SPORTS

NFL Cheerleaders Are Still Being Sidelined And Have Been Fighting For Better Pay For 10 Years

10Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SPORTS, TOP FOUR

NFL Cheerleaders Are Still Being Sidelined And Have Been Fighting For Better Pay For 10 Years

NFL cheerleaders have been fighting for better pay for 10 years. They’re still being sidelined. Lacy Thibodeaux Fields was one of the lucky ones. Out of thousands of people who audition every year, she had been picked to be an NFL cheerleader. But at home, she was just a young mom caring for her toddler, Scarlett, while trying to pay the bills and buy diapers — all the things that her paycheck as an Oakland Raiderette should have helped cover. Except, she didn’t get a paycheck all season, despite spending nine hours a week in practice, another nine on game days and doing at least 10 community events. All she was entitled to was $125 a game — little more than $1,000. It would arrive nine months later, at the conclusion of the 2014 season. “It was my dream to be there, so I was soaking in...

Guts, Glory – And A Lot Of Ink, Including Tattoos That Profess Their Faith At The Olympics

5Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, SPORTS, TOP FOUR

Guts, Glory – And A Lot Of Ink, Including Tattoos That Profess Their Faith At The Olympics

At the Olympics, athletes show guts, glory – and a lot of ink, including tattoos that profess their faith. This has been a wonderful summer if you follow sports: tennis championships, end-of-season tournaments and soccer’s European Championship and Copa America – all leading up to the most global event of all, the Olympics. The Olympic Games began as a religious celebration in ancient Greece, with competitions to honor their gods. But the Olympics declined once the Roman Empire replaced Greek power in the Mediterranean; the final blow came from the Christian Emperor Theodosius I, who saw the Games as a stage for paganism. At the end of the 19th century, the modern iteration of the Games began – minus religion. This time, they were secular, with flags and patriotism replacing religious...

Inside NCAA’s $2.75B Settlement To Pay College Athletes

11Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SPORTS, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

Inside NCAA’s $2.75B Settlement To Pay College Athletes

5 questions after the NCAA’s $2.75B settlement to pay college athletes. As part of a US$2.75 billion class action settlement struck in May 2024 between former student-athletes and several dozen universities involved in big-time sports, schools will be allowed to pay future players with something more than scholarships. They can give them cash. That’s about all we know. The rest is uncharted territory. There are many more questions than answers. In House v NCAA, about 14,000 former college athletes enrolled between 2016 and 2020 sued over lost opportunities and profits in the era before 2021. That’s the year that the NCAA changed its rules to permit active student-athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness – referred to as NIL. The plaintiffs in House argued that they...

The Olympics So Good At Making People Root For Sports And Athletes That They Tune Out Most Of The Time

8Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SPORTS, TOP FOUR

The Olympics So Good At Making People Root For Sports And Athletes That They Tune Out Most Of The Time

Fandom usually means tracking your favorite team for years − so why are the Olympics so good at making us root for sports and athletes we tune out most of the time? Every four years, millions of Americans join billions of their fellow humans across the globe to celebrate the astonishing athletic feats at the Summer Olympics. Warm-weather sports such as swimming and track that usually don’t capture much attention in U.S. media suddenly vault to the forefront. National teams compete in world championships every year, but it is only at the Olympics that casual fans root on the red, white and blue. Why do the Olympics capture our attention in a way that nothing but soccer’s World Cup can approximate? And why does our nationalist rooting extend to sports that are otherwise obscure? As a...

25Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MONEY, SPORTS

Should College Athletes Be Allowed To Use Their School Brand For Paid Endorsements

John Holden, Oklahoma State University Just days after the NCAA changed it rules in June 2021 to let college athletes seek endorsement deals, a college quarterback in the South announced a sponsorship deal with a beverage company. About the same time, another college football player, a wide receiver in the South, signed an endorsement deal with a national retailer. In both cases, the players wore clothes without university logos in the photographs they posted on their social media as they promoted the companies. Not so with another football player – a quarterback in the Southwest – who got use of a new car from a dealership for standing next to one of the dealership’s cars in a photograph on his social media page. Instead of plain clothes, he wore a polo shirt with his university logo ...

How Does Luck Play Such A Powerful Role In Hockey?

21Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SPORTS, TOP FOUR

How Does Luck Play Such A Powerful Role In Hockey?

Why luck plays such a big role in hockey. The NHL playoffs are almost like a second season – two months of bruising, relentless play, as the top teams compete for the chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. The 16 hockey teams that have made it into the postseason owe a great deal of their success to the abilities of their players and the tactics of their coaching staffs. They should also thank their lucky stars. In my new book “The Random Factor,” I explain why of the five major U.S. team sports – basketball, football, baseball, hockey and soccer – the one with the greatest amount of luck involved in wins and losses is hockey. Skill vs. chance Using a mathematical approach known as “true score theory,” analysts have been able to assess the contribution of luck to a team’s overal...

7Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, SPORTS

Cornering The Baseball Cards Market

‘The Amazon of Sports’ has already cornered baseball’s apparel market – and is now on the verge of subsuming baseball cards, too. During spring training, Major League Baseball’s official uniform supplier, Fanatics, became a focal point for all the wrong reasons. After arriving in Florida and Arizona, players began to complain about the quality of their new, Fanatics-manufactured uniforms. One player for the Baltimore Orioles groused that the new uniforms looked “like a knockoff jersey from T.J. Maxx.” Others were dismayed to learn that the white pants were transparent, with seams from tucked-in jerseys – and sometimes more than just seams – visible to all. The spring training uniform fiasco has led to more scrutiny for Fanatics, a company that had, until recently, been widely considere...

1Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SPORTS

View Game Schedules & Order Tickets

Find game schedules & order tickets online while they last. Game Tickets available through TicketNetwork, the ticket source for concerts, sports, theater and more in live entertainment. View Huge Inventory with Interactive Seat Maps, Great Customer Service & Secure Checkout. Instant Download. 100% Money-Back Guarantee. Your tickets will arrive before the event. Secure Checkout. Excellent Service. For fans seeking an enhanced concert experience, consider VIP packages where available on TicketNetwork. These packages often include exclusive access to pre-show events, meet and greets, premium seating options, and merchandise bundles. Elevate your concert experience and create lifelong memories with these special offerings. View Game Schedules & Order Tickets Online! HERE! Save 1...

Could Formula One And Other Big Events Be The Answer To Driving Growth And Tourism In The Hospitality Industry

18Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SPORTS, TOP FOUR

Could Formula One And Other Big Events Be The Answer To Driving Growth And Tourism In The Hospitality Industry

Revving up tourism: Formula One and other big events look set to drive growth in the hospitality industry. In late 2023, I embarked on my first Formula One race experience, attending the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix. I had never been to an F1 race; my interest was sparked during the pandemic, largely through the Netflix series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive.” But I wasn’t just attending as a fan. As the inaugural chair of the University of Florida’s department of tourism, hospitality and event management, I saw this as an opportunity. Big events and festivals represent a growing share of the tourism market – as an educator, I want to prepare future leaders to manage them. And what better place to learn how to do that than in the stands of the Las Vegas Grand Prix? The author at the La...

Is It Time To Accept The European Soccer Racism Problem Goes Beyond Bad Fans?

3Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, SPORTS

Is It Time To Accept The European Soccer Racism Problem Goes Beyond Bad Fans?

European soccer is having another reckoning over racism – is it time to accept the problem goes beyond bad fans? After suffering months of racial abuse on the field and off, Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior had enough. On May 21, 2023, the Real Madrid forward – commonly seen as one of the best soccer players in the world – brought a halt to a game at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium, pointing to fans who were making blatantly racist remarks and gestures. He later made it clear that this was not an isolated event: “It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga,” he tweeted in reference to the Spanish top division. “The competition considers it normal, the federation considers it normal and the rivals encourage it.” As a soccer scholar whose latest ...