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Karlyn Pickens strikes out 11, breaks own record for fastest softball pitch ever thrown

Softball May 25, 2025 Karlyn Pickens strikes out 11, breaks own record for fastest softball pitch ever thrown May 25, 2025 Karlyn Pickens struck out 11 Nebraska batters in a complete-game win to keep Tennessee softball alive in the 2025 super regionals. In the first inning, Pickens reached 79.4 mph on a pitch to Jordy […]

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Softball

May 25, 2025

Karlyn Pickens strikes out 11, breaks own record for fastest softball pitch ever thrown

May 25, 2025

Karlyn Pickens struck out 11 Nebraska batters in a complete-game win to keep Tennessee softball alive in the 2025 super regionals. In the first inning, Pickens reached 79.4 mph on a pitch to Jordy Bahl to break her own record for fastest softball pitch ever thrown.



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EWC Club Champion to claim record $7M grand prize – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions

The 2025 Esports World Cup officially opened this week with more than 2,000 players from 200 clubs around the world slated to compete in 25 tournaments across 24 titles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event runs through Aug. 24 and is billed as the world’s largest esports and gaming festival. It features a total prize […]

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The 2025 Esports World Cup officially opened this week with more than 2,000 players from 200 clubs around the world slated to compete in 25 tournaments across 24 titles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The event runs through Aug. 24 and is billed as the world’s largest esports and gaming festival. It features a total prize pool topping $70 million, which includes the cross-title format for the Club Championship, the winner of which will become the EWC Club Champion and claim the $7 million grand prize.

The competition also includes more than $38 million for individual game championships, $5 million in global qualifier rewards and $450,000 in MVP bonuses.

“EWC 2025 is about bringing the gaming world together — iconic games, elite players, and millions of fans around a shared celebration,” Esports World Cup Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert said. “Through new ways of global broadcasts, original shows, and documentary storytelling, we’re opening doors, creating opportunities, and sharing esports in new and exciting ways.

“With record-breaking competition, this summer is special — not just for gamers, but for everyone who joins us.”

The EWC announced earlier this week that it will produce more than 7,000 hours of live programming across the event, delivered in 35 languages across 140 countries. It will also be streamed live on Twitch, YouTube and TikTok.

The 25 tournaments include: Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Call of Duty: Warzone, Chess, Counter-Strike 2, Crossfire, Dota 2, EA FC 25, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch 2, PUBG MOBILE, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Rainbow Six Siege X, RENNSPORT, Rocket League, Starcraft 2, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics, Tekken 8 and Valorant.

“The Esports World Cup is redefining success in global sport, unlocking long-term opportunities across the entire ecosystem for players, organizations and communities,” EWC Foundation chief product officer Faisal bin Homran said. “At its core is the pioneering EWC Club Championship, a cross-game format that rewards all-around excellence, reshapes how performance is measured, and sets a new benchmark for what it means to be a champion in the digital age.

“As EWC 2025 begins, we look forward to seeing new champions rise and new legacies take shape.”

–Field Level Media



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How the return of college football’s video game sparked a YouTube cottage industry

Last summer, one of the most sought-after recruits in college football wasn’t a quarterback or a defensive lineman. It was a 21-year-old YouTuber in Kentucky. James Bordeaux had put out a series of videos and Twitter posts to narrow down which school he would play as in his first Dynasty Mode rebuild video after the […]

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Last summer, one of the most sought-after recruits in college football wasn’t a quarterback or a defensive lineman. It was a 21-year-old YouTuber in Kentucky.

James Bordeaux had put out a series of videos and Twitter posts to narrow down which school he would play as in his first Dynasty Mode rebuild video after the release of the EA Sports College Football 25 video game. His self-started campaign got so much attention that football programs reached out, sending gear and graphics as if he were a prospect. The winner: Nebraska. The resulting video got 1.1 million views.

Many see YouTube as the future of sports consumption. The NFL will broadcast its Chiefs vs. Chargers Week 1 game on YouTube in September. But for younger fans, YouTube is the present. Polling indicates Gen Z spends more time watching highlights than it does live games. Golf has developed a huge presence on the platform.

Before NCAA athletes were allowed to monetize their name, image and likeness, former UCF kicker Donald de la Haye was forced to choose between his YouTube channel and continuing to play college football in 2017. He chose YouTube and now has more than 6.2 million subscribers.

College sports fandom has long been led by old-fashioned booster clubs and message boards that popped up 20 years ago. But YouTube is becoming a new ground for college fandom, especially with the return of EA Sports College Football, and dozens of people like Bordeaux have turned creating videos about the video game into a full-time job, gaining enough influence to impact the game itself.

“It shows how deep people’s love for their team is that they were so interested in what a random guy on the internet was going to do, because it could be their team,” he said.

Bordeaux started his YouTube channel four years ago as a high schooler who just wanted to talk about his favorite video game, which he’d been playing since he was 6.

He took viewers on hours-long journeys in previous editions of the NCAA Football video game, like rebuilding Kansas football or creating North Dakota State as an FBS program. His first goal was to make $100 a day from YouTube’s creator ad-revenue program.

The channel hit that mark quickly and kept growing, so Bordeaux dropped out of college at Northern Kentucky, moved to Florida and made it his full-time job. He now has more than 476,000 subscribers, and he says he spends 80 hours a week on it during football season alongside a team of three editors, making videos with titles like “5 Years to Rebuild the WORST CFB 25 Team” or “Can I Win a Title with ONLY Players from Hawaii?”

“It took off so fast that I had no choice but to keep pouring hours into it,” he said. “I dropped out a few months after starting it, which was risky, looking back on it. Kind of dumb. But it paid off.”

Gaming is massive on YouTube. A recent report from the company stated that 60 percent of the top 1,000 channels on YouTube had uploaded at least one gaming video. The rise of “Let’s Play” videos, where creators film themselves playing and reacting to games, changed the way developers produce games that are customizable and, theoretically, never end.

That applies to sports games, especially the College Football franchise. There’s no speed-run to “beat” the game. With 136 FBS teams and various game modes, YouTube creators have an abundance of quest options.

“You can play Madden and win the Super Bowl, but where do you go after that?” said College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller, who has spent more than 20 years at EA Sports. “We have constant roster turnover. You can start at South Alabama and work your way up to Alabama. You can bring the option to Michigan or go rebuild the Pac-12. Things like that, no other game gets to tell.”

There’s no one way to go about being a college football video game YouTuber. Former college and NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert (351,000 followers) mixes real and video game football strategy. Another creator, Eric Rayweather (637,000 subscribers), turned football game tutorials into a full-time job.

Rayweather, 37, was a successful Madden player more than a decade ago, winning tournaments and climbing online rankings. As he got older, got married and didn’t have as much time to play, he’d look for tips online and didn’t find much. So he drew on his skills and began making Madden tutorial videos, such as the best way to beat a Cover 4 defense or how to use glitch plays discovered in the game.

A year into it, he was making more money through YouTube than from his jobs at a paint store and Best Buy, so he made YouTube his full-time job in 2018.

“I had a good bit of money saved up and thought, I’ve got a year, I could try this out,” said Rayweather, who lives in Louisiana. “It was scary, because it could’ve gone the other way. But it grew even more, and I haven’t looked back since then.”

Rayweather expanded his tutorials to college football when the game returned and began to lean into news updates. Any leak or announcement that comes out about the next game, he jumps on and makes a new video about it.

Rayweather estimated he spends 12 hours a day on the job at this time of year. That schedule slows a bit after a game comes out, then shrinks to as low as four hours a day when football season ends. Unlike some other creators, he’s a one-man operation.

“Right now, it’s pedal to the metal,” he said.

For a long time, EA Sports developers were not allowed to engage with the gaming community, typically only speaking with video game journalists. But as the industry changed, YouTubers became influential and trusted voices.

“Back in the day, every reviewing outlet had a dedicated sports person,” Haumiller said. “Now, they’re more freelancers who don’t know as much about your game. It’s these (YouTubers) pointing things out that we need to do better and know the game just as well as we do.

“The perception of your game these days has a lot to do with the perception from the community.”

EA Sports has leaned in to earn the favor of that community. For years, the company has invited gaming journalists and YouTubers to Orlando to get an early look at Madden and now College Football.

When EA Sports held the secret College Football 26 cover photo shoot at the Rose Bowl, Bordeaux was there to document it for his channel. A week before CFB26 was released, EA Sports enlisted Bordeaux and Rayweather to produce public reveal videos of Dynasty and Gameplay features. Some creators have also created sponsored social media posts for the game, marking them as ads.

“They’re advocates, good or bad,” Haumiller said. “They’re also a tutorial for us. You can go on and see these guys doing different ways to recruit in CFB 25 or show great plays to use. They really help us teach the game in a way we aren’t able to.”

Some fans have questioned the legitimacy of a review from a creator if EA Sports played a role in facilitating it or paid that creator for previous sponsored posts. Bordeaux recently had a small online feud with another creator, Ryan Moody, whose content is largely negative toward EA Sports. Bordeaux has tried to disclose when EA Sports was involved with a post.

“I do feel bad for these guys, because they do kind of sign up for this additional punishment they get when all they get in return is maybe a code a couple days early,” Haumiller said. “They’re not on the payroll or getting all kinds of insider access.”

Surveys show more kids aspire to be YouTubers or streamers than scientists or astronauts. The rise of entertainers like Logan and Jake Paul or Mr. Beast has shown a new path for younger people that didn’t exist even a few years ago.

Bordeaux never imagined how quickly this could become a career.

“Maybe something I did on the side for fun to make a little extra cash,” he said, “but I didn’t think I could ever personally reach the sub or view count I’ve been blessed to have.”

Rayweather’s advice to aspiring YouTubers is to have a plan and stick to it, be knowledgeable and focus on good audio. Bordeaux joined him in emphasizing the importance of consistent posting.

“Anybody can make at least a side living doing any type of creation,” Rayweather said. “Be informational. Help people. Give them value for something.”

Days before the CFB 26 release, Bordeaux was once again narrowing down finalists for his first dynasty rebuild. Marshall coach Tony Gibson tweeted at him and got the Herd into Bordeaux’s top five. Central Michigan coach Matt Drinkall tweeted a photo of Bordeaux on the stadium video board.

Recruiting never stops in college football, and courting a YouTuber is now as valuable as any other kind of celebrity. The media industry is far from the days when coaches welcomed an airplane full of sportswriters for a promotional tour half a century ago.

The return of the college football video game has put the sport back in front of a generation of new and old fans. But the cascade effect has also created a new collection of influencers — and a lucrative business — on the new frontier of fandom.

(Photo courtesy of Bordeaux)





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Naperville Centennial Beach closed Friday after man dies – NBC Chicago

Centennial Beach in suburban Naperville will be closed Friday after a man Thursday night was found unconscious in the water, with authorities later pronouncing him dead. About 6 p.m. Thursday, a 27-year-old man was found unconscious in the water at the beach, the Naperville Park District said in a statement. The man was transported to […]

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Centennial Beach in suburban Naperville will be closed Friday after a man Thursday night was found unconscious in the water, with authorities later pronouncing him dead.

About 6 p.m. Thursday, a 27-year-old man was found unconscious in the water at the beach, the Naperville Park District said in a statement. The man was transported to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead.

The park district said the beach will be closed Friday, but declined to provide additional information “out of respect for the individual’s family and pending further investigation.”

The popular suburban beach, often referred to by locals as a “swimming hole” is a historic stone quarry located at 500 W. Jackson Ave. It includes diving boards, floating rafts, slides, sand volleyball and more.



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Croatia’s women’s water polo team set for first World Championship

by croatiaweek July 11, 2025 in Sport (Photo: Croatian Water Polo Federation) SINGAPORE – This year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore mark a significant milestone for Croatian water polo, as the women’s national team makes its long-awaited debut on the world stage. While the men’s World Championships date back to 1973, and the women joined […]

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Croatian WOMENS Water Polo Federation

(Photo: Croatian Water Polo Federation)

SINGAPORE – This year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore mark a significant milestone for Croatian water polo, as the women’s national team makes its long-awaited debut on the world stage.

While the men’s World Championships date back to 1973, and the women joined in 1986 in Madrid, 2025 will be remembered as the first time Croatia fields both men’s and women’s senior teams at this global event.

The tournament begins on Friday, 11 July, with the women taking centre stage first. And for the Croatian women’s water polo team, just being there is already a major achievement.

Despite being a young programme – the first women’s club competitions in Croatia started in 2001 and the senior national team only formed in 2010 – their qualification for the World Championships is being hailed as a historic success.

“It doesn’t matter how the results turn out in Singapore,” said head coach Mia Šimunić. “This is already a huge victory for us.”

(Photo: Croatian Water Polo Federation)

Croatia arrives with one of the youngest squads in the tournament. Thirteen players are between the ages of 16 and 20, most of whom are also preparing for the upcoming U20 World Championships in Brazil.

Their group in Singapore is a challenging one. Croatia will face top-tier opponents in Greece and Hungary – both considered strong medal contenders – as well as Japan, known for their fast-paced, high-pressure playing style.

“Our focus is on the match against Japan,” Šimunić added. “It’s a key game for us. We’ve been preparing specifically for their style of play.”

Croatia previously defeated Japan at junior level but lost 18–26 in a senior match six months ago in Istanbul. A win over Japan would likely secure Croatia third place in Group C and a shot at the play-off round for the quarter-finals, most likely against France or Great Britain.

(Photo: Croatian Water Polo Federation)

A loss would see them play for positions 13–16, starting with a probable match against South Africa.

Regardless of results, the team is embracing the experience without pressure.

“This is a celebration of everything our players have worked for,” Šimunić said. “We want them to enjoy the moment, play freely, and show the world what Croatian women’s water polo is all about.”

Croatia’s matches:

11.07 v Japan 10am
13.07 v Greece 7:45am
15.07 v Hungary 2:45pm

All matches will be live on HRT (Croatian times shown)

(Photo: Croatian Water Polo Federation)


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Hibbett extends contract with Digital Wave

JD Sports-owned apparel giant Hibbett, Inc. is continuing to invest in deepening its digital offerings. Less than a month after unveiling its new ecommerce site for kids’ products, Hibbett announced July 8 that it has renewed its contract for Digital Wave’s Product Experience Management (PXM) solution. The renewal, according to Hibbett, reflects its commitment to […]

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JD Sports-owned apparel giant Hibbett, Inc. is continuing to invest in deepening its digital offerings.

Less than a month after unveiling its new ecommerce site for kids’ products, Hibbett announced July 8 that it has renewed its contract for Digital Wave’s Product Experience Management (PXM) solution. The renewal, according to Hibbett, reflects its commitment to achieving a measurable impact on scaling product content, streamlining internal processes and enhancing its digital shopping experience.

UK-based sportswear giant JD Sports ranks No. 22 in Digital Commerce 360’s Europe Database ranking the largest online retailers in the region. Meanwhile, Hibbett is No. 294 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. There, it falls under the Sporting Goods category. Digital Commerce 360 projects Hibbett’s total online sales in 2025 will reach $314.04 million.

Hibbett’s digital plans for its sports apparel business

Bill Quinn, chief information officer for Hibbett, praised the role that Digital Wave has played so far.

“Digital Wave’s PXM has been instrumental in improving content accuracy, team alignment and time to market,” Quinn stated. “We’re excited to continue our partnership and keep building on that success.”

The announcement also mentioned that — as part of the renewal — Hibbett will work with Digital Wave on a variety of goals. Those include bolstering areas such as operational efficiency, expanded merchandise assortment, inventory management and customer experience.

A message to Hibbett about the partnership was not immediately returned.

“At a time when customer expectations are higher than ever, Hibbett is meeting the moment with clarity, agility, and ambition,” said Lori Schafer, CEO at Digital Wave Technology. “We’re proud to extend our partnership and continue supporting their growth with a product experience solution that delivers speed, scale, and real business outcomes.”

Why Hibbett is investing in its digital experience

Jeffrey Derman is a partner in the retail group at Solomon Partners. He closely tracks Hibbett and said the Digital Wave partnership makes sense.

“Retailers are increasingly coming to grips with the massive volumes of data their businesses generate or otherwise come into contact with,” Derman said.

He added that this includes data about their customers, vendors, inventory, merchandise velocity and much more.

“Being able to tie that all together to be better able to put the right product on the right shelf (physical or virtual) in front of the right customer at the right time has been a sought-after, but largely elusive goal,” Derman assessed.

He explained that a significant part of the challenge has been that data has historically been siloed. That has meant various systems do not communicate with each other with common reference points.

“There is a hope that increasingly sophisticated AI-driven tools will be able to do better the hard work of that data integration and interpretation to help retailers get closer to achieving that goal, thereby improving conversion, optimizing inventory levels, and bolstering margins,” Derman said.

The role of PMX solutions in online retail

Wanda Cadigan is the senior vice president of marketing at Cloudinary, a media optimization and visual experience platform used by retailers. She said Hibbett is leveraging its partnership with Digital Wave to make the customer experience as seamless as possible.

“For a brand like Hibbett, PMX platforms powered by AI converts scattered data and digital assets into consistent, engaging, and shoppable experiences across every channel,” Cadigan stated.

She noted that consistency is critical. It plays roles in customer trust and enabling partners — from manufacturers to digital marketplaces — to stay aligned in real-time.

“The retail sector’s pace is consistently evolving and accelerating, and AI is helping teams scale what used to take days or weeks into something nearly instantaneous,” Cadigan said.

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300 tons of sand trucked into Intuit Dome to create AVP venue

AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, will play matches in an NBA arena for the first time this weekend in Inglewood. A crew picked up 16 dump truck loads from a quarry in Palm Springs, delivering 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for AVP League matches on Friday and Saturday. The […]

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AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, will play matches in an NBA arena for the first time this weekend in Inglewood.

A crew picked up 16 dump truck loads from a quarry in Palm Springs, delivering 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for AVP League matches on Friday and Saturday.

The crew constructed a wooden sandbox barrier to protect the arena floor. The sand, pre-washed and compacted upon arrival, was dumped into an 18-inch wooden frame, with elements such as hospitality added to help remove debris from the air.

A worker prepares sand at the Intuit Dome ahead of an AVP tournament.

A worker prepares sand at the Intuit Dome ahead of an AVP tournament.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“If all goes well, it’s about a six- to eight-hour build from start to finish with the court,” said Logan Dan, head of operations for AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tours. “It takes about six hours to build the court specifically.”

Once the event concludes, the crew dismantles the frame and removes the sand using equipment that looks like a modified small tractor.

“We break the box open and use a skid steer with a box broom attachment — it sweeps up a lot of the sand,” Dan said.

Although indoor beach volleyball is unusual, the AVP’s new league model — introduced last year — has made it possible to bring tournaments to unconventional venues. The league is investing in creative ways to grow accessibility and exposure.

1

Inglewood, CA - July 10: A truck arrives to unload one of many carrying 300 tons.

2

A truck dumps sand onto the AVP beach volleyball court at the Intuit Dome.

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Workers slowly cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand.

1. One of many trucks makes its way through the Intuit Dome to deliver sand in preparation of an AVP league event. 2. Workers slowly cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“What that has allowed us to do is to bring volleyball into different areas that it might not be,” Dan said. “For instance, we’re going to New York next week, and we’ll be putting a court in Central Park, right in Wollman Rink, where they normally have ice skating in the winter and pickleball in the summer.”

Conditions for beach volleyball differ significantly between outdoor and indoor play. Sun, wind and heat heavily influence outdodor players’ performance and court dynamics. Indoors, the environment remains cooler and still, free from elements such as whipping winds or scorching sun.

“It’s so close and loud and intimate that it creates that very cool environment,” Logan said.

AVP declined to disclose what it costs to build courts in unconventional locations such as the Intuit Dome.

Logan said AVP staff hope fans will enjoy a fun, family-oriented community environment that features more seats close to the action than a typical beach volleyball court.

Workers cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand ahead of an AVP league event.

Workers cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand ahead of an AVP league event.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The schedule

AVP League matches start Friday at 5 p.m. with the L.A. Launch playing the San Diego Smash in the first match.

Doors open Saturday at 4 p.m., with the Palm Beach Passion playing the L.A. Launch during the first match.

Tickets started at $43.50 apiece.

What’s at stake

The AVP League format differs from traditional tournaments. A men’s duo and women’s duo represent a city and their combined records determine position in league standings. At the end of league play, one of eight cities will be crowned the AVP League champion. The playoffs feature a postseason tournament seeded based on each duo’s record during the season. The tournament splits into male and female competition groups, with the winning duo in each group earning the top prize.

The top two teams in the league standings are the L.A. Launch and the Palm Beach Passion. L.A. Launch is undefeated, while Palm Beach Passion is 6–2.

Who is playing in Inglewood?

Four of the league’s eight city teams will be represented. The lineup includes numerous Olympians, USC alums and a former NBA player.

No. 1 L.A. Launch
Men: Hagen Smith and Logan Webber | Women: Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft

No. 2 Palm Beach
Men: Trevor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser | Women: Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson

No. 6 San Diego Smash
Men: Chase Budinger and Miles Evans | Women: Abby Van Winkle and Geena Urango

No. 8 Miami Mayhem
Men: Chaim Schalk and James Shaw | Women: Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw



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