Rec Sports

Little League team hosts talk building relationships with international youth | News, Sports, Jobs

Published

4 months ago

August 23, 2025

There are numerous articles and social media posts of the Little League World Series teams out and about in the Williamsport area going to local restaurants, going on the Hiawatha, and even taking trips to amusement parks.

If you wonder who tells them the great local spots or who helps the kids throughout the day that would be a special duo who volunteer their time to become a team host for the teams who are lucky enough to make it all the way to South Williamsport.

Pete Lupacchino has been volunteering as a team host for 33 years and his partner Josh Lupacchino is his son who has been hosting with his father for 12 years. This year they got the honor of hosting South Czech Republic LL of Brnzo, Czechia who were representing the Europe and Africa region.

“My dad started hosting in 1958, and at that time I was 9-10 years old, and I was coming over here with him every day and hang out with the team. Back then it wasn’t as strict as it is now, I’d eat with them and practice with them, and being around it so much it just gets into your blood. My family has been doing this for 90 years, so we all love to do it.” Pete said.

Pete was also able to bring his son Josh with him as well to the Grove and hang out with the different teams.

“It’s just an experience that most people don’t get to have,” Pete said.

The Lupacchinos agree on that what makes them come back each year is the kids. They love that they can get close to them, especially the International teams, because they are in a new environment and want to learn as much as they can. They also get more time with the international teams because most of them stay for the whole tournament due to travel plans.

“Don’t get me wrong, the American kids as great too, but they can go out with their parents and they usually run around with them and have a good time, whereas the foreign kids they tend to get closer to you,” Pete said. “For us baseball is secondary, it’s making the connection to the kids. We’re truly the only group of volunteers left at Little League, but if they ever started to pay us, I wouldn’t do it because it then becomes a job, and it’s not a job to me.”

Gary Weaver has been a team host for 27 years and his partner Doug Alexander is on his 20th year. They are hosting Juan A. Bibiloni LL who are representing the Puerto Rico region in the World Series. Weaver started hosting because he had friends and colleagues who were hosts years prior and saw what they did and was intrigued by it. Alexander was brought in by Weaver after a few years of Weaver telling him to come do it and that it is the best.

“He said you ought to come over and doing his and a couple of years later I finally got in and it’s been great ever since,” Alexander stated.

“For me it’s really just an issue of just offering hospitality internationally to people from around the world, that also includes baseball games,” Weaver added.

Alexander loves helping people and making sure that the kids have what they need while also being a leader for the kids and show them the right way to do things. Weaver wants to make sure that the kids get the full Little League World Series experience and not have it all just about playing baseball but also having the world experience.

While being team hosts both Alexander and Weaver have kept in contact with some of the Little Leaguers that the hosted, just recently the Great Lakes Regional Representatives from 2011 had a 10-year reunion for there local Little League and they invited them down to Kentucky for the opening ceremonies and had the opportunity to see them all again along with the parents.

“It was great to see all the kids coming back and their parents, it was pretty fun.” Alexander said. “Social media does allow you to kind of follow the kids and their families and see where they go athletically and otherwise, we hosted a team from Cuba two years ago and in December I went to Cuba and was able to visit with and that was super special,” Weaver stated.

When asked about the hardest part of their job they all said that it was saying goodbye to the kids.

“For two-ish weeks it’s an intense relationship that we have with these kids, so saying goodbye is our hardest part.” Alexander stated.

That shows that not only do the team host make in impact on the kids playing, but the kids also make an impact on the hosts as well.

Some of the fun off-campus activates that happen this year included five teams going to Pittsburgh to watch a Pittsburgh Pirates game.

“It was good because many of the International player will never see a Major League stadium and the MLB was great in hosting us,” Alexander said.

The Europe and Africa players were able to take a trip the Hershey Park on Thursday as well as go on the Pittsburgh trip on Wednesday.

“We all have to remember that they are 11- and 12-year-old kids. Even though they are here for baseball, they still have to be taken off the fields as well,” Josh Lupacchino said.

The Europe and Africa players were going to UPMC on Friday in Williamsport to play a wiffle ball game with some of the local kids on the hospital’s front lawn. The kids from Puerto Rico were going to take a trip to the original Little League to really see where Little League first this started, then have a trip on the Hiawatha.

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Rec Sports

Woman trying to find ‘guardian angel’ who saved her life after she suddenly stopped breathing

Published

6 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) – A Virginia woman is hoping to find the person who helped her survive a scary medical situation last month.

Melinda Pereira says Echo Lake Park normally provides her a peaceful escape from reality, but that quickly changed on Nov. 5.

“Something just felt off,” she said. ”Apparently, I went unconscious.”

The next memory Pereira said she had was her waking up in the hospital, where she later learned she had gone into cardiac arrest.

Pereira said first responders credited the quick thinking of a good Samaritan for saving her life.

“Apparently, I was not breathing, no pulse, and unconscious, and some guardian angel that started the first steps to life-saving measures is why I’m still here today,” she said.

As Pereira continues on her road to recovery, the identity of the mystery bystander weighs heavily on her mind.

“The doctors said if everything wasn’t in alignment, it would’ve been a different outcome,” she said. “Nobody knows her name, they just said she was a nurse and that she did CPR, and I have the sore ribs to prove it, and that her efforts were vital to my recovery, to my survival.”

Standing in the same spot where the woman jumped in to help, Pereira says she is determined to track her down.

“Don’t be a ghost,” she said. “Let me know who you are.”

Pereira’s ultimate wish is to thank her personally for her heroic deed.

“I have three kids, and I have six grandchildren. All who came together during this episode to the hospital. They wouldn’t have me if it were not for you,” she said. “I think you were meant to be in the spot that you were in.”

If you have any information about the identity of the mystery bystander, email Desiree Montilla: desiree.montilla@12onyourside.com.

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Beloved Cleveland youth basketball coach honored at Rhodes High School game

Published

14 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Keith Schofield, who died on November 22, was honored at James Ford Rhodes High School before Tuesday night’s varsity basketball game.

Schofield led the team to a city championship in 2004 and is remembered for the impact he had on his players.

His family was given a framed jersey with his last name on the back.

“After a win or a loss just to hear the conversations he would have on the phone about the boys,” Schofield’s daughter Randi said. “They were like his sons.”

Schoefield survived a hit-and-run accident in January 2022 when his car was catapulted off I-90 onto West 98^th street below.

His family previously told 19 News that health issues he already had were made worse by the impact of the crash.

His legacy lives through the lives he touched.

“He’s my best friend. Just the most understanding individual I’ve ever come across,” Randi Schofield said. ”Always there. Always a phone call away.”

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Rec Sports

Youth hockey theft exposed by a Colorado mom. Then came the threats.

Published

23 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 17, 2025, 6:22 a.m. ET

For months, Brooke Wilfley raised concerns that the president of her local youth hockey governing board was using his position for profit.

The Denver-area hockey mom discovered that the president, Randy Kanai, was secretly routing the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s money through his private company.

She reported his conflicts of interest and mismanagement to everyone she could: board members, club directors, coaches and four USA Hockey leaders who oversee the nonprofit. Little was done.

Then in January 2023, Wilfley received a letter from the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s attorney. The board, it said, was launching an investigation.

Into her.

Seeking evidence of “libelous and slanderous statements,” the letter demanded Wilfley hand over two years of her emails, texts, calendars, phone logs and any other records of her conversations about the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s finances. It gave her 21 days to turn in her cellphones, computers and iPads for a forensic review.

“This is an important legal duty,” the letter said, “and failure to follow these instructions may subject you to discipline.”

Whistleblower retaliation occurs in every industry. But in few sectors is the threat more personal than in youth sports, where parents who speak up about corruption and financial exploitation risk repercussions not just for themselves, but for their children.

Those fears are acute in youth hockey, where across the country, powerful rink operators, club directors and local governing body officials control the pathways by which kids advance to the sport’s highest stages. Many parents who suspect wrongdoing stay quiet out of fear of jeopardizing their kids’ opportunities. What some view as lax oversight from USA Hockey enables bad actors to flourish.

For Wilfley, the ramifications of the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s threats extended beyond her family. As the head of a Denver hockey academy and Tier I club – the top level of youth competition – dozens of parents entrusted her with their kids’ futures. Formal discipline against her club or a libel and slander lawsuit could affect those kids’ ability to play.

In the face of the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s threats, Wilfley didn’t back down. But it cost her: reputational damage, more than $100,000 in legal bills and three years she can’t get back.

“This is what happens when you speak up,” Wilfley told USA TODAY. “You get bullied. You get threatened. They’ll hurt your kids.

“I would never wish this on anybody.”

Conflicts of interest

Wilfley had never been a hockey fan. She became immersed in the sport when her five kids fell in love with it.

A law school grad who specialized in child advocacy, she saw how high costs and limited opportunities caused kids to quit the sport or leave the state for better options. She looked for ways to keep kids playing close to home.

She started a program that partnered with high schools to offer low-cost hockey lessons.

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-person learning in many schools, she opened Aces Sports Academy, an accredited school where third to eighth graders spend the mornings on ice and the rest of their days in class.

In early 2022, she partnered with Okanagan Hockey Group, a Canadian youth hockey program, to start a recreational team in Colorado.

The Colorado Amateur Hockey Association, the regional USA Hockey governing body that regulates the sport in her state, sanctioned her programs. Kanai, its president since 2012, supported them – until they became Tier I.

Around the same time that Wilfley started her rec team, the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association announced its intent to strip the Colorado Springs Tigers, another local youth hockey club, of its Tier I status unless it fielded two more teams. So in April 2022, Brian Copeland, the Tigers’ president, approached Wilfley about merging their clubs.

Wilfley jumped at the opportunity. Before ever playing a game, her club ascended to the most coveted echelon of youth hockey. That didn’t sit well with Kanai and some other board members.

“They never went through the process to formally apply. They just made it happen,” Kanai said. “We didn’t like that she had found the back door.”

Kanai responded with a series of requirements that Wilfley felt unfairly targeted her club. He announced audits of a “sampling” of clubs, including hers. He made her restructure parts of her businesses. He said the association would honor her club’s Tier I designation only if her players wear Tigers jerseys and play games in Colorado Springs – an hour drive from Denver.

Wilfley spent thousands of dollars on new uniforms and legal expenses, only for Kanai to announce the board’s intent to eliminate one of the state’s four Tier I licenses. Wilfley felt her club was on the chopping block.

Suspecting a personal or financial motive for his actions, Wilfley scoured the nonprofit’s tax returns, bylaws and individual board members’ business filings, searching for conflicts of interest.

She didn’t find the motive she was looking for. What she found was even more troubling.

She discovered a dozen for-profit companies and trade names registered to Kanai that matched the names of Colorado Amateur Hockey Association programs. One called “Team Colorado” shared the same name as the association’s girls’ hockey teams. Others, like “CO Hockey” and “Rocky Mountain Sport Testing,” she recognized from the association’s website and payments she had made for her son’s hockey camps.

Wilfley also found that the association had not filed tax returns or held annual board elections in three years.

Concerned that Kanai was profiting off his volunteer position, Wilfley in September 2022 reported her findings to USA Hockey general counsel Casey Jorgensen and other top officials, emails show. But months passed, and little action was taken.

That December, with a board vote to potentially eliminate her Tier I status looming, Wilfley hired an attorney to formally request the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s meeting minutes and internal accounting records – as is her right under state law – including all its transactions with Kanai’s companies. She also demanded proper board elections be held.

That’s when Wilfley received the letter from the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s general counsel, Peter Schaffer. Its title: “Notice of Spoliation and Investigation.”

Hockey mom fights retaliation

Wilfley knew the demand for her private data was likely unlawful. But waiting for the legal system to play out was a luxury she didn’t have.

With the state championships weeks away, even interim disciplinary action against her club could result in her players’ disqualification. Defending herself from a libel or slander lawsuit – even a frivolous one – could cripple her businesses’ and family’s finances.

Days before the 21-day deadline to turn over her electronic devices for a “forensic accounting,” Wilfley had not yet responded. Schaffer ratcheted up the pressure. By refusing to comply, he wrote in a Feb. 9, 2023, email, her programs were now “in violation” of their USA Hockey member agreements.

“We will have no alternative,” his email said, “but to commence disciplinary procedures.”

Wilfley called a meeting to brief parents on the situation.

“I had to stand in front of those families and say, ‘I’m so sorry. Your kids have been amazing this season, but I don’t know if they’re going to be allowed to compete in the state championships,’” Wilfley said.

Meanwhile, she fought back.

She hired an outside accounting firm to scrutinize the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s finances, based on the limited records Schaffer provided in response to her requests. The firm’s report – which she sent to USA Hockey – found six-figure discrepancies and previously undisclosed transactions with Kanai’s companies.

The day of the deadline, her attorney sent a lengthy response to Schaffer, the association’s board members and Jorgensen, USA Hockey’s legal counsel. It accused Kanai and Schaffer of whistleblower retaliation and violating the association’s bylaws. Wilfley reiterated her concerns about Kanai’s conflicts of interests and failures to hold annual elections or file tax returns since 2019.

Finally, five months after she first reported her concerns to USA Hockey, the national governing body intervened.

“USA Hockey is very concerned with the ongoing governance and operational issues within the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association,” Jorgensen wrote in a Feb. 14, 2023, letter to Kanai.

USA Hockey would launch its own investigation into the association’s finances and compliance with whistleblower and conflict-of-interest policies, Jorgensen’s letter said. It ordered Kanai and Schaffer to “immediately cease” any disciplinary action against Wilfley’s program, adding that they had no legal authority to demand her records.

Two months later, USA Hockey hired its own outside accounting firm to forensically audit the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s finances, based in part on Wilfley’s outside firm’s report. USA Hockey President Mike Trimboli appointed three USA Hockey representatives to oversee its annual board election, which Kanai had postponed with less than a day’s notice.

The association’s members voted Kanai out of office at the rescheduled meeting in May 2023 after more than a decade as president. His successor, Brian Smith – whose son plays for Wilfley’s club – and the board moved to fire Schaffer days later.

USA Hockey in July 2023 suspended Kanai from all hockey activities for refusing to comply with its audit. The Colorado Amateur Hockey Association sued him that October, accusing him of stealing at least $180,000 of the nonprofit’s money by routing it through one of his private companies – the one Wilfley discovered.

‘Crazy hockey mom’

Kanai and Schaffer were gone from Colorado youth hockey. But their attacks on Wilfley continued.

They both subpoenaed Wilfley as part of defamation lawsuits they filed against the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association and two of its new board members: Smith and Bill Brierly, its executive vice president. Schaffer filed a motion to hold Wilfley in contempt of court for refusing to comply.

Judges ultimately quashed the subpoenas. But Wilfley spent tens of thousands of dollars fighting them, she said – money she hasn’t gotten back, even after Schaffer dropped his case, and Kanai lost his.

The Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s lawsuit against Kanai went to a civil trial in April 2025 in Jefferson County District Court. In his testimony, Kanai didn’t deny profiting off his position as president. He argued he was allowed to do so.

He portrayed himself as the victim of a “smear campaign” by Wilfley. In his testimony and subsequent interviews with USA TODAY, he painted her as a parent so hellbent on getting a Tier I team for her kids that she orchestrated a plot to take him down.

“They weren’t happy with our decision on Tier I, so ‘Hey, let’s figure out what we can do to get these guys voted out,’” Kanai said. “It was all to influence the board vote, and they got what they wanted.”

He acknowledged in court having “no direct evidence” of that. Of the 10 people called to testify, she wasn’t one of them. His other witnesses, however, spent much of their time on the stand supporting his version of events.

“She wanted Tier I now, and that’s when the attacks came,” said Jason Schofield, Kanai’s business partner and a fellow board member who also admitted profiting $180,000 from Kanai’s company, in an interview with USA TODAY after the trial.

Testified Schaffer: “Never before the Brooke Wilfley situation were there any issues about the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association and finances.”

Judge Chantel Contiguglia didn’t buy it. Her October 2025 ruling found Kanai liable for civil theft, unjust enrichment, conversion and breach of fiduciary duty. She ordered him to repay the nonprofit $579,000 – triple the amount he stole, plus interest – and cover its court costs and attorney’s fees.

The ruling – which Kanai appealed in November – vindicated Wilfley. Yet many in the Colorado hockey community still accept Kanai’s version of events. The recent success of her teams – now among the top-ranked in the country – and the election of Smith, one of her player’s fathers, as Kanai’s successor as president only fueled those rumors.

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Detroit Pistons insiders gave thousands to Mary Sheffield’s campaign

Published

31 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

by Leah Samuel, Outlier Media
December 17, 2025

At a Nov. 13 public hearing of Detroit City Council’s planning committee, the mood in the chamber tilted toward optimism.

Speaker after speaker endorsed plans for a new WNBA headquarters and youth sports complex — backed by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores — urging approval of a nearly $40.7 million tax subsidy to clean up the former Uniroyal site on the Detroit River. The YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, Henry Ford Health, Eastside Community Network, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan voiced support for the project.

A few did not.

“The Pistons are a rich organization,” said Carolyn Hughes. “I’m not sure this is an organization that needs me to abate its taxes. … Why are we offering this abatement? And what are we — specifically, Detroiters — receiving? What benefits are we receiving from this, other than having activity on the site?”

Notably absent from the hearing was current City Council President and Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield. The following week, she voted to redirect tax dollars for the project. Sheffield then missed the final session of the term, when her colleagues unanimously approved an additional $4.4 million-plus tax break for the development.

One detail that got little attention — if any — as the subsidies sailed through city hall is how the Pistons and Pistons-adjacent interests bankrolled Sheffield’s mayoral campaign.

According to county election records, Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and his family gave more than $43,000 in direct and indirect contributions to Sheffield’s mayoral campaign. That includes $16,600 from Tellem and his wife Nancy in direct contributions, plus another $10,000 donation to Detroit Next, a political action committee that backed Sheffield. Another $16,650 came from the Tellems’ son, Pistons personnel vice president Eric Tellem and his wife Emily. Arn Tellem did not respond to messages for comment.

Last month, Sheffield named Arn Tellem a co-chair of her transition team.

“The Pistons agreement was proposed by the current mayoral administration and approved unanimously by the entire city council,” Samantha Myers, spokesperson for Sheffield’s transition team, said by email. “As she has done throughout her career on Detroit City Council, the Mayor-elect supported this project based solely on its merits and its benefit to the community and constituents she serves.”

Sheffield’s campaign drew tens of thousands of dollars from developers, construction companies and building trade groups. She also received donations from high-profile NBA fans, including Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s wife Earleatha “Cookie” Johnson, actor Samuel L. Jackson and cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson.

Have thoughts or questions about these campaign contributions or potential conflicts of interest? Reach out to civic life reporter Briana Rice at briana@outliermedia.org. Mayor-elect Sheffield is also soliciting input for her incoming administration.

Earlier this month, Sheffield married Rickey Jackson Jr. Jackson’s sister plays for the Los Angeles Sparks.

Days before Election Day, Sheffield faced criticism for having voted years earlier to approve millions of dollars in city contracts for a demolition firm whose owner she was dating at the time. Experts faulted Detroit’s oversight system for vague standards and a narrow interpretation by the city’s ethics board. As mayor-elect, Sheffield appointed an Ethics Compliance Committee as part of her transition team.

”There are currently no state laws that prevent Detroit’s mayor or other Michigan politicians from accepting campaign contributions from affiliated organizations or their leaders,” said Neil Thanedar, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. ”Detroit residents can respond by filing a formal complaint with the Detroit Board of Ethics and advocating for statewide ethics reform.”

‘A true hood champion’

Sheffield, the granddaughter of storied labor leader Horace Sheffield Jr., has long cast herself as an advocate for grassroots causes. On the campaign trail, she leaned heavily on her progressive record.

“Mary Sheffield’s a true hood champion,” said Morningside resident and community activist Vaughn Arrington. “I think she would continue to focus very narrowly on communities that are not feeling Detroit’s growth.”

Sheffield’s record on Pistons-related developments reflects the balance she’s tried to strike throughout her time in public office: keeping powerful corporate interests close while preserving her reputation as a champion of the community.

In 2017, she voted to approve $34.5 million in public funding for the Pistons’ move to the city, despite public outcry. That same year, she sponsored the “jock tax,” which taxes NBA players and staff every day they work in the city.

Sheffield supported tax subsidies for the team’s Performance Center headquarters and later the $3 billion Future of Health development, in which the Pistons are a partner. The pair of projects — both located in the City Council district she represents — each required the developers to negotiate community benefits. The Future of Health benefits deal includes Section 8 housing vouchers, a $2 million donation to the city’s affordable housing fund, $1 million for a community land trust, and more.

Balancing act

The WNBA facility, by contrast, is not mandated to have a community benefits agreement. The ordinance applies to projects valued at $75 million or more that receive at least $1 million in tax abatements or city land. Developers plan to build the riverfront sports complex in two phases: a $50 million WNBA headquarters that would open in 2029 and a subsequent “youth development academy” that would be operated by an unnamed nonprofit with a yet-to-be-named price tag.

As a councilmember in 2021, Sheffield unsuccessfully pushed to lower the community benefits ordinance’s threshold to apply to projects valued as low as $50 million. During her campaign for mayor, she told Outlier Media she’s interested in reworking community benefits agreements to “expand home repair commitments.” And earlier this year, she and the council commissioned a study on the viability of a city “amusement tax.”

Sheffield, who did not make herself available for an interview for this story, is soliciting input for her incoming administration on her website and plans to survey residents in January.

“The mayor-elect has spent her entire career uplifting the voices and the needs of Detroiters,” said Samantha Myers, a spokesperson for Sheffield’s transition team. “She will bring that same focus to the mayor’s office and evaluate everything through that lens.”

Sheffield takes office Jan. 1.

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As the Detroit Pistons sought millions in tax breaks, team insiders gave thousands to Sheffield’s mayoral bid Leah Samuel, Outlier Media December 17, 2025 At a Nov. 13 public hearing of Detroit City Council’s planning committee, the mood in the chamber tilted toward optimism. Speaker after speaker endorsed plans for a new WNBA headquarters and youth sports complex — backed by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores — urging approval of a nearly $40.7 million tax subsidy to clean up the former Uniroyal site on the Detroit River. The YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, Henry Ford Health, Eastside Community Network, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan voiced support for the project. A few did not. “The Pistons are a rich organization,” said Carolyn Hughes. “I’m not sure this is an organization that needs me to abate its taxes. … Why are we offering this abatement? And what are we — specifically, Detroiters — receiving? What benefits are we receiving from this, other than having activity on the site?” Notably absent from the hearing was current City Council President and Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield. The following week, she voted to redirect tax dollars for the project. Sheffield then missed the final session of the term, when her colleagues unanimously approved an additional $4.4 million-plus tax break for the development. One detail that got little attention — if any — as the subsidies sailed through city hall is how the Pistons and Pistons-adjacent interests bankrolled Sheffield’s mayoral campaign. According to county election records, Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and his family gave more than $43,000 in direct and indirect contributions to Sheffield’s mayoral campaign. That includes $16,600 from Tellem and his wife Nancy in direct contributions, plus another $10,000 donation to Detroit Next, a political action committee that backed Sheffield. Another $16,650 came from the Tellems’ son, Pistons personnel vice president Eric Tellem and his wife Emily. Arn Tellem did not respond to messages for comment. Last month, Sheffield named Arn Tellem a co-chair of her transition team. “The Pistons agreement was proposed by the current mayoral administration and approved unanimously by the entire city council,” Samantha Myers, spokesperson for Sheffield’s transition team, said by email. “As she has done throughout her career on Detroit City Council, the Mayor-elect supported this project based solely on its merits and its benefit to the community and constituents she serves.” Sheffield’s campaign drew tens of thousands of dollars from developers, construction companies and building trade groups. She also received donations from high-profile NBA fans, including Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s wife Earleatha “Cookie” Johnson, actor Samuel L. Jackson and cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson. Have thoughts or questions about these campaign contributions or potential conflicts of interest? Reach out to civic life reporter Briana Rice at briana@outliermedia.org. Mayor-elect Sheffield is also soliciting input for her incoming administration. Earlier this month, Sheffield married Rickey Jackson Jr. Jackson’s sister plays for the Los Angeles Sparks. Days before Election Day, Sheffield faced criticism for having voted years earlier to approve millions of dollars in city contracts for a demolition firm whose owner she was dating at the time. Experts faulted Detroit’s oversight system for vague standards and a narrow interpretation by the city’s ethics board. As mayor-elect, Sheffield appointed an Ethics Compliance Committee as part of her transition team. ”There are currently no state laws that prevent Detroit’s mayor or other Michigan politicians from accepting campaign contributions from affiliated organizations or their leaders,” said Neil Thanedar, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. ”Detroit residents can respond by filing a formal complaint with the Detroit Board of Ethics and advocating for statewide ethics reform.” ‘A true hood champion’ Sheffield, the granddaughter of storied labor leader Horace Sheffield Jr., has long cast herself as an advocate for grassroots causes. On the campaign trail, she leaned heavily on her progressive record. “Mary Sheffield’s a true hood champion,” said Morningside resident and community activist Vaughn Arrington. “I think she would continue to focus very narrowly on communities that are not feeling Detroit’s growth.” Sheffield’s record on Pistons-related developments reflects the balance she’s tried to strike throughout her time in public office: keeping powerful corporate interests close while preserving her reputation as a champion of the community. In 2017, she voted to approve $34.5 million in public funding for the Pistons’ move to the city, despite public outcry. That same year, she sponsored the “jock tax,” which taxes NBA players and staff every day they work in the city. Sheffield supported tax subsidies for the team’s Performance Center headquarters and later the $3 billion Future of Health development, in which the Pistons are a partner. The pair of projects — both located in the City Council district she represents — each required the developers to negotiate community benefits. The Future of Health benefits deal includes Section 8 housing vouchers, a $2 million donation to the city’s affordable housing fund, $1 million for a community land trust, and more. Balancing act The WNBA facility, by contrast, is not mandated to have a community benefits agreement. The ordinance applies to projects valued at $75 million or more that receive at least $1 million in tax abatements or city land. Developers plan to build the riverfront sports complex in two phases: a $50 million WNBA headquarters that would open in 2029 and a subsequent “youth development academy” that would be operated by an unnamed nonprofit with a yet-to-be-named price tag. Related stories As a councilmember in 2021, Sheffield unsuccessfully pushed to lower the community benefits ordinance’s threshold to apply to projects valued as low as $50 million. During her campaign for mayor, she told Outlier Media she’s interested in reworking community benefits agreements to “expand home repair commitments.” And earlier this year, she and the council commissioned a study on the viability of a city “amusement tax.” Sheffield, who did not make herself available for an interview for this story, is soliciting input for her incoming administration on her website and plans to survey residents in January. “The mayor-elect has spent her entire career uplifting the voices and the needs of Detroiters,” said Samantha Myers, a spokesperson for Sheffield’s transition team. “She will bring that same focus to the mayor’s office and evaluate everything through that lens.” Sheffield takes office Jan. 1. This article first appeared on Outlier Media and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Rec Sports

Parks and Recreation Programs for Teens

Published

39 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

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Virginia Tech Helmet Lab Releases First Independent Safety Ratings for Youth Hockey Helmets

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1 hour ago

December 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Key Takeaways

Virginia Tech Helmet Lab tested 33 youth hockey helmets, awarding 10 helmets a five-star rating and six a four-star rating
The ratings address a market of approximately 800,000 youth players in the United States and Canada combined
Parents of youth hockey players drove demand after showing strong interest in the lab’s 2015 adult hockey helmet ratings
The Hockey Equipment Certification Council remains the only widely used benchmark, certifying helmets meet ASTM standards without performance-based ratings
Youth hockey helmets represent the 13th sport or industry-specific headgear rated by the lab since its launch 15 years ago

Independent Performance Data Enters Youth Hockey Market

The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab released its first ratings for youth hockey helmets on December 16, providing parents and program operators with performance-based safety data for 33 helmets currently on the market. The lab applied its STAR (Summation of Tests for Analysis of Risk) framework to award ratings from zero to five stars based on impact protection.

“It includes every helmet we could get our hands on, including some that are no longer being manufactured but that players might still be wearing,” said Steve Rowson, the lab’s director and a professor of biomedical engineering. “The goal is simply to provide moms and dads and other stakeholders in the youth hockey community an independent resource so they can make an informed decision and purchase a helmet in the context of impact protection.”

The complete list of rated helmets, including advertised retail prices, is available at the Helmet Lab’s webpage.

Market Demand and Player Population Drive Research

The lab’s decision to test youth hockey helmets came directly from market response to its 2015 adult hockey helmet ratings. Rowson noted that parents of youth players showed the strongest interest in those varsity ratings, signaling clear demand for youth-specific data.

The youth hockey market substantially exceeds the adult player population. According to USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, approximately 800,000 youth players participate in the United States and Canada. The International Ice Hockey Federation reports an additional 275,000 players throughout Europe.

Testing Methodology Adapted for Youth Players

Virginia Tech researchers leveraged existing literature on impact exposures in youth hockey and utilized equipment from previous youth football helmet testing, including a youth-sized test dummy. The testing protocol accounts for lower impact energies associated with youth play compared to adult hockey.

Currently, the Hockey Equipment Certification Council provides the only widely used benchmark for hockey helmets. The council certifies that helmets meet American Society for Testing and Materials safety standards but does not produce performance-based ratings that compare helmet protection levels.

Broader Context for Safety Equipment Standards

The youth hockey helmet ratings continue the lab’s 15-year track record of developing independent consumer guides that double as development roadmaps for manufacturers. This summer, the lab updated ratings for bicycle, varsity football, and youth football helmets in response to measurable safety performance improvements in those categories.

Rowson emphasized that while the research aims to help individuals select better headgear, the ratings also encourage helmet manufacturers and sports organizations to prioritize safer product development.

via: News VT

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