Author Archives: Jerry Milani

About Jerry Milani

Jerry Milani is a freelance writer and public relations executive living in Bloomfield, N.J. He has worked in P.R. for more than 30 years in college and conference sports media relations, two agencies and for the International Fight League, a team-based mixed martial arts league, and variouis sports and entertainment properties. Milani is a proud graduate of Fordham University and when not attending a Yankees or Rams game can be reached at Jerry (at) JerryMilani (dot) com.

Nebraska Racing & Gaming Commission Partners With Realresponse To Launch Anonymous Integrity Hotline

The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission is partnering with RealResponse to launch a statewide program for the public to anonymously report concerning or questionable activities regarding horseracing, casino gaming at racetrack enclosures and sports gaming in Nebraska.

RealResponse is committed to elevating all voices in sports. The RealResponse community includes more than two million athletes, coaches, administrators, and staff, across college and professional sports, governing bodies, and integrity units. Founded in 2015 with its signature customer-centric approach, RealResponse offers real-time, two-way anonymous communications, surveys, compliance support, competitive benchmarks, and metrics. These insights enhance communications between athletes, participants, and their respective organizations. For more information, visit realresponse.com.

“With legalized sports wagering and gambling expanding rapidly from state to state, there is a heightened need to guard against impropriety and to protect those vulnerable to increased criticism and threats,” says David Chadwick, Founder and CEO of RealResponse. “We commend the Nebraska Racing & Gaming Commission for ensuring the public and others can share betting-related concerns anonymously and safely through the RealResponse platform.”

The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission encourages the public to use this anonymous program to report any concerning or questionable activities related to horseracing, casino gaming at racetrack enclosures and sports gaming activities throughout the state. The implementation of this program is another step towards enhancing best practices to prevent questionable or concerning activity across the industries we regulate.

“The NRGC is excited to be partnering with RealResponse. We are the first state Commission to partner with RealResponse. We hope the public will embrace and utilize this anonymous service to report concerning or questionable practices,” says Tom Sage, Director of the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.

Brandon Steiner’s CollectibleXchange.com Acquires StarStock.com Trading Card Marketplace

CollectibleXchange.com by Brandon Steiner has acquired StarStock.com – a marketplace for sports card collectors to buy, sell, and invest in their favorite sports cards –it was announced today by Steiner and StarStock.com founder Scott Greenberg.

StarStock houses more than 1.3 million sports trading cards including superstars from every sport and league – from Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani to LeBron James and Nikola Jokic to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

There’s a card for every budget, with prices ranging from as little as $1 to 10’s of thousands of dollars.

Through today’s technology, StarStock provides a one-of-a-kind user experience, low fees, and rapid speed for every transaction. StarStock stores each individual collection in a centralized vault and issues a digital version of the card inside each person’s StarStock portfolio, allowing users to trade players instantaneously, at scale, and at a substantially lower transaction cost than other markets.

The cards are put into a digital collection stored in a vault, where owners can go into the collection and list for a specific price. Once a card sells, ownership immediately changes hands and the buyer can have the card shipped, or keep it in the vault

“Our goal is to help service collectors with a white glove device. We will help them organize, store (vault), grade and evaluate for collectors to buy and sell cards,” said Steiner.

“Too many card collectors are confused with the market. added Steiner. “StarStock will help them to understand what to do with their cards.”

Steiner, who revolutionized the sports memorabilia and collectibles industry during 32 years as founder of Steiner Sports Marketing and Memorabilia, transitioned from that company to transform the industry again with the 2019 launch of CollectibleXchange.com, giving the advantage to the buyers and sellers of collectibles, and for athletes to sell product directly to fans.

CollectibleXchange now has over 150,000 pieces of memorabilia in stock, not to mention collectibles in regularly scheduled auctions. “The ‘BidCx’ platform has really taken off, and now we’ll be adding trading cards to our auction platform,” said Steiner.

In this unique marketplace community, an individual – from the avid collector to athletes to a one-time owner of a piece – to buy and sell at the best price.

The website allows both collectors and athletes to set their own price on one-of-a-kind memorabilia or an entire collection – to sell individually to buyers or at auction. Steiner and his team will authenticate and determine the value of each collectible.

In April 2021, as part of CollectibleXchange.com, Steiner launched Athletedirect.com, with a plethora of champion players and coaches – from New York Rangers Stanley Cup icons Mark Messier and Mike Richter to Football Giants Super Bowl legends Tom Coughlin and Mark Bavaro to women’s basketball greats Sue Bird and Nancy Lieberman to Yankees World Series champs Aaron Boone and Willie Randolph to college coaches Lou Holtz and Jim Boeheim – lining up to team with Steiner.

Fanatics Sportsbook Launches in West Virginia 

Fanatics Betting and Gaming, a subsidiary of Fanatics Holdings Inc, a global digital sports platform, launched the most rewarding online sportsbook in the state of West Virginia.  Sports fans living in and visiting West Virginia will be able to download the Fanatics Sportsbook on iOS and Android and begin their Fanatics experience.  

As part of the launch in West Virginia, Fanatics Betting and Gaming will pilot its new online casino, embedded in the Fanatics Sportsbook app. The newly designed casino product will feature a range of classic and popular casino favorites like roulette, slots and blackjack, along with the new Fanatics Blackjack game, exclusive to Fanatics Sportsbook players.  More online casino games and features will follow in the near future. 

In August 2023, Fanatics Betting and Gaming began acquiring the U.S. Businesses of PointsBet and planning the migration of PointsBet customers to the Fanatics Sportsbook app. In West Virginia only, each customer’s username, password, account balance, rewards points and responsible gaming settings will be automatically migrated to the Fanatics Sportsbook.  If you are a PointsBet customer in West Virginia, the first step is to download the Fanatics Sportsbook on iOS and Android. Then login using the same email address and password used on PointsBet and any open bets and the balance from your PointsBet account will be available in your new Fanatics Sportsbook account.  

The Fanatics Sportsbook offers customers up to 5% back in FanCash on bets and is poised to disrupt the sports betting industry by offering the following exciting new features:  

  • Building a better sportsbook: The Fanatics Sportsbook app was built natively on iOS and Android. 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 most rewarding sportsbook: It’s all thanks to FanCash – The Currency of Sport™.  FanCash, the backbone of the Fanatics loyalty program, can be converted dollar-for-dollar into Bonus Bets and can also be used to purchase your favorite team merchandise at Fanatics.com.
  • Earn 5% FanCash on Same Game Parlay (SGP) bets.
  • Earn 3% FanCash on parlay bets.
  • Earn 1% FanCash on straight bets and odds boosts.
  • From curated to a more personalized experience: Customers know what they want to bet on, and a sportsbook should know it too. Introducing the Fanatics Sportsbook Discover page with marquee games, trending bets, promos and the rewards you want most. In the near future, the Discover page will be personalized to the customer’s favorite teams, sports and markets. 
  • Search: Search easily for the bet you want and bet directly from the results. The Fanatics Sportsbook offers industry-leading search functionality, including a search bar, recent searches, autocomplete, synonym/alias and deep linking to leagues, events and markets.  
  • Live streaming: The Fanatics Sportsbook, in partnership with Genius Sports Limited, was one of the first legal sportsbooks to launch BetVision, a first-of-its-kind live sports betting product that enables customers to place bets while live streaming select professional football games in the sportsbook app. 

The Fanatics Sportsbook is making a profound commitment to the customer with a world-class Help Center, chat experience and knowledgeable agents with 24/7 coverage. Customers will also have access to Responsible Gaming tools to manage their time and money. 

National Lacrosse League Returns to Montréal for its First Regular Season Game in Québec Since 2002

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), North America’s premier professional lacrosse league, today announced the first-ever NLL UnBOXed™ Series marquee event game scheduled for Friday, February 16, 2024, at 7 p.m. ET in Laval, Québec, outside of Montréal. The League’s newest tentpole showcase features the NLL’s two largest markets as the Toronto Rock and New York Riptide will clash in a pivotal midseason showdown.

Place Bell, home of the Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Montréal Canadiens, will host the 2024 NLL UnBOXed Series, marking the first regular season game in Québec since 2002 when the NLL Montréal Express played its final game at the then-Molson Centre.

Tickets for the 2024 NLL UnBOXed Series will officially go on sale on November 16th at noon ET at evenko.ca.

Today’s announcement follows last week’s unveiling of the NLL’s new multi-national grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed, including the launch of its Montréal area-specific programming under the “Castors de Montréal” brand.

“Interest in box lacrosse, from the grassroots to the professional level, continues to skyrocket in Québec, and we are proud to be able to take this next step in bringing the NLL and our elite athletes to Laval and the greater Montréal area,” said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. “We are thankful to the leadership of the Canadiens, especially France Margaret Bélanger, in working with us to host the game at Place Bell, and to both the Riptide and the Rock for their enthusiasm to move to a neutral site so that we can expand our regular season audience in Montréal for the first time in more than 20 years.”

The NLL UnBOXed Series event platform will also include additional local activations throughout Montréal leading up to the game in Laval, including instructional clinics for young boys and girls, parents, and coaches, and gameday interactive fan experiences at Place Bell. Specific details will be announced at a later date.

“We are delighted to be working with the National Lacrosse League to bring the best in professional box lacrosse to Laval in February,” said Groupe CH president, sports and entertainment, France Margaret Bélanger. “The sport has a deep history in our province, and hosting this game is a great way to honor the past while looking to the future, as we give our fans a chance to see the Rock and Riptide play in an important regular season game at Place Bell.”

The inaugural NLL UnBOXed Series also will feature the first in-game use of the NLL’s new French-language brand identity unveiled this past July, further symbolizing the League’s long-term commitment to growing box lacrosse in Montréal, throughout Québec, and with all Canadians.

For fans outside of the greater Montréal area, the NLL UnBOXed Series game will be the nationally broadcast “NLL Game of the Week on TSN” throughout Canada, with French-language coverage available on RDS. ESPN+ will stream the game in the U.S.

Professional box lacrosse has had two franchises play in Québec in its history: the Montréal Quebecois played in 1974 and 1975 in the original NLL, followed by the Express in 2002. In recent years, Toronto hosted successful preseason games at Centre Bell in Montreal against the Rochester Knighthawks in 2012 and 2014.

The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend the first weekend of December.

ESPN To Broadcast 10 National Lacrosse League Games Across Linear Channels

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, and ESPN today announced the schedule of 10 games to be broadcast on its ESPN2 and ESPNU linear platforms during the 2023-24 season. The slate begins on NLL Faceoff Weekend when Philadelphia visits New York (7:30 p.m. ET/ESPN2).

The Defending Champion Buffalo Bandits will appear twice, including a rematch of the 2022-23 Finals against the Colorado Mammoth on April 5 at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT at Ball Arena.

“The continued success of our ESPN linear broadcasts demonstrates the appeal of our league across diverse demographics and fan bases nationwide,” said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. “These carefully selected matchups highlight our world-class athletes and rivalries within our new Unified Standings format, and the exposure on ESPN2 and ESPNU helps us retain and grow new interest in our sport.”

The ESPN linear schedule is as follows and is available on the NLL website (schedule subject to change, all times ET):

• Saturday, December 2, 2023: Philadelphia Wings at New York Riptide, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 (broadcast team: Brendan Glasheen, play-by-play; Mitch Belisle, analyst; Ashley Miller, sideline)
• Saturday, December 30, 2023: New York Riptide at Toronto Rock, 4 p.m., ESPNU
• Friday, January 12, 2024: San Diego Seals at Las Vegas Desert Dogs, 10 p.m., ESPNU
• Sunday, February 4, 2024: Colorado Mammoth at San Diego Seals, 6 p.m., ESPNU
• Friday, February 9, 2024: Colorado Mammoth at Panther City Lacrosse Club, 9 p.m., ESPNU
• Friday, February 23, 2024: Georgia Swarm at San Diego Seals, 11 p.m., ESPNU
• Friday, March 1, 2024: Toronto Rock at Las Vegas Desert Dogs, 10 p.m., ESPNU
• Friday, April 5, 2024: Buffalo Bandits at Colorado Mammoth, 9 p.m., ESPNU
• Sunday, April 14, 2024: Albany FireWolves at Panther City Lacrosse Club,            5 p.m., ESPNU
• Saturday, April 20, 2024: Buffalo Bandits at Las Vegas Desert Dogs, 10 p.m., ESPNU

In addition to the ESPNU and ESPN2 schedule, every NLL game throughout the regular season and playoffs will be streamed on ESPN+ in the U.S. as well as TSN+ in Canada.

The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend on December 1-2. The full NLL regular season schedule is available at https://www.nll.com/schedule/full-schedule/.

National Lacrosse League and StringKing Expand Strategic Partnership with Multi-year Renewal

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, today announced that StringKing (@StringKing), has extended its partnership as an official lacrosse equipment supplier for the next three years. The renewal designates StringKing as a non-exclusive “Continental Partner” and “Official Equipment Provider” for the NLL.

“As the NLL continues to innovate its energetic game play, challenge the status quo, and lead the lacrosse industry towards the sport’s inclusion in the upcoming LA28 Summer Olympics, we want to strengthen our bonds with like-minded partners, and StringKing checks every box,” said Kurt Hunzeker, NLL Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations.

“This renewal represents a deeper commitment from both organizations to collaborate and provide the NLL’s elite players with premium lacrosse heads, shafts, and mesh kits they need to perform at a world-class level, while also exploring new opportunities to grow the sport with young boys and girls in communities across North America,” Hunzeker said.

StringKing is excited to partner with the best players in the world and have them use the brand’s top equipment. Players will be using StringKing’s Mark 2 family of heads, Type 5 mesh, and Metal 3 Pro and Composite 2 Pro Shafts. This partnership allows StringKing to get direct feedback from NLL players which is used in their product development for future products.

“The National Lacrosse League is a vital partner for our business, and we are proud to continue our partnership well into the future,” said Jake McCampbell, StringKing CEO. “The work the NLL does to reach both new audiences and the core lacrosse fans not just in-season but year-round is essential to the growth of our game, and we look forward to working with the teams, coaches and most importantly the athletes, to keep growing and improving all we do together.”

StringKing is a manufacturer of high-performance sports equipment. StringKing’s lacrosse products are recognized as some of the best in the game. They have gained the trust of top players because of the power, control, and consistency their products provide. StringKing will be supplying NLL teams with heads, shafts, and mesh for their sticks.

The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend the first weekend of December.

The Buck Starts Here: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Milwaukee Jersey Worn During His First Two NBA Seasons Debuts at Heritage

In 2018, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar penned an open letter to that year’s NBA Draft class in which he welcomed them to the “rollercoaster ride that is your rookie year.” Abdul-Jabbar, as accomplished a writer today as he was a scorer during his basketball career, warned the newbies about the “rush of confusing paradoxes, conflicting emotions, competing options, and dubious advice from crusty been-there old-timers. Like me.” At which point, Abdul-Jabbar turned his attention toward his rookie season in 1969, when the 22-year-old still known as Lew Alcindor out of UCLA was drafted first overall by the last-place Milwaukee Bucks thanks to the flip of a coin.

“I found that the best way to deal with the jitters was for me to focus on setting personal goals rather than think about the expectations others put on me,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “And, man, were there a lot of expectations: I’d been the first person drafted and the media directed intense attention at me about what I was going to do and how I was going to do it. All the hype left me thinking that this was mine to screw up.”

Of course, Abdul-Jabbar did anything but screw it up: During the 1969-70 season, he led the Bucks to second place in the Eastern Division and was named Rookie of the Year. One season later, he was the league’s scoring leader; the Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals; and Abdul-Jabbar was named the Most Valuable Player for the regular season and in the Finals — of which served as prelude to a legend, as both a Buck and a Los Angeles Laker.

For the first time, Heritage offers in the Nov. 16-18 Fall Sports Catalog Auction a road Milwaukee Bucks jersey worn by Abdul-Jabbar during those historic seasons when the center snagged a league championship and a scoring title — each, the first of many to follow. Photo-matched by multiple third-party experts to crucial moments throughout Abdul-Jabbar’s days as a legend-in-the-making, the jersey serves as a thrilling offering in an auction abounding with palpable reminders of historic achievements and magical memories shaped by titanic athletes.

Resolution Photomatching confirms it was at least worn during an April 1971 Western Conference Finals versus the Lakers and an April 1971 NBA Finals game against the Bullets. Sports Investors Authentication turned up likely matches to several regular season and post-season games, dating from March 18, 1970, to the Game Four title-clinching contest against the Bullets on April 30, 1971. It is graded a MEARS A10 and also comes with a letter of provenance from Patrick McBride, a former Bucks equipment manager.

The jersey is joined in this auction by the 1969 Look Magazine College All-America Basketball Team ring presented to Alcindor in 1969. It hails from The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Collection.

National Lacrosse League unveils NLL UnBOXed youth-focused grassroots initiative across No. America

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) today announced the launch of NLL UnBOXed™, the League’s new continent-wide grassroots campaign designed to bring the NLL’s fast-paced lacrosse game to more young boys and girls in more communities across North America.

The NLL will expand its 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.

“NLL UnBOXed is an innovative approach to introducing and fostering the love of box lacrosse’s unique style of play among young boys and girls across North America,” said Kurt Hunzeker, NLL Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations. “With NLL-style sixes lacrosse coming to the LA28 Summer Olympics, it is imperative that the League leads by example and establishes NLL UnBOXed to create meaningful connections with more communities from coast to coast.”

Nine new “NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Communities” will join the 15 existing NLL teams for the 2024 launch of the multi-tiered campaign: Baltimore, Charlotte, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Montréal, Ottawa, Salt Lake City, Seattle, St. Louis, and the Tampa Bay area.

The NLL will practice innovation and unique activation when engaging these non-franchise markets and grassroots participants, by creating community-relevant “team names” and brand identities to illustrate the League’s commitment to growing box lacrosse across Canada and the United States.

The first of the new NLL UnBOXed Lacrosse Communities’ brand identities will be unveiled today at 1pm ET, beginning the week-long rollout of the NLL’s nine new activation markets across the NLL’s social channels.

The next phase of the initiative begins in 2024 with the start of “NLL UnBOXed At School™,” a physical education-centric lacrosse curriculum created by NLL Hall of Fame inductee Casey Powell and based on the successful SPEED Lacrosse® platform Powell developed after he retired from the NLL.

“I am thrilled to be a part of NLL UnBOXed At School,” Powell said. “The SPEED Lacrosse curriculum will not only introduce lacrosse to young students across North America but also provide them with a pathway towards a lifetime of enjoying the sport. I myself was introduced to lacrosse in my gym class, and SPEED Lacrosse offers the perfect format to sample the game, play it at its fundamental level, and accelerate the NLL grassroots initiative.”

Built specifically for elementary and middle schools, NLL UnBOXed At School also includes a lacrosse equipment endowment program as the NLL and its partners will provide an assortment of sticks, balls, and goals to participating schools’ physical education departments.

All 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.

“The NLL UnBOXed program offers greater opportunities for all players at any age and skill level to increase their competency at an accelerated rate in a fun and friendly environment,” said Brian Lemon, NLL Executive Vice President, Lacrosse Operations. “The SPEED Lacrosse curriculum incorporated into NLL UnBOXed provides an unrivaled foundation for players that transfers to all disciplines of our game. Players are going to love it.”

NLL UnBOXed further solidifies the League’s commitment to growing youth participation, as last week the NLL joined other U.S.-based lacrosse properties to form Elevate28 with a focused mission to double lacrosse participation in the U.S. to 4 million annual players by the end of the decade.

The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend the first weekend of December.

Angel City FC Launches Performance Optimization Solution From Kitman Labs

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 relationship with LA-based, NWSL club, Angel City Football Club.  On the heels of the NWSL’s deployment of the Performance Medicine Solution from Kitman Labs as its league-wide advanced EMR, Angel City FC will expand the use of iP: Intelligence Platform across the club to include Performance Optimization.  

Angel City FC will now be able to combine performance data – including game, training, gym, physical testing and more – with player-level medical data for a complete, real-time assessment of each athlete.  All data is captured in a single, interactive system – eliminating data and information silos, enabling cross-Departmental communication and supporting informed, data-led decision-making.  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 and on pitch application.

“Communication, collaboration and cohesion are critical for the success of any elite sports organization.  By combining both the medical data from our new advanced EMR with our performance data, our staff, coaches and players are now equipped with the analytics and actionable intelligence necessary to work together to unlock optimal performance outcomes across the squad,” said Sarah Smith, Head of Medical and Performance at Angel City FC. 

“The purpose of The Intelligence Platform is to unify data, people and processes,” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs.  “Elite sports organizations are inundated with data – typically incomplete, captured in various departments throughout an organization and largely under used and under leveraged.  Angel City FC now has the ability to centralize and mobilize their data and extract the full value of that data to support evidence-based decision-making at every level of the organization.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top leagues, teams and athletes 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 (1000+), creating the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

2023 AKTIV Against Cancer Benefit To Honor The Philanthropic Work Of The New York Road Runners

AKTIV Against Cancer, the organization co-founded by legendary runner Grete Waitz, and Helle Aanesen, announced today that New York Road Runners and the Exercise Oncology Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering will be this years honorees with the latter receiving the Gabe Grunewald Inspiration Award. This year will be the ninth annual awards luncheon, which will take place at the New York Athletic Club on Tuesday, November 7, the Tuesday following this year’s 2023 TCS New York City Marathon. The event has generated over $400,000 in donations in the first eight years it has been held. This year’s event will be hosted by Michele Yu, author and host of New York 1 News.

“The work that the New York Road Runners has done for causes large and small is nothing short of amazing, as we are proud to recognize the organization, from its founder the late Fred Lebow to the current leadership for all they do to help raise awareness and funds for literally thousands of people who never run a race,” Aanesen said. “Second but not least we are proud to honor the work that Dr. lee Jones and his team in Exercise Oncology have done at Memorial Sloan Kettering as they wrap up this critical stage of research and implementation. Without their vision, leadership and education the value of exercise as a vital part of cancer recovery may never have been realized.”

“It is an honor to accept this award on behalf of everyone past and present in at New York Road Runners,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO. “The spirit and soul of one of our greatest champions, Grete Waitz, lives on in the terrific work Helle and AKTIV Against Cancer continue to do, and we are proud to be recognized amongst such an outstanding list of honorees past and present. Our work supporting the hundreds of causes tied to our events each year continues on, with a very bright future ahead.”

“This event has always been one of the highlights of our year, since the work we do ties directly to the goal and mission of AKTIV Against Cancer,” Dr. Jones added. “It has been a privilege to work so closely with Helle and the organization since we launched this project, and to see the tangible results of the work has been amazingly fulfilling, not just for our staff and volunteers but for the patients and their families and friends who are better in every way because of the discoveries we have made. It is a truly life changing effort.”

Since its inception in 2006, the TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program has raised more than $460 million for over 1,000 worthy non-profit organizations across the globe.

Previous honorees of this award include: adidas and Chaunté Lowe (2022), Cycle For Survival co-founder Dave Linn (2021), Shannon Miller (2020) Chip and Joanna Gaines, Jeff Rochford and Aubrey Barr (2019) Dr. Jordan Metzl & Kikkan Randall (2018), The Rudin Family & the late Gabriel Grunewald (2017), Meb Keflezighi (2016), and Mary Wittenberg (2015).

For more information about AKTIV Against Cancer please visit www.aktivagainstcancer.org

Texas in Five: Strat-O-Matic Simulation Crowns Rangers World Series Champions

The Texas Rangers franchise has never won the World Series, but with Nate Eovaldi earning victories in both of his starts, Jonah Heim hitting .450 for the series, Evan Carter batting .357 and José Leclerc saving all four Rangers wins, Strat-O-Matic (@strat-o-matic), the market leader in sports simulation games, has tabbed Texas taking its first title in its simulation of the 2023 World Series, four games to one over Arizona.

In the sim, Eovaldi won games one and five, permitting three earned runs over 11 ⅓ innings in the two contests. After Texas won the opener, 5-3, highlighted by a Marcus Semien home run and four innings of one-hit shutout relief by the bullpen, Arizona battled back to take Game 2, 6-5, on the first of Tommy Pham’s two series homers and a two-run double by the Diamondbacks’ right fielder. 

Game 3 went to Texas and Max Scherzer, who allowed one run over 5 ⅓ and again depended on a strong bullpen outing in the 8-3 victory. Corey Seager had a home run and three RBI in the win. Texas took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a narrow 4-3 win in Game 4, surviving a three-run first inning for an early 3-0 deficit and getting 3 ⅔ shutout innings of long relief by Dane Dunning and ending the game when Leclerc induced a double play grounder by pinch hitter Pavin Smith.

With a chance to close out the series in Arizona, Texas turned again to Eovaldi, who allowed five hits and no earned runs over 6 ⅓ innings in the 4-1 win. A three-run second was decisive, with RBI singles by Heim and Josh Jung and a sacrifice fly by Leody Taveras to back Eovaldi and three relievers, culminating in Leclerc’s save, getting two strikeouts and a fly out, all with the tying run at the plate in the ninth.

Pham had two home runs and seven RBI in a losing cause for Arizona, whose starters failed to get out of the fourth inning in the final three games.

In his four saves, Leclerc allowed no runs, three hits and struck out four over 4 ⅔ innings.

Game 1:

Arizona………. 0 0 0  0 0 3  0 0 0  –  3  4  0

Texas………… 2 0 0  2 0 0  1 0    –  5  6  0

WP: Eovaldi (1-0); LP: Gallen (0-1); SV: Leclerc (1)

HR: Semien (1)

Game 2:

Arizona……… 3 0 1  0 0 1  1 0 0  –  6 14  0

Texas……….. 0 0 3  0 0 0  2 0 0  –  5  9  0

WP: Kelly (1-0); LP: Montgomery (0-1); SV: Sewald (1)

HR: Pham (1), Garver (1)

Game 3:

Texas……….. 0 0 1  1 1 0  1 2 2  –  8 10  1

Arizona……… 0 0 0  1 0 0  2 0 0  –  3  7  1

WP: Scherzer (1-0); LP: Pfaadt (0-1); SV: Leclerc (2)

HR: Seager (1), Jung (1), Moreno (1), P. Smith (1)

Game 4:

Texas……….. 0 2 1  1 0 0  0 0 0  –  4  8  0

Arizona……… 3 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  –  3  5  1

WP: Dunning (1-0); LP: Castro (0-1); SV: Leclerc (3)

HR: Seager (2), Marte (1), Pham (2)

Game 5:

Texas………… 0 3 0  0 1 0  0 0 0  –  4 11  1

Arizona………. 0 0 0  0 1 0  0 0 0  –  1  7  0

WP: Eovaldi (2-0); LP: Gallen (0-2); SV: Leclerc (4)

HR: none

Boston Takes 18th NBA Title In Strat-O-Matic 2023-24 Simulation

After last year’s Conference Finals appearance, the retooled Boston Celtics are all-in on making a run at the NBA title. And Strat-O-Matic, the market leader in sports simulation games, has them earning their 18th crown in dominant fashion in its 2023-24 season simulation, winning 64 regular season games and nearly sweeping through the playoffs, taking 16 of 17 including the Championship in four games over upstart Minnesota.

Denver’s Nicola Jokic (27 points, league-best 13 rebounds, eight assists per game) was named MVP, with the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (27/9/5) second and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard (27/4/9) third. The trio plus Jimmy Butler (24/5/5) of Miami and Dallas’s Luka Doncic (31/8/8) comprised the All-NBA First Team.

Boston finished five games ahead of Milwaukee (59-23) in the Eastern Conference for the top seed, sweeping #8 Charlotte, topping #4 Cleveland (49-33), 4-1, and upending sixth seeded Miami (44-38) in four in the East playoff rounds. In the Western Conference, Minnesota (55-27), Memphis (51-31), the Los Angeles Lakers (51-31) and Golden State (51-31) comprised the top four playoff spots. The Timberwolves topped #7 Sacramento (47-35) in the Western Conference Finals to advance to its first Finals.

In his rookie season, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama averaged 19.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

Strat-O-Matic also simulated the league’s first in-season tournament, with Dallas surprising Boston in the final.

National Lacrosse League, TSN Set ‘NLL Game of the Week on TSN’ Schedule For 2023-24 Season

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, and TSN, Canada’s Sports Leader, announced the schedule of “NLL Game of the Week on TSN” broadcasts on TSN for the upcoming 2023-24 NLL regular season.

The lineup of 20 Game of the Week broadcasts – including at least one at each of the NLL’s five Canada-based franchises – begins with NLL Faceoff Weekend on December 1, featuring the Saskatchewan Rush at Halifax Thunderbirds (7 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. AT) followed by Panther City Lacrosse Club at Vancouver Warriors (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT).

This season’s “NLL Game of the Week on TSN” slate also features a record four doubleheaders (Weeks 1, 14, 16, and 20), providing fans more fast-paced NLL action throughout the season.

Designated “flex” games during the last three weeks of the NLL regular season allow the League and TSN to adjust broadcast schedules to air the most compelling games during the “NLL March to May” race to the postseason.

In addition, the popular “NLL Game of the Week on TSN” broadcasts are complemented by TSN’s continued live streaming coverage of every NLL regular season and postseason game for fans across Canada on its TSN+ digital streaming service.

The “NLL Game of the Week on TSN” schedule is as follows and is available on the NLL and TSN official websites (schedule subject to change, all times ET):

  • Friday, December 1, 2023: Saskatchewan Rush @ Halifax Thunderbirds, 7 p.m.
  • Friday, December 1, 2023: Panther City Lacrosse Club @ Vancouver Warriors, 10 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 9, 2023: Philadelphia Wings @ Toronto Rock, 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 16, 2023: Georgia Swarm @ Vancouver Warriors, 10 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 30, 2023: New York Riptide @ Toronto Rock, 4 p.m.
  • Friday, January 12, 2024: Toronto Rock @ Halifax Thunderbirds, 6:30 p.m.
  • Friday, January 26, 2024: Colorado Mammoth @ Vancouver Warriors, 10 p.m.
  • Saturday, February 3, 2024: Toronto Rock @ Calgary Roughnecks, 9 p.m.
  • Friday, February 9, 2024: Las Vegas Desert Dogs @ Halifax Thunderbirds, 6:30 p.m.
  • Sunday February 18, 2024: Halifax Thunderbirds @ Calgary Roughnecks, 7 p.m.
  • Friday, March 1, 2024: Georgia Swarm @ Halifax Thunderbirds, 7 p.m.
  • Friday, March 1, 2024: Buffalo Bandits @ Vancouver Warriors, 10 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 9, 2024: Colorado Mammoth @ Toronto Rock, 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 16, 2024: Toronto Rock @ Buffalo Bandits, 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 16, 2024: New York Riptide @ Saskatchewan Rush, 9:30 p.m.
  • *Friday, April 5, 2024: Saskatchewan Rush @ Calgary Roughnecks, 9 p.m. OR Halifax Thunderbirds @ Vancouver Warriors, 10 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 13, 2024: Rochester Knighthawks @ Toronto Rock, 7:30 p.m.
  • *Saturday, April 13, 2024: New York Riptide @ Vancouver Warriors, 10 p.m. OR San Diego Seals @ Saskatchewan Rush, 9 p.m.
  • *Saturday, April 20, 2024: Colorado Mammoth @ Halifax Thunderbirds, 6 p.m. OR Toronto Rock @ Saskatchewan Rush, 9 p.m. OR Panther City Lacrosse Club @ Calgary Roughnecks, 9 p.m.

*denotes flex dates

**The 20th NLL Game of the Week on TSN matchup will be announced prior to the start of the season.

The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend on December 1-2. The full NLL regular season schedule is available at https://www.nll.com/schedule/full-schedule/.

Kitman Labs Launches ‘The Football Intelligence Platform’ For Premier League Academies

Kitman Labs, the sports technology and analytics company setting the industry standard for how elite sports organisations use data, today announced a new partnership with the Premier League.

The partnership will provide all Premier League club academies with a centralised, fully integrated ‘Football Intelligence Platform’ designed to aggregate and mobilise player and staff data across coaching, medical, sports science, operations, player care and education.

Data for academy players will be centralised in one platform – providing participants and coaching staff with a comprehensive, unified and real-time view of players’ medical, performance, training and development profiles.

The platform gives academies data accuracy and the ability to conduct advanced analytics at a league, club, or player level. Staff will manage player pathways through performance benchmarking and personalised development plans, in addition to providing tools, reporting, insights and actionable data to achieve specific operating and performance outcomes.

The goal of the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) is to not only enhance the pipeline of homegrown talent for the professional game but also to ensure academies provide life-enriching experiences for all players, empowering them to fulfill their potential on and off the pitch. The Football Intelligence Platform will also provide clubs with the ability to track and support players’ progress in their social, educational and cognitive development and will help serve as a holistic record for each player.

The platform will be supported by dedicated staff and a player app (iOS and Android), to support the need for frequent and instant access to player data on the pitch, in the training room and on the go.

Stephen Smith, Kitman Labs Founder & CEO, said: “Data’s value can only be realised when it’s consistent, accurate, pervasive and directly aligned with the fundamental operating and performance objectives of the league or club.

“The Football Intelligence Platform has been developed to aggregate and leverage all data sources in a single platform to ultimately drive collaboration across the organisation(s), eliminate information silos and provide actionable intelligence. That intelligence will be used specifically to systemise talent development and player pathways as well as support and validate data-led decision-making related to coaching methodology, best practices and policies.”

Tony Scholes, Chief Football Officer at the Premier League, said: “The EPPP aims to create unrivalled development environments where every young person is supported to maximise their potential on and off the pitch. Innovation and insights are key elements of this work, to ensure we are informed and evidence-led in our decision making.”

“This partnership represents a significant development in how clubs and the Premier League can use data to support elite player development and personal growth across all club academies. Through this first-of-its-kind strategic partnership, we and our clubs will have access to world-leading technology and support, equipping us with the tools and knowledge to help the development of players.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with 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 leagues and teams in some of the world’s most elite sports organisations and universities including the NFL, NBA, MLS, NWSL and NCAA.

This partnership with the Premier League follows other recent business strategy moves Kitman Labs has undertaken including the successful acquisition of The Sports Office (TSO) and Presagia Sports, both made in the last two years. The combined companies represent the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organisations (1000+) and created the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

For more information on Kitman Labs, visit www.kitmanlabs.com.

NWSL Launches Performance Medicine Solution From Kitman Labs As Advanced EMR

The National Women’s Soccer League and Kitman Labs, the sports technology and analytics company setting the industry standard for how elite sports organizations use data, today announced a new deal that, beginning in 2024, will provide all current and incoming NWSL teams with a centralized and configurable operating system designed to aggregate and mobilize all player medical data.

The Performance Medicine Solution – one of four Solutions offered as part of Kitman Labs’ iP: Intelligence Platform – will provide the technology and infrastructure to automate and power accurate, league-wide medical data collection and analysis, drive collaboration among all relevant league and team stakeholders, yield actionable intelligence to support specific performance outcomes and enable data-led decision-making and research.

The Performance Medicine Solution powered by iP: Intelligence Platform will enable the NWSL to:

  • Standardize league-wide medical documentation and data collection – eliminating data gaps, inconsistencies and inaccuracy and facilitating club-level compliance
  • Collaborate and align relevant internal stakeholders across both the Medical and Performance Teams to support evidence-based decision-making around player health, care and wellness
  • Enable practitioners to spend less time dedicated to data collection, analytics and administrative oversight and more time with athletes
  • Establish a solid and complete data set to support ongoing and future league-wide research initiatives and innovation

“In making the decision around what technology to deploy, it was critical for us that the technology not only represent the gold standard in performance intelligence but be supported by a team of practitioners born from the Sport. We get both in Kitman Labs,” said NWSL Chief Medical Officer Cindy Chang. “We’re not looking for the quick fix or a short term solution. We’re looking for a partner that understands our vision and can provide a platform that can scale and adjust as the League continues to grow and evolve. We also needed a platform that would help automate and streamline workflows, freeing up bandwidth for medical and performance staffs to do what they do best – develop and train elite athletes.”

“We have extensive experience developing and deploying league-wide technology solutions related to medical, performance and talent development data. The insights and intelligence gleaned from a platform capable of aggregating and analyzing disparate data sets across multiple organizations is invaluable,” said Stephen Smith, Founder & CEO Kitman Labs. “The NWSL will now have a fully configurable operating system that can grow with them, drive league-wide efficiencies and support data-led decision-making at every level of the organization – league, team and athlete.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with 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, MLS and NCAA.

This partnership with the National Women’s Soccer League follows other recent business strategy moves Kitman Labs has undertaken including the successful acquisition of The Sports Office and Presagia Sports, both made in the last two years. The combined companies represent the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations (1000+) and created the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

For more information on Kitman Labs, visit www.kitmanlabs.com.

SPORTIME Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners Partner to Develop Pickleball Facilitiesthroughout the Northeast

SPORTIME Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners announced today that they have signed a partnership agreement to establish a new company, SPORTIME Pickleball, LLC, that will develop and operate state-of-the-art, standalone, pickleball facilities in the tri-state area under the SPORTIME brand. The joint venture is a collaboration of SPORTIME Clubs, the largest and most sophisticated operator of racket sports facilities and programs in the Northeast, including the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and Hornig Capital Partners, a NY-based real estate development company with a track record of success in developing value added properties.

SPORTIME Pickleball is currently preparing to offer a limited $14 million tranche of founding partner equity to qualified investors, and has executed a long-term lease for a site under development in Armonk, NY, scheduled to open in 2024. SPORTIME Pickleball is currently negotiating 8 lease transactions on Long Island and in Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey and NYC, with the goal of having more than a dozen dedicated pickleball centers in operation by the end of 2027. Claude Okin, President & CEO of Sportime Clubs, explains, “for SPORTIME, this is a natural expansion of our business and allows us to utilize existing talent and expertise across racket sports lines. There are inexperienced pickleball start-ups everywhere at the moment, but we plan to leverage our 35-year advantage to offer the best pickleball facilities and programs and to acquire dominant market share in the geographies where we do business and nearby.”

SPORTIME Pickleball will operate dedicated indoor and outdoor pickleball sites throughout the Northeast, and expects to become the dominant pickleball club operator in the area and beyond, leveraging SPORTIME’s existing infrastructure, which already includes 70 pickleball courts, management and programming expertise and player database of more than 30,000 active members/players. SPORTIME recently opened the largest indoor pickleball facility in New York State at their Port Washington facility, consisting of 12 dedicated courts. Each SPORTIME Pickleball location will feature 10-20 state-of-the-art pickleball courts that will be available for social and competitive open play sessions, court-time rentals, tournaments, clinics, instruction, and private events. Some locations will feature restaurant and event spaces, which will be operated by food and beverage partners.

“We are continuing to see terrific growth in all racket sports, but especially in the unprecedented boom of pickleball. In response, SPORTIME is committed to bringing world-class pickleball facilities to our markets and beyond,” explained Okin. “Our goal in pickleball, as in tennis, is to develop lifelong and committed players, who choose SPORTIME Pickleball locations to enjoy best-in-class facilities, instructional programs, customer care and amenities. We plan to grow our pickleball capacity as quickly as possible, and we are launching this new undertaking with the team at Hornig Capital Partners, who are experts in real estate development and planning.”

Daren Hornig, Managing Partner of Hornig Capital Partners shared, “I am thrilled to be partnering with SPORTIME to help to build a business around a sport that I love, in markets that I know very well. My role is to source the best locations and to negotiate the best possible leases or acquisitions for our growing network of dedicated pickleball clubs.” Hornig added, “It is very exciting to be participating in this joint venture with SPORTIME Clubs, as they represent the gold standard of excellence in racket sports facilities and programs in the Northeast. The pickleball boom is bringing more people to the court every day, and SPORTIME Pickleball will be providing high quality facilities and programs for our communities to embrace and enjoy.”

For more information, email [email protected].

NLL Adopts Unified Standings Format and Updated Playoff Structure for the 2023-24 Season

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, today announced several new structural formats, most prominently a single-table, “Unified Standings,” in which teams are ranked regardless of geography, debuting with the 2023-24 season.

It is the most significant and impactful change to the NLL schedule format in League history.

“The revamped standings, schedule and playoff formats provide a streamlined, easy-to-follow, and fiercely competitive method of determining our playoff teams and, ultimately, our champion,” said Brett Frood, NLL Commissioner. “This also affords us flexibility in matching up teams to sustain lasting rivalries, create new ones, and maximize fan and partner engagement across the league.”

In addition to the Unified Standings model, notable features of the transition include:

  • Scheduling will be rooted in competitive equitability and schedule parity, with each team playing every other team once, plus four additional “flex” games that preserve established rivalries and fan interest, showcase games with impactful storylines, and highlight star player matchups.
  • The schedule and standings format allows the NLL to definitively showcase its continental reach as a truly North American league; for example, teams in San Diego and Vancouver competing against Toronto and New York for regular season superiority.
  • Every single game, every weekend, will have a playoff atmosphere and implications on the path to the Championship, while guaranteeing that the best eight teams at the end of the regular season have an opportunity to win the NLL Cup.
  • Each fan base in every city will have the opportunity to see every team and player visit their home arena at least once every other year.
  • The “NLL March to May” playoff format will feature the regular season #1 seed vs. #8; #2 vs. #7; #3 vs. #6; and #4 vs. #5 in the Quarterfinals, with a “bracket” style advance through to the NLL Finals. The Quarterfinal round will be single elimination. The Semi-finals and Finals will continue to be best-of-three series.
  • NLL Faceoff Weekend is set for December 1-2, 2023. Buffalo will begin its defense of its 2022-23 NLL title on Saturday, Dec. 9 at Albany, then will raise its Championship banner at home on Dec. 16.
  • For the third consecutive year, every NLL game will be distributed on ESPN+ and TSN+. The schedule of national broadcast games on TSN and ESPN linear networks will be announced soon.

The complete 2023-24 National Lacrosse League schedule can be found here.

Kitman Labs Announces Deal with Legendary Irish Hurling County, Kilkenny

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS platform providing the only single, centralised operating system for performance intelligence in the elite performance industry, today announced a new deal with Ireland’s most successful county team in the GAA – the Kilkenny Senior County Hurling Team. The team will utilise several Solutions in iP: Intelligence Platform, including: Performance Medicine, Performance Optimization and Coaching & Development. The Platform combines medical, performance and talent development data into a single, interactive system that yields actionable intelligence to support specific operating and performance outcomes.

As the 36x winner of the All-Ireland Championship, 75x winner of the provincial Leinster Championship and 19x winner of the National Hurling League, Kilkenny is indisputably the most successful county team at the senior level in the history of the game. The Intelligence Platform is being deployed across the Men’s Senior Squad. The platform will serve as the singular operating system for the Organization – eliminating data and information silos, enabling cross-Departmental communication, supporting informed, data-led decision-making and providing a comprehensive, real-time view of every player in the squad.

“The Intelligence Platform has been designed to unify data, people and processes to support informed decision-making, streamline operations and ultimately, yield the action plan necessary to achieve critical performance outcomes,” said Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “One of the key benefits of iP is the ability to support real-time collaboration and transparency across all Departments – driving increased efficiency off the pitch to ensure more time for development on the pitch. And it goes without saying, that as a company founded in Ireland, I personally take great pride in officially welcoming our first GAA team to the Kitman Labs family.”

“While Kilkenny has an established track record of success, it’s incumbent on us to ensure we continue to innovate to drive performance. Part of that strategy will be working with Kitman Labs to make sure we have the platform in place to support cross-functional communication and collaboration and best-in-class data and analytics capabilities to unlock specific operating and performance goals,” said Derek Lyng, Kilkenny Senior Hurling Manager.

“Kitman labs will enable team management, coaches and their squads to aspire to better results through the power of performance data, streamlined coordination and transparent communication” Mickey Comerford, Sports Performance Coach with the Kilkenny Senior Hurling team.

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top leagues, teams and athletes across a variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, rugby, and American football. The Kilkenny Senior County Team represents the first Kitman Labs client in the sport of Hurling and the first within the GAA. The company’s technology is currently being used within some of the world’s most elite sports organisations, including the National Football League (NFL), Premier League, Major League Soccer (MLS) 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 organisations (700+) and created the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

Ringers, Burn Go for ACL Title Today on CBS

The American Cornhole League (ACL) is thrilled to announce that the Pennsylvania Ringers and Arizona Burn, after a season of strong competition with 16 teams across two divisions and four regions, will compete head-to-head to determine the 2023 ACL Pro Teams Championship. The Pennsylvania Ringers came out on top of the American Division out of the North Region, led byCaptain Devon Harbaugh and Co-Captains Connie Altice and Matthew Creekkiller, while the Arizona Burn won the National Division out of the West Region, steered by Captain Doug Zafft and Co-Captains Bill Hadley and Ty Lopez. The 2023 ACL Pro Teams Championship will be broadcast on Saturday, September 23rd from 1:30-2:30pm EST on CBS, allowing viewers to tune in and catch all of the action. 

Since launching in 2016 the ACL has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world, with broadcast deals with ESPN and CBS / CBS Sports. The league’s tagline “Anyone can play, anyone can win” along with its ability to be played anywhere has the league on a fast track for success.  Along with the “SuperHole” series, the ACL hosts a variety of pro and amateur events. The ACL’s strong sponsor support includes year-long partners Johnsonville, Bush’s, and AllCornhole.com, along with individual event sponsors Ultra Cornhole and Reynolds Bags.

“We’re excited for both the Pennsylvania Ringers and the Arizona Burn – after a year of tough competition it boils down to a head-to-head matchup to see who comes out on top for the Championship,” said Stacey Moore, Commissioner and Founder of the American Cornhole League. “We’re also proud to partner with CBS to bring viewers at home all of the action right in their living room.”

The American Cornhole League hosts competition and tournaments across the amateur, collegiate, and pro ranks with thousands of players taking part every year. 

New NFL and NCAA Schools Join The Lineup For Second Annual Coach Knapp Stair Climb Initiative

The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund, named in honor of veteran NFL assistant coach Greg Knapp, today announced its expanded lineup of NFL and NCAA teams participating in this fall’s “Knapp Stair Climb.” Launched last fall, the initial project had seven NFL teams and close to 200 coaches, players and staff participating in various forms on game days, easily surpassing the goal of raising $100,000. In honor of Coach Knapp, NFL and NCAA coaches, players, executives and alumni will participate in raising funds and awareness for the dangers of distracted driving at each NFL or NCAA stadium prior to team warm ups.

“It’s been very special to see so many people sign up for the Stair Climb to raise awareness for the dangers of distracted driving and to honor Greg’s legacy. We are so grateful for the groundswell of support from across the NFL and at the college level,” said Charlotte Knapp, co-founder of Knapp Memorial and Greg Knapp’s widow.

The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund designated their first grant to SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), which funded TextLess Live More events in high schools across the country. TextLess Live More utilizes evidence-informed strategies to reduce technology’s prevalence in young people’s lives – especially behind the wheel, reducing distracted driving rates and deaths. This year, teams will be able to choose which middle and high schools they want these events to take place to create a local impact in their communities.

This year’s initiative will start even earlier in the season, with Head Coach Matt LaFleur leading the Green Bay Packers in taking to the steps of storied Lambeau Field on Sunday, September 24th.

In addition to the Packers, the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans, plus a growing number of NCAA colleges and universities from Division I to Division III have signed on to participate this fall. The initial NCAA list includes the football programs at Sacramento State, Stanford University, Fordham University, The University of Michigan, Caldwell University and Ripon College, with more schools joining on each week.

“Coach Knapp was a mentor and friend. I can only hope that the impact he made on me as a player, I can pay it forward to my athletes, added Bobby Fresques, Sac State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach and loyal friend. “Through his foundation, his legacy will continue to have a profound effect on Sac State Football.”

Fans, athletes, and coaches or anyone interested can also participate wherever is most convenient to them across the country, such as apartment building stairs or a high school sports stadium. Images will be shared on various social channels.

Details on how to get involved individually can be found at https://www.knappmemorial.org/stairclimb. All proceeds will benefit The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund.