College Sports
Inside Gymnastics Magazine | Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation to Host Annual Benefit in New York City on June 11, 2025. Hosted by Al Roker, the evening will feature the inaugural Simone Biles Give Back Award and honor Michael Tiedemann, the Harlem Community Development Corporation, and Christopher Harrison for their contributions to the foundation and the Harlem community.
About the 2025 WHGF Honorees: Michael Tiedemann is the Chief Executive Officer of AlTi Tiedemann Global. Before leading the merger that created AlTi, he was a Founding Partner, CEO, and Chairman of the Internal Investment Committee at Tiedemann Advisors, as well as CEO at Tiedemann Investment Group (TIG). He serves on the board of multiple […]

About the 2025 WHGF Honorees:
Michael Tiedemann is the Chief Executive Officer of AlTi Tiedemann Global. Before leading the merger that created AlTi, he was a Founding Partner, CEO, and Chairman of the Internal Investment Committee at Tiedemann Advisors, as well as CEO at Tiedemann Investment Group (TIG). He serves on the board of multiple organizations and has been recognized for his contributions to charitable causes. He both established and is the Chairman of the Board of RIVER FUND, a nonprofit organization that provides food, education, and support services to help families in New York City break the cycle of poverty.
“The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation is an incredible resource in the heart of Harlem that has inspired and shaped international athletes. I am truly honored to receive the inaugural Simone Biles Impact Award,” said Tiedemann. “Wendy and Simone have both had incredible careers, and have paved the way for the future of the sport. Together, we can keep introducing gymnastics to our youth and creating opportunities that would otherwise not have existed.”
Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC), a subsidiary of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, was created in 1995 to serve the greater Harlem community, including Central Harlem, El Barrio/East Harlem, Washington Heights and West Harlem. Through various partnerships, HCDC plans and facilitates a wide range of community revitalization initiatives, strengthening upper Manhattan and its economically and culturally vibrant communities.
Christopher Harrison is a visionary entrepreneur and pioneer of aerial and acrobatic arts. In 1991, he founded AntiGravity®Inc., America’s first contemporary aerial-acrobatic entertainment company, blending athleticism and artistry to redefine movement across performance, sport, and wellness. A former world-class gymnastics specialist and Broadway dancer, Harrison’s choreography has lit up stages from the Olympics to the Academy Awards, the Metropolitan Opera, and President Obama’s Inauguration. His work spans Disney films, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and collaborations with many cultural icons from Spielberg to Mariah Carey. His distinctive aerial pop style was notably adopted by P!nk. Recognized as the father of aerial yoga, Harrison created eight proprietary AntiGravity® Fitness techniques, practiced in over 50 countries. His innovation—the Harrison AntiGravity® Hammock—has become a global standard in wellness. Now entering a bold new chapter, Harrison is launching the AntiGravity® Movement—a visionary initiative blending wellness, longevity, creative expression, and social impact. For nearly 30 years, Harrison proudly championed underserved youth as Board Chair for the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation. Receiving the 2025 Hero’s Award is a deeply personal honor—a tribute to the transformative power of movement, community and the dreams that uplift humanity.
“I’ve had the honor of working alongside the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation for nearly three decades, and I have seen firsthand, the impact that this organization has had on the community and our children,” said Harrison. “It means so much to me to be recognized with the Hero’s Award on such an important night as we raise funds to keep gymnastics programming available for years to come.”
Past honorees have included Dimitrius Hutcherson, Harry Smith, Reggie Van Lee, Andrea Joyce, Donna de Varona, George Ntim, Corrinne Wright Tarver, Geoffrey Canada, Nadia Comaneci, Billie Jean King, Bruno Klaus, Jay Kriegel, Simon M. Lorne, Gail Marquis, Christina Minardi, David O’Brien, Emeka Okafor and more.
See the recap video from the 2024 benefit HERE!
College Sports
Alabama football 2025: Is the kicking game a potential Achilles’ heel?
Happy Friday, everyone. The new NIL clearinghouse is already flexing its muscles a bit. Letters were sent to several top tier programs explaining that existing agreements with players run afoul of the rules. Some explanation: The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, […]

Happy Friday, everyone. The new NIL clearinghouse is already flexing its muscles a bit. Letters were sent to several top tier programs explaining that existing agreements with players run afoul of the rules. Some explanation:
The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.
The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.
A deal, however, could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.
“In other words, NIL collectives may act as marketing agencies that match student-athletes with businesses that have a valid business purpose and seek to use the student’s NIL to promote their businesses,” the letter said.
So, essentially, a collective’s role will be to distribute the capped $20.5M in payments to players, and to help broker deals between boosters and players for legit NIL agreements. The collective can no longer offer NIL deals to players, because the collective exists for the sole purpose of paying players. This makes sense, and if existing “NIL” deals with a collective are deemed noncompliant, then that money would theoretically count against a team’s salary cap.
This is what Auburn is counting on, but it seems to be wishful thinking. All the collective has to do is find a booster to pick up the check for part of the committed money. I am skeptical that the clearinghouse will be denying deals with private businesses based on the amount offered because it’s rather obvious that doing so wouldn’t hold up in court. As long as the clearinghouse sticks to policing collectives, it should survive. But not much will have changed if that’s the case, it’ll just be local boosters supplementing the pay for play salary cap and showing a legitimate business reason for doing so.
And Auburn will continue to suck.
Colin Gay evaluated Alabama’s special teams.
With the loss of Burnip to the NFL, California freshman Alex Asparuhov, who missed spring with an injury, and Colorado School of Mines transfer Blake Doud are expected to battle for starting reps in the fall. And with Nicholson gone, Conor Talty, who worked kickoffs for the Crimson Tide last year, is expected to take on place kicking duties.
Alabama lost both Henderson and Law to the transfer portal. But both of the Crimson Tide’s primary punt returners — Adams and Williams — are back for 2025 along with Jaylen Mbakwe, who had two punt returns and one kickoff return in 2024.
To be frank, we have no idea whether Alabama will be able to kick the ball in any form this season. There are plenty of athletes to compete in the return game as long as they can catch the ball cleanly. I’d rather not see Ryan Williams doing it though.
Chase Goodbread decided to compare Kalen DeBoer’s first offseason in Tuscaloosa to Hugh Freeze’s on the pasture.
There are plenty of ways the second-year moves of Freeze and DeBoer aren’t to be compared, but by changing offensive coordinators after just one season, they put themselves in similar boats. It’s a shakeup from the top down; one that speaks to the demand for quick results.
For Freeze, Auburn’s offense under Nix represented a significant forward stride — AU jumped from 90th to No. 29 in total offense — but at 19.1 points per game in SEC play, the scoreboard didn’t quite reflect the improvement in yardage. The team flailed its way to another losing record at 5-7, and with DeBoer currently running offseason circles around his rival counterpart in recruiting, the Freeze might be slowly melting on a hot seat.
For both coaches, the bottom line is wins.
Herb Jones got paid.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones has agreed to a three-year, $68 million contract extension with the franchise, representatives Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller of Priority Sports told ESPN.
Jones now has a total of five years and $97 million on his Pelicans deal, with a new player option in 2029-30.
The 26-year-old has risen from a second-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft to a two-way stalwart for the Pelicans, being named to the 2023-24 All-Defensive first team. He is one of eight players with 350 steals and 150 blocks since he entered the league. Jones has ranked in the top 10 in defense against isolations over the past two seasons among players to defend 150 isolations, per GeniusIQ.
Not many dudes play defense in the NBA, and even fewer love it like Herb.
Najee Harris had a Little Ralphie moment on July 4, but sounds like he will be OK.
“Najee Harris was present at a 4th of July event where a fireworks mishap resulted in injuries to several attendees,” Hendrickson said in a statement, via Rapoport. “Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.”
The Mercury News first reported Harris’ accident.
Rapoport added that Harris is likely to miss the start of training camp, which begins July 17 for the Chargers.
Last, Nick Kelly has a cool story about how Labaron Philon surprised his teammates and coaches.
Mallette’s phone also rang one night in late May. He didn’t recognize the number, though. It was a group FaceTime call, though. Included on the video call he saw all the returners: Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Aden Holloway and Aiden Sherrell, plus one unknown number.
The unknown number: Philon’s. He had changed it. But that wasn’t the biggest surprise. No. The true surprise was he revealed his plan to return.
“I didn’t know he was coming back,” forward Aiden Sherrell said. “Coach kept it a secret from us. When we found out, we were super excited.”
As part of the call, Philon also had a message to send.
“His whole mindset when he came back, what he told us on the phone and told us in the locker room is we have unfinished business,” Mallette said. “We want to win the whole thing. We want to win it all. We feel like we came up short on our goals. That’s kind of the attitude of our locker room: We’re really hungry. I think he’s incredibly hungry. He’s going to do great.”
If that dude reaches his full potential next year, this team is going to be hell.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
College Sports
NorthPointe hosts elite gymnastics camp in West Michigan
NorthPointe Gymnastics in Michigan hosts a top-tier gymnastics camp with over 60 athletes and acclaimed clinicians. FREMONT, Mich. — A small-town gym in West Michigan is hosting big talent this week, as NorthPointe Gymnastics welcomes more than 60 competitive athletes and top-tier clinicians from across the country for its first-ever Team Gymnastics Camp. The three-day […]

NorthPointe Gymnastics in Michigan hosts a top-tier gymnastics camp with over 60 athletes and acclaimed clinicians.
FREMONT, Mich. — A small-town gym in West Michigan is hosting big talent this week, as NorthPointe Gymnastics welcomes more than 60 competitive athletes and top-tier clinicians from across the country for its first-ever Team Gymnastics Camp.
The three-day camp, running July 11–13, includes USA Gymnastics-certified coaches from states like Colorado and Ohio, along with a nationally recognized Olympic team choreographer.
Ellen Gibbie, owner of NorthPointe Gymnastics, said bringing this level of opportunity to Fremont has been years in the making. She got her start in the sport at a young age and eventually turned her lifelong passion into a career.
“I got introduced to gymnastics at Gymnastics Unlimited back in the day when I was probably six, seven years old, and then was a competitive gymnast into my teen years, and then moving into Fremont, Michigan,” Gibbie said. “I got my occupational therapy degree in college and decided to open NorthPointe Gymnastics back in 2013–14. It was about 1,800 square feet, and it was just really small. And we continued to build and build and build and then moved here. 2019 we built here.”
This week’s camp brings together not just skill-based training, but also resources in nutrition, injury prevention, strength training and mental performance — things Gibbie said have made a huge difference.
“Honestly, it’s been a dream and on a bucket list that we really, really wanted to have some amazing clinicians come to our area, bring this to have the athletes be able to experience it,” she said. “To actually see it come to life, and see the benefit of the nutrition, along with the sports education and the injury prevention and the strength training along with the skills for so many people in the area — it’s been really cool to see it be here for the community.”
Among those clinicians is Nicole Langevin, an international gymnastics expert who has worked with federations in North America and Europe. She said her passion for the sport began in childhood, just like many of the gymnasts now attending the camp.
“I started gymnastics because I was destroying the furniture and flipping off couches, which is probably what most of these kids did,” Langevin said laughing.
She explained that gymnastics training has shifted dramatically over the years, especially when it comes to preparing athletes holistically — not just physically.
“Back in the day, quote, unquote, the mental training aspect especially, but also things like nutrition and injury prevention, have really come a long way,” Langevin said. “Those were kind of used to put out fires rather than to prevent forest fires, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to prevent forest fires, so that we can do this as long as possible.”
That comprehensive approach is something Gibbie believes sets the camp apart and makes an impact well beyond the gym floor.
“I love that having the collegiate athletes, along with our university coaches here, just brought to life what they could possibly do, brings to life what their dreams could be,” Gibbie said.
With a strong turnout and plans to expand, Gibbie said the camp will likely become a yearly tradition.
“We definitely plan on doing it again,” she said.
College Sports
Ice Hockey – Summer League w/ Riverview-Cabrini United, Downriver Unified, and New Boston United – The News Herald
After a week off from play due to the MHSAA dead period, local high school ice hockey teams were back in action at the Kennedy Recreation Center for week three of the annual summer league on Thursday. It was a night where three of the programs playing across the slate of three games featured co-op […]

After a week off from play due to the MHSAA dead period, local high school ice hockey teams were back in action at the Kennedy Recreation Center for week three of the annual summer league on Thursday.
Originally Published:
College Sports
BLOG: Howard feeling prepared to make jump to NHL next season
After making the move from the University of Minnesota Duluth to Michigan State in 2023-24, the 21-year-old who wants his first name to be pronounced as ‘Ike’ over ‘Isaac’ put up eight goals and 28 assists in 36 games for the Green & White before exploding offensively the following year, winning the Hobey Baker Award […]

After making the move from the University of Minnesota Duluth to Michigan State in 2023-24, the 21-year-old who wants his first name to be pronounced as ‘Ike’ over ‘Isaac’ put up eight goals and 28 assists in 36 games for the Green & White before exploding offensively the following year, winning the Hobey Baker Award with 26 goals, 26 assists and 52 points in 37 games and an average of 1.41 points per game.
Howard also goes by the nickname ‘Iceman’ from a combination of his name, deadly offensive ability with the puck and cool confidence away from the rink, having worn a white suit and USA belt buckle during the 2022 Draft when the Lightning took him 31st overall, followed by a memorable TV interview with ESPN’S Emily Kaplan where he called himself “the best-looking guy here.”
“I just really tried to buy in,” Howard said. “I thought I had a solid sophomore season. I thought I could’ve done much more in my junior year, and I tried to buy in and listen to the coaches about what I needed to work on. I think improving in areas away from the puck helped me this year to create more offensive chances. I think ultimately, just finding the back of the net, I had more of a scoring mentality this year.”
Howard was the joint top scorer at the 2024 World Juniors, showing his natural goalscoring ability by helping lead the United States to a gold medal with seven goals (nine points) in seven games. He also had the opportunity to embed himself with Team USA for four games at the 2025 World Championships, recording one assist in four contests against heightened competition, with his confidence beaming for an opportunity to break through at the NHL level.
All that experience has Howard feeling confident he can make the jump to the NHL next season and fill a much-needed scoring role in Edmonton’s top six.
“I’ve got a lot of buddies who’ve been in similar spots, and a handful playing in the NHL have made that jump,” he said. “I got a cool opportunity at the World Championships this year to just be engraved in that kind of system of pro hockey, seeing how those guys act and stuff like that. So that was super valuable. It’s obviously a lot to do with your mindset. It’s going to be faster and stronger, and it’s the league that everyone’s goal is to get to and play in.
“A lot of it stems from a mindset and being confident in your abilities and just embracing it.
Along with his potential as a young and impactful scoring winger, Howard says that the energy he brings to the locker room is one of the many intangibles he can bring to the table immediately for an Oilers team that’s made back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final and has high ambitions to win it all next season.
“I’m just going to try and be myself,” he said. I love the game. I have great passion. I think that’s one thing that I do well is bring energy to practice and workouts, and I just love what I do. I believe that can rub off on people in a good way with positive energy around the rink and stuff like that, and obviously on the ice, using my speed, my shot and my IQ to do whatever I can to help the team. Hopefully, we’ll be able to accomplish our collective goal.”
College Sports
Official Site of The ECHL
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings and American Hockey League’s Ontario Reign, announced that defenseman Tristan De Jong has re-signed back with the team for the 2025-26 season. De Jong makes his way back to Greenville after beginning his professional career with the Swamp […]

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings and American Hockey League’s Ontario Reign, announced that defenseman Tristan De Jong has re-signed back with the team for the 2025-26 season.
De Jong makes his way back to Greenville after beginning his professional career with the Swamp Rabbits near the end of last season. He made his professional debut on Feb. 23 against Atlanta, posting his first professional assist in the effort. He finished the season with 18 games in a Swamp Rabbits sweater, earning a pair of assists and 22 penalty minutes.
The 25-year-old turned professional following the conclusion of his college hockey career with the University of Guelph. As a senior, he tallied 17 points (3g-14a) in 28 contests, serving as captain for a second campaign. He finished his time as a Gryphon with 37 points (6g-31a) in 92 games over the course of four seasons. Before going to college, De Jong suited up in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with the Moncton Wildcats, garnering 55 points (13g-42a) in 154 games.
College Sports
Plaintiffs’ lawyers in House v. NCAA settlement to get roughly $750 million in fees
The federal judge who presided over the recently approved House v. NCAA settlement awarded legal fees on Friday that will pay out roughly $750 million to the plaintiffs’ lawyers over the 10-year life of the agreement. The landmark settlement, which resolved a trio of class-action antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and its power conferences, will result […]

The federal judge who presided over the recently approved House v. NCAA settlement awarded legal fees on Friday that will pay out roughly $750 million to the plaintiffs’ lawyers over the 10-year life of the agreement.
The landmark settlement, which resolved a trio of class-action antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and its power conferences, will result in nearly $2.8 billion in backpay damages to former college athletes and a new financial model that allows schools to begin directly sharing revenue with college athletes over the next decade, capped at $20.5 million per school in 2025-26.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken granted legal fees and costs that will pay the plaintiffs’ lawyers nearly $525 million, and will allow those lawyers to apply annually for additional fees related to the forward-facing revenue sharing model. Those future fee payments, which will be calculated as a percentage of the money schools spend in revenue sharing, are expected to total roughly $250 million over 10 years. Attorneys Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler served as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
“The Court finds that the fees just described are fair and reasonable,” Wilken wrote in a motion.
Wilken also granted service awards to class representatives in the lawsuit, including $125,000 each to former college swimmer Grant House and former college basketball player Sedona Prince, as well as $50,000 to former college running back Chuba Hubbard.
“We are pleased to see this monumental case take another step in its final stages after 20 years of litigation for college athletes,” Berman said in a statement.
The judge noted that the benefits and compensation distributed to Division I college athletes as a result of the settlement are expected to exceed $19 billion in value over the course of the 10-year agreement.
The defendants — the NCAA and power conferences — recently created the College Sports Commission as part of the settlement terms, an organization that will oversee and enforce the revenue sharing model, as well as a clearinghouse for additional third-party name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. Schools were allowed to begin direct revenue sharing with athletes on July 1. On Thursday, the CSC released new guidance on the “valid business purpose” and “range of compensation” requirements for any third-party NIL deals that should further restrict payments from booster-led collectives to college athletes.
These restrictions have led some in the industry to argue that individual athletes could ultimately earn less in NIL compensation as a result of the settlement, which could result in additional antitrust complaints against the defendants and CSC. The settlement is currently facing multiple appeals that will not impact the forward-facing revenue sharing but could pause the distribution of backpay damages.
(Photo: David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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