Walt Whitman, one of America’s greatest poets, spent plenty of time thinking about grass. He is best known for his poetry collection “Leaves of Grass.” In it, he contemplates the “hopeful green stuff,” comparing it to a child, his own disposition, even calling it “the beautiful uncut hair of graves.” Allen Community College trustees spent […]
Walt Whitman, one of America’s greatest poets, spent plenty of time thinking about grass. He is best known for his poetry collection “Leaves of Grass.” In it, he contemplates the “hopeful green stuff,” comparing it to a child, his own disposition, even calling it “the beautiful uncut hair of graves.”
Allen Community College trustees spent a fair amount of time considering the green stuff as well Tuesday evening, as they discussed the sorry state of the college’s soccer field and what to do about it during a special board meeting.
The college paid about $52,000 last summer to have the field sprigged with Bermuda grass. (“Sprigging” a field means establishing turf by planting grass stems, or sprigs, as opposed to seed, into the soil.) Whitman might note Bermuda grass is praised for its ability to resist heat and drought, as well as its capacity to withstand heavy traffic.
Allen trustees just know it’s dead. The whole field of it. And in order to have a soccer program this fall, they need that to change.
Brett Wiens of Turf Solutions speaks to ACC trustees Tuesday about the college’s beleaguered soccer field shown below.
Allen Community College trustee Jenny Spillman participates in a special meeting Tuesday.
Allen Community College trustee Corey Schinstock participates in a special meeting Tuesday.
The board’s frustration with the situation was obvious. For two consecutive winters now, the soccer field’s grass has failed to survive. Winterkill has left a brown rectangle surrounded by green, and the prospect of having to pay for a second summer sprigging seemed particularly irksome to trustee Corey Schinstock.
“That’s all on us, right?” he asked, examining the price tag. “There’s no guarantee after what happened the last time?”
Board chair Rebecca Nilges affirmed the cost was the college’s burden to bear.
“OK, that’s all I need to know,” said Schinstock. “To me, if my contractor doesn’t stand behind something he put in, I’m not doing it again. Everybody ought to have some skin in the game, in my opinion.”
“My biggest thing is there ought to be some sort of warranty on this,” said Schinstock. “I’m not talking insurance. I’m talking warranty. Any project I’ve ever been a part of with grass or seed, you get a year warranty on it.” He urged the project be put out to bid.
BRETT WIENS of Turf Solutions was on hand to provide context. Based in McPherson, Turf Solutions has managed the college’s soccer, baseball and softball fields since around 2013. Wiens covered a myriad of factors that could explain why the grass died. Too cold. Too wet. Too dry. But after a thorough exploration of the data, even Wiens was left a bit bewildered, saying, “That’s a very long answer to why the field keeps dying. And I don’t know.”
The trustees also heard Wiens discuss alternatives. Artificial turf would cost more than $1 million and last a decade. Bluegrass, which the Royals play on, does poorly in heat and is more expensive. Fescue is probably the best option, but it’s still more expensive than Bermuda grass, doesn’t withstand heat and traffic as well, and can’t be cut as short as Bermuda grass. (The college’s soccer coaches prefer shorter grass.)
After hearing Wiens out, trustee Gena Clounch asked the question on everyone’s mind: “How can you guarantee this won’t fail again?”
Wiens’ answer was simple. He can’t. There are just too many factors at play, he said. The college could purchase a tarp to cover the field during extreme cold, or even apply a layer of sand over the field in the off-season to insulate the grass. They could even winterize the field in August or September to see if that helps. Trustee Vicki Curry suggested the college look into purchasing a tarp in the near future, saying, “We wouldn’t be out all this money if we’d done that in the beginning.”
The options seemed endless. But in the end, the $53,450 price tag of re-sprigging, and hoping for a milder winter, or at least greener grass come spring, won the day. Athletic Director Doug Desmarteau said men’s and women’s soccer departments will dedicate $10,000 each to the cause, and $15,000 will come from the athletics account. Ryan Sigg, the college’s plant operations director, told the board he had enough funds in the maintenance budget to cover the remaining $18,450.
Desmarteau and Sigg noted the college had already allocated around $13,000 for the field’s maintenance, so the sprigging will only result in about $40,000 in additional expense.
Clounch made the motion to move forward, which passed 5-1. Schinstock was opposed.
Fisk gymnastics, nation’s first HBCU program, to shut down after 2026
The first HBCU to have a gymnastics program will participate in its last season in 2026. Fisk University, which began competing in January 2023, will discontinue its program after next season, the school announced last week. “Considerable challenges … to schedule competitions and build a robust recruiting pipeline,” were the reasons cited for the decision […]
The first HBCU to have a gymnastics program will participate in its last season in 2026.
Fisk University, which began competing in January 2023, will discontinue its program after next season, the school announced last week.
“Considerable challenges … to schedule competitions and build a robust recruiting pipeline,” were the reasons cited for the decision on the school’s website. Fisk competes in the HBCU Athletic Conference, and the sport isn’t sanctioned by the conference, resulting in those challenges.
“While we are tremendously proud of the history our gymnastics team has made in just three years, we look forward to focusing on our conference-affiliated teams to strengthen our impact in the HBCU Athletic Conference,” Valencia Jordan, Director of Fisk Athletics, said on the school’s website. “Fisk is grateful for the hard work, dedication and tenacity of its gymnasts, staff members, and coaches who made this program possible.”
The Tennessean has reached out to Jordan for comment.
Fisk University gymnastics had early success
Despite being new on the scene, Fisk’s gymnastics team has experienced some success.
Morgan Price of Lebanon became the first gymnast from an HBCU to win the all-around championship at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships in 2024. She repeated the feat in 2025.
“It feels good because of the hard work that has been put in,” Price said in a release after the first title. “Honestly, I didn’t know where I would place, but it was a pleasant surprise. I have heard from a lot of people so far. I am still trying to take all this in.”
Price, Allie Berkley, Aliyah Reed-Hammon, and Ciniah Rosby each earned first-team All-American honors for the 2025 season.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
$25M land sale advances mixed-use project at former Dowling campus
THE BLUEPRINT: Hampshire Venture Partners acquires 105 acres in Shirley for $25M 600,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space planned across three buildings 45 acres dedicated to Brookhaven for public park and rec center Project includes two ice rinks, open space, and reused facilities A New Jersey development firm has closed on its $25 million […]
Hampshire Venture Partners acquires 105 acres in Shirley for $25M
600,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space planned across three buildings
45 acres dedicated to Brookhaven for public park and rec center
Project includes two ice rinks, open space, and reused facilities
A New Jersey development firm has closed on its $25 million acquisition of 105 acres in Shirley to advance its industrial and recreational project for the site.
Hampshire Venture Partners LLC, an affiliate of Morristown, N.J.-based Hampshire Real Estate Companies, purchased the 104.73-acre site next to the Town of Brookhaven’s Calabro Airport that was formerly occupied by Dowling College‘s aviation school.
Hampshire plans to build nearly 600,000 square feet of speculative warehouse space in three buildings measuring 206,206 square feet, 183,750 square feet and 206,800 square feet on about 60 acres of the site that will be built in phases.
Aerial view of the 105 acres purchased by Hampshire Venture Partners in Shirley. / Courtesy of A&G Realty Partners
The developer is dedicating the remaining 45 acres to the Town of Brookhaven, including three existing athletic fields on the north side of the site, about 22 acres of mostly wooded open space and a $25 million, 81,250-square-foot recreation center with two ice hockey rinks that will be built by Ronkonkoma-based J. Petrocelli Contracting.
The plan includes demolishing the 72,000-square-foot former Dowling dormitory building but retaining 53,000 square feet of offices and classrooms and an airplane hangar for future reuse.
The former Dowling property had been owned by Triple Five Aviation Industries, a subsidiary of Edmonton, Alberta-based Triple Five Worldwide Group, which purchased it in May 2018 for $14 million as part of the college’s bankruptcy sale. Triple Five had planned to create an “industry-university research and development center for advanced transportation technology” at the site, but a Florida firm that was supposed to operate it backed out, according to a real estate source. The Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency subsequently terminated the economic incentives it had approved for the proposed Triple Five project.
In another short-circuited plan, Triple Five affiliate Calverton Aviation & Technology LLC filed a lawsuit in Jan. 2024 against the Town of Riverhead for cancelling the developer’s $40 million purchase of 1,643 acres of the Enterprise Park at Calverton, where it planned to build a nearly 10 million-square-foot industrial park. The suit is still pending.
The Shirley site is zoned residential, but the Brookhaven Town Board will soon schedule a public hearing on changing the zone from residential to industrial for the 60 acres earmarked for warehouses and also for allowing the recreation building.
“We are enthusiastically looking forward to presenting our applications to the town board and the public very soon,” said attorney Christopher Kent, real estate development partner at the Farrell Fritz law firm, who is representing the project. “We are looking forward to our partnership with the town to develop the industrial portion and to dedicate the remainder of the land to the town for a town park that will include a hockey rink and over 20 acres of open space.”
John Durso, chief investment officer for Hampshire Real Estate Companies, said the development firm hopes to receive site-plan approval and begin construction by the end of the year.
Male College Gymnast Calls Out Riley Gaines Amid Trans Feud With Simone Biles
A male gymnast has lashed out at Gaines for believing women’s sports are for women. PublishedJune 10, 2025 12:52 PM EDT•UpdatedJune 10, 2025 12:52 PM EDT Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Sam Phillips, a male gymnast at the University of Illinois, has come to the defense of Simone Biles after the legendary Olympian randomly and […]
A male gymnast has lashed out at Gaines for believing women’s sports are for women.
Published•Updated
Sam Phillips, a male gymnast at the University of Illinois, has come to the defense of Simone Biles after the legendary Olympian randomly and personally attacked OutKick’s Riley Gaines regarding transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Biles went after Gaines on June 6 when she posted a response on X calling the OutKick host “truly sick” while claiming she should be “uplifting the trans community” before telling Gaines she should “bully someone your own size,” which Biles wrote “would ironically be a male.”
Stephen A. Smith Shares His Thoughts On The Riley Gaines-Simone Biles Clash Over Transgender Athletes
Her response was a reaction to Gaines pointing out the ridiculousness of a Minnesota high school softball team winning a state championship last week while being led by a pitcher who is a biological male.
After a brief back-and-forth on social media, Biles has gone radio silent, while Gaines issued her response to it all during Monday’s edition of ‘Gaines for Girls.’
Phillips, a member of USA Gymnastics, decided to share his two cents on the situation by bashing Gaines and claiming Biles would actually win gold medals in certain men’s gymnastics events.
Phillips, like many who see no issue with biological males competing in women’s sports, appears to have ironically missed a 2017 post from Biles that has been unearthed where the Olympian commented on men taking gold medals away from women.
Phillips spoke with OutSports about the Gaines-Biles feud and went into further detail about how Biles would have beaten male gymnasts in her prime.
“Floor and vault!! Most definitely,” he told the outlet. “And honestly with her body type, if she was introduced to rings at a young age, maybe even rings!!! We don’t know the possibilities of what women in all sports fields can accomplish if we limit them from the start!!”
Phillips, who is reportedly openly bisexual, told the outlet he’s written papers on the topic of transgender athletes in women’s sports and is “armed with knowledge.” That knowledge does not appear to support basic biology, sex, or keeping women’s sports and spaces exclusive to biological females.
“I have written multiple papers on this topic and have been involved in discussions within the NCAA and activist groups regarding this subject. I am armed with knowledge and have no time to argue with people who lead with hate and ignorance. I’m protecting my community and protecting my peace,” Phillips told the outlet.
“I thank Simone for standing up for those who don’t have many people fighting for them. I think this was a huge win for the athletic community who truly knows that sports is about unity and competing under common purposes. If there’s no space, like Simone said, we will figure it out and make it. But name-calling and outing like [Gaines] did does nothing but spread toxicity and hate. And THAT has NO PLACE in sports!!”
Male Gymnast Misses The Mark In Calling Out Riley Gaines
It is easy for Phillips and others to focus on gymnastics in the context of the Gaines-Biles feud, given that he himself is a gymnast and Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts ever. However, it misses the larger point so many have failed to see.
Gaines is routinely labeled as an ‘anti-trans’ activist, which has never been the case. She’s gone on the record more times than she can likely remember, explicitly explaining that she’s an advocate for women’s sports to be exclusive to biological females, and not a haven for biological males to infiltrate what should be a safe and celebrated place for women.
Gaines was forced to swim against biological male Lia Thomas at the NCAA Championships years ago. Thomas accomplished nothing when swimming against biological males, then suddenly won a national title when transitioning and moved to the women’s division. That’s not a coincidence.
Despite the notion that the liberal media, athletes, and people across social media push, Gaines has not and is not pushing the idea that sports are no place for transgender athletes. Her message is a simple one and based in reality: women’s sports are no place for biological men.
All Eight WIAC Institutions Finish In Top 101 of Directors’ Cup Standings
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6/10/2025 11:53:25 AM
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Official NACDA Release CLEVELAND –All eight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) institutions have finished in the top 101 of the 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup NCAA Division III standings.
UW-La Crosse topped the conference […]
–All eight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) institutions have finished in the top 101 of the 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup NCAA Division III standings.
UW-La Crosse topped the conference entries, placing 10th with 856 points, while UW-Whitewater was 14th with 737.25, UW-Eau Claire 21st with 654.75, UW-Oshkosh 28th with 562.50, UW-Platteville 59th with 331, UW-Stout 73rd with 280, UW-Stevens Point 94th with 218.50 and UW-River Falls 101st with 194.60. A total of 324 institutions were represented in the final standings.
Emory University (Ga.) accumulated 1,198.75 points to claim the top spot in the standings that recognize the best NCAA Division III overall athletics programs in the country. Johns Hopkins University (Md.) finished second with 1,147, Tufts University (Mass.) third with 1,069, Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) fourth with 1,044.75 and Middlebury College (Vt.) fifth with 971.75.
The WIAC secured five NCAA Division III titles during the 2024-25 academic year as UW-La Crosse won men’s cross country, men’s indoor track & field and men’s outdoor track & field, while UW-River Falls claimed the women’s ice hockey championship and UW-Whitewater posted a first-place finish in baseball. UW-La Crosse also captured the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championship.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA championships.
Penn State issues tornado warning alert | Penn State, State College News
A PSUAlert was issued at 8:42 p.m. Monday after the National Weather Service in State College announced a tornado warning for multiple counties in central Pennsylvania. The alert is in effect until 9:15 p.m. The warning was issued for Southeastern Centre County, Northeastern Huntingdon County and Northern Mifflin County. A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a […]
A PSUAlert was issued at 8:42 p.m. Monday after the National Weather Service in State College announced a tornado warning for multiple counties in central Pennsylvania. The alert is in effect until 9:15 p.m.
The warning was issued for Southeastern Centre County, Northeastern Huntingdon County and Northern Mifflin County.
A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Boalsburg and moving northeast at 30 mph as of 8:42 p.m., according to the alert.
The storm will be near Potters Mills, Seven Mountains and Boalsburg around 8:50 p.m., Spring Mills around 9:00 p.m. and Poe Valley State Park around 9:10 p.m.
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ECAC Hockey Announces 2025-26 Women’s Hockey Conference Schedule
By: Rebecca Osowski
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2025-26 Women’s Hockey Season Ticket Deposit
DANBURY, Conn. – On Tuesday, ECAC Hockey unveiled the full conference schedule for the 2025-26 season. The Big Green will kick off conference play at home, welcoming the Colgate Raiders and […]
DANBURY, Conn. – On Tuesday, ECAC Hockey unveiled the full conference schedule for the 2025-26 season.
The Big Green will kick off conference play at home, welcoming the Colgate Raiders and Cornell Big Red on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25.
Dartmouth will then head to North Country, looking to make it two straight against St. Lawrence on Friday, October 31 before facing Clarkson on Saturday, November 1.
On Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8, the Big Green will play a home and home with the Harvard Crimson. Dartmouth will host on Friday before heading to Cambridge on Saturday.
Women’s hockey will continue its stretch of four straight conference games against Ivy League foes on Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15 when it heads to Providence and New Haven for matchups with Brown and Yale.
The Big Green will then have two weeks off from ECAC Hockey games before returning to action at home the first weekend of December. Dartmouth will host RPI on Friday, December 5 and Union on Saturday, December 6.
Following the winter break, the Big Green’s first ECAC Hockey games will close the regular season series against Yale and Brown. Dartmouth will face off against the Bulldogs at Thompson Arena on Friday, January 9 and Brown on Saturday, January 10.
After two conference series at home, Dartmouth will be back on the road, this time heading to Hamden, Connecticut and Princeton, New Jersey for its first set of games against Quinnipiac and Princeton. The matchup with the Bobcats is set for Friday, January 16 while the Big Green will face the Tigers on Saturday, January 17.
The Big Green will return home on Friday, January 23 and Saturday, January 24, welcoming the St. Lawrence Saints and Clarkson Golden Knights to Thompson Arena.
To round out the month of January, the Big Green head to New York, facing Cornell on Friday, January 30 and Colgate on Saturday, January 31.
Dartmouth’s last conference home games of the year will be on Friday, February 6 against Princeton and Saturday, February 7 against Quinnipiac.
The Big Green will then close regular season conference play in the 2025-26 season on the road at RPI and Union. Dartmouth will face the Engineers on Friday, February 13 and the Garnet Chargers in their brand-new rink on Saturday, February 14.
More information on the full 2025-26 women’s hockey schedule will be available soon. To put down your deposit for 2025-26 season tickets click here.
Stephen A. responds to LeBron’s NBA coverage criticism | First Take
