Rec Sports

Hundreds support Kennedy Krieger Institute’s ROAR for Kids 5K at the Maryland Zoo

Hundreds of community members did not let the rain dampen their day on Saturday. Kennedy Krieger Institute held its annual ROAR for Kids 5K Road Race and low-mileage Fun Walk at the Maryland Zoo. Walk, run, and a whole lot of “jungle’ fun A record-breaking number of registrants showed off their wild side to support […]

Published

1 month ago

May 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Hundreds of community members did not let the rain dampen their day on Saturday.

Kennedy Krieger Institute held its annual ROAR for Kids 5K Road Race and low-mileage Fun Walk at the Maryland Zoo.

Walk, run, and a whole lot of “jungle’ fun

A record-breaking number of registrants showed off their wild side to support Kennedy Krieger’s ROAR for Kids.

ROAR for Kids began in 2005 and has now raised over $4 million to advance programs and research that support children at Kennedy Krieger.

“It started out as a bike ride through the city for the autism program programs, and then it’s just evolved to much larger,” said Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, the president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute.

“They really support each other”

The Bennett Blazers, Kennedy Krieger’s youth adaptive sports team, kicked off the race.

One of the team’s athletes racing is Hannah Krug’s 8-year-old son Harris.

“I am just so proud of him. I’m really proud of the whole team. they work so well together. They really support each other,” said Hannah Krug, ROAR for Kids supporter and parent. “They’re really a vital part of families that have a child with a disability. So it’s just great to be part of, like, the larger picture.”

Kennedy Krieger supports nearly 30,000 people like the Kurg family every year through medical services, community programs, wellness therapies, and much more.

“We serve individuals with neurodevelopmental challenges through clinical care, education, early childhood programs, and research and clinical training, as well as advocacy. There’s no place like this,” said Dr. Schlaggar.

“Especially having a child with a disability, that you need the support of the community that you’re involved in, it’s really important– representation really matters for them,” said Krug. “Coming to events like this, they exceed other children just like them, and are part of a bigger organization that cares and supports them in so many ways.”

It is one of the many reasons why the Krug family has helped raise more than $6,000 to support ROAR, helping the organization overall surpass its 2025 fundraising goal.

“So we’re over $172,000 this year,” said Dr.Schlaggar.

“I think what is really important is recognizing that para-athletes are athletes,” Krug explained. “They’re tremendously hard working and work all year in this year-long program, and really bringing awareness and support to this program is really what’s important to us.

WJZ was the proud media sponsor of the event. Our very own Kaicey Baylor served as the event’s emcee.

For more information or to register for ROAR for Kids, visit this website.

Janay Reece

Janay Reece came back home to Baltimore to join WJZ in August 2023. Before coming back to the Charm City, Janay was a morning anchor and reporter for WDBJ7 in Roanoke, VA. She joined the WDBJ7 morning team after spending a year as a multimedia journalist in the New River Valley for the station.

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Rec Sports

Attention Little League All-Star managers: We will be in touch with you soon after your game to grab your results

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Round-robin play in the District 24 Little League all-star tournaments will begin Saturday (June 14, 2025) with four games slated. And more and more games will be contested during the next three weeks leading up to the Island championship games in five divisions — 10s and 12s softball and 10s, 11s […]

Published

15 minutes ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Round-robin play in the District 24 Little League all-star tournaments will begin Saturday (June 14, 2025) with four games slated.

And more and more games will be contested during the next three weeks leading up to the Island championship games in five divisions — 10s and 12s softball and 10s, 11s and 12s baseball — in late June and early July.

It’s nice when the Advance/SILive.com can cover your games, but unfortunately we can’t get to all of them. That’s why it’s important for the coaches of the winning teams to prepare for a call or a text from one of our sports reporters so we can gather your highlights.

The information we will ask for is easy — the two teams involved in the game and the final score and highlights. The highlights consist of two or three offensive stars and who the top pitchers were. If the game was decided in the last inning, we may ask you to take us through that inning to set the stage.

Also, it’s important to give us your record and mention what team you play next on what day and time.

The rule of thumb should be: If you don’t talk to a reporter from the Advance after your game, you should be getting a call or text from us after the game.

Now, good luck to all the Staten Island teams!

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Rec Sports

Little League helps father-son heal from kidney donation, transplant

Cooper Flagg’s mom shares her best tips for parents navigating youth sports Mackenzie Salmon sat down with Cooper Flagg’s mom Kelly to talk about how she successfully navigated the world of youth sports. Sports Seriously What’s Gavin Brown’s favorite part about having his Dad as his baseball coach? “I always have someone to talk to […]

Published

35 minutes ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

What’s Gavin Brown’s favorite part about having his Dad as his baseball coach?

“I always have someone to talk to after practice if I need to,” he says, “and he can help me with extra stuff at home if I miss it at practice.”

This past winter, Gavin and his father, Matt, spent extended time away from the field together. They sat next to one another in matching recliners. They even slept in them.

As our kids seem to advance so rapidly in age, we might say in passing how we’d give anything for an uninterrupted period with them like this. For this father-son duo, the time together came after Matt Brown gave his kidney, which saved his son.

Matt and Gavin will be together at the Angels-Orioles game on Father’s Day in Baltimore, and they are playing with Calvert (Maryland) American Little League All-Stars this summer as they attempt to advance out of their state. It’s the shot about which every Little Leaguer can dream.

In the meantime, the Brown family, which has managed Gavin’s chronic kidney disease since birth, has been renewed with a successful transplant and recovery.

“We were completely shocked,” says Gavin’s mother, Erin. “He went from he can’t sit up to, ‘Holy Moly, he’s playing baseball,’ three months later.”

USA TODAY Sports spoke with Gavin and his parents, as well as Yi Shi, a pediatric nephrologist at Children’s National Hospital and a member of Gavin’s care team, about their journey.

“Gavin was extremely brave throughout the entire process,” Erin says. “Even up until the time he went back for surgery, he was confident and reassuring, making sure to tell me everything was going to be just fine. Gavin has known this was coming his entire life, and by the time it got here, he was very ready to just get it over with and try to get back to normal life.”

Their story also details the role sports can play in managing life’s obstacles, no matter how steep they are, and in bringing fathers and sons closer together.

Coach Steve: Cal Ripken’s father passed down these four lessons for youth athletes

‘I just kept going with it’: How a parent makes a kidney transplant work

According to the latest data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), there have been 8,082 pediatric transplants performed through parent-child kidney donations since 1988, when national stats were first recorded.

Erin and Matt knew pretty much from Day 1 Gavin would need a transplant. Matt got tested and cleared to be a donor seven or eight years ago, and they waited.

In the meantime, Matt began helping out with the coaching on Gavin’s baseball team. He put his son directly into kid pitch, skipping tee ball and coach pitch. Gavin has come into his own and become a local All-Star.

But during adolescence, which is a kid’s highest period of physical growth, doctors see the steepest drop in kidney function, Shi says. That moment for Gavin came last fall, when he was 11.

“It was still kind of positioned that it was going to be a little ways away,” Erin says. “And then we saw a drastic decline. And they made the determination that we were, most likely, going to do the transplant.”

Shi says children usually do better with a living donor, and parents or other family members are the best matches: “We try to get donors less than 40 [years old] for kids, but we work around if the parents are older, for whatever reason.”

Matt, 38, was within the usual age range but there was one particular problem. “Healthy weight is a requirement for donation,” Shi says.

He weighed 238 pounds last summer.

“It wasn’t until I got out of the military that I just got soaked up with working shift work, and then kind of let myself go for a number of years,” says Matt, who served in the Army from June 2004 to October 2009, including stints in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Matt, who now works in security at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, had to lose 15 to 20 pounds from his 5-foot-9 frame. He hit the number, “and I just kept going with it,” he says. Today, he’s down to 200.

Pediatric transplant surgeon Jennifer Verbesey and a surgical team started Matt’s kidney removal surgery around 7 a.m. Feb. 10 at Washington’s MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Verbesey was with Gavin and Erin at Children’s National across town by 11:30 a.m. that day.

Father’s Day can come early: The importance of spending time together

It was five days after his 12th birthday and still, his mom says, Gavin was smiling right up until the time he went into surgery, which took 4 to 5 hours.

Doctors recommended staying out of school and avoiding large crowds for the first three months, when his immune system would be the most suppressed.

“The main part of the recovery process is really the post surgical recovery, which takes about a week or so,” Shi says. “Generally, kids feel quite good after that, so it’s not a prolonged recovery process. … It is common that children recover quickly and can return to full activity within a month.”

Gavin had swelling and some minor complications that were quickly resolved, Matt says, though they made everything a little more uncomfortable for him.

At first, neither one of them could even lie flat. Gavin had a lot of pain and, after he spent a week in the hospital, he and Matt spent about two weeks, off and on, in those reclining chairs.

“It was really just getting used to it and living with it for the most part,” Gavin says. “We went on walks a lot after we could and went outside in general. It was really just hard to get used to.”

But there was familiarity, first in spending time with dad, and then, after an isolation period together had ended, he moved to practice with his Little League team (the Orioles) in late May.

At first, the activity was about supporting his teammates and feeling like he was part of the group. Being with his friends is one of his favorite parts of baseball.

He learned the shifts and the plays, he tossed the ball softly, stretched a little and took in all the energy of practice.

“That way, when he’s ready, he can hop back in with the team,” Matt says. “You know, crawl before you walk and run.”

Shi says a transplant kidney is usually placed in the front of the belly and is less protected than our regular kidneys. They marked the spot and helped Gavin fashion a shirt, through Zoombang, that provides padding for it under his jersey.

There was a therapeutic function to playing baseball, too.

“It’s not like major league baseball, or at that level where we expect high-force injury,” Shi says. “In general, we advocate for kids to exercise, play sports, do what they otherwise would be doing. I think it’s better for quality of life and just general recovery, but kids in general, after transplant tend to gain weight, and so things like exercise really do help with blood pressure and the weight gain.

“On top of that, it’s something that he really likes doing so we try our best to accommodate.”

Coach Steve: Keep the ‘team’ in team sports − even when your child is injured

Learning how to forge kids’ independence

Though he has been on medication since he was born, Gavin and his parents decided he is now responsible enough to manage the process on his own.

He takes an antibiotic (Bactrim), which he will stop at the six-month mark after his surgery. He also takes Tacrolimus and Cellcept, two anti-rejection medications that prevent the immune system from attacking transplanted kidneys.

Gavin takes medications at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., excusing himself momentarily from our video interview last week to do so.

“Timing is very important, as keeping his body regulated with the anti-rejection medications is the best way to prolong the life of his new kidney,” Erin says. “We get notifications (through an app) if he hasn’t marked them off, which allows us to monitor him without having to do the medication administration for him. Our goal with allowing him to do this is to start preparing him to be independent and understand the importance of taking his meds on time, without micromanaging.

“We also put all his medications into daily containers with his help each week. He’s been great about remembering to take them when he leaves the house and taking them on time. We’re really proud of how well he is doing.”

There have been unexpected hurdles, though. Just recently, for example, his white blood cell count was low and he missed school.

“Just things we weren’t necessarily prepared for that we’re kind of learning along the way,” Erin says. “He seemed fine, but his blood work wasn’t showing fine, so we had to make adjustments.”

When he plays baseball, he has been instructed to not slide headfirst. He was there, though, when the Orioles won their Little League’s championship.

“He’s hitting the ball well,” Matt says, “just not as far as he used to, which he understands. And mobility is a little bit slower … (He’s) still not back 100% but he’s able to compete.”

‘Doing something he loves’: Taking life and running with it

A point of emphasis for this season is recognizing not everyone on the team is at the same skill level.

“But we can always help people work to their strengths,” Erin says.

Gavin has an athletic stance. He puts the ball in play with a quick right-handed swing and sprints toward his dad urging him forward as a first base coach.

“Kidney donors should make a full recovery like any other surgery,” Shi says. “Matt has one kidney now compared to two, which means his one kidney has to work hard enough to take the place of two.”

He has helped his son avoid dialysis, a procedure that removes waste substances and fluid from blood that are normally eliminated by the kidneys.

“Dialysis generally has worse health outcomes than transplant, but also has worse quality of life,” Shi says. “Kids would either need to come to the hospital for dialysis three times a week or do dialysis at home every night. They have more dietary restrictions as well.”

Gavin will some day need another transplant. Shi says they last 10 to 15 years on average, sometimes longer.

Erin, who works in marketing for a software company, and Matt are hopeful that medical advances will give Gavin more options. Before his surgery, the family was introduced to the National Kidney Registry, a U.S.-based organization that aims to increase the quality, speed and number of living donor kidney transplants.

Transplant speed can increase when someone donates on behalf of a patient through programs like paired exchange or the voucher program.

Erin, 37, has had Type 1 Diabetes since 1999 and is automatically disqualified from being a donor.

“As a mom, this was very hard to accept,” she says.

She is looking forward to running a local 5K turkey trot with Gavin, and perhaps his younger brother, Connor, 11, on Thanksgiving. There could also be a winter family trip to Vermont to snowboard, which is Gavin’s other favorite sport and approved by Shi (if he wears his protective shirt).

In the more immediate future, there is lots of baseball.

“I just really enjoy it,” Matt says of coaching his son, “going out there and doing something he loves, just encouraging him, watching him grow.”

And to grow into someone who has learned to look to the future as an opportunity to seize what comes next.

“We spent time going through what the process would be like,” Erin says. “Gavin functions very well when he knows what to expect. Having a clear game plan for the day of surgery and a good idea what the post surgery recovery would look like was very comforting to him.”

Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.

Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@usatoday.com

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Rec Sports

Graham advances to state championship – Peak of Ohio

The Graham Falcons topped the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs 4-1 on Saturday at Canal Park in Akron in the D5 state semifinals game. The game was postponed after two innings Friday night due to rain, with the Falcons leading the Mustangs 2-0. Adam Levy singled down the right field line, and Breyton Reisinger grounded into a fielder’s […]

Published

57 minutes ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Graham Falcons topped the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs 4-1 on Saturday at Canal Park in Akron in the D5 state semifinals game.

The game was postponed after two innings Friday night due to rain, with the Falcons leading the Mustangs 2-0.

Adam Levy singled down the right field line, and Breyton Reisinger grounded into a fielder’s choice, each scoring one run.

Nearly 24 hours later, the boys took the field again to finish what they started.

Adam Levy led the way both on the mound and at the plate, setting the aggressive example the Falcons followed all season long.

Levy pitched five innings in relief for Graham, allowing seven hits and one run while striking out eight and walking three.

The Falcons’ attitude of attacking while running the bases and swinging the bat now has the Falcons poised for their first state championship since 1973.

The Falcons face the Waynedale Golden Bears out of Apple Creek, OH, for the Division 5 state championship in Akron on Sunday, first pitch is at 7.

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Rec Sports

Leprechauns blank Rivets on the road, 3-0

If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at Send us your privacy questions. At the Northwoods League we consider the privacy of our visitors to be extremely important. This privacy policy document describes in detail the types of personal information is […]

Published

3 hours ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at Send us your privacy questions.

At the Northwoods League we consider the privacy of our visitors to be extremely important. This privacy policy document describes in detail the types of personal information is collected and recorded by northwoodsleague.com, northwoodsleague.net, & the NWL Mobile App and how we use it.

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Like many other Web sites and mobile apps, northwoodsleague.com, northwoodsleague.net, & the NWL Mobile App make use of log files. These files merely logs visitors to the site – usually a standard procedure for hosting companies and a part of hosting services’s analytics. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and possibly the number of clicks. This information is used to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

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Rec Sports

East Valley hockey coach helps kids break the ice | Sports

Born in a suburb of Philadelphia before moving with his family to Gilbert in the early 2000s, the Patrick Murphy attributes all his life successes to hockey. Murphy, ice hockey manager of the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation, was introduced to the sport when he was just 2 years old by his uncle, Mike […]

Published

3 hours ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Born in a suburb of Philadelphia before moving with his family to Gilbert in the early 2000s, the Patrick Murphy attributes all his life successes to hockey.

Murphy, ice hockey manager of the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation, was introduced to the sport when he was just 2 years old by his uncle, Mike Brett.

Brett provided then-toddler Murphy with a hockey stick that never left Murphy’s side, and even after the move to the desert. Uncle Mikey was persistent that his nephew would skate and take up the on-ice activity.

Patrick and Debbie Murphy, Murphy’s parents, were deeply supportive as well, driving him to the rinks, investing in his training, and homeschooling him so he could focus on hockey without the limitations of missing countless school days.

Murphy’s dedication and passion brought him to various rinks across the Valley and the continent, including time with the Arizona Bobcats. His hockey career took the center forward north to Ontario to play for the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners, a Junior A hockey club.

Like many people, the pandemic altered Murphy’s path when the Goldminers’ season came to a halt, ultimately closing out his junior career.

Murphy migrated back to Phoenix and became involved with the Arizona Coyotes as a part-time employee supporting the Learn to Play Program, “Little Howlers.”

In 2023, he became a full-time employee, leading the roller hockey initiative and over 2,500 students in one school year through the Arizona Coyotes Field Trip Program. The program includes math and science tie-ins to ice hockey to teach kids about the sport in a way that also furthers their general education.

After the Coyotes relocated to Utah, Murphy and the MSAHLF team shifted their focus to ensure hockey would continue to grow in Arizona.

Without an NHL team in the Valley, there was a need to continue the Learn to Play initiative that was developed by the National Hockey League Player’s Association and the National Hockey League to offer more families across the United States a chance to learn the skills needed to succeed on the ice, while also building and solidifying important character traits needed to succeed off the ice.

“I fell in love with teaching someone, of any age, who has limited knowledge in the sport and seeing their excitement when concepts start to click for them,” Patrick Murphy said.

“It’s a humbling experience to work with the Foundation because I am helping young people become the best versions of themselves on and off the ice.”

The Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation was created to continue Matt Shott’s efforts in the Arizona hockey community, including the Learn to Play hockey program “Shott’s Tots.”

It also provides a dedicated organization that can raise funds to support hockey programming and the growth of the sport in Arizona.

With the foundation, Murphy is responsible and committed to running all the on-ice programming for youth – Little Leighton’s and Shott’s Tots, and adults – Women’s Beginner Hockey League and Adult Learn to Play and along with any community outreach for those who want to try hockey.

Shott’s Tots, designed for children ages 5-11, is a low-cost program ($299) that comprises six coached on-ice sessions with head-to-toe hockey equipment to keep.

That equipment includes skates, hockey stick, equipment bag, helmet, neck guard, shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, hockey pants, shin guards, hockey socks and Shott’s Tots jersey.

The Learn to Play program, coached by Murphy and the rest of the MSAHLF staff, can be found at all rinks across the state.

Since its inception in 2024, the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation and Murphy introduced 2,500 youth to the sport of hockey, distributed 300 sets of gear through the Learn to Play program, visited 24 schools to provide free ball hockey clinics and had seven local rink partnerships.

MSAHLF has also collected over 200 sets of used gear that it has cleaned and restored for the local community.

Murphy encourages youth looking to play the sport for the first time to embrace the marathon of learning because it is not a sprint to the end.

This is an opportunity to build character, develop a strong mindset and cultivate a solid work ethic, both on and off the ice.

Information: azhockeylegacy.org.

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Rec Sports

Community rallies for kids at Missoula’s Fore the Kids Golf Classic | More

The Highlands Golf Club recently hosted a meaningful event for the community. The Boys and Girls Club of Missoula County held its first Fore the Kids Golf Classic, welcoming teams from the region to support their cause. Cathleen Doisher SWX Local Sports Reporter MISSOULA, Mont. – The Highlands Golf Club was bustling […]

Published

6 hours ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Cathleen Doisher
SWX Local Sports Reporter

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Highlands Golf Club was bustling with activity as the community gathered for a special event. The Boys and Girls Club of Missoula County hosted its inaugural Fore the Kids Golf Classic, drawing teams from across the area to support a worthy cause.

The 9-hole scramble aimed to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club’s mission of providing a safe and nurturing environment for children to learn, grow, and connect. For more than 25 years, the club has offered after-school programs and services, helping Missoula’s youth develop essential skills and confidence for the future.

This year’s golf classic included raffles, games, and competition, all of which contributed to raising valuable funds. The proceeds directly benefit local children and strengthen the community. The Boys and Girls Club emphasized that the strong turnout demonstrated Missoula’s support for its kids and the club’s programs.

Chief Executive Officer Justin Kinchen highlighted the importance of the event. “It’s super important. It really helps people understand, you know, what we do and what the benefit is to the community,” he said. Kinchen added that the events provide opportunities for children to grow and be exposed to new experiences that they might not encounter at home or in school.

Kinchen further explained the broader impact of the club’s work. “Long term, it just really helps grow our community and help our community flourish and thrive. And that’s for parents and just people who don’t have kids either,” he said.

For more information or to donate, visit their website at bgcmissoula.org.

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