Sports

About 3 in 10 US adults follow women's sports, a new AP

Those who follow women’s pro sports are more casual, tending to say they attend or watch games occasionally rather than frequently. WASHINGTON — When Meghan Sells heads to Providence Park to watch Oregon’s professional women’s soccer team, she finds herself among a fairly mixed crowd — groups of young women, dads bringing their children, youth […]

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2 months ago

May 13, 2025

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About 3 in 10 US adults follow women's sports, a new AP

Those who follow women’s pro sports are more casual, tending to say they attend or watch games occasionally rather than frequently.

WASHINGTON — When Meghan Sells heads to Providence Park to watch Oregon’s professional women’s soccer team, she finds herself among a fairly mixed crowd — groups of young women, dads bringing their children, youth players checking out the Thorns’ latest match.

The physician’s assistant is a self-described lifelong sports fan and former softball player who “will watch any sport.” That includes both collegiate and professional sports for women, putting Sells squarely in a fan base that suddenly has more options than ever before and is seen as fertile ground for teams and advertisers eager to ride the rising interest in the women’s game.

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults follow women’s professional or college sports “extremely,” “very” or “somewhat” closely, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s lower than the share who follow men’s sports by the same measurements — about half — but it also shows that Sells is far from alone.

As interest and investment in women’s sports have picked up in recent years, so have the entry points for fans. The meteoric rise of Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa phenom-turned-WNBA star, helped bring wider attention to women’s basketball, and increased streaming availability, international success and name, image and likeness deals have elevated the value and viewership of women’s sports.

“Growing up, I feel like the only sports I was able to really see on TV were men’s — which is fine, I like men’s sports,” Sells said. “But I enjoy watching women’s sports more. … I think the more that you see it on TV, the more you’re going to have younger people interested in it.”

The poll found that women’s sports fans — those who follow women’s sports at least “somewhat” closely — are different from men’s sports fans. Fans of women’s sports, while not a majority-female group, are more gender balanced than men’s sports fans. Those who follow women’s pro sports also are more casual in their fandom than men’s pro sports fans, tending to say they attend or watch games occasionally rather than frequently. People who follow men’s sports, by contrast, are more likely to identify attachments to teams as opposed to players.

The survey was conducted just before the start of the 2025 WNBA season, an expansion year for the league. Coming off a season in which attendance records were set (and reset ), the league will debut a new franchise — the Golden State Valkyries — and up the number of regular season games from 40 to 44.

In 2026, two additional teams will join the league, including one in Portland, Oregon. Sells, who’s been in the city for about a decade, said she is prepared to get season tickets.

Different fan bases

Men’s sports at both the collegiate and professional levels remain more popular than women’s sports, the poll found. About one-third of U.S. adults said they watch, listen to or read about men’s collegiate sports at least “somewhat” closely, and more than 4 in 10 say they follow men’s pro sports. By contrast, about 2 in 10 say they follow women’s collegiate sports at least “somewhat” closely, and a similar share say they follow women’s pro sports.

A greater share of men than women say they follow professional or collegiate sports overall, but the gender balance was more even among women’s sports fans. Around half of fans of women’s sports are male, the survey found, compared with about two-thirds of fans of men’s sports.

This could be in part due to the overlap between the fandoms: About 90% of U.S. adults who follow women’s sports at least “somewhat” closely also say the same about men’s sports, though about half of people who follow men’s sports said they also followed women’s sports.

As women’s sports increase in popularity and accessibility, a relatively large share are casual fans. While close to 9 in 10 of both men’s and women’s pro sports fans say they frequently or occasionally watch, listen to or read about their respective professional sports, a higher percentage of women’s sports fans say they are only occasional consumers.

That includes people like Matthew Behr, 58, a lifelong fan of the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers in his home state of Wisconsin. He doesn’t watch a lot of basketball, he said, but when the sport crosses into news coverage, he will read up on it.

That’s how he started following Clark, whose final seasons at Iowa were credited with bringing new viewers to the sport and who now plays for the Indiana Fever.

“I was seeing it on MSNBC,” he said. “I don’t watch a lot of basketball. It’s not a men’s and women’s thing. If she was playing in a women’s football league, I’d probably watch that.”

Attending games

Men’s sports — with larger leagues, bigger TV deals and a more expansive media ecosystem — have a more fervent audience. About two-thirds of men’s sports fans said they “frequently” or “occasionally” attend a professional sporting event in person, compared with roughly half of women’s sports fans.

One possible reason women’s sports fans aren’t showing up at sporting events is they’re less likely to be attached to a specific team. Only about one-third of women’s sports fans said the teams they support or follow are “extremely” or “very” important to why they follow the sport. For men’s fans, the figure was around 50%.

However, nearly identical shares of men’s and women’s sports fans said that certain athletes they support were at least “very” important to why they follow women’s sports.

Bernard Seltzer, a high school administrator and math and science teacher in Tampa, Florida, considers himself a general sports fan and said he enjoys watching the most skillful athletes, regardless of their gender. Even at the high school level, he is impressed by the finesse he sees female athletes demonstrate.

“Sometimes it’s more impressive than watching masculine people banging their heads against the wall,” he said.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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Lady Trojans reveal 2025 volleyball schedule

Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff game against Fruitvale last season. The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their 2025 volleyball schedule, consisting of nine home games, seven road games and three tournaments. Staff Photo by DJ Spencer Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff […]

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21 minutes ago

July 20, 2025

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Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff game against Fruitvale last season. The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their 2025 volleyball schedule, consisting of nine home games, seven road games and three tournaments. Staff Photo by DJ Spencer

Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff game against Fruitvale last season. The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their 2025 volleyball schedule, consisting of nine home games, seven road games and three tournaments. Staff Photo by DJ Spencer
Lady Trojans reveal 2025 volleyball schedule

Lady Trojans reveal 2025 volleyball schedule

CUMBY — The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their volleyball schedule for the 2025 season. This will be their second season under Head Coach Savannah Kurn and the Lady Trojans will be looking for their second consecutive playoff appearance.Last season, the Lady Trojans went just 11-23 in the regular season, but posted a respectable 9-3 district record, placing second in District 11-2A…

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Greece Tips Australia, U.S. Eases into Semis

Women’s Water Polo World Championships: Greece Tips Australia, U.S. Eases into Semis Greece pulled out a close game against Australia, and the U.S. routed Japan in the quarterfinals of the women’s water polo World Championships in Singapore on Saturday. The four semifinalists are the same as at the 2024 women’s water polo World Championships in […]

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31 minutes ago

July 20, 2025

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Women’s Water Polo World Championships: Greece Tips Australia, U.S. Eases into Semis

Greece pulled out a close game against Australia, and the U.S. routed Japan in the quarterfinals of the women’s water polo World Championships in Singapore on Saturday.

The four semifinalists are the same as at the 2024 women’s water polo World Championships in Doha, with Hungary and Spain also advancing in tight games over European opposition. Spain, the reigning Olympic champion, and the reigning World Champion Americans are on opposite sides of the draw.

The U.S. had no trouble with Japan in 26-8 decision. The Americans scored 11 times in the first quarter on 12 shots. The Americans shot 76 percent (26-for-34) for the game.

Ryann Neushul scored twice in the first quarter. She shot 3-for-3 for the game and added three assists. Emily Ausmus shot 4-for-4. Anna Pearson led the attack with five goals, and Jenna Flynn added four. Amanda Longan (eight saves) and Isabel Williams (six saves) kept Japan’s attack at bay.

The U.S. is chasing its ninth world title.

“There’s always a little pressure just representing Team USA, but this is a different group than before and we’re really excited,” Pearson said. “We want to create our own story but obviously, it’s amazing following the past world championships. In the semifinals, we just have to stick to our game plan, execute what we talked about before and make it happen in the pool.”

The day started with a dramatic 8-7 win over Greece over Australia. Danijela Jackovich tied the game for Australia with 47 seconds left in regulation. But Maria Myriokefalitaki scored on a fast break with two seconds remaining to send the Greeks through.

Myriokefalitaki dedicated the goal to her late aunt.

“I was so emotional,” she said. “This goal, I think somebody from heaven helped to make it go in. This is where I want to dedicate this goal. Before the world championships, I lost a very special person for me. That’s why I got so emotional after that goal.

“It was my aunt, and I was really sad. But this is how life works. We have to keep pushing and continue. I dedicate this goal to her. It was a little bit of help from heaven.”

Eleftheria Plevritou set up the goal and added two of her own. Stefania Stampa also scored twice. Ioanna Stamatopoulou stopped six shots. Greece came up with seven blocks and seven steals.

Charlize Andrews and Abby Andrews scored twice each for Australia. Gabriella Palm made 12 saves.

Hungary steadily pulled away from Italy for a 12-9 win. Rita Keszthelyi scored two of her four goals in the third quarter. She added two assists.

“We were just in the flow today,” Keszthelyi said. “We were not thinking about the result or what’s happening in the water. We were just doing our thing and concentrating on our defense. If it was a goal, then OK. If not, no problem, we just keep going. In crucial moments, we could find players that could help us go over the line when we were stuck, so I’m very proud of each one of us. We have a lot of young players who are in their first world championships and this is their first world quarterfinal. We learnt a lot from this and I hope we can still improve and show that we earned our spot in the top four.”

Dora Leimeter and Krisztina Garda contributed two goals and two assists each. Boglarka Neszmely came up with nine saves.

Chiara Ranalli scored four goals, and Sofia Giustini added three for Italy. Aurora Condorelli stopped 10 shots. Hungary limited Roberta Bianconi, Dafne Bettini and Agnese Cocchiere to a combined 2-for-16 shooting.

Spain outlasted the Dutch, 15-13, in a shootout. It’s a repeat of the Olympics, where Spain beat the Dutch, 19-18, in a shootout in the semifinals on the way to gold.

Two unanswered goals by the Netherlands’ Lieke Rogge, the last with 45 seconds left, helped the Dutch rally to reach the shootout. Rogge then made her first attempt in the shootout, but Bente Rogge’s attempt in the second round missed to give Spain the early advantage. Martina Terre consolidated the lead by denying Maartje Keuning in the fourth round. That allowed Ariadna Ruiz to win it in the next round.

Ruiz scored three goals, as did Paula Crespi. Bea Ortiz led the attack with four goals, albeit on 4-for-10 shooting. Terre stopped seven shots in goal.

Lieke Rogge kept the Dutch alive with seven goals on 11 shots. Kitty-Lynn Joustra shot 3-for-3 on the field. Spain’s defense limited Simone van de Kraats and Sabrina van der Sloot to a combined 1-for-9 shooting.

In Monday’s semifinals, Greece will take on the U.S. in the first semifinal. Hungary and Spain square off in the second semi. Quarterfinal losers head into the 5-8 placement.

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Spring Sports All-Aurora 2025: Full Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Volleyball Team

AURORA | The full 2025 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Volleyball teams and honorable mention selections. Read about the first team selections, here: Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports 2025 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM FIRST TEAM Setter:  Devan Hall, jr., Grandview.  Hitters/middles: Connor Deickman, soph., Grandview; Matthew Dye, […]

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44 minutes ago

July 20, 2025

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AURORA | The full 2025 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Volleyball teams and honorable mention selections. Read about the first team selections, here:

Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports

2025 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Setter:  Devan Hall, jr., Grandview.  Hitters/middles: Connor Deickman, soph., Grandview; Matthew Dye, sr., Eaglecrest; Alex Garcia, soph., Grandview; Tristan Rowley, sr., Vista PEAK Prep; Jackson Shaw, sr., Eaglecrest . Libero/defensive specialist: Max Chen, jr., Eaglecrest; Clayton Kollmeyer, jr., Regis Jesuit. Utility: Jaeden Barnes, sr., Cherokee Trail; Callen Wolf, sr., Regis Jesuit

SECOND TEAM

Setter: Chase Cabuag, jr., Cherokee Trail. Hitters/middles: Ashton Bond, jr., Eaglecrest; Ethan Carroll, sr., Grandview; Jackson Feik, fr., Regis Jesuit; Vincent Johnson, sr., Overland; Meryk Wright, sr., Gateway. Libero/defensive specialist: Adrian Arrelano, sr., Aurora West College Prep Academy; Trevor O’Shea, sr., Overland. Utility: Will George, soph., Eaglecrest; Luis Rangel Cepeda, sr., Hinkley

HONORABLE MENTION

Dillan Ancheta, jr., Eaglecrest; Ein Bamba, sr., Vista PEAK Prep; Johnathan Broderick, sr., Rangeview; Justin Cabalo, sr., Overland; Ellis Cook, jr., Vista PEAK Prep; Oscar Mejia De Haro, jr., Gateway (MH); Erick Delgado Diaz, soph., AWCPA; Ethan Do, sr., Overland; Jesse Dominguez Parra, sr., AWCPA; Jayden Dotson, soph., Hinkley; Michael Garcia, jr., Gateway; Aidan Johnson, sr., Rangeview; Ethan Levakin, sr., Eaglecrest; Carlos Macias Mejia, sr., Gateway; Nathan Padilla, soph., AWCPA; Hayden Parmelee, jr., Cherokee Trail; Davone Phanthavong, jr., Vista PEAK Prep; Nick Safray, sr., Grandview; Prahlad Shultz, sr., Gateway; Jeran Smith, sr., Vista PEAK Prep; Aaron Solorzono, soph., AWCPA; Julian Stevenson, sr., Overland; Arpan Subedi, jr., Gateway; Quinn Trusler, soph., Cherokee Trail; Erick Uriarte, jr., AWCPA; Davier Whitlow, jr., Gateway; Aaron Williams, jr., Vista PEAK Prep

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Sports log

Women’s rugby — International Fixture: U.S. vs. Fiji, Washington, 11 a.m., CBS; NRL: Sydney at Brisbane, 8:40 p.m., FS2 Sailing — SailGP: Event 7 – Day 1, Portsmouth, England, 8 a.m., CBSSN Men’s soccer — USL Championship: Hartford at Rhode Island, 1 p.m., CBS Women’s soccer — UEFA Euro 2025 Championship: France vs. Germany, Quarterfinal, […]

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July 20, 2025

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Women’s rugby — International Fixture: U.S. vs. Fiji, Washington, 11 a.m., CBS; NRL: Sydney at Brisbane, 8:40 p.m., FS2

Sailing — SailGP: Event 7 – Day 1, Portsmouth, England, 8 a.m., CBSSN

Men’s soccer — USL Championship: Hartford at Rhode Island, 1 p.m., CBS

Women’s soccer — UEFA Euro 2025 Championship: France vs. Germany, Quarterfinal, Basel, Switzerland, noon, FOX; Conmebol Copa America Group Stage: Venezuela vs. Bolivia, Group B, Quito, Ecuador, FS2, 1:50 p.m.; Conmebol Copa America Group Stage: Colombia vs. Paraguay, Group B, Quito, Ecuador, 4:55 p.m., FS1

Tennis — Hopman Cup: Canada v. Greece; Gstaad-ATP, Bastad-ATP, Iasi-WTA Semifinals, 2 a.m., TENNIS; Hopman Cup: Canada v. Greece; Gstaad-ATP, Bastad-ATP, Iasi-WTA Semifinals, 3 a.m., TENNIS; Los Cabos-ATP Final, 7 p.m., TENNIS

WNBA — 2025 All-Star Game: Team Collier vs. Team Clark, Indianapolis, 5:30 p.m., ABC

SUNDAY

AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL

Lewis-Clark Cubs at Districts, TBD

Lewis-Clark Bucs at Districts, TBD

Moscow Blue Devils at Districts, TBD

SPORTS ON RADIO

Houston at Seattle, 1:10 p.m., KOZE-AM (950), KHTR-FM (104.3), KLER-AM (1300)

SPORTS ON TV

Auto racing — FIM MotoGP: The Czechia Grand Prix, Ostrovacice, Czechia, 4:30 a.m., FS2; NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Streets of Toronto, Toronto, 5:30 a.m., FS1; NTT IndyCar Series: The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, Streets of Toronto, Toronto, 9 a.m., FOX; NASCAR Cup Series: The Challenge Round 4 – AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400, Dover Motor Speedway, Dover, Del., 11 a.m., TNT/TRUTV; NHRA: Qualifying, Pacific Raceways, Kent, Wash. (Taped), 11:30 a.m., FS1; NHRA: The Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Kent, Wash., 1:30 p.m., FOX

Basketball — The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 9:30 a.m., FS1; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 11:30 a.m., FOX; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 2 p.m., FS1; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 4 p.m., FS1/FS2; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 6 p.m., FS1/FS2; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 8 p.m., FS2

Beach volleyball — AVP: Week 6 – Day 2, New York, 9 a.m., CBS; AVP: Week 6 – Day 2, New York, 11 a.m., CBSSN

BIG3 basketball — Week 6: LA Riot vs. Chicago Triplets, Dallas Power vs. Miami 305, DMV Trilogy vs. Detroit Amps, Houston Rig Hands vs. Boston Ball Hogs, Detroit, noon, CBS

Cycling — UCI: The Tour de France, Stage 15, Muret / Carcassonne, France, 3:30 a.m., PEACOCK; UCI: The Tour de France, Stage 15, Muret / Carcassonne, France (Taped), 11 a.m., NBC

Boy’s flag football — 2025 NFL Flag Championships: Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, 9 a.m., ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: TBD, Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, 10 a.m., ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: TBD, Championship, Canton, Ohio, 1 p.m., ABC

Girl’s flag football — 2025 NFL Flag Championships: Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, 11 a.m., ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, noon, ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: TBD, Championship, Canton, Ohio, 2 p.m., ABC

Golf — DP World/PGA Tour: The Open Championship, Final Round, Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Ireland, 1 a.m., USA; DP World/PGA Tour: The Open Championship, Final Round, Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Ireland, 4 a.m., NBC; DP World/PGA Tour: The Barracuda Championship, Final Round, Tahoe Mountain Club, Truckee, Calif., 3 p.m., GOLF

Gymnastics — USAG: The U.S. Classic, Hoffman Estates, Ill. (Taped), 1 p.m., NBC

Horse racing — NYRA: Saratoga Live, 10 a.m., FS2

MLB — Detroit at Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 (StatCast); Houston at Seattle, 1:10 p.m., ROOT

NBA — Summer League Tournament: TBD, Championship, Las Vegas, 7 p.m., ESPN

Women’s rugby — NRL: New Zealand at Newcastle, 1:10 a.m., FS2

Sailing — SailGP: Event 7 – Day 2, Portsmouth, England, 8 a.m., CBSSN; SailGP: Event 7 – Day 2, Portsmouth, England, 11 a.m., CBS

Tennis — Gstaad-ATP Final, 2:30 a.m., TENNIS; Gstaad-ATP Final, 3 a.m., TENNIS; Hopman Cup Final; Bastad-ATP, Iasi-WTA Finals; Kitzbuhel-ATP, Umag-ATP Early Rounds, 5 a.m., TENNIS; Kitzbuhel-ATP, Prague-WTA Early Rounds 2 a.m. (Monday), TENNIS; Kitzbuhel-ATP, Prague-WTA Early Rounds, 3 a.m. (Monday), TENNIS

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Sports on the Air for Saturday, July 19: TV, radio schedule in Wichita

Saturday’s TV / radio AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL AFL: Melbourne at Carlton, 4:30 a.m., FS1 AFL: Fremantle at Collingwood, 11:59 p.m., FS2 BASKETBALL The Basketball Tournament: The Ville vs. Boston v Cancer, round of 64, at Louisville, Ky., 11:30 a.m., FOX The Basketball Tournament: Purple Reign vs. The Shine, round of 64, at Kansas City, Mo., […]

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1 hour ago

July 20, 2025

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Saturday’s TV / radio

AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL

AFL: Melbourne at Carlton, 4:30 a.m., FS1
AFL: Fremantle at Collingwood, 11:59 p.m., FS2

BASKETBALL

The Basketball Tournament: The Ville vs. Boston v Cancer, round of 64, at Louisville, Ky., 11:30 a.m., FOX
The Basketball Tournament: Purple Reign vs. The Shine, round of 64, at Kansas City, Mo., 1 p.m., Youtube (online)
The Basketball Tournament: Assembly Ball vs. Fail Harder, round of 64, at Indianapolis, 3 p.m., FS1
The Basketball Tournament: JHX Hoops vs. OffDaHook, round of 64, at Kansas City, Mo., 3 p.m., Youtube (online)
The Basketball Tournament: Boeheim’s Army vs. Herkimer Originals, round of 64, at Syracuse, N.Y., 5 p.m., FS1
The Basketball Tournament: DaGuys STL vs. Sheffield Sharks, round of 64, at Kansas City, Mo., 5 p.m., Youtube (online)
The Basketball Tournament: Stars of Storrs vs. Brown Ballers, round of 64, at Syracuse, N.Y., 7 p.m., FS2

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

AVP Pro Tour: week 6, day 1, at New York, 7 p.m., CW

BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

EYBL Peach Jam: teams TBA, at Augusta, S.C., 8 a.m., NBA

CYCLING

UCI: The Tour de France, stage 14, Pau to Luchon-Superbagneres, France, 5:30 a.m., Peacock (streaming)

FLAG FOOTBALL

2025 NFL Flag Championships: girls quarterfinals, teams TBA, at Canton, Ohio, 9 a.m., 10 a.m., NFL; 11 a.m., noon, ESPN
2025 NFL Flag Championships: boys quarterfinals, teams TBA, at Canton, Ohio, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., ESPN

FOOTBALL

Canadian Football League: Saskatchewan at BC, 6 p.m., CBSSN

GOLF

DP World Tour/PGA Tour: The 2025 Open Championship, third round, at Portrush, Ireland, 4 a.m., USA; 6 a.m., NBC
DP World Tour/PGA Tour: The Barracuda Championship, third round, at Truckee, Calif., 5 p.m., GOLF
DP World Tour/PGA Tour: The 2025 Open Championship, final round, at Portrush, Ireland, 3 a.m. (Sunday), USA

GYMNASTICS

USAG: The U.S. Classic, at Hoffman Estates, Ill., 7 p.m., CNBC (taped)

HORSE RACING

NYRA: Saratoga Live, 11:30 a.m., FS1; 1:30 p.m., FS2
Saratoga Saturday: The Coaching Club American Oaks Stakes, 4 p.m., FOX
Breeders Cup Challenge Series: The Haskell Stakes, at Oceanport, N.J., 4 p.m., NBC

LACROSSE

PLL: Boston vs. Denver, at Fairfield, Conn., 2 p.m., ABC

MINOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL

Texas League: Wichita Wind Surge at Springfield, 6:30 p.m., Bally Sports Live (streaming); MiLB.tv (online); 92.3-FM

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

UFC 318 Early Prelims: undercard bouts, at New Orleans, 5 p.m., ESPN2
UFC 318 Prelims: undercard bouts, at New Orleans, 7 p.m., ESPN

MLB

Kansas City at Miami, 3 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Kansas, 1240-AM, 97.5-FM; MLB (out-of-market only)
Cincinnati at NY Mets, 3 p.m., MLB
Boston at Chicago Cubs, 6 p.m., FOX
Houston at Seattle, 8:30 p.m., MLB

MOTOR SPORTS

FIM MotoGP: The Czechia Grand Prix, sprint race, at Brno Circuit, 7:55 a.m., FS1
NTT IndyCar Series: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, practice, 9:30 a.m., FS1
NASCAR Xfinity Series: BetRivers 200, practice and qualifying, 10 a.m., CW App (streaming)
NASCAR Cup Series: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400, practice and qualifying, 12:30 p.m., truTV
NTT IndyCar Series: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, qualifying, 1:30 p.m., FS1
Pro Motocross Championship: round 25, at Washougal, Wash., 2 p.m., NBC
NASCAR Xfinity Series: The BetRivers 200, at Dover Motor Speedway, 3:30 p.m., CW
NHRA: Northwest Nationals, qualifying, 9 p.m., FS1 (taped)

NBA

Summer League Tournament: New York vs. Washington, consolation game, at Las Vegas, 2:30 p.m., NBA
Summer League Tournament: Sacramento vs. Toronto, semifinal, at Las Vegas, 3 p.m., ESPN
Summer League Tournament: Houston vs. Minnesota, consolation game, at Las Vegas, 4:30 p.m., NBA
Summer League Tournament: Charlotte vs. Oklahoma City, semifinal, at Las Vegas, 5 p.m., ESPN
Summer League Tournament: Cleveland vs. Golden State, consolation game, at Las Vegas, 6:30 p.m., NBA
Summer League Tournament: Portland vs. Phoenix, consolation game, at Las Vegas, 8:30 p.m., NBA

RUGBY

International Union: Australia vs. British & Irish Lions, at Brisbane, Australia, 5 a.m., CBSSN
Women’s International Fixture: United States vs. Fiji, at Washington, 1 p.m., CBS
International Union: United States vs. England, at Washington, 4 p.m., CBSSN
NRL Women’s: Sydney at Brisbane, 10:40 p.m., FS2
NRL Women’s: New Zealand at Newcastle, 3:10 a.m. (Sunday), FS2

SAILING

SailGP: Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, day 1, at Portsmouth, England, 10 a.m., CBSSN

SOCCER

UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 Championship: Germany vs. France, quarterfinal, at Basel, Switzerland, 1:45 p.m., FOX
USL Championship: Hartford at Rhode Island, 3 p.m., CBS
Copa América Femenina Group Stage: Venezuela vs. Bolivia, group B, at Quito, Ecuador, 3:50 p.m., FS2
Copa América Femenina Group Stage: Colombia vs. Paraguay, group B, at Quito, Ecuador, 6:55 p.m., FS1

TENNIS

Hopman Cup: Canada vs. Greece; ATP: Gstaad and Bastad, semifinals; WTA: Hamburg and Iasi, semifinals, 4 a.m., TENNIS
ATP: Los Cabos, singles final, 9 p.m., TENNIS

WNBA

2025 All-Star Game: Team Collier vs. Team Caitlin, at Indianapolis, 7:30 p.m., ABC

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Yohan Chang: Canadian taekwondo coach, athlete and stunt double at Rhine-Ruhr 2025

Written by Sophie Wisely, FISU Young Reporter, Australia Most kids dream of being a stunt double in blockbuster movies. For Canadian Yohan Chang, that’s his reality. Holding double duties at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games as both coach and competitor, the 24-year-old is the epitome of taekwondo mental fortitude. A graduate of one […]

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2 hours ago

July 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Written by Sophie Wisely, FISU Young Reporter, Australia

Most kids dream of being a stunt double in blockbuster movies. For Canadian Yohan Chang, that’s his reality.

Holding double duties at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games as both coach and competitor, the 24-year-old is the epitome of taekwondo mental fortitude.

A graduate of one of Canada’s top business schools at York University, Chang has coached the national taekwondo team since 2022, mentoring his students at international tournaments while carving out an extraordinarily exciting career in the film industry.

And that’s just the beginning.

“Taekwondo is actually a family business for me,” he said.

“I started when I was two, just kicking (and) punching with my dad and eventually, I transitioned into competing when I was around 12.

“Ever since then, it’s just been my entire life.”

Living the Hollywood dream

Chang is no stranger to the international stage, using his unique taekwondo skills to develop a niche job path in TV and movie stunts.

“My dad also does the film industry aspect. So being a younger kid with this skill set of martial arts; being able to fall, being able to spin, kick, and jump is somewhat uncommon,” he said.

“So they need kids all the time to do all those small stunts. That’s how I slowly got into it, and then… into coaching, training (and) competing.”

Chang has credits in over 13 different entertainment series, with some jobs amassing nearly 800 million minutes viewed at peak streaming.

“The biggest (job) that I’ve worked on is Umbrella Academy. It’s a Netflix show with people with superpowers. I stunt double the Asian actor Justin H. Min. So I was stunt doubling him in season (two and three).

“Obviously, it’s been a blast being on that side of (the industry).”

The Torontonian said there isn’t much difference between his on-screen persona and the competitive taekwondo mindset.

“I would say that the main similarity (between the both) is the pressure of being on camera and also performing. You have that same pressure where you can’t really afford to fail.”

Coaching Team Canada on Saturday, 19 July, while also representing his country in the men’s 64kg division the following Tuesday, Chang has unprecedented insight into being a student-athlete.

“I’m towards the end of my career, so it’s quite a rare opportunity for me to compete at an international level like this. The stunt jobs and those things, they’ll always be there, especially as I get older,” he admitted.

“This is my first University Games as an athlete… I just wanted to see what it was like being at a multi-sport game, working with other individuals outside of taekwondo and seeing what the atmosphere was like and seeing if anything was different.”

Chang’s mental fortitude, developed over years of competition, allowed the Schulich School of Business student to balance elite sports and academics.

Canada is no stranger to sporting prowess, but for niche disciplines such as taekwondo, structural boundaries still present themselves.

“It’s quite difficult to get into the sport, because in order for you to compete at a high performance level, you have to get your black belt first. Which makes it a little bit more difficult for people who just want to try it out,” he said.

This is something Chang is working to change, training with his student-athletes regularly to create a supportive and tight-knit environment. On Saturday, his mentoring paid off in a big way as his pupil and teammate Nithan Brindamohan captured gold with a 2-1 win over Ethan Youngsuk of the United States.

Other gold medallists on day three of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 taekwondo competition included Thailand’s Bunlung Tubtimdang (men’s 68kg), Brazil’s Maria Pacheco (women’s 57kg) as well as Yunseo Kim from the Republic of Korea (women’s 46kg).

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

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