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Rory Secures Legacy

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters Tournament is not only the first and most popular major championship of the men’s golf season. It’s also the place where the most business in the sport gets done in one week. While the world’s top golfers compete at Augusta National Golf Club, the top power brokers in golf gather […]

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Rory Secures Legacy

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters Tournament is not only the first and most popular major championship of the men’s golf season. It’s also the place where the most business in the sport gets done in one week.

While the world’s top golfers compete at Augusta National Golf Club, the top power brokers in golf gather in town to hash out current affairs and plan for the future.

After spending the week in Augusta, Front Office Sports has three big takeaways from the scene about the state of professional golf, and what might lie ahead.

  1. The Masters wants the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to figure it out.

“I think we all agree that four times a year is not enough to have the great players of the game together,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday at his annual pre-Masters press conference.

That may seem like a no-brainer comment. But the Masters doesn’t need any single player, tour, or league. It’s the biggest tournament in golf, and will almost assuredly thrive no matter the state of professional golf.

It would be easy for Augusta National to stay out of the merger talks, and continue to capitalize on being the first time each year when PGA Tour and LIV players meet. But having the support of the most powerful entity in golf can only be a good thing for efforts to unite the two tours. 

While Ridley wouldn’t say what he thinks a reunion should look like, one sentiment I heard from multiple insiders is that if there isn’t a full-blown merger in the next 12 months, there could at least be momentum for a co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

  1. LIV’s new leader doesn’t sound concerned about his tour’s existence.

I caught up with Scott O’Neil, who took over LIV’s CEO position from Greg Norman in January, on Thursday afternoon at the 18th green. 

O’Neil was invited by Augusta National, unlike Norman the previous two years. “We’re pleased to have him as our guest,” Ridley said Wednesday. “Although I don’t have any specific plans to meet with him, I know that we will have some discussions with him, and we’re happy that he’s here.”

As we watched LIV’s Bubba Watson, a two-time Masters winner, conclude his first round with an impressive up-and-down par from more than 100 yards out, it was clear that O’Neil—most recently the CEO of theme park operator Merlin Entertainments after a stint running the 76ers and Devils—is relishing his return to sports.

O’Neil happily shared some stories about coaxing extra media hits out of LIV’s top players and his recent interactions with President Donald Trump, who owns the course LIV played at in Miami earlier this month. O’Neil was obviously hopeful a LIV player might take the Green Jacket, and Bryson DeChambeau nearly did it before a tough finish to his final round.

My biggest takeaway after talking to O’Neil? He sounds more than content with where LIV Golf stands right now—deal or no deal with the PGA Tour. 

  1. The Tiger Woods effect persists.

The five-time Masters champion was supposed to be in Augusta last week to play in the Masters and for the announcement about him designing a nine-hole short course in town. But his Achilles injury kept Woods out of the tournament. His absence contributed to a drop in early-round TV ratings, compared to last year, when he did play.

While the crowd following Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau was huge on Sunday, the fandom for those two—and all the other top players—still pales in comparison to that of Woods. Still, I was surprised (maybe I shouldn’t have been) at how many Sun Day Red logos I saw around Augusta National at the Masters. Less than a year after Woods launched his apparel brand, it looks like his post-Nike business plan is coming together nicely, even if the new tiger logo is dealing with a few trademark disputes.

College Sports

Former Gymnastics Coach Arrested After Admitting to Sex Acts with Girl He Once Trained

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a former gymnastics coach on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, after he confessed to detectives that he had sexual intercourse twice with a girl he was coaching when she was younger than 16-years old. The investigation began as a missing person case, when detectives were attempting to locate the (now […]

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The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a former gymnastics coach on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, after he confessed to detectives that he had sexual intercourse twice with a girl he was coaching when she was younger than 16-years old.

The investigation began as a missing person case, when detectives were attempting to locate the (now adult) victim, after she failed to participate in a court-ordered detox program. 

The victim was located by detectives at the Lakeland home of 28-year old Alexander Katchalov, her former gymnastics coach. The victim used to attend gymnastics classes at Elite World Gymnastics in Lakeland, where Katchalov was formerly employed. 

Katchalov was already designated as a Florida Sexual Offender and on felony sexual offender probation following a prior conviction for Possession of Photograph Showing Sexual Performance of a Child (in 2017). The victim in the latest allegations against Katchalov was not a victim in his child pornography case.

Detectives interviewed the victim after locating her at Katchalov’s residence, and at that time, she had mentioned having a sexual relationship with Katchalov back when he was her coach. 

During the detectives’ initial interview with Katchalov, he denied having a sexual relationship with the victim when he was her coach, but he eventually claimed that he only had sexual intercourse with her two times when she was 15, and it happened two-weeks apart.

“Given this former gymnastic coach’s deviant background, it is possible that there could be more victims out there. If he has victimized anyone else, we want them to contact our detectives in the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit. He has a horribly twisted attraction to children, and he needs to be locked away.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Detectives also discovered that Katchalov violated his probation by using an unreported internet messaging system during correspondence with the victim and he also possessed an un-registered online gaming account. All “internet-identifiers” by Katchalov must be registered with the Sheriff’s Office per probationary guidelines. 

Alexander Katchalov was arrested and taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and charged with: Lewd Battery (F2, 2-counts), Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Registration (F3), and Violation of Probation. 

Katchalov was incarcerated in Florida State Prison between September 30, 2021 to August 24, 2022 following his conviction of child pornography possession. His probation was set to expire on August 23, 2029.

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Christensen and Munro Tabbed NABC Honors Court

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has announced the recipients of the NABC Honors Court for the 2024-25 season. Connor Christensen and Jackson Munro received the honor for their outstanding work in the classroom while making an impact to the team throughout the 2024-25 season.   The NABC Academic Honors […]

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has announced the recipients of the NABC Honors Court for the 2024-25 season. Connor Christensen and Jackson Munro received the honor for their outstanding work in the classroom while making an impact to the team throughout the 2024-25 season.
 
The NABC Academic Honors Court includes junior, senior and graduate student men’s basketball players who finished the 2024-25 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. The NABC’s academic awards are presented annually to teams and athletes from all levels of college basketball and over 2,400 student-athletes earned the honor.
 
Christensen was a significant leader on and off the court for the Big Green, not only in his final season at Dartmouth, but throughout his entire four years. In the classroom, Christensen was an economics major prior to graduating this past June. On the court, he saw action in 23 games during his senior year, making an impact through his play and vocal leadership. Whether he was actively in the game or on the bench, his enthusiasm and encouragement for his teammates never went unnoticed.
 
Munro was tabbed the team’s Academic All-Ivy honoree after the conclusion of the regular season making this his second academic honor of the year. In the classroom, Munro is a Quantitative Social Science major. The junior was a consistent starter and contributor to the Big Green. He acted as a leader on and off the court, serving as a team captain. He led the team with 24 blocks and ranked third on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.6 a game. He finished the season third on the team in field goal percentage with .531 and recorded a double double.
 



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Gator football fall camp is set to start on July 30th.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – The Gator faithful does not have to wait much longer for the Gator football season to kick off. According to Zach Abolverdi of On3 reports the Gators open up fall camp starting on July 30th. The Gators will practice weekly on Monday through Thursday and Saturday mornings. The off days are […]

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – The Gator faithful does not have to wait much longer for the Gator football season to kick off. According to Zach Abolverdi of On3 reports the Gators open up fall camp starting on July 30th.

The Gators will practice weekly on Monday through Thursday and Saturday mornings. The off days are Sundays and Fridays for the team, though there is media availability on Friday.

There are two scheduled scrimmages at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on August 9th and 16th.

The Gator football team is in search of its fourth national title for the first time since 2008.

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In memory of Stu Hughes

Story Links ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Stuart Hughes, a 47-year employee of RIT, succumbed to his battle with cancer on July 15, surrounded by family and friends. He was 64. Mr. Hughes, affectionately known as Stu, was a Henrietta native who began working on the university grounds crew at the age of 18. […]

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Stuart Hughes, a 47-year employee of RIT, succumbed to his battle with cancer on July 15, surrounded by family and friends. He was 64.

Mr. Hughes, affectionately known as Stu, was a Henrietta native who began working on the university grounds crew at the age of 18. After serving 20 years tending to RIT’s grounds, he transitioned to become the Ice Operations Manager of Frank Ritter Arena and the newer Gene Polisseni Center when it opened in 2014.

He was a fan favorite of RIT Tiger hockey fans for nearly three decades. Fans would chant “Stu!” while he maneuvered donuts in the large Zamboni after every Tiger playoff series victory.

“Stu was a fixture of our hockey community and helped make an ice rink feel like a second home for players and fans alike,” said Executive Director of Athletics Jackie Nicholson. “You couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride when you set foot in the rink and saw the flawless sheet of ice, he always had ready, just waiting to be skated on. Game nights won’t be the same without Stu.”

Mr. Hughes drove the Zamboni one final time this past season for “Support Stu Night” as he was battling cancer. Fittingly, his last official game was in March 2024, when the men’s hockey team won the Atlantic Hockey Championship.

“Stu was a great friend and co-worker from the very first day I started at RIT,” said former RIT Men’s Hockey Coach Wayne Wilson, who recently retired following 26 years leading the program. “You’d be hard pressed to find someone more meticulous about his job or take more pride in having the best ice in college hockey than Stu. There also are not many Zamboni drivers who fans know by name, but he was a big part of our program that will be missed.”

Mr. Hughes is predeceased by his mother, father, and sister, Deborah. He is survived by his by his daughter, Amanda; brother, Eric; and sisters, Sandra, Nancy, Marilyn, and Victoria.

Public calling hours will be from 3 to 7 p.m., Thursday, July 24 at the Miller Funeral Home, 3325 Winton Road South, Henrietta. The RIT flag will be lowered in his memory and honor on July 24.

 



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Myers: Big money signings the latest twist in college hockey’s new world – InForum

At the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., Gophers coach Bob Motzko took questions before the tournament with future NHLers like Logan Cooley, Ryan Johnson and Jimmy Snuggerud flanking him. On that day, just over two years ago, Motzko was asked about how name, image and likeness money was affecting other college sports and […]

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At the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., Gophers coach Bob Motzko took questions before the tournament with future NHLers like Logan Cooley, Ryan Johnson and Jimmy Snuggerud flanking him. On that day, just over two years ago, Motzko was asked about how name, image and likeness money was affecting other college sports and how it might affect NCAA hockey in the future.

“Hockey is behind a little bit in the conversation,” Motzko said, perhaps inadvertently quoting Minnesota music legend Bob Dylan in his answer. “I think it’s going to be a conversation that’s going to heat up more and more in hockey over the next couple of years. We just don’t have that many teams compared to football and basketball. But it’s starting to heat up. And there are more discussions. You’re hearing million-dollar deals for football and basketball. Our players get burritos. But I think times are changing.”

It’s 27 months later. And the times have changed in a big, big way.

Gavin McKenna, a Canadian forward with eye-popping offensive numbers in major junior hockey, is 17 years old and projected by many experts to be the top overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Last week, he was reportedly offered $250,000 to attend Michigan State in the fall and skate for a Spartans team that returns one of the nation’s top goalies in Trey Augustine. The Spartans are a not-overly-risky bet to win the Big Ten’s first NCAA hockey title since an underdog Spartans team did it in 2007.

After visiting campus and mulling their official bid, McKenna handed Michigan State a polite ‘No thank you,’ and instead opted to skate for conference rival Penn State next season. That decision came after the Nittany Lions, who are coming off the program’s first Frozen Four appearance, were able to reportedly triple Michigan State’s monetary offer.

Over the past 15 years, the money game is the fourth seismic shift to hit the world of college hockey, which involves roughly 60 teams from Alaska in the West to Maine in the East and as far South as Arizona State’s rapidly emerging program.

The first came in 2010 when Terry Pegula, the billionaire owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, gave more than $100 million to his alma mater, Penn State, to build an arena that facilitated the Nittany Lions’ move from club to Division I hockey. That made for a half-dozen Big Ten schools with hockey programs (with the Nittany Lions joining Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin). In short order, the Big Ten became the first Power Five conference to include hockey, and long-standing, hockey-only conferences like the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and the original Central Collegiate Hockey Association either disbanded or radically changed their membership.

The next two changes came in the past five years, as NIL meant, for the first time, college athletes could get paid for the use of their name, image and likeness without losing their NCAA eligibility.

While football and basketball players were receiving six-figure deals from the start, the immediate impact on hockey was players hosting summer hockey camps, websites giving players a few hoodies in exchange for the use of an athlete’s name, and the aforementioned free burritos, with the Mexican chain Chipotle signing several Gophers skaters to endorse their food.

With the money offered to top players skyrocketing, there seems to be a movement afoot in Dinkytown to get the Gophers more involved in that game. Last month, social media posts were sent and a bare-bones website went live announcing the Golden Helmet Collective, which is lacking detail but seems to be the start of a hockey-specific effort to raise NIL money for future Gophers.

The opening of the transfer portal allowed players to move from one program to another without having to sit out or lose eligibility. This brought de facto free agency to college hockey, where smaller schools are now routinely losing their top players to bigger schools after a year or two.

One coach in Atlantic Hockey America, which is home to mid-major programs like Air Force, Bentley, Mercyhurst and Robert Morris, compared their conference to a shopping center, where many of the six players named to the AHA all-rookie team one season are likely to be playing in the Big Ten or Hockey East by the time they’re sophomores.

The Gophers have been sporadic but effective users of the transfer portal, bringing in players like NHL first-rounder Matthew Wood from Connecticut and goalie Liam Souliere, who backstopped much of last season’s Big Ten title run, from Penn State.

In November 2024, a lawsuit prompted the NCAA to allow players from Canadian major junior leagues to maintain college hockey eligibility, which had not been the case for the past four decades or so. Because major junior players often receive a stipend of a few hundred dollars per month for living expenses, they were long considered professionals in the eyes of the NCAA. So, in 2012, when current Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, who was committed to play college hockey at Miami of Ohio, went to play for a major junior team instead, his NCAA eligibility disappeared.

The opening up of major junior players to college recruitment has meant a windfall of new talent available to NCAA programs. McKenna is just the latest player from the Canadian leagues to pack for a home on campus in the fall, with Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie (Boston University), defenseman Benjamin Vigneault (Bemidji State), defenseman Henry Mews (Michigan), left winger Blake Montgomery (Wisconsin), defenseman Ethan Armstrong (Minnesota State Mankato), left winger Nathan Piling (St. Thomas), defenseman Grayden Siepmann (Minnesota Duluth) and center Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) all moving from major junior to college hockey in the fall.

North Dakota, which is a program in transition after a coaching change in the spring, landed two of the top players from the Victoria (B.C.) Royals, center Cole Rischny and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff.

McKenna made his future Nittany Lions announcement live on ESPN SportsCenter, in a move reminiscent of LeBron James and his infamous, nationally-televised “Decision” from 2010. While some decried the big-money signing as an omen of college hockey’s demise, others noted that having the sport covered on national TV in the middle of the summer, and attracting the top young talent on ice, at least for one season, is a net positive, even as the sport goes through yet another recent change.

Whatever your personal opinion, it’s clear that the future of college hockey has arrived. And for programs large and small to attract and keep the game’s best players, more than burritos will be required.

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'Guardian of the (soccer) Goals'

For three college soccer campaigns, Judge Memorial Catholic High School graduate Caeli Sherman and her teammates have taken the pitch wearing the familiar blue-and-gray uniform of the Air Force Academy (USAFA) Falcons. This season, Sherman is excited about a slight wardrobe adjustment — at least for a game or two. The USAFA women’s soccer team […]

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'Guardian of the (soccer) Goals'

For three college soccer campaigns, Judge Memorial Catholic High School graduate Caeli Sherman and her teammates have taken the pitch wearing the familiar blue-and-gray uniform of the Air Force Academy (USAFA) Falcons.

This season, Sherman is excited about a slight wardrobe adjustment — at least for a game or two.

The USAFA women’s soccer team — along with every other varsity team at the Colorado Springs-based service academy — will play at least one game or series this year in an alternate uniform recognizing the United States Space Force (USSF).

Caeli Sherman, right, a graduate of Utah’s Judge Memorial Catholic High School, and Air Force Academy teammate Raine Komata salute the flag during the National Anthem prior to a Falcon soccer game. | U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics

A Salt Lake City native, Sherman told the Deseret News she’s honored to pay tribute to the country’s newest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.

“Space, obviously, is a new frontier that we’re trying to tap into, and I think that this just encompasses the direction that we’re moving into,” she said.

“And the (alternate uniform) still has the American flag, which, for me, has been the coolest thing to have on any uniform — but particularly because you stand and salute before a game during the national anthem.

“That’s just different from what other schools do.”

The USSF was established Dec. 20, 2019 when the National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law, creating the first new branch of the armed services in 73 years. It is organized under the Department of the Air Force.

The establishment of the USSF resulted from widespread recognition that space was a national security imperative. When combined with the growing threat posed by near-peer competitors, it became clear there was a need for a military service focused solely on pursuing superiority in the space domain, according to the USSF.

“Access to and freedom to operate in space underpins our national security and economic prosperity,” the USSF site noted.

”However, space is no longer free from conflict. Potential adversaries are seeking ways to deny the U.S. access to the space capabilities fundamental to our way of war and modern way of life. They have developed an array of threats, both on Earth and in orbit, that continue to grow in scope, scale, and complexity.

The USSF consists of approximately 9,400 active duty personnel, known as “Guardians.”

Air Force-Space Force: ‘An important partnership’

USAFA athletics first honored the space service with a specialized uniform for the Falcons’ 2022 football game with rival Navy.

In 2025, every team at the USAFA salutes those in the country’s space service.

“We are thrilled to unveil this collaboration with the U.S. Space Force to honor the men and women who make up this important service,” Air Force Director of Athletics Nathan Pine said in a USAFA release.

“As the Space Force’s Academy, it is an important partnership that will showcase uniforms for each of our teams to celebrate these incredible teammates.”

The new uniforms for each team will feature some of the following elements:

  • The uniform will use word marks of Space Force and USSF, in addition to the Delta mark of the USSF.
  • USSF typographic Sharpe Sans Display, the official font of the U.S. Space Force.
  • The four Space Force Core Values: Courage, Commitment, Connection, Character.
  • Fusing together the official mark of the Air Force Academy, the AF, with the Polaris star and orbit, showing the connection between the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
  • “Semper Supra”, the Space Force motto, meaning Always Above.

The USAFA is also academically linked to the USSF. Each year, about 10% of the service academy’s graduating class are commissioned as 2nd lieutenants in the USSF.

“The academy has always been the place for space, housing one of the only undergraduate programs in the nation to design, develop and fly real-world satellites, and offering space-focused majors,” according to the USAFA.

“Additionally, the academy hosts Azimuth annually — which is a three-week program to introduce cadets to operations in the space domain modeled after NASA’s two-year Astronaut Training Program.”

Air Force Academy athlete models U.S. Space Force alternate football uniform. | U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics

A Falcon midfielder — and future pilot

A multi-year Deseret News All-State player at Judge Memorial, Sherman is a USAFA senior and plays in the Falcons midfield.

Besides competing as a Division 1 athlete, Sherman performs a variety of campus military duties and is majoring in Legal Studies. She’d like to pursue a legal career at some point, “but I did get a pilot slot (after graduation) — so that’s a 10-year commitment.

“But I’d love to do something with my major eventually and maybe go to law school.”

While slated to become an Air Force officer next spring, Sherman has great respect for her classmates pursuing the USSF career path — including her soccer team captain, Samantha Sharp.

“Sam’s an Astronautical Engineer major, so this is a dream for her.”

Sherman and the Falcon squad begin their 2025 soccer campaign on Aug. 3 on the road versus Montana.

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