ELKHORN, Wis. — The Elkhorn man accused of shooting and killing a bartender and her husband at a local sports bar in February 2024 has been found guilty, according to online court records.
Thomas Allen Routt Jr., 58, was found guilty Friday of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, one count of armed robbery, one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and one count of possession of methamphetamine.
Routt shot and killed 37-year-old Gina Weingart and her husband, 33-year-old Emerson Weingart, at the Sports Page Bar in downtown Elkhorn on Feb. 1, 2024.
Elkhorn man arrested, charged in sports bar double homicide
He was taken into custody three days later, where he admitted to shooting both Gina and Emerson Weingart and also to following a witness outside and shooting at them as they fled.
Routt’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26.
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Lamb’s 16 points propelled Skyhawks to 72-53 win on Saturday
Katie Lamb of Fort Lewis College puts up a 3-point shot against Westminster University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
Fort Lewis College women’s basketball coach has been confident in her team’s shooting this week, and her confidence was rewarded in the Skyhawks’ 72-53 home victory over Westminster on Saturday.
The Skyhawks have struggled to shoot from 3-point range and from the free-throw line at times this season, including in the team’s loss to Western Colorado on Thursday. But Zuniga liked her team’s shot selection, and the shots finally fell against Westminster.
After going 6-9 from 3-point range in the first half, the Skyhawks shot 50% in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Griffins. On defense, FLC forced 22 turnovers and Westminster never looked comfortable when it could hang on to the ball in the half-court.
“It was a really great response overall,” Zuniga said. “That’s all we can ask for. It’s just better all-around, better offensively, better effort, better communication, just more disciplined.”
FLC improved to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after it shot 41% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 75% from the free-throw line.
Sophomore guard Katie Lamb led the Skyhawks with 16 points on 6-15 shooting from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range. Junior Makaya Porter had 14 points off the bench for the Skyhawks on 5-13 shooting from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range and 3-4 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Claudia Palacio Gámez had a quality all-around game, finishing with five points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
Westminster dropped to 3-9 overall and 0-6 in the RMAC after it shot 32% from the field, 24% from 3-point range and 60% from the free-throw line. Ellie Mitchell and Madison Anderson each had 14 points to lead the Griffins.
FLC mixed it up offensively to take the lead in the first. Skyhawks freshman forward Alemanualii Fonoti got inside to finish or get to the free-throw line, and Lamb hit a nice transition 3-pointer to take a 12-7 lead with 1:30 left in the first.
Both teams could’ve scored more, but they couldn’t finish inside. Fonoti’s misses were especially tough with her size advantage and how close she was to the basket. Regardless, FLC ended the first quarter with good momentum thanks to a great step-back 3-pointer by Palacio Gámez to give FLC a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.
After allowing nearly 40 free throws the previous game against Western Colorado, FLC did a great job pressuring in the half-court without fouling, causing some poor late shot clock shots from the Griffins.
However, that work wasn’t shown in its lead early in the second quarter because the Skyhawks were unsuccessfully trying to force the ball into Fonoti. She had a clear size advantage, but the Griffins were bringing timely double teams and forcing turnovers.
The Skyhawks’ defense continued to be fantastic in the half-court, disrupting Westminster’s sets and forcing turnovers. Without Fonoti on the floor as someone to force the ball into, the Skyhawks got to the basket, got to the free-throw line and pushed the pace, creating looks in transition. The Skyhawks finally hit some 3-pointers, went on a 14-0 run and took a 34-20 lead into halftime.
Savanna Dotray, left, and Katie Lamb of Fort Lewis College fight for the ball while playing Westminster University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
Zuniga said she didn’t call one set play for a 3-pointer. FLC was getting its 3-pointers off drive and kickouts.
“We were not forcing so much,” Zuniga said. “We were just making our shots, and our offense maybe had a little bit more of a rhythm.”
FLC continued to play well to start the second half with strong half-court defense and impressive shot-making. Martinez made a contested driving layup with Lamb and senior guard Laisha Armendariz making 3-pointers. The Skyhawks led 43-24 with 3:45 left in the third quarter.
Westminster responded with a 9-2 run off some sloppy play from FLC, but FLC stayed composed and got to the free-throw line after crashing the offensive boards. The Skyhawks led 49-38 after three quarters.
The Griffins made a run to start the fourth quarter, cutting the FLC lead to 53-46 after some good ball movement and good shooting. FLC’s lack of a dominant offensive player showed in a moment like that, with no single player stepping up to stop the run, slow things down and take control.
“That’s a super great learning moment in a maturity moment for Claudia or Katie Lamb, but especially Claudia, just because she is our point guard and just knowing the trust is in her,” Zuniga said. “She needs to get the ball in her hand and slow it down; we want her to do that. She’s still learning, but she did a better job of that tonight.”
Lauren Zuniga, left, Fort Lewis College women’s head coach, and assistant coach Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw are all smiles with player Claudia Palacio Gámez after winning the game against Westminster University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
However, FLC’s defense stayed consistent as the offense ebbed and flowed, allowing Lamb to hit a 3-pointer and Davis to finish an old-fashioned 3-point play to seal the win with a 64-50 lead with 2:20 left.
FLC hits the road to play at South Dakota Mines on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Steelers surprised a local community leader on Sunday with two tickets to Super Bowl LX, recognizing his efforts to expand access to youth flag football across the Pittsburgh area.
Chris Curd, founder of the Pittsburgh Flag Football League and the Pa. Flag Football Foundation, was honored during a series of youth flag football games at the Montour Sports Complex. Former Steelers tight end and Super Bowl XLIII champion Matt Spaeth presented the tickets.
“We wanted to take a moment to celebrate Chris and his longstanding commitment to expanding access to flag football—especially girls flag football,” said Dan Rooney, Steelers vice president of business development and strategy. “The sport being sanctioned by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association was a major accomplishment, and Chris’ grassroots efforts played an important role in achieving this milestone.”
The Steelers launched a girls’ flag football program at the high school level in 2022. The initiative expanded to the collegiate level in 2025.
Curd’s organizations have supported the Steelers, local school districts and colleges with site management, scheduling officials and creating game schedules for both boys and girls youth football, according to a media release provided by the Steelers. Curd has also served as a girls’ flag football coach at The Ellis School.
WASHINGTON — Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last.
West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from competing in girls and women’s sports, and is among the more than two dozen states with similar laws. Though the West Virginia law has been blocked by lower courts, the outcome could be different at the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, which has allowed multiple restrictions on transgender people to be enforced in the past year.
The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in two cases over whether the sports bans violate the Constitution or the landmark federal law known as Title IX that prohibits sex discrimination in education. The second case comes from Idaho, where college student Lindsay Hecox challenged that state’s law.
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Decisions are expected by early summer.
President Donald Trump’s Republican administration has targeted transgender Americans from the first day of his second term, including ousting transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth.
Heather Jackson, left, and Becky Pepper-Jackson pose for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday in Washington.
Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Pepper-Jackson has become the face of the nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls in athletics that has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls.
“I think it’s something that needs to be done,” Pepper-Jackson said in an interview with The Associated Press that was conducted over Zoom. “It’s something I’m here to do because … this is important to me. I know it’s important to other people. So, like, I’m here for it.”
She sat alongside her mother, Heather Jackson, on a sofa in their home just outside Bridgeport, a rural West Virginia community about 40 miles southwest of Morgantown, to talk about a legal fight that began when she was a middle schooler who finished near the back of the pack in cross-country races.
Pepper-Jackson has grown into a competitive discus and shot put thrower. In addition to the bronze medal in the discus, she finished eighth among shot putters.
She attributes her success to hard work, practicing at school and in her backyard, and lifting weights. Pepper-Jackson has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade, though the Supreme Court’s decision in June upholding state bans on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors has forced her to go out of state for care.
Her very improvement as an athlete has been cited as a reason she should not be allowed to compete against girls.
“There are immutable physical and biological characteristic differences between men and women that make men bigger, stronger, and faster than women. And if we allow biological males to play sports against biological females, those differences will erode the ability and the places for women in these sports which we have fought so hard for over the last 50 years,” West Virginia’s attorney general, JB McCuskey, said in an AP interview. McCuskey said he is not aware of any other transgender athlete in the state who has competed or is trying to compete in girls or women’s sports.
Despite the small numbers of transgender athletes, the issue has taken on outsize importance. The NCAA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees banned transgender women from women’s sports after Trump signed an executive order aimed at barring their participation.
Protestors hold signs during a rally on March 9, 2023, at the state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia.
Chris Jackson, Associated Press
The public generally is supportive of the limits. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October 2025 found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults “strongly” or “somewhat” favored requiring transgender children and teenagers to only compete on sports teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with, while about 2 in 10 were “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed and about one-quarter did not have an opinion.
About 2.1 million adults, or 0.8%, and 724,000 people age 13 to 17, or 3.3%, identify as transgender in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
Those allied with the administration on the issue paint it in broader terms than just sports, pointing to state laws, Trump administration policies and court rulings against transgender people.
“I think there are cultural, political, legal headwinds all supporting this notion that it’s just a lie that a man can be a woman,” said John Bursch, a lawyer with the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom that has led the legal campaign against transgender people. “And if we want a society that respects women and girls, then we need to come to terms with that truth. And the sooner that we do that, the better it will be for women everywhere, whether that be in high school sports teams, high school locker rooms and showers, abused women’s shelters, women’s prisons.”
But Heather Jackson offered different terms to describe the effort to keep her daughter off West Virginia’s playing fields.
“Hatred. It’s nothing but hatred,” she said. “This community is the community du jour. We have a long history of isolating marginalized parts of the community.”
Pepper-Jackson has seen some of the uglier side of the debate on display, including when a competitor wore a T-shirt at the championship meet that said, “Men Don’t Belong in Women’s Sports.”
“I wish these people would educate themselves. Just so they would know that I’m just there to have a good time. That’s it. But it just, it hurts sometimes, like, it gets to me sometimes, but I try to brush it off,” she said.
One schoolmate, identified as A.C. in court papers, said Pepper-Jackson has herself used graphic language in sexually bullying her teammates.
Asked whether she said any of what is alleged, Pepper-Jackson said, “I did not. And the school ruled that there was no evidence to prove that it was true.”
The legal fight will turn on whether the Constitution’s equal protection clause or the Title IX anti-discrimination law protects transgender people.
The court ruled in 2020 that workplace discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination, but refused to extend the logic of that decision to the case over health care for transgender minors.
The court has been deluged by dueling legal briefs from Republican- and Democratic-led states, members of Congress, athletes, doctors, scientists and scholars.
The outcome also could influence separate legal efforts seeking to bar transgender athletes in states that have continued to allow them to compete.
If Pepper-Jackson is forced to stop competing, she said she will still be able to lift weights and continue playing trumpet in the school concert and jazz bands.
“It will hurt a lot, and I know it will, but that’s what I’ll have to do,” she said.
The new playbook: Why personalized coaching is taking over youth sports
The new playbook: Why personalized coaching is taking over youth sports
In the past, finding a private sports coach often meant word-of-mouth referrals, expensive training facilities, and time-consuming scheduling. But as technology continues to reshape the way we work, learn, and connect, the world of youth sports training is getting its own upgrade.
Just as Airbnb revolutionized travel and Uber reimagined transportation, new digital platforms are now decentralizing the $20 billion youth sports industry, giving families more direct access to qualified coaches—and providing former athletes with flexible, gig-style income opportunities after their playing careers end. It’s the era of on-demand coaching.
Athletes Untapped
Training on Your Terms
This model, often referred to as the “platformization” of sports training, is catching on fast. Rather than committing to year-round training fees or expensive academies, families can now access high-quality coaching one session at a time—often from athletes who’ve competed at the highest levels. Proprietary data from Athletes Untapped, an on-demand coaching platform, shows a threefold increase in the number of youth training sessions booked online between 2018 and 2024. The spike reflects a growing comfort with using digital tools to find and schedule specialized coaching, echoing consumer trends seen in fitness, tutoring, and other service sectors.
Much of this growth has been driven by parents seeking personalized, flexible training options that fit into increasingly busy family schedules. Rather than enrolling in seasonal or year-round programs, families are opting to book single sessions based on their child’s needs and availability—often working directly with former collegiate or professional athletes in their local area.
Athletes Untapped
A Win-Win Era for Sports
Former athletes get a meaningful, flexible path forward. And the game itself? It gets to live on in new and evolving forms.
Further analysis of platform data reveals which sports are driving the most interest in private coaching. Basketball, soccer, baseball, and volleyball rank as the most-booked disciplines on Athletes Untapped, consistent with broader youth sports participation trends in the U.S.
That data shows some of the most popular sports for youth training—including basketball, soccer, and baseball. But the bigger takeaway? The way we think about skill-building is changing. Kids want coaches they connect with. Parents want transparency and trust. And both want access—without the red tape.
Whether you’re a parent looking for flexible training options or an ex-athlete figuring out your next chapter, the message is clear: Coaching, like almost everything else, is going on-demand.
This storywas produced byAthletes Untappedand reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
The Central Penn Panthers Youth Ice Hockey Club is investigating an incident at a Hershey Bears game.
HERSHEY, Pa. — The Central Penn Panthers Youth Ice Hockey Club issued a statement Sunday after a fight broke out between its players during a “Mites on Ice” appearance at Saturday night’s Hershey Bears game.
The organization said the incident occurred while young skaters were on the ice between periods. The club did not describe what led to the brawl.
In its statement, the club emphasized that creating a safe and positive environment for children remains its top priority.
In another statement from the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association, a spokesperson said they are aware of the staged fight, and that the parties involved will face disciplinary action. The organization also mentioned that the intermission game was not sanctioned by USA Hockey or the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association.
The Hershey Bears issued the following statement in response to the injury:
We love hockey, and we take great pride in supporting youth hockey as the foundation of its future.
What occurred during last night’s youth scrimmage involving one team (split into two sides) held during an intermission of a Hershey Bears game did not reflect the values of the sport or the standards we expect when young athletes are on the ice. Hockey must always be played within the rules, with safety as the top priority.
The Hershey Bears are proud to provide opportunities for young players to experience the game in a professional environment. At the same time, we cannot support or allow conduct that puts participants at risk.
The Hershey Bears do not have a role in the intersquad scrimmage play, other than providing the ice for the players. The team’s coaches direct and supervise play on the ice.
We are reviewing this matter and will work closely with participating teams and partners to ensure clear safeguards, supervision and expectations are in place for any future youth activities held during our games. Our focus remains on protecting young players and upholding the integrity of the sport.
We also direct you to the statement made this morning by the Central Penn Panthers Youth Ice Hockey Club regarding yesterday’s on-ice activity from their team, as well as the statement from the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association.
Officials said the organization has begun an internal review and is working to collect information from everyone who was involved or witnessed the incident.
Three games into the SEC slate, and Tennessee basketball’s footing cannot find firm ground.
The Vols opened with a disappointing loss to Arkansas behind a horrid free-throw shooting game. After bouncing back with a home win over Texas, the Vols returned to the road for a loss where everything fell apart against Florida.
A 22-4 run across the middle six — starting with 3:33 to go in the first half and concluding at the 17:35 mark of the second half — put Florida in position to run away with the 91-67 win on its home court.
“I’ll take the blame for it, because I don’t know if I’ve had a team to play that bad and do the things and make the decisions they made from out of bounds, those type thing,” head coach Rick Barnes said. “It was just really poor basketball. And that’s on me.”
It came with 18 turnovers in the game, posting 12 in the first half. Tennessee fell one turnover shy of tying a season-high that came in the opener against Mercer.
That’s the Achilles heel to Tennessee’s problems. The Vols had a 26-all tie when the demise began. Boogie Fland drilled a stepback 3-point shot, then Bishop Boswell threw up a bad pass for a turnover. Rueben Chinyelu cashed in with a layup, and the Gators took a five-point lead that expanded to 13 by halftime.
“We’re not tough enough yet as a team when things aren’t going our way to know how to fight through it,” Barnes said.
During Florida’s 13-2 run after the Vols tied the game, Tennessee committed four turnovers, shot 0-for-4 from the field and had a shot blocked.
All made a recipe for disaster — that which ensued from the moment the Vols chose against ball security.
“You can’t win this game on hope,” Barnes said. “You can’t. And give them all the credit they after that, the last four minutes on, they controlled the game and did what they wanted to do. And you know what? They got relaxed, they started playing. And we didn’t guard, we didn’t put up the resistance. Just way too many defensive breakdown coverages.”
The collapse came in all phases. With the shots not falling and easy shots off free possessions, Florida went on to shoot 8-for-11 from the floor over the final 6:36 of the first half. It brought the Gators’ shooting percentage from the mid-20’s up to 41% by the break.
That flow continued into the second half, and the lack of toughness shone through. Florida finished the game shooting 48% despite beginning 6-for-23.
Jaylen Carey sunk a layup to give Tennessee a 21-19 lead with 6:43 left in the first half. Thomas Haugh answered with a dunk to tie the game — and then the Vols were out of it. The Gators shot 25-for-41 (61%) over the final 27 minutes of play that vaulted them to domination on their home court.
“At some point in time, you got to take a deep look within yourself as coaches, as players, and say, ‘OK, something’s got to change here,’” Barnes said.
CLEVELAND — According to the nonprofit Aspen Institute’s 2025 Project Play Report the amount of money an average U.S. family spends on their child’s primary sport has increased by 46% since 2019.
What You Need To Know
American families spent an average of $1,491 for all of one child’s sports activities according to the 2025 Project Play Report
America Scores Cleveland is partnering with four other nonprofit organizations in Cleveland to form a coalition that provides free or low-cost sports-based development programs to young people.
Some Ohio parents think the high costs are worth the valuable lessons their children learn while participating in youth sports
As executive director of America Scores in Cleveland, Alison Black is passionate about introducing kids to important skills through sport.
“All of us have a very focused social, emotional learning development model,” said Black. “We think sport is the hook to that.”
Having kids involved in sports comes at a cost though, and parents are opening their wallets. According to the most recent Project Play survey, U.S. families spent an average of nearly $1,500 on just one child’s sports experiences last year.
Andy Pohl is the director of the Shaker Youth Baseball League and DNA Travel Baseball. He says he’s noticed parents paying even more for things like travel teams and private trainers in hopes of their children getting a college athletic scholarship.
“What we’ve evolved into is making youth sports and putting it really into an adult construct,” Pohl said. “You have this competition of families chasing all these different programs. Youth sports has become a multi-million-dollar industry, and it never was that way growing up.”
Jose Colon Nogueras has two kids who play soccer and says the costs can easily add up.
“It’s $500 for the whole season. On top of that, you’ve got to buy gear,” Nogueras said. “When you put everything together, it has an impact on the family or the parents that are paying for this.”
Nogueras says the money is worth it for what sports are teaching his children.
“It helps them deal with different problems,” he said. “It helps challenge them to become better. I think, [it] is essential for the growth and the development of a child.”
Black agrees with that sentiment. It’s why America Scores Cleveland is partnering with four other nonprofits throughout the city to form a coalition that provides free or low-cost sports-based development programs to young people.
“Sports is now pricing kids out,” said Black. “Making sure that kids have access into sport… is becoming a bigger issue, not just here in Cleveland, but it’s a huge national issue.”
Black hopes the new coalition that is just getting started can help ease the financial burden youth sports has on families in Northeast Ohio.
“We’ve removed as many barriers as possible,” she said. “It really is teaching the community that sports is more than just this high competitive nature, and that we have to think about youth development first and foremost for sport.”
