Talking with the Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern about places he likes to play disc golf.
America's Cup Qualifier Sails into Chicago
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
When it comes to sailing, Tod Reynolds, event director for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Chicago event, says racing a hydrofoil—a sailboat that skims the surface—is like watching NASCAR on the water. The rocket ship-like sailboats will likely break speed records on Lake Michigan during the June 10-12 event.
How to Level the Playing Field With Women in Sports
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
Although not new, the inequality between women and men in sports may have reached its tipping point.
16 Sports Tourism Trends for 2016
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
Trends in sports tourism fluctuate based on weather patterns and the growth or decline of city populations. That means most members are in the Midwest and Southeast, says Don Schumacher, executive director of National Association of Sports Commissions. “That’s not going to change,” he says. “Most members are in the Midwest and people would rather see green than brown, which is why they prefer Georgia to Arizona.”
To get a good pulse on what is happening across the United States, we polled a variety of industry experts. Here are 16 sports tourism trends to watch for in 2016 and beyond according to the pros.
How to Take Control of Your Sports Tourism Destiny
Connect Sports magazine
Linda Logan, executive director for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission in Ohio, is considered at the top of her game in the sports tourism industry. That’s what makes it interesting when she points to another city as a shining example for using athletics to drive business. “Richmond is doing an excellent job of owning and operating its own events,” Logan says of the Virginia capital.
Chicago magazine
See that chiseled pitching arm? That—and a knack for strikeouts—makes Cat Osterman the most feared woman in Olympic softball.
Cincinnati Magazine
Cincinnati Magazine
For Young Rodeo Roper, a Bitter Sweet Legacy
St. Petersburg Times
HERNANDO —Dakota Shipp's right arm rotates. His wrist snaps quickly, deceivingly, for it is his forearm that truly controls the lasso above his head.
St. Petersburg Times
Citrus football coach Rik Haines' loud voice bellows through the dark, muggy air. Despite it being nearly six in the morning, football players mill around the practice field. "You've got one minute to get out here," Haines yells towards the locker room.
By his standards, it's late. Haines arrived around 4:30 a.m. It's his time to brood, to think, to ponder and plan.
The Sporting News
More than four months on the road driving to every NFL stadium in the country for the ultimate NFL reporting project--and road trip.
Stadiums are Side-by-Side, Yet a Mile Apart
The Sporting News
DENVER — A controversy over naming rights for the Broncos’ new stadium is swirling like the snowstorm that blanked the Mile High City before the team’s Monday night game with Oakland. Just a few hundred yards apart, the old stadium and the new stand practically side-by-side.
Coach Knight Holds Court With Teachings
The Dallas Morning News
Bob Knight is more than images of chair throwing and player confrontations. He is a father. He is a son. He is a husband. He is a Hall of Fame coach. He is arrogant, and he is passionate. He was my teacher.
I was a senior in college when I took Knight’s final basketball coaching class during his last full season at Indiana University.
DALLAS—Maybe this should be called the city of brotherly love. While NBA star Steve Nash has already made his mark in the big D, younger brother Martin Nash is trying to find his niche as a professional indoor soccer player for the Sidekicks.
Game Day: 49ers Fans Just as Fanatical as Other Side of the Bay
The Sporting News
Ocala-bred Trainer Riding On a Dream
St. Petersburg Times
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The silver tufts on Marc Casse’s head contrast sharply in the early morning sun with his Pepto pink shirt and tanned skin.
Barbaro’s Run to Record Heads North to Preakness
St. Petersburg Times
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—It was a quiet Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. Barbaro, winner of the 132nd Kentucky Derby, nibbled on grass and tree leaves, oblivious to a steady stream of fans taking his photographs.
St. Petersburg Times
CITRUS HILLS—Sunshine reflects off the Red Sox red tin roof and the cream stucco building. A human-sized red No.9 contrasts the background. Inlaid along the front sidewalk are two granite slabs, inscribed with Ted Williams’ Cooperstown Hall of Fame induction speech on one side and his lifetime statistics on the other.
Chasing After His ‘First Love’
St. Petersburg Times
INVERNESS—Flanked by two Citadel baseball camps, Walt Howard sits grinning at a Citrus High conference table. He is the first Division I basketball player in the school’s history, the second in Citrus County.
St. Petersburg Times
CRYSTAL RIVER—Why don’t you join me on a fishing trip? I strained my ear in the telephone receiver to listen for more. An outdoors enthusiast? Yes. Fisherman? No. At least not yet.
Michigan Avenue Magazine
Seventy-five years ago, coaching legend George Halas led the Chicago Bears to the most lopsided victory in NFL history--and changed the game of football as we know it.
12 Steps to Organize a Successful Marathon
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
It’s one thing to run a marathon, and another to organize one as a race director. Many organizers say new planners have no idea what it takes—either in terms of money, time, talent or infrastructure—to pull off a major event like a 26.2-mile race that takes over a city. “The greatest skill set race directors can have is surrounding themselves with people who are more experienced than themselves,” says Dave McGillivray, race director of the Boston Marathon for the past 29 years. “You have to think of yourself as more of a conductor than a race director, and your team is your orchestra.” We talked to several successful marathon organizers to get their tips on running an expert event.
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
Fat isn’t a word most athletes like to hear. But thanks to extra-wide tires that have revolutionized mountain bicycles into year-round vehicles, fat bikes are booming.
USA Track & Field Considering Adding Snowshoe Championship Under Its Umbrella
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
When the United States Snowshoe Association hosts its national championships Feb. 26-28 in and around Ogden, Utah, it will be the first time in the organization’s history it will offer a 26.2-mile marathon. It may also be the last time the association hosts a national championship.
Triathlete magazine
Veteran Chicago journalist Elizabeth Brackett decided she needed to get in shape at the age of 49 when she started training for her first triathlon.
8 Takeaways from espnW: Women + Sports Summit
Connect Sports Magazine
For women in sports, 2015 has been a good year.
“If you look back at the year, from a sports perspective, it was about the Women’s World Cup. It was about Serena Williams. It was about Jessica Mendoza. It was about Jen Welter,” says Rachel Epstein, espnW’s director of business operations and strategy. “It was about real dominance by women.”
Michigan Avenue Magazine
It may be baseball season, but Chicago sports fans have football on the brain this month, as the 2015 NFL Draft comes to the Windy City for the first time since 1963. As the executive director of the Chicago Sports Commission (a department of Choose Chicago), Kara Bachman was instrumental in sealing the deal.
Pinning Hopes on a Seasoned Coach
St. Petersburg Times
INVERNESS—Stale sweat permeates the air. Feet pound the black mat as heavy breathing steadily becomes louder. The drops of excessive energy drip down shirts as pools being to collect by the wrestlers’ feet.
What it Takes to Host a Super Bowl
CONNECT SPORTS MAGAZINE
The Super Bowl is biggest sporting event in the United States. Everyone knows it’s practically a national holiday.
Prehistoric Wonders at Deep, Dark Depths
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
WILLISTON —There wasn’t a pitchfork or red-masked devil in the gateway as I entered Devil’s Den through a maze of bamboo and wood-planked paths.
Williams Icon Strives to Keep Legacy Alive
The St. Petersburg Times
CITRUS HILLS — Patient and precise, Ted Williams always waited at the plate util the ball reached a finite area in the strike zone. Operators of his public namesake, the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame, hope public donors who have been holding out will do the same, and start sending money.
The Saturday Evening Post
It is a balmy fall day just a few weeks post-Beijing Olympics. Inside the historic Hilton Hotel on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, guests and fans are swirling in a frantic frenzy like worker bees preparing the hive for its queen.
St. Petersburg Times
INVERNESS —The sun slowly sinks beneath the backdrop of goal posts and a half-filled Citrus High stadium. Former San Francisco 49 er Kevin Fagan's well-defined 6-foot-3 frame is silhouetted on the sideline of a Citrus Springs Middle School football game.
Every so often his deep voice bellows. "My Grandma Betty is faster than that."
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
A.J. Woythaler paces Citrus' goal. Dressed in a lime green jersey that looks like a turtle shell with its black patches, he dribbles the soccer ball with quick flicks of his legs. His shaggy blond hair mimics his movements. Up, down. Up, down. He does this 30 or 40 times before every game. He isn't sure when he'll be here again. This night is the last time he'll play soccer this season, perhaps for a lifetime.
Game Day: Onside Kick Turns Momentum
The Sporting News
ST. LOUIS — Two weeks ago, kicker Scott Bentley was at home watching Monday Night Football. Now he is part of a star-studded Redskins team.
Washington led 25-20 when Bentley recovered his own onside kick that helped changed the game's momentum. The trick? Not too far, not too short, just right.
"If you hit any part of the ball the wrong way, it's not going to work," said Bentley. "If it doesn't go 10 yards, it's not going to work. If it goes 15 yards, it's not going to work. You have to hit in that 10- to 12-yard range.
The Sporting News
Thirty cities, 30 stadiums and 30 games. Track our Road Trippers' every move and find out what lies ahead for Brian, Dawn and Jeff as they cross the fruited plain and frozen tundra on the ultimate NFL experience.
St. Petersburg Times
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Trainer Dan Hendricks peers up from this wheelchair, his eyes drooping from happy exhaustion. A horseshoe-shaped crowd has engulfed him. His blue-tinged lips are dry and cracked from talking, but he continues. Every so often his hands reach under the jeans that drape his thing frame and lift his left leg, swaying it in tree-branch-like fashion.
Tough Times Build for Running Back
St. Petersburg Times
Crystal River High School running back Alginavon "Bam" Cleveland dropped out of school this year and will not be eligible to play football this fall, Crystal River athletic director Earl Bramlett said.
But ineligibility on the gridiron is just one of Cleveland's problems. He also faces a felony drug charge, records showed, and is scheduled to be in court Monday.
St. Petersburg Times
Johnny Sanders is sweating and anxious. It took the stock car racer two hours to get out of bed and get dressed, and he's late getting to Citrus County Speedway.
Lone Woman Works Her Way Up Racing Ranks
St. Petersburg Times
DAYTON BEACH—Growing up, Tina Gordon chased the boys and pelted them with pine cones.