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Ali Krieger retired from professional soccer two years ago after winning the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham FC, but that doesn’t mean she’s stopped playing. And it definitely doesn’t mean she’s stopped winning. The two-time World Cup winner joined her former teammates, as well as some new faces, to form the US Women’s team at The Soccer Tournament […]

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Ali Krieger retired from professional soccer two years ago after winning the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham FC, but that doesn’t mean she’s stopped playing.

And it definitely doesn’t mean she’s stopped winning.

The two-time World Cup winner joined her former teammates, as well as some new faces, to form the US Women’s team at The Soccer Tournament (TST) in Cary, North Carolina, earlier this month. A goal from the U.S. Under-23 and University of North Carolina midfielder Evelyn Shores, assisted by Krieger’s former national team teammate Heather O’Reilly, earned the group a second consecutive title at the seven-on-seven tournament and the $1million prize.

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“It was incredible,” Krieger told The Athletic, describing joining O’Reilly and other former teammates such as Jo Lohman, Carli Lloyd, as well as former Arsenal defender and girlfriend Jen Beattie. “It’s just enjoyable to play with my former teammates again, who I’ve won championships with over the years, and then just to see the young talent rise.”

Sitting in 100-degree heat in the heart of Manhattan, Krieger spoke to The Athletic while getting ready for another short-side match. This time it was to play in a five-on-five charity match called Showdown, organized by her friend, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and soccer enthusiast Steve Nash, via his eponymous foundation. The mini-tournament featured former and current professional basketball and soccer players to raise money for children in need.

“I miss the game so much, so kind of dabbling in it one weekend at a time every year is enough for me,” Krieger told The Athletic on Tuesday ahead of the event.

The hunger to grow the game hasn’t left her. And while she’s no longer lacing up her boots at the highest level, she is expanding her investment portfolio to give back and stay in the game.

Earlier this year, Krieger invested equity in League One Volleyball (LOVB). She said she sees women’s sports not just as a place where she used to compete, but as an ecosystem worth investing in.

“I’d love to get into women’s hockey as well as basketball, and of course, I want to keep expanding my role in the NWSL,” she said, and not only as an analyst, a job she’s had with ESPN since 2024.

“I want to be an owner and invest fully in an organization so that I can have more of an impact on the day-to-day side of things,” Krieger said.

She’s part of a growing wave of former U.S. women’s national team players betting on women’s sports, particularly on the league they bruised their legs for many years. After retiring from the team, Alex Morgan became a minority investor in the San Diego Wave FC, the club where she closed out her playing career and where her jersey will be retired in the fall. Lauren Holiday joined the ownership group of the North Carolina Courage, while Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm are both part of the high-profile investor group behind Angel City FC. Aly Wagner is part of the Bay FC ownership group, together with Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton, and Leslie Osborne.

Krieger retired from professional soccer as the NWSL was hitting a major inflection point, when investors were lining up and franchise valuations were soaring into the double-digit millions. Today, her vision includes helping shape where the game goes next. While the NWSL has announced new expansion teams in Boston and Denver, Krieger believes there’s more fertile ground in the U.S.

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“I think Las Vegas would be amazing,” she said. “Arizona, Atlanta, Austin, these are all amazing cities for soccer.”

One close to the Virginia-native’s home is Philadelphia, and she thinks it deserves a team. She also sees room for another team in the New York area, where she finished her career.

“I’d love to see another team in New York someday,” she added. “Rivalries matter. They grow the game.”

But rivalries alone won’t sustain the next phase of women’s soccer. For that, Krieger thinks it’s time for the NWSL teams to think and act like clubs.

“It would be great to have that model, just like it is in Europe, where you start at the youth level and you move through the ranks. That consistency breeds elite talent. It’s not just kids coming to play; there is a structure, but it’s going to take some time.”


Ali Krieger finished her professional career with Gotham FC in NWSL. (Ira L. Black – Corbis / Getty Images)

That development also involves the national team players, like her former TST teammate, Shores, who benefited from a half-year of camps dedicated to developing the under-23 age group.

“That pathway hasn’t always been smooth. (U.S. head coach) Emma (Hayes) is fixing that,” Krieger said. “Giving these young rookies a real chance? It’s exciting. And they deserve it if they’re showing up in the league.”

The development adds a level of competition, too, Krieger believes. “No one is guaranteed a spot, and that’s how it should be.”

As for Krieger’s role, she’ll continue to do what she can from the sidelines, even as that desire to be in the middle of the action remains.

“When I’m not playing, I’m more nervous,” she admitted. “You can’t control anything. On the field, at least you feel like you can help. Off it, you’re just watching, and yelling doesn’t do much.”

(Top photo: Marleen Moise / Getty Images)

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Tarpley Earns CSC Academic All-America® Honors for Track & Field

Story Links KENOSHA – Carthage College women’s track and field student-athlete, Nicole Tarpley, has been named to this year’s 2024-2025 NCAA Division III College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Third Team. Tarpley, a graduate student from Bloomingdale, Ill., studying education, earned this honor after a stellar season in the ring […]

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KENOSHACarthage College women’s track and field student-athlete, Nicole Tarpley, has been named to this year’s 2024-2025 NCAA Division III College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Third Team.

Tarpley, a graduate student from Bloomingdale, Ill., studying education, earned this honor after a stellar season in the ring and the classroom. Tarpley placed third in the discus throw and fourth in the hammer throw at the 2025 CCIW Outdoor Championships. At the 2025 CCIW Indoor Championships, Tarpley took first place in the weight throw. On the national level, Tarpley competed at both the NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Tarpley earned All-American honors at both championships. At the indoor championships, Tarpley placed eighth in the weight throw and 12th at the outdoor championships in the discus throw. Nationally, in the North Region, Tarpley had the fifth-best mark in the indoor weight throw, sixth in the outdoor discus throw, and fifth in the outdoor hammer throw. 

To be considered for CSC Academic All-America Honors, individuals have to maintain a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at their institution. Nominated athletes must be ranked in the top 50 in the region in a single event (XC, indoor, or outdoor) and must be an individual performance, not a relay performance. Nominees must have completed one full calendar year at their institution and have reached sophomore athletic eligibility. Additionally, individuals must have been chosen for the CSC Academic All-District Team and advance to the national ballot. The CSC Academic All-America program is voted upon strictly by members of the College Sports Communicators Association.



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Barton Hall-of-Famer, Former Coach of the Year Named Nickerson Volleyball Coach – Ad Astra Radio

NICKERSON, Kan. – Trish Wade, a Barton Community College Hall of Fame inductee, four-time All-American, and 2011 1A Coach of the Year, has been hired by Nickerson High School as their new Head Volleyball Coach. Wade coached high school volleyball for 17 years at St. John, racking up over 420 career wins, coaching 10 state tournament […]

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NICKERSON, Kan. – Trish Wade, a Barton Community College Hall of Fame inductee, four-time All-American, and 2011 1A Coach of the Year, has been hired by Nickerson High School as their new Head Volleyball Coach.

Wade coached high school volleyball for 17 years at St. John, racking up over 420 career wins, coaching 10 state tournament Final Fours, and four state championships. She has a track record of excellence going back to her playing days where she played volleyball and basketball at Barton Community College.

While with the Cougars, Wade played under legendary head coach Ray Bechard in 1985 and 1986, earning two All-American honors. She then moved on to play volleyball at Florida Southern where she also won all-conference and All-American honors. She was inducted to the Barton Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

Trish Wade is also the mother of former St. John basketball star, former K-State basketball star, and current member of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers Dean Wade.

https://www.renocountyfair.com/



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Video: Watch how Intuit Dome is transformed into Intuit Beach

AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, hosted beach volleyball matches for the first time in an NBA arena this past weekend. Hosted at the Intuit Dome, crews were tasked with bringing 300 tons of sand from a quarry in Palm Springs, which is roughly 16 truck loads. AVP is looking for creative ways […]

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AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, hosted beach volleyball matches for the first time in an NBA arena this past weekend.

Hosted at the Intuit Dome, crews were tasked with bringing 300 tons of sand from a quarry in Palm Springs, which is roughly 16 truck loads. AVP is looking for creative ways to attract a new audiences to the sport, often hosting their marquee volleyball events in unconventional locations.

Timelapse of Intuit Dome transforming into an indoor beach vollyball court. (Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)

A wooden sandbox was constructed to contain the prewashed sand and form a single court.

It took the crew, which consists of about 150 people for a change over a typical event at Intuit Dome, five hours after the conclusion of the event to ready the arena for Clippers season ticket-holders the following day.



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Air Force Academy Athletics

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force men’s water polo team announced its 2025 schedule, highlighted by a pair of tournaments and as the host institution for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships.  The Falcons host 13 home games, which is more than double the amount from the previous season. The Falcons open the […]

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USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force men’s water polo team announced its 2025 schedule, highlighted by a pair of tournaments and as the host institution for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships.  The Falcons host 13 home games, which is more than double the amount from the previous season.

The Falcons open the season by hosting the Rare Air Challenge and the Rare Air Invite in back-to-back weekends.  The Falcons open Aug. 29-31 as the host of the Rare Air Challenge, taking on Redlands, Mount St. Mary’s, Salem, Cal and Biola.  Air Force then hosts the Rare Air Invite on Sept. 6-7, taking on McKendree, Cal State Fullerton, Augustana, Whittier and UC Merced.

After taking part in the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., Sept. 12-13, the Falcons head east to take on Service Academy rival Navy on Sept. 18.  That weekend has Air Force at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa., Sept. 20-21, taking on  LIU, Bucknell and Gannon.

Air Force follows with its WCC-opener on Oct. 2 at Pacific.  The Falcons follow up at the Gary Troyer invite in Claremont/Pomona, Calif., on Oct. 4, with games against Chapman and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.  Air Force closes out the weekend with a game at Redlands on Oct. 5.

The Falcons return home to host Cal Baptist on Oct. 12.  Air Force then plays WCC road games at LMU on Oct. 17 and Pepperdine on Oct. 19.  

Air Force hits the road for the final time at Cal on Oct. 24, followed by three games at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament in San Jose/Santa Clara, Calif., from Oct. 25-26.   The Falcons face UC Merced, Harvard and Pomona-Pitzer at the Fraser Memorial.

Air Force concludes the regular season with WCC home matches against San Jose State on Nov. 2 and Santa Clara Nov. 8.

The Falcons are the host school for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships, held Nov. 21-23 at the Cadet Natatorium.

Air Force Men’s Water Polo 2025 Schedule

Date/Opponent

Aug. 29 REDLANDS !

Aug. 29 MOUNT ST. MARY’S !

Aug. 30 SALEM !

Aug. 30 CAL !

Aug. 31 BIOLA !

Sept. 6 McKENDREE !

Sept. 6 CAL STATE FULLERTON !

Sept. 7 AUGUSTANA !

Sept. 7 WHITTIER !

Sept. 7 UC MERCED !


Sept. 12-13/TBA (Titan Invitational) #

Sept. 18 at Navy

Sept. 20 vs. LIU $

Sept. 20 at Bucknell $

Sept. 21 vs. Gannon $

Oct. 2 at Pacific*

Oct. 4 at Chapman %

Oct. 4 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps %

Oct. 5 at Redlands

Oct. 12 CAL BAPTIST*

Oct. 17 at LMU*

Oct. 19 at Pepperdine*

Oct. 24 at Cal

Oct. 25 vs. UC Merced^

Oct. 25 vs. Harvard^

Oct. 26 vs. Pomona-Pitzer^

Nov. 2 SAN JOSE STATE*

Nov. 8 SANTA CLARA*

Nov. 21-23/WCC Championships (@ USAFA)

Home matches in BOLD CAPS

! Rare Air Challenge – USAFA

@ Rare Air Invite – USAFA

# Titan Invitational – Fullerton, CA

$ Bucknell Invite – Lewisburg, PA

% Gary Troyer Tournament – Claremont/Orange, CA

^ Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament – San Jose/Santa Clara, CA

* Denotes West Coast Conference game

WCC Championships – USAFA

 



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ESPN Quietly Putting New Pro-Michelle Obama All-Women’s Digital Show On TV

When we questioned the upside of ESPN’s new all-women’s show, “Vibe Check,” featuring three mean girls known for their animosity toward Caitlin Clark, woke white knights in the media argued the network was burying the program on the Disney+ streaming service. “The show isn’t on ESPN. It’s on D+ which means the only people watching […]

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When we questioned the upside of ESPN’s new all-women’s show, “Vibe Check,” featuring three mean girls known for their animosity toward Caitlin Clark, woke white knights in the media argued the network was burying the program on the Disney+ streaming service.

“The show isn’t on ESPN. It’s on D+ which means the only people watching it will have to purposefully go search for it and seek it out to watch it in their time,” said Ringer host Van Lathan in response to our article.

Lathan tried to argue that the program was merely accessory content and that ESPN wasn’t replacing current television programming for it. But that’s not true. Despite promoting the show as a Disney+ exclusive, the show also quietly airs daily on ESPN2.

It’s not just that ESPN is wasting valuable real estate on a show hosted by Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, and Andraya Carter. The network is also feeding sports fans content that has nothing to do with, well, sports.

Through two weeks, the cast’s most viral moment is a segment in which Duncan fawned over former first lady Michelle Obama with guest Robin Roberts. According to Duncan, “everybody” loves Michelle and is a dream guest for the new show.

Of course, not everybody loves Michelle Obama. She’s actually quite polarizing. She’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has never held a real job, and is launching a podcast where she endlessly complains about her life, America, and her (seemingly estranged) husband.

But that’s not the point. The point is that ESPN has a publicly-acknowledged “ban on politics” policy, yet actively promotes a show that violates said policy.

Viewers don’t tune into ESPN to hear about the Obamas. Or to see one of the hosts prancing around the set like a drunken college student and doing pushups mid-segment:

Cringe.

And while viewers can – and will – turn the channel when “Vibe Check” airs, it’s frustrating to talents internally that the network chose to promote this specific project.

ESPN2 used to be a minor league system for growing and developing future hosts. Names like Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith, and Max Kellerman started on ESPN2 before moving to the main channel. However, instead of trying to find the next Stephen A., Greenberg, or McAfee, the network is wasting time slots and resources on a preachy, finger-wagging all-women’s show.

As a factual matter, the vast majority of ESPN viewers are males. Historically, male viewers are drawn to former players they rooted for on the field or guys they’d want to watch a game with, such as Chris Berman, Scott Van Pelt, and Stuart Scott.

And yet, ESPN opted to build a show around hosts known for protesting GOP legislation, advocating for abortion, smearing little girls who wear Caitlin Clark jerseys, and praising Lia Thomas during Women’s History Month.

In all likelihood, the show will fail and ultimately worsen the perception of women in sports. Talented female broadcasters like Charissa Thompson, Erin Andrews, Laura Rutledge, Sage Steele, Michele Tafoya, Jane Slater, Katie George, Kay Adams, and Ashley Brewer will suffer because these pinheads are singing songs, dancing, and talking politics on ESPN.

The only people who will benefit from this project are the male executives who greenlit the program to advance their own careers. The “I am the guy who launched the first all-women’s show at ESPN” label holds great value within Disney, no matter its success — or lack thereof.

Anyway, expect “Vibe Check” to soon make its way into the main ESPN lineup. Possible “Around the Horn” replacement?





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UTSA announces signing of Champions’ Jamarri Bowie – UTSA Athletics

SAN ANTONIO – UTSA Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Aaron Fox announced on Tuesday that the Roadrunners will add another Greater San Antonio talent to next year’s roster, releasing the signing of Boerne-Samuel V. Champion High School sprinter Jamarri Bowie, who is set to join the Roadrunners in 2025-26. “It’s an exciting opportunity to […]

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SAN ANTONIO – UTSA Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Aaron Fox announced on Tuesday that the Roadrunners will add another Greater San Antonio talent to next year’s roster, releasing the signing of Boerne-Samuel V. Champion High School sprinter Jamarri Bowie, who is set to join the Roadrunners in 2025-26.

“It’s an exciting opportunity to bring a local talent like Jamarri into our program,” Fox said. “He’s a talented sprinter and has only scratched the surface of what he can do with his primary event. We’re looking forward to getting him on campus to begin building toward his goals on the track and in the classroom.”

Attending Boerne’s Champion High, Bowie earned the bronze medal at this year’s UIL 5A State Track and Field State Championships in Austin, producing a career-best 47.43 clocking in the 400-meter. He collected Region IV-5A, Area and District 26-6A titles this season for the Chargers, and was district runner-up in the 200-meter while producing a top time of 21.93. His senior season saw a transition to excelling in his natural event in the quarter mile, with a 100-meter and 200-meter emphasis earlier in his career. In 2025, Bowie also helped Champion to a fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay and sixth-place finish in the sprint medley relay at the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Indoor and during summer competition, Bowie has competed for the Hill Country Comets Track Club, qualified for the 2025 Nike U20 Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon and clocked in at 14th place in the 100-meter during the 2024 Nike Nationals.

 

– UTSA –



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