Sports
Women's Rowing Sets Program Highs at A
Story Links PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – After a record-setting showing at Atlantic 10 Championships a season ago, the La Salle women’s rowing team took another step up, recording the most points in program history (31) en route to a fifth-place finish. The Explorers had a pair of boats advance to the grand final, with the varsity […]

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – After a record-setting showing at Atlantic 10 Championships a season ago, the La Salle women’s rowing team took another step up, recording the most points in program history (31) en route to a fifth-place finish. The Explorers had a pair of boats advance to the grand final, with the varsity eight placing fourth, its best finish in school history, just .02 seconds behind Saint Joseph’s.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- During the morning heats, the second varsity eight placed third in its heat while the first varsity placed second, allowing both to advance to the final.
- The second varsity four boat finished fourth in the final, while the first claimed a gold medal in the petit final.
- The second varisty eight, led by Madelyn Fox, finished fifth overall to earn ten points and finish eight seconds better than crosstown rival, the Saint Joseph’s Hawks.
- The day concluded with an instant classic. After hanging in the middle of the pack a majority of the race, the Explorers made a late push to vault into second place. During the final stretch, George Washington built a lead to secure second. Saint Joseph’s took third place by less than .02 seconds. Overall, the three schools finished within three seconds of each other. Fourth place is the highest finish in program history.
- For the second straight season, Bridget McGuinn was named First Team All-Atlantic 10. Lilly Sher earned second team honors.
RESULTS
Varsity Eight Grand Final
1. Rhode Island
2.George Washington
3. Saint Joseph’s
4. La Salle
5. UMass
6. Fordham
Second Varsity Eight Grand Final
1. Rhode Island
2. George Washington
3. UMass
4. Fordham
5. La Salle
6. Saint Joseph’s
Varsity Four Petite Final
1. La Salle
2. George Mason
Second Varsity Four Grand Final
1. UMass
2. Duquesne
3. George Washington
4. La Salle
5. George Mason
Sports
Local volleyball referee entering 30th year of officiating
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Sports officials have a tough job and it’s been a challenge to recruit new ones. In this story, you’ll meet Craig Wiedel who has been a volleyball referee for 30 years. He’s stuck around through referee shortages and actively works to recruit more officials in Nebraska. His why: giving back and […]

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Sports officials have a tough job and it’s been a challenge to recruit new ones.
In this story, you’ll meet Craig Wiedel who has been a volleyball referee for 30 years. He’s stuck around through referee shortages and actively works to recruit more officials in Nebraska.
His why: giving back and the love of competition.
- Craig Wiedel began officiating volleyball as a side job while he was in college.
- Thirty years later, volleyball is now a full-time gig: he referees, assigns other officials in Nebraska to games and is the Commissioner for USA Volleyball Great Plains Region.
- “There hasn’t been a day that I can say I don’t enjoy doing what I do,” Wiedel said.
WATCH KELSEY’S STORY:
Local volleyball referee entering 30th year of officiating, also works to recruit more refs in Nebraska
What began as a side hustle turned into a career.
“I started reffing when I was 18 to make a little extra money in college,” Craig Wiedel, a volleyball referee based in Nebraska, said. “All I do now for a career is volleyball which is kind of fun.”
This will be his 30th year officiating volleyball.
“I’ve done all sports,” Wiedel said. “I’ve officiated them all, but what I like about volleyball is it’s fast.”
Which is why the career accountant made a switch in his early 40s.
“Being around so many people that have the same passion,” Wiedel said. “It’s just like one big family and that’s what I appreciate about it.”
Over the last few years, there has been a national shortage of sports officials.
In fact, a 2024 NSAA survey found about 64% of officials across all sports considered quitting at some point.
On the other hand, Wiedel said the numbers for volleyball refs in Nebraska are increasing.
“Whenever I go somewhere, they’re like ‘Oh, you’re recruiting refs again,’” he said. “But honestly, half the time you just have to ask the people and they want to do it.”
He says if a ref sticks around for three years, it’s likely they’ll ref for many more.
Like Hiliary Vanness, a former player, now a fifth-year official.
“In the moment it may seem kind of stressful,” she said, “but at the end of the match, just playing good volleyball, watching good volleyball, officiating good volleyball, that’s really the best part.”
Wiedel said sometimes he still has to crunch numbers to ensure games in Nebraska have officials.
“When I assign in the fall, there’s nights that I will go to bed having to find four or five refs for the next day because we’re that short,” he said. “We’ve grown it a lot, but we still have a long ways to go with that.”
But Wiedel said he’s more than happy to do it to grow the sport.
“Just do what you love to do,” he said. “There hasn’t been a day that I can say I don’t enjoy doing what I do.”
Sports
UWM track reunion brings together generations of excellence
What started as a casual conversation between a few friends last summer turned into a heartfelt reunion for UWM track and field alumni this summer. More than 100 former Panthers, family members and friends gathered June 28 in Milwaukee’s Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery to share memories and catch up on each other’s […]

What started as a casual conversation between a few friends last summer turned into a heartfelt reunion for UWM track and field alumni this summer.
More than 100 former Panthers, family members and friends gathered June 28 in Milwaukee’s Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery to share memories and catch up on each other’s lives. They also heard from the team’s current athletes , including six-time Horizon League Coach of the Year Andrew Basler and hurdler Natalie Block, who became UWM’s first Division 1 All-American at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
Michael Hirsch, who ran track and cross country for the Panthers from 1976-80, was in Milwaukee a year prior visiting some fellow former runners. In a particularly nostalgic moment, one friend half-jokingly said that they needed to get everyone back together.
So Hirsch, now a dean at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, took up the challenge, embarking on a year’s worth of logistical and organizational efforts.
He’d put together a smaller gathering back in the late 1990s, but this one quickly grew into a much more complex task, and Hirsch thanked the UWM Alumni Association and the many people who helped track everyone down. Emails were searched for and shared, as was the occasional physical address, and social media sleuths played their part.
All the work came to fruition in Best Place’s Great Hall. As a slideshow of photos and articles from days gone by played in the background, old friends exchanged hugs and smiles, laughter and remembrances.
“I love these people. My UWM days are some of the best days of my life, and I have a wonderful life,” Hirsch said in a quieter moment. “These are strong people, smart people, kind people, forgiving people, teammates and their families. I was just hoping to see them, and I was hoping that people would spend a lot of time talking and smiling.”
And you didn’t have to be part of those track classes from the 1970s and ’80s to appreciate the scene.
“I love seeing the photos, seeing the classic uniforms and some of those old surfaces, it’s crazy that they’re running on that,” said Block, who heads into her final UWM season after placing 12th in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2025 NCAA Championships, the best-ever national finish among Panther women. “It’s super-cool to see, because that’s how the program grew. You can see it carry forward through generations.”
Hirsch, meanwhile, is proud of how Block and the current generation continue to carry the baton.
“UWM fosters that sort of excellence,” Hirsch said. “We met at the Klotsche Center earlier today, and the coach was talking us through how they support their athletes and how proud he is of their athletes and how successful and hardworking Natalie has been. Our experience was at a different time, and she’s reached a higher level of excellence, and it’s brilliant.”
Sports
Team USA Olympic Freestyle Skiing Roster: Who’s qualified and key dates ahead of Milan Cortina 2026
The U.S. Olympic freestyle skiing roster won’t fully be determined until January 2026, but four athletes already have clinched their spots on the team for Milan Cortina. Ultimately, the roster could include up to 32 athletes across all disciplines. In freestyle skiing, athletes don’t qualify directly for the Winter Olympics. Instead, they earn quota spots […]

The U.S. Olympic freestyle skiing roster won’t fully be determined until January 2026, but four athletes already have clinched their spots on the team for Milan Cortina. Ultimately, the roster could include up to 32 athletes across all disciplines.
In freestyle skiing, athletes don’t qualify directly for the Winter Olympics. Instead, they earn quota spots for their countries, and it’s up to each country to name athletes to its Olympic roster to fill those quota spots. U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s selection criteria has broken the selection process into two distinct phases.
At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, one athlete per event could clinch an Olympic spot by finishing in the top three of the 2026 FIS Base List. Four athletes met that criteria.
The rest of the spots will be filled over the course of the 2025-26 season, with designated selection events being used as the primary way that athletes earn nominations to the team. For more details on the selection process, check out our article on Olympic freestyle skiing qualification.
Meet the members of the 2026 U.S. Olympic freestyle ski team (so far) below.
Sports
Track & Field’s Cole Piotrowski Wins SEC Start-Up Competition – Ole Miss Athletics
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ole Miss track & field alum Cole Piotrowski was named the winner of the SEC Start-Up business competition, earning a $10,000 investment as revealed on an hour-long SEC Network special for the conference’s second edition of the student-athlete pitch competition. Piotrowski’s winning idea Godors is a spray that eliminates sport-specific odors […]

Piotrowski’s winning idea Godors is a spray that eliminates sport-specific odors at their root – rather than covering them up – while also using clean ingredients.
Piotrowski recently wrapped up his four-year career with Ole Miss track & field as a middle-distance specialist. Piotrowski, a native of Queens, ran in 34 total meets for the Rebels across his four full seasons with career-bests of 1:50.12 in the 800-meter, 2:25.63 in the 1000-meter and 3:50.22 in the 1500 while also running on several 4×400-meter relays during his career.
Bringing together innovative minds and entrepreneurial spirits from across the Southeastern Conference, SEC Start Up is an academic competition in partnership with Regions, the official bank of the SEC, in support of the entrepreneurial ventures of student-athletes.
Participants had the chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges, which included Regions Bank Executive Vice President of Community Affairs Leroy Abrahams, former Auburn men’s basketball player and businessman Daymeon Fishback, content creator and HSN/QVC host Emily Loftiss, and CEO of BIOLYTE Jesslyn Rollins.
The new initiative expands business and innovation programming in place at the Conference, including its annual SEC Student Pitch Competition and SEC MBA Case Competition. Since 2011, the SEC has supported the teaching, research and service mission of its member universities through a variety of programs and activities. Learn more at SECAcademics.com.
Sports
Odell Beckham Jr. Bitcoin Salary Pays Off 100%
Odell Beckham Jr., the renowned NFL wide receiver, recently celebrated a significant milestone in his financial journey. Four years ago, Beckham made the bold decision to receive a portion of his salary from the Los Angeles Rams in Bitcoin. This move, which was met with skepticism at the time, has now proven to be a […]

Odell Beckham Jr., the renowned NFL wide receiver, recently celebrated a significant milestone in his financial journey. Four years ago, Beckham made the bold decision to receive a portion of his salary from the Los Angeles Rams in Bitcoin. This move, which was met with skepticism at the time, has now proven to be a lucrative decision as Bitcoin reached an all-time high.
Beckham’s decision to take his $750,000 base salary in Bitcoin was initially criticized. The value of Bitcoin was volatile, and many questioned the wisdom of such a move. However, the cryptocurrency’s recent surge has validated Beckham’s foresight. The value of his Bitcoin holdings has increased substantially, turning what was once a risky bet into a financial windfall.
It is important to note that the $750,000 was considered salary, not an investment. According to tax regulations, the full amount was taxed as regular income. Beckham owed approximately $375,000 in taxes on this amount. Despite this significant tax burden, the appreciation in the value of Bitcoin has more than compensated for the taxes paid.
Beckham’s success story serves as a testament to the potential of cryptocurrencies as an alternative form of payment and investment. His decision to embrace Bitcoin has not only paid off financially but has also sent a clear message to those who doubted his bold move. As the value of Bitcoin continues to rise, Beckham’s decision to take his salary in the cryptocurrency has become a symbol of forward-thinking and financial acumen.
Beckham is not the only athlete to embrace cryptocurrency. A growing number of professional athletes have taken steps to embrace cryptocurrency, either through endorsements, salary payments, or personal investments. Stars like Trevor Lawrence, Saquon Barkley, and Russell Okung have all shown interest in the space. Beckham’s confidence could inspire other athletes to consider crypto as a long-term financial move. As the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies grows, so too does the likelihood that we’ll see more bold moves from public figures in sports and beyond.
Sports
Blue Jays' Amir Garrett
Now Playing Share Link copied! Garrett (undisclosed) was activated from the 60-day minor-league injured list Thursday. Garrett will return to action after missing over three months of action with an undisclosed injury. The left-hander has allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three batters over two innings in two appearances […]

Now Playing
Link copied!
Garrett (undisclosed) was activated from the 60-day minor-league injured list Thursday.
Garrett will return to action after missing over three months of action with an undisclosed injury. The left-hander has allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three batters over two innings in two appearances with Triple-A Buffalo this year.
More News
-
Technology3 weeks ago
Pet fitness and wellness trends for a healthier and happier dog
-
College Sports3 weeks ago
WAC to Rebrand to UAC, Add Five New Members in 2026
-
Motorsports2 weeks ago
Why Cosmetics are Making Up for Lost Time in Women’s Sports
-
College Sports3 weeks ago
A new era of Dickinson hockey begins behind the bench – The Dickinson Press
-
Health3 weeks ago
Florida assault survivor shares hope for change with new mental health law
-
Motorsports1 week ago
Team Penske names new leadership
-
Motorsports3 weeks ago
NASCAR This Week – Patriot Publishing LLC
-
Sports3 weeks ago
How to Market FAST Sports Content to New Audiences
-
Youtube2 weeks ago
BREAKING: NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs the RICHEST annual salary in league history
-
Sports6 days ago
New 'Bosch' spin