A youth football team in Erlanger has a rising star on its hands.

A 6-year-old running back for the Erlanger Lions is now a front runner in NFL star Russell Wilson’s Youth Athlete of the Year Championship Experience.

If he wins, he’ll take home a life-changing prize.

Deonte Pinnell is small but mighty, and he’s ready to take the football world by storm.

His mother, Charissa Pinnell, says she submitted him for the championship experience after seeing a post online. Now, he’s in first place.

“When he was a baby, we dressed him up as a football; he’s always loved football, not really any other sport. This is just always the one he wanted to play,” Charissa said.

If he wins, he’ll take home a $25,000 prize and get to be the star of a Sports Illustrated Magazine shoot.

Charissa said this would change his life.

“There’s only been one of us to go off to college, so for him that’s really big for me,” Charissa said. “This would help us a lot.”

From a college career to following in the footsteps of his idols, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, this little guy has big dreams.

Deonte is competing against 45 other kids from all over the U.S. He needs to stay at the top for at least another week to move onto the top 20. To vote, click here.

One of Nome’s favorite summertime events returned mid June with Mizuktata, originally called Lemonade Day. Each year, colorfully decorated tables and excited kids line the streets of Nome to sell homemade treats.

From desserts like local favorite blueberry delight – a sweet treat made with whipped cream, graham crackers, and handpicked berries – there’s polish dogs, cold brew coffee, and of course, lemonade.

Krystal Hensley who organized the event said Mizuktata isn’t just about the tasty food and sweet drinks – it’s about creating opportunities for the kids.

“I know a lot of kids utilize this day to fundraise for their summer sports or sports throughout the season,” Hensley said. “Feel like they’re always fundraising, so this is a great opportunity for them to do that, and the community is a great support.” 

Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley has been named to President Trump’s council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, joining the President’s renewed push for youth fitness and the revival of the once-standard Presidential Fitness Test in schools.

On Thursday, President Trump reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises.

“This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration.

An executive order he signed Thursday also reinvigorates a national sports council that the president stocked with former and current athletes and other figures from the sports world.

Barkley, who did not attend the event Thursday, was among several prominent athletes who joined Trump and top administration officials, including allies such as friend and pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau and others who’ve attracted controversy, such as former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

Other renowned sports figures on the council who did not attend the event Thursday include retired golfers Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League.  

It’s the latest athletics-related push from Trump, an avid golfer who remains enthralled with the world of sports.

“I was always a person that loved playing sports. I was good at sports,” Trump said. “When you are really focused on sports, you’ve thought about nothing else. To an extent, this is one of the reasons I like golf. You get away for a couple of hours.”

The announcement also came as Trump readies the United States to host the 2025 Ryder Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup games and the 2028 Summer Olympics. He also signed a different executive order earlier this month mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for.

Trump on Thursday said the council, known formally as the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, will also deal with various issues on college athletics, such as the transfer portal that has more easily allowed athletes to switch from school to school. The council, which will have up to 30 members, will also develop criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award. The fitness test will be administered by his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In the test, children had to run and perform situps, pullups or pushups, and a sit-and-reach test, but the program changed in 2012. It evolved into the Youth Fitness Program, which the government said “moved away from recognizing athletic performance to providing a barometer on students’ health.” Then-first lady, Michelle Obama, also promoted her “Let’s Move” initiative focused on reducing childhood obesity through diet and exercise.

The Youth Fitness Test, according to a Health and Human Services Department website last updated in 2023 but still online Thursday, “minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health.”

Among those who joined Trump on Thursday, in addition to Barkley, DeChambeau and Taylor, were Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker; Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam; and WWE legend Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the son-in-law of Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon.

Taylor, who has appeared on stage with Trump at campaign rallies, pleaded guilty in New York in 2011 to misdemeanor criminal charges of sexual misconduct. He was sentenced to six years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in 2021 in Broward County, Florida, and charged with failing to report a change of residence as a sex offender. He later pleaded no contest to an amended charge, was ordered to pay $261 in court fees, and the case was closed, court records show.

“I’m just proud to be on this team,” Taylor said as he briefly took the microphone at the signing. “I don’t know why, I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing, but I’m here to serve. And I’m here to serve you.”

The NFL distanced itself from comments Butker made last year during a commencement address at a Kansas college, when he said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children than entering the workforce and that some Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.” Butker also assailed Pride Month and railed against Democratic President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion.

Butker later formed a political action committee designed to encourage Christians to vote for what the PAC describes as “traditional values.”

Sorenstam faced backlash for accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after rioters spurred by Trump’s false claims about his election loss to Biden stormed the Capitol in Washington.

The return of the exam brought mixed reactions from some who study exercise.

Trump is putting a welcome focus on physical activity, but a test alone won’t make America’s children healthier, said Laura Richardson, a kinesiology professor at the University of Michigan. The exam is only a starting point that should be paired with lessons to help all students improve, she said.

“It’s not just, you get a score and you’re doomed,” said Richardson, whose teaching focuses on obesity. “But you get a score, and we can figure out a program that really helps the improvement.”

Mariners News

The Mariners are playing the Rangers tonight in Game 2 of their four-game series. The new-look M’s offense hammered Texas last night 6-0 behind six shutout innings from George Kirby.

Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 42nd homer of the season and Cole Young added a mammoth 470-foot bomb in the win. Eugenio Suarez also hit a double and scored a run in his first game back as a Mariner. Ben Williamson was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to make room for Geno.

The bad news coming out of yesterday’s game is that reliever Trent Thornton was carted off the field in the ninth inning after falling on his way to cover first base. The Mariners placed him on the 15-day injured list today with a torn left Achilles tendon, effectively ending his season.

The M’s will look to take another pivotal division game against the Rangers tonight with Logan Gilbert on the mound. Coverage begins at 6:00 and first pitch is at 7:10 on KPUG.

Mariners fans just received long-awaited injury updates on two key players.

President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto says starting pitcher Bryce Miller is loosely scheduled to make his first rehab appearance tonight. Miller has been on the injured list since June 10 with inflammation and a bone spit in his right elbow.

There’s still no date for his expected return to the majors, but it will likely be at some point in August.

Meanwhile, outfielder Victor Robles took batting practice on Wednesday for the first time since getting injured. He’s been out since early April after fracturing his shoulder during a highlight-reel catch.

Dipoto says Robles could end up making his return in September, but any setback between now and then would likely end his season.

Bells News

The Bells are back in action tonight for their penultimate regular season series of the year.

They’re in Wenatchee for the start of a three-game series against their North Division rival AppleSox.

The Bells are coming off a tight series loss at home to the Kelowna Falcons where they fumbled a big lead late in their rubber match on Wednesday.

While the Bells have clinched home field advantage for their first playoff series next weekend, they still need to win the North Division overall season standings to host the Divisional Championship if they make it that far.

They currently trail the first-place Edmonton Riverhawks by half a game.

Tonight’s game against Wenatchee gets underway at 6:35.

The Bells return home on Monday for the start of their final regular season series.

Sounders News

The Sounders blanked Cruz Azul 7-0 yesterday in their opening match of the Leagues Cup tournament.

It was a statement win over a Cruz Azul club that won the CONCACAF Champions Cup earlier this year.

The Sounders are on a seven-game unbeaten streak since bowing out of the FIFA Club World Cup.

They’ll continue Phase One play of the tournament against Mexico’s Santos Laguna at Lumen Field on Sunday.

NFL News

The Los Angeles Chargers spanked the Detroit Lions 34-7 last night in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

LA scored a touchdown less than three minutes into the game and never looked back to open the NFL preseason with a win.

The preseason continues with three more games next Thursday, including Pete Carroll’s return to Seattle when the Seahawks host the Raiders in the nightcap.

Youth Sports News

Another local little league team is making headlines.

The Whatcom Prep 14U Babe Ruth team earned a finalist spot at regionals last weekend and has been invited to represent the Pacific Northwest in the Babe Ruth World Series. The tournament runs from Aug. 7 through the 17th in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

They’re raising $20,000 to cover expenses for players to get there. You can use this link to donate to the team.

The team is also having a fundraiser event tomorrow (Saturday) with a car wash at Ferndale Grocery Outlet.

More than 1,000 young athletes took part in the 27th annual Lifetime Sports Academy this summer at McMillen Park, building skills and confidence through 4,228 free lessons in golf, tennis, and swimming. Since its founding in 1998, the Academy has reached over 33,200 children, aged 7 to 17, with professionally taught lessons designed to introduce youth to lifelong recreational sports.

The 2025 program, which ran for seven weeks in June and July, provided:

• 2,138 golf lessons
• 1,420 tennis lessons
• 670 swimming lessons

Participants earned a record number of incentives this year by completing skills tests:

• 56 sets of golf clubs
• 67 tennis rackets

To date, the Academy has awarded more than 1,574 sets of golf clubs and 2,276 tennis rackets, helping ensure that participants can continue developing their skills beyond the program.

“We’re proud to celebrate the 27th year of the Lifetime Sports Academy,” said Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Director Steve McDaniel. “It’s amazing to think about the 33,200 kids who have benefited from this free program—many of whom might not otherwise have had access to golf, tennis or swimming instruction. This is more than a sports camp. It’s about opportunity, community and building lifelong healthy habits.”

The program originally founded through a partnership between Jerry Fox, Tom Jehl and Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation continues to thrive today thanks to strong public-private support.

The Academy’s impact extends beyond the summer months. As part of its year-round outreach, it sponsors the First Tee National School Program in 34 Fort Wayne Community elementary schools, returning this fall for the 11th consecutive year. The in-school golf program teaches both athletic skills and core values like integrity, perseverance and respect—hallmarks of the Lifetime Sports Academy philosophy.

For more information, visit fortwayneparks.org or call 260-427-6000.

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