have asked for.”

The tour was capped by a pair of sold-out viewing parties of the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round at Moonlight Studios in Soho, where one lucky fan (and a plus one) won the Grand Prize to be a guest of The English Football Association (The FA) for the Emirates FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London this May.

James Gray, Commercial Director at The FA, said: “We were delighted to bring the Emirates FA Cup to the US for this historic trophy tour. It’s an exciting time for the game in the US, with the ongoing growth of soccer evident to see, especially with the FIFA World Cup just a couple of years away. The trophy tour was an ideal opportunity to bring US fans closer to this iconic competition through the Watch Parties in collaboration with our broadcast partners ESPN+, and it was special to meet and engage with new audiences at these events.”

Kitman Labs Expands Performance Deal With 2023 NWSL Champions, Gotham FC

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS platform providing the only single, centralized operating system for performance intelligence in the elite performance industry, today announced a new deal with the 2023 NWSL Champions, New Jersey/New York-based, Gotham FC. On the heels of the NWSL’s deployment of the Performance Medicine Solution from Kitman Labs as its league-wide advanced EMR and securing their first title, Gotham FC will expand the use of iP: Intelligence Platform across the Club to include Performance Optimization.

Gotham FC will now be able to combine player medical data with performance data (eg. game, training, gym, physical testing and more) in a centralized and fully integrated advanced operating system – eliminating information silos, enabling cross-Departmental communication and supporting evidence-based, data-led decision-making. All relevant stakeholders across the team will now have access to a complete, real-time assessment of each athlete. Both players and practitioners will be able to access and input data through a dedicated Coach and Player App to allow for real-time data capture on and off the pitch.

“Our objective at Gotham FC is to set performance standards across the League and across the Sport. To that end, we want to empower our coaches and players with the tools, resources and intelligence necessary to develop talent and unlock player potential. Partnering with Kitman Labs allows us to not only unify our data and analytics, but enables us to collaborate at every level of the organization – on and off the pitch,” said Julian Haigh, Gotham FC High Performance Director.

“Fragmented data leads to fractured teams” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “Our technology enables leagues and teams like NWSL and Gotham City FC to mobilize their data and galvanize their staff and athletes with the actionable insights and intelligence necessary to compete at the most elite levels in sport.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top leagues, teams and regulatory bodies across a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, rugby, and American football. The company’s technology is currently being used by leagues and teams within some of the world’s most elite sports organizations, including the National Football League (NFL), Premier League, Major League Soccer (MLS), National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

This launch follows other recent business strategy moves Kitman Labs has undertaken including two strategic acquisitions of The Sports Office and Presagia Sports. The combined companies represent the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations (2000+), creating the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.