Rec Sports
McGinnis, Mignona candidacies backed | News, Sports, Jobs
Having served with Stephanie McGinnis and Val Mignona on the Altoona Area school board, I support their candidacy for re-election.
School board members serve as volunteers and oversee one of the most important services offered in our community.
Stephanie is a parent, former teacher, small business owner, an active member in her church and in our community.
Val is a parent, administrator in the health care industry, and is very active in youth sports programs in our community.
While serving on the board, both supported hiring a security officer to be placed in all of our school buildings, supported upgrading and maintaining our buildings to keep all healthy, worked to find ways to reduce expenditures to be good stewards of financial resources, helped to hire highly qualified staff to maintain excellency and supported updating and providing resources to on offer students a high quality curriculum and educational excellence.
Frank Meloy
Altoona
Rec Sports
Tigers Host Pitt On Sunday Afternoon For Youth Day – Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site
Game Details: Sunday, Dec. 14, Clemson, S.C., 2 p.m.
Tickets: Click Here
TV: ACCNX
The Clemson Athletic Network: Listen
Live Coverage: clemsontigers.com
X: @ClemsonWBB
Instagram: @ClemsonWBB
Facebook: Clemson Women’s Basketball
Clemson Game Notes: Notes
Promotions: Youth Day Game, 500 Kendama Giveaway, Spyros Bros Halftime Show, & Superhero and Princess Appearances
Clemson, S.C. – Clemson women’s basketball hosts Pitt in its second ACC matchup of the season in Littlejohn Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 7. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m., and the game will stream live on ACCNX.
SETTING THE STAGE
The Tigers are looking to extend their current single-game win streak and reach .500 in league action. The Panthers have one two of their last three contests as they enter their first ACC game of the year.
THE CLEMSON-PITT SERIES
Clemson trails in the all-time series against Pitt, 11-10, and the Panthers are on a two-game series win streak. The pairings between the Tigers and the Panthers span back to the 1976-77 season. In the last clash, Pitt topped Clemson, 72-59 (Dec. 21, 2018).
LAST TIME OUT
Clemson used a 48-point second-half surge to top App State, 78-59, at Littlejohn Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Mia Moore logged a season-high 21 points, and Taylor Johnson-Matthews added a season-best 20 points to become the first pair of Tigers to score 20-plus points in a game since Amari Robinson (24) and Dayshanette Harris (22) against Miami (Feb. 8, 2024) last season. Senior forward Raven Thompson (11 points) shot 100% (3-3 FG, 1-1 3PT, & 4-4 FT) for the second-straight game. Senior guard Rachael Rose (season-high five assists) has dished out three or more assists in five games so far this season. For the first time since November 2023, Clemson knocked down 20-plus free throws, finishing the game with 21 makes at the line.
BEST OF THE TIGERS
In the latest Nitty Gritties Report, Clemson is ranked 51st in the NET, 18th in the NET SOS, and 50th in the WAB. The Tigers are led by the scoring duo of senior guard Mia Moore (12.6 ppg.) & junior guard/ forward Rusne Augusinaite (10.8 ppg.). Augusinaite is also averaging 2.5 3PM Per Game (3rd in the ACC). Moore holds a team-best 6.5 rebound average and 4.9 assists average (5th in the ACC). Senior guard/forward Hadley Periman is the squad’s leading shot blocker (1.1 bpg.) (15th in the ACC).
SUNDAY, DEC. 21 CANNED GOODS DONATION DRIVE
Clemson women’s basketball will be hosting a Canned Goods Donation Drive (Benefiting Paw Pantry & The Nook) on Sunday, Dec. 21 vs. North Florida. Tiger Fans who bring donation items will receive $5 off admission to the game against North Florida. Items in need include: Wipes, bar soap, shampoo, toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste, feminine products, Dry goods, canned goods, rice, pasta, Sugar, oil, cereal, canned soup, shelf-stable milk, canned meat, condiments, instant oatmeal/grits, and granola bars.
TIGERS INK MONSTER SIGNING CLASS: HIGHEST EVER IN PROGRAM HISTORY!
The incoming 2026 class is the highest-ranked signing class in program history and ranks third nationally (per 247 Sports) and sixth nationally (per ESPN). Coach Poppie, who is in his second year at the helm, has signed six Top-100 recruits in two years. Prior to the Poppie Era at Clemson, the program has only had six Top-100 recruits in the previous 12 years.
The Class includes: Trinity Jones, Kimora Fields, Julia Scott, Meeyah Green, and Dyarri Braddick.
RACHAEL ROSE NAMED TO NANCY LIEBERMAN PGOTY PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Senior guard Rachael Rose is 1-of-20 players (1-of-6 in the ACC) named to the 2026 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Preseason watch list, announced by Hoophall & the WBCA. The Nancy Lieberman Award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking, and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman. Fans can vote for Rose here.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase women’s basketball tickets by calling 1-800-CLEMSON or at ClemsonTigers.com/Tickets/.
FOLLOW CLEMSON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
For complete coverage of Clemson women’s basketball, follow the Tigers on social media (X | Facebook | Instagram).
One of the things that’s struck me in returning to The New Era is how the community has rebounded from COVID.
Even in the summer of 2023, when we thought we were “retiring,” things were not back to “normal.”
One gauge of that, at least for me, was that when I would go to a school campus to report, many kids would just ignore me if I greeted them as I walked by in the halls.
Now, I’m certainly not the most magnetic personality in the world, but I often got the sense that these kids were bothered that I was even trying to give them attention.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
Stony stare straight ahead.
After all, we didn’t know each other, so why would I be talking to them?
That’s changed – not universally, but youngsters now seem a lot more relaxed to me than they did even a few years ago and that’s good news. Yeah, they’re still more interested in TikTok than, say, greeting me, but they seem more open to communicating with a stranger, and it’s not just because I subbed some of their classes while I was away from newspapers.
Participation in sports was on the upswing by then, but it wasn’t really what it had been in, say, 2019 – at least the athletic maturity wasn’t there yet. We’re really starting to see some real differences now, I think. It’s nice to see the COVID pandemic growing rapidly smaller in the rear-view mirror.
But it’s not just the youngsters.
I bring this up because I’ve been reminded recently of the importance of community interaction.
What triggered this was Lebanon’s travails with its football stadium, which you may have read about earlier this fall. (If you didn’t, you can at www.sweethomenews.com/lebanon-high-school-asks-for-help-to-capture-1-million-prize).
In considering what life in Lebanon must be like without a facility to host football games, graduation and other sports and community events, I started reflecting on the importance of community events.
In today’s world, I think that’s become particularly true. The value of youth sports is multiple but one that’s key is how these activities provide a distinct social bond in Sweet Home, Lebanon, Harrisburg, Scio, Philomath, Junction City and thousands of other small communities across the nation.
And, in Lebanon’s case, when you don’t have a facility in which to gather to have that community, that fan experience, well, you’re up a creek.
I was reminded again of the value of community earlier this fall when Sweet Home celebrated its Homecoming Week with an historic football victory over a foe the Huskies had not defeated in recent memory.
Thankfully, the stands were packed and the Sweet Home faithful were lined up, five deep, around the bend in the track – as one old-timer noted to me, “just like the good old days.”
It was good to see. But it was just of many examples.
My wife and I were at the Christmas Tree Auction Saturday night and, although it might not have been a record-setting night in terms of cash flow, it was a good one, organizers said. It was pretty much a sell-out and people clearly were having a good time. I did (which sometimes isn’t the case, I have to admit).
But as I drove around earlier in the day, I noticed what seemed to be more than usual foot traffic on the sidewalks earlier that day. People appeared to be out and about, going to the bazaars, flocking to the Evangelical Church men’s Christmas Tree sale. OK, that was a bad pun.
Granted, I’m just speaking anecdotally here – I didn’t grill the proprietors to see how they did, but the general sense I got was that people aren’t huddling in their houses. And that’s a good thing.
There was a big crowd Friday night at the Singing Christmas Tree performance, bigger than a lot of ones I remember.
Earlier this year, National Night Out and the reincarnated Sweet Home Rodeo were big successes. So was the Jesus Festival. And the Harvest Festival. Those were all events that brought the community together.
In this holiday season, you can pat yourself on the back if you participated. And if you haven’t, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in something beside your TV screen. The Parade of Lights is one, on Saturday night. See details on it and other holiday events starting on page 2.
In an age in which there’s way too much paranoia and hostility in public, it’s just nice to see people getting along and having fun together.
Hope your holiday season is full of healthy fun!
The Vice President of Northeast Seattle Little League, Ted Foster, recently spoke out about the lucrative permit fees the league has to pay, which make up more than 60% of its operating budget, and have only resulted in fields that are now in “absolute complete disrepair.”
Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, condemned the city’s practice of consistently raising permit fees year after year while failing to provide children with a safe place to compete in organized athletics.
“The people who are showing up to play on the weekend, they go around, and parents are having to come and bring wheelbarrows and shovels to try and fix these problems,” Jake said. “These are not leagues that are making a ton of money. These are just people volunteering their time, and it’s all going into facilitating the beautiful, wonderful thing that is literally youth sports. This, to me, seems wrong.”
Seattle Parks’ steep permit fees result in poor field conditions
In an exclusive interview on Seattle Red 770 AM, Foster revealed that more than $120,000 in permit costs will be paid to the city by the district for “the worst field conditions out of every district that there is.”
Additionally, Jake noted that the Seattle Parks’ annual operating budget is $228 million, yet the kids continue to suffer from poor field conditions every week.
“Their operating budget is $228 million, and they can’t fill a dog hole,” Jake said. “That’s a real problem, because these kids are now suffering as a result, and they’re not going to want to play at these parks.”
Spike claimed that rising costs to rent a field, whether it is usable or not, will eventually divert funds from important equipment that children need to play each game.
“When 60% of a little league or association’s operating budget goes to rent a field that is unusable, that’s money coming out of uniforms, ball game equipment, all the little things, trophies,” Spike said. “What does the city want us to do, sponsorships? You want us to get Chico’s Bail Bonds out there? That would be great.”
“They won’t allow it. You can’t put advertising stuff out there,” Jake responded. “The parents even volunteered. They said, ‘Can we raise money to help the situation?’ and they said, ‘That’s not going to work for us.’ I don’t know if they want kids. Honestly, I don’t know if Seattle Parks wants kids on their field. I think they would rather have dogs.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
Rec Sports
LA84 Foundation Opens Large Grant Cycle as Recent $1.78M Award Reaches 19 Southern California Youth Sports Programs
Key Takeaways
- LA84 Foundation awarded $1,781,000 to 19 organizations across six Southern California counties, focusing on communities where cost, transportation, and facility access limit youth sports participation
- Large grant applications (minimum $25,000) are now open through December 19, with organizations invited to submit Letters of Interest for programs promoting sports exposure and exploration
- Over 4,400 youth will benefit from recent grants, including 1,700 students in Compton Unified’s expanded after-school sports program and 1,000 participants in AYSO’s Imperial County expansion
- Recent awards reached 45% girls and 55% boys, with the majority of funding directed to programs serving Latino (43%), White (35%), and Black/African American (8%) youth across Southern California
- The foundation serves eight counties as a legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, offering both large grants ($25,000+) and small grants ($5,000-25,000, open year-round)
Current Grant Cycle Targets Access and Equity
The LA84 Foundation has opened its large grant cycle for 2025, accepting Letters of Interest through December 19. Organizations in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties can apply for grants of $25,000 or more to support youth programs that promote sports exposure and exploration.
Selected organizations will receive invitations to complete full applications. The foundation also maintains a year-round small grant program for awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Full criteria and application materials are available on LA84’s grants page.
As a legacy organization from the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the foundation has supported youth sports access in Southern California for over four decades.
Recent Awards Eliminate Barriers Across Six Counties
The foundation recently distributed $1,781,000 to 19 organizations providing school-based and community youth sports programs in L.A., Riverside, Orange, Imperial, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. According to Renata Simril, President and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, the grants address specific barriers to participation.
“These grants focus on access, belonging, and possibility,” Simril said. “From Boyle Heights to Compton, from Imperial County to the Inland Empire, we are investing in coaches, providing safe places to play, and supporting inclusive programs that help youth succeed both in school and in life.”
The grants emphasize removing financial and logistical obstacles that prevent youth participation, including program fees, transportation costs, equipment expenses, and facility access.
District and Community Programs Expand Free Sports Access
Compton Unified School District received funding to expand free after-school sports to 25 campuses while eliminating fees and transportation barriers for elementary and middle school students. The grant covers coach stipends, staff training, equipment, and uniforms for programs in flag football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball, and track and field. At least 1,700 Compton students will participate in leagues competing against other CUSD schools.
Variety Boys & Girls Club in Boyle Heights will expand year-round leagues at no cost to families. Throughout the year, 900 members participate in baseball, softball, flag football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, or swimming. The club operates a comprehensive aquatic program using an onsite four-lane pool.
“Every child deserves access to safe spaces where they can engage in athletic activities with their peers that build confidence and healthy habits,” said Patricia Siqueiros, Executive Director of Variety Boys & Girls Club. “It is an investment in a healthier and more equitable future for our community’s youth.”
The P.F. Bresee Foundation will use its grant for the Bresee Athletics League, engaging middle and high school students through futsal, soccer, basketball, and volleyball leagues in Central Los Angeles. More than 325 youth benefit from this funding.
Specialized Programs Address Retention and Rural Access
Several grants target specific participation challenges. Students Run LA will expand its Female Ambassador Program and provide sports bras and health products to support retention and well-being among girl participants. Girls on the Run Riverside received funding to add teams and coach stipends to maintain program quality.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles’ Crenshaw Classic Track & Field Youth Initiative offers free, certified competitions in South Los Angeles and Inglewood. The program provides track and field training over two eight-week seasons in 15 local schools, with mentorship from Olympians and college athletes. It culminates in the Crenshaw Classic track meet, a no-cost certified competition with official times and rankings. Over 500 youth will benefit from this Olympic-focused initiative.
To reach rural communities, LA84 funded AYSO’s expansion of its PLAY! model in Imperial County for clinics, coach training, and no- to low-cost soccer programs. The investment is expected to benefit 1,000 Imperial County youth.
“With LA84’s support, AYSO PLAY! will train local leaders and engage over 1,000 kids in Imperial County at no cost, building a foundation for sustainable, low-cost soccer programs in the years ahead,” said Blane Shepard, AYSO National Director of Community Engagement and Business Development.
Grant Portfolio Spans Multiple Sports and Demographics
The fall grant docket reached girls (45%) and boys (55%), with participation from Latino (43%), White (35%), Black/African American (8%), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (5%), Asian (4%), and other/multiracial youth.
Funded programs support a diverse sports ecosystem including running, track and field, soccer, squash, skateboarding, and multi-sport learn-to-play programs. The grants share a common goal of closing the play equity gap by meeting youth where they are and providing inclusive coaching, safe facilities, and accessible environments.
Foundation Maintains Focus on Community Infrastructure
LA84’s approach emphasizes building sustainable local capacity rather than one-time program funding. Recent grants support coach stipends, staff training, facility improvements, and equipment that enable organizations to maintain and expand programs over time.
“Play unlocks possibility,” Simril said. “These LA84 Foundation grants strengthen the coaches, spaces, and community bonds that help young people build healthy bodies, resilient minds, and the confidence to lead.”
Organizations interested in the current large grant cycle have until December 19 to submit Letters of Interest for programs that expand sports access in Southern California communities.
via: sports examiner
photo: alliance for justice
YSBR provides this content on an “as is” basis without any warranties, express or implied. We do not assume responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, legality, reliability, or use of the information, including any images, videos, or licenses associated with this article. For any concerns, including copyright issues or complaints, please contact YSBR directly.
A sense of urgency, camaraderie and excitement was on full display at the Wisconsin Youth Climate Conference hosted here at Madison College on November 22. More than 200 youths, ranging in age from junior high to college, and some from as far away as Onalaska, converged on the Truax campus to demonstrate, observe and network for the sake of climate and ecological action.
Most attendees were in high school, including the four leading members of the event’s steering committee: Ella Ahner, Ayelet Blum, Madeleine Bohn and Nina Zhu.
“It’s really inspiring to see how many people can come together to manifest change,” said Ahner, who attends DeForest Area High School. “This conference is proof that we can work together for a better future.”
“This conference was a turning point for me,” said Zhu, now a senior at Memorial High School, recounting her attendance during her freshman year. “It inspired me to join other organizations and the committee. I hope this conference has the same impact on others that it had on me.”
More than 30 schools were represented at the event. Students from more than 20 of those schools presented at exhibit tables to share the accomplishments of their organizations.
“This conference is a way of bringing us all together to make change as a collective,” said Blum, a junior at Madison West High School. “The climate crisis is affecting every one of us, and if we can all work together we’ll make a bigger impact.”
“It’s powerful to see all these different green clubs with their individual projects coming together,” added Bohn, a senior also from Madison West. “These people are doing some incredible things, and I know a lot of attendees walk away feeling inspired, myself included.”
Facilitating the youths’ in their planning and execution of the conference was a cadre of sustainability enthusiasts with ties to green efforts across Dane County.
“We’re a fun aggregation of people from many different walks of life,” said Armila Aeilts. Aeilts teaches Environmental Science here at Madison College, and is the only faculty on the steering committee. “We have a lot of different perspectives and skill sets and opinions coming in to make this conference a success.”
The elder members of the steering committee are unified on empowering the youths to take the lead in planning the conference. “The power of it is that the youth are picking what we’re talking about and how we’re talking about it,” said Kathy Kuntz, the Director of the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change. “The folks like me on the steering committee were just logistical support. The youths are leading the conversation.”
The entire conference comes as a result and acknowledgement of the real-world ecological facts facing younger generations. “Young people today are not just witnesses to the climate crisis,” said Zhu as she introduced the event’s keynote speaker. “We are inheritors, and we refuse to inherit a planet that’s destroyed.”
The keynote speaker was Jerome Foster II, who, starting while he was 18, served as an advisor to the Biden administration on its Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
“For so many of us, we feel like we don’t have a place to sit at the table of the future,” said Foster, acknowledging the immense difficulties of resisting and shifting the tyranny of the status quo. Yet Foster exhorted the gathered youths to action, encouraging them to recognize the unique advantages that youth brings to the political process. “We’re not jaded by what is politically normal or politically possible. We’re motivated by what’s morally possible.”
Before and after the keynote speech, attendees presented their own schools’ initiatives and toured others’. Among the tables was Madison College’s own Green Club. Helping at the table was Avery Kluever, a high school student taking classes full-time at MC and a new Green Club member.
“It’s always important to look for ideas because you can’t really think of everything yourself,” said Kluever, gesturing at the numerous displays around the room. “I’m hoping to see what other people are doing, and bring ideas back to our Green Club.”
“I feel like Madison College should make a bigger deal about all the sustainability things they’ve done,” said Ruby Katsihtis, a MC sophomore also helping table for the Green Club. “They have the solar panels and the compost machine, and they have done so many other things. But they don’t really make a big deal about it. Those are things worth talking about and promoting.”
“Everyone who’s here showed up of their own accord, and they’re leading by example,” said Quinn Mattsson, president of the Madison College Green Club. “That’s the first step: showing up.”
When asked for his advice to youths just starting out in sustainability movements, Mattsson nodded toward the core principle of the entire conference. “Find people who are excited by the same things you are, and people who are doing the things that you’re excited about, because they’re out there. You just have to find them.”
Story continues below advertisement
Frantzich and Nemecek land MIAC Athlete of the Week accolades
No. 3 Volleyball lands four on AVCA Southwest Region Team
Tigers Host Pitt On Sunday Afternoon For Youth Day – Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site
The ethics of sports gambling: Geoff’s Journal
Opinion: Resurgence of public participation a plus
ACC Announces Week 1 Indoor Track & Field Performers of the Week
Men’s Volleyball Announces Signing of Three Players
Nick Sanchez Shows Why Teams Need To Start Funding Themselves
Adrian and Allen Named Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Athletes to Watch
Thread
Major college football AD responds to potential departure of $54 million head coach
Sjöberg Named ACC Women’s Track Performer Of The Week
Blue Devils Celebrate 2025 Season at Annual Awards Banquet
Jake blasts Seattle Parks for Little League field conditions
LA84 Foundation Opens Large Grant Cycle as Recent $1.78M Award Reaches 19 Southern California Youth Sports Programs
First Tee Winter Registration is open
Fargo girl, 13, dies after collapsing during school basketball game – Grand Forks Herald
CPG Brands Like Allegra Are Betting on F1 for the First Time
Volleyball Recaps – November 18
F1 Las Vegas: Verstappen win, Norris and Piastri DQ tighten 2025 title fight
Two Pro Volleyball Leagues Serve Up Plans for Minnesota Teams
Sycamores unveil 2026 track and field schedule
Utah State Announces 2025-26 Indoor Track & Field Schedule
Redemption Means First Pro Stock World Championship for Dallas Glenn
Texas volleyball vs Kentucky game score: Live SEC tournament updates
Bowl Projections: ESPN predicts 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, full bowl slate after Week 14
How this startup (and a KC sports icon) turned young players into card-carrying legends overnight
Indiana’s rapid ascent and its impact across college football
Jo Shimoda Undergoes Back Surgery
Pohlman admits ‘there might be some spats’ as he pushes to get Kyle Busch winning again
Why a rising mid-major power with an NCAA Tournament team opted out of revenue-sharing — and advertised it
NBA Legend Michael Jordan to Join NBC Sports as Special Contributor
Falcons mailbag
Portal Update – Basketball and Gymnastics Take Hits
has always dreamed in Mercurial. Now his initials are on the boots.
The new Kyl…
-
Rec Sports2 weeks agoFirst Tee Winter Registration is open
-
Rec Sports2 weeks agoFargo girl, 13, dies after collapsing during school basketball game – Grand Forks Herald
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoCPG Brands Like Allegra Are Betting on F1 for the First Time
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoF1 Las Vegas: Verstappen win, Norris and Piastri DQ tighten 2025 title fight
-
Sports2 weeks agoTwo Pro Volleyball Leagues Serve Up Plans for Minnesota Teams
-
Sports2 weeks agoUtah State Announces 2025-26 Indoor Track & Field Schedule
-
Sports2 weeks agoSycamores unveil 2026 track and field schedule
-
Motorsports2 weeks agoRedemption Means First Pro Stock World Championship for Dallas Glenn
-
Sports2 weeks agoTexas volleyball vs Kentucky game score: Live SEC tournament updates
-
NIL1 week agoBowl Projections: ESPN predicts 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, full bowl slate after Week 14