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Women Add Muscle to Nutrition Business, ET BrandEquity

The sports nutrition industry is witnessing a surge in female customers, driven by both the popularity of GLP-1 weight loss drugs and a broader interest in fitness and strength. Companies like Applied Nutrition and Glanbia are adapting their product lines to cater to this growing demographic, shifting away from a focus solely on weight loss. […]

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Women Add Muscle to Nutrition Business, ET BrandEquity


The sports nutrition industry is witnessing a surge in female customers, driven by both the popularity of GLP-1 weight loss drugs and a broader interest in fitness and strength. Companies like Applied Nutrition and Glanbia are adapting their product lines to cater to this growing demographic, shifting away from a focus solely on weight loss.

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At the Cannes Film Festival, These Screenings Are on the Beach

On a warm afternoon in late April, La Croisette hummed with life. Families pushed strollers along the boardwalk, children trailed behind with dripping ice cream cones, and tourists posed for selfies silhouetted against the Mediterranean. At Plage Macé, a centrally-located public beach, people tanned, played volleyball and went for a dip. For the next two […]

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On a warm afternoon in late April, La Croisette hummed with life. Families pushed strollers along the boardwalk, children trailed behind with dripping ice cream cones, and tourists posed for selfies silhouetted against the Mediterranean. At Plage Macé, a centrally-located public beach, people tanned, played volleyball and went for a dip.

For the next two weeks, Plage Macé has been transformed into an outdoor theater, outfitted with a massive movie screen — nearly 80 feet by 20 feet — and an elaborate sound system, with 600 deck chairs available on a first-come-first-served basis.

This is Cinéma de la Plage, the Cannes Film Festival’s free program of nightly film screenings. At a film festival notorious for its exclusivity, this is one event where everyone is welcome, no matter who they are — or how they are dressed.

“Cinéma de la Plage is evidence that the Cannes Film Festival never forgets it has to remain a cultural and popular event,” Thierry Frémaux, the festival’s artistic director, explained in an email.

Camilla Amelotti works at a children’s attraction, Les P’tits Bateaux (The Li’l Boats), directly in front of Plage Macé. In between selling souvenir magnets and handing out remote controls for miniature yachts, she described Cinéma de la Plage as an accessible alternative to the festival’s indoor screenings, especially for film-loving locals.

“It’s really nice,” said Amelotti, 28. “You just have to have time to go and the patience to wait to get in.” She added that for many people who work in the tourism industry, the film festival is the busiest time of year.

Ilona el-Hasnaoui, 26, has a front-row seat to Cinéma de la Plage from behind the counter of Kiosque 9 Bis, a gleaming white food stand with a turquoise awning situated directly in front of Plage Macé. Hasnaoui is the store’s manager and often stays until closing time — 1 a.m. during the festival — so she steals glances at the screen while serving sandwiches and crepes.

She said that business picked up during the nightly screenings. “People can see the movie from here,” she said, indicating the space directly in front of her kiosk. “They get their food here and they sit behind the railing,” she said, noting that no food or beverages were allowed on the beach during the films and that deck chairs were a precious commodity. “There are many, many people. If you want a seat, you need to wait.”

Cinéma de la Plage is officially part of Cannes Classics, the festival section devoted to film history that was started in the early 2000s. Frémaux, who has worked at Cannes since 1999 and became festival director in 2007, said his desire to inaugurate a free, outdoor program stemmed from personal experience.

“When I was just a festivalgoer, I wasn’t always able to get into the movie theaters and I thought it would be a good idea if the festival offered something completely different to the public, especially in the evenings,” he said. “When I took over, I suggested we hold a daily event on the beach.”

Given the festival’s unique location on the French Riviera, it may seem hard to believe that movies on the beach were never a major part of the event during its first 50 years. (Frémaux pointed to some earlier one-off events, including an apocryphal midnight screening of Hans-Jürgen Syberberg’s “Parsifal,” a four-hour-and-fifteen-minute film version of Richard Wagner’s opera, which ended with breakfast on the beach at dawn.)

While classics, often presented in fresh restorations, dominated the early Cinéma de la Plage programs, these days the lineup also includes cult and contemporary offerings, as well as sneak previews of films about to hit French cinemas and even the occasional world premiere.

Because this is Cannes and a high percentage of the world’s major filmmakers congregate here during festival time, it’s not uncommon for directors to pop over to present their films if they’re programmed in Cinéma de la Plage.

Frémaux reminisced about Quentin Tarantino showing up with Uma Thurman to introduce a 35-millimeter print of “Pulp Fiction” in 2014, and Jackie Chan arriving by boat for a screening of his 1982 kung fu classic “Project A” for its 40th anniversary in 2012.

“And there was Agnès Varda, who in the rain convinced the audience to stay by talking to them for several minutes before the film,” he said of the French director’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” which was screened during the memorably wet 2018 edition of the festival. Beyond films, Cinéma de la Plage has also hosted concerts, dance parties and even karaoke.

This year’s lineup features films by John Woo, Nanni Moretti and Terrence Malick; a new restoration of King Vidor’s 1946 western “Duel in the Sun” undertaken by Martin Scorsese; and a new documentary about Brigitte Bardot.

“Cinéma de la Plage is a brilliant idea, brilliantly executed,” said Peter Bradshaw, the chief film critic for The Guardian, who has attended the Cannes Film Festival since 1999.

“And I think it’s a very good thing for Cannes to do,” he added, “because Cannes is sometimes criticized for being too closed off and elitist.”

And while there is undeniable excitement whenever a world premiere takes place at Plage Macé (as with “F9,” the ninth film in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, in 2021) Cinéma de la Plage provides especially inspiring conditions for seeing a classic foreign or art house film.

“On occasion you can get to see ‘8½’ at some repertory movie theater, but it’s a rare thing to see it on the biggest possible screen,” Bradshaw said, referring to the 1963 Federico Fellini film, which screened here on the beach in 2014. (He fondly recalled seeing “Jaws” — the ultimate beach movie — on Plage Macé in 2013).

While accredited journalists and film industry members — including those who find themselves locked out of other festival screenings — turn up at Cinéma de la Plage, the program is particularly valuable for locals who have comparatively few opportunities to see other films at the festival. (No tickets are sold to any of the festival screenings, which require hard-to-come-by invitations for the public. A limited number of these are made available to Cannes residents).

“It’s a chance for the festival to reach out to the town, to reach out to the Côte d’Azur generally,” Bradshaw said.

Beyond all that, however, Cinéma de la Plage also provides a striking visual. The image of its majestic screen, silhouetted against the sea and sky, has become an indelible part of the festival’s image.

“It looks so great as a spectacle in itself, on the beach, especially as night falls,” Bradshaw said. “Even if you’re not going to a movie there and just walking up and down the Croisette, which is a signature experience of being at Cannes.”

Plage Macé is only three hundred yards from the red carpet. And yet, with the sound of the waves and the smell of the sea, you might as well be light-years away from the glamour, adrenaline and stress that are otherwise inescapable at the event. Leaning back in your deck chair, this can feel like the best seat at the festival — in the sand, under the stars.

“Of course, Cannes is the biggest festival in the world, of course there’s a market, there’s media pressure, the competition, the awards,” Frémaux said.

“But for everyone,” he added, “going to the beach is a way of not forgetting that, in essence, cinema is all about a silver screen, a crowd and a film.”



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Long Beach St. beats UCLA, wins men’s volleyball crown

May 12, 2025, 10:37 PM ET COLUMBUS, Ohio — Freshman Moni Nikolov posted six kills, four aces and a pair of digs and Long Beach State beat UCLA 25-17, 25-23 and 25-21 to win the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament on Monday night. It was the Beach’s (30-3) fourth championship in program history and first since […]

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Freshman Moni Nikolov posted six kills, four aces and a pair of digs and Long Beach State beat UCLA 25-17, 25-23 and 25-21 to win the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament on Monday night.

It was the Beach’s (30-3) fourth championship in program history and first since 2019. Long Beach State also won the title in 2018 and claimed its first title in 1991 when current coach Alan Knipe was a player.

The 6-foot-10 Nikolov, who just turned 18, started the match with an opening-serve ace and ended UCLA’s two-time reign with a thunderous kill.

“Not for one second did we think we were going to lose that game,” Nikolov said. “Before the game in the locker room we told each other we were here. We were born for this (expletive) game.”

The animated Nikolov paused, apologized for his faux pas and went on to say: “We were built for this game. Even when we were down five, we trusted each other because we knew we were the better team.”

Trailing 1-0, UCLA led 18-13 in the second set before the nation’s No. 1-ranked team outscored the Bruins 12-5 for a two-point win. In the third set, Alex Kandev’s kill gave Long Beach State a 4-3 lead and the Beach led for the remainder. Kandev finished with a .452 hitting percentage.

The Bruins entered the tournament with the second highest hitting efficiency in the country but were stifled in part by Long Beach State’s length and were outhit by the Beach .354 to .192. UCLA’s Cooper Robinson finished with a .381 hitting percentage.

The championship match was the third meeting between the two teams this season with Long Beach State owning a 9-1 set advantage.

Long Beach State dropped just a single set as it beat Fort Valley State 3-0 and Pepperdine 3-1.

Two-time defending champion UCLA (22-7) sought to become college volleyball’s first three-peat champion since the Bruins’ won four in a row from 1981-84.



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High school boys’ volleyball: Playoff results and pairings

CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS MONDAY’S RESULTS QUARTERFINALS DIVISION II#1 VAAS d. #8 Roosevelt, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20#4 Fairfax d. #5 Poly, 25-17, 25-12, 13-25, 25-20#3 Banning d. #6 Sylmar, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23#2 Mendez d. #10 Legacy, 25-19, 25-23, 25-12 DIVISION III#1 East Valley d. #8 Foshay, 25-14, 21-25, 25-17, 16-25, 15-11#4 SOCES d. […]

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CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

MONDAY’S RESULTS

QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION II
#1 VAAS d. #8 Roosevelt, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20
#4 Fairfax d. #5 Poly, 25-17, 25-12, 13-25, 25-20
#3 Banning d. #6 Sylmar, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23
#2 Mendez d. #10 Legacy, 25-19, 25-23, 25-12

DIVISION III
#1 East Valley d. #8 Foshay, 25-14, 21-25, 25-17, 16-25, 15-11
#4 SOCES d. #5 Downtown Magnets, 26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15
#19 San Fernando at #6 Angelou
#7 Maywood CES d. #2 Gardena, 3-0

DIVISION IV
#8 Hamilton d. #1 Garfield, 25-19, 14-25, 25-23, 25-19
#5 Animo Venice d. #20 Belmont, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15
#11 University Prep Value d. #3 Sun Valley Magnet, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21
#10 Port of LA d. #2 Huntington Park, 25-22, 20-25, 26-24, 28-26

DIVISION V
#1 Wilson d. #9 Magnolia Science Academy Reseda, 25-11, 25-16, 25-19
#4 Animo South Los Angeles d. #12 Arleta, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 16-14
#3 Harbor Teacher d. New Designs University Park, 25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 25-15
#2 Dorsey d. #10 Washington, 25-13, 25-11, 25-14

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Matches at 7 p.m. unless noted)

SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#4 Granada Hills at #1 Venice
#3 El Camino Real at #2 Chatsworth

DIVISION I
#5 Marquez at #1 Taft
#3 Marshall at #2 Carson

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Matches at 7 p.m. unless noted)

SEMIFINALS

DIVISION II
#4 Fairfax at #1 VAAS
#3 Banning at #2 Mendez

DIVISION III
#4 SOCES at #1 East Valley
#7 Maywood CES vs. #6 Angelou or San Fernando

DIVISION IV
#8 Hamilton at #5 Animo Venice
#11 University Prep Value at #10 Port of Los Angeles

DIVISION V
#4 Animo South Los Angeles at #1 Wilson
#3 Harbor Teacher at #2 Dorsey

Note: Finals in all divisions May 16-17 (sites and times TBD).



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Long Beach State Dominates UCLA To Win NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship – The562.org

The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl. The Long Beach State men’s volleyball program lives by the slogan “expect greatness.” So when they took the court Monday night against UCLA in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship, they expected nothing less. Featuring two of the top teams […]

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The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.

The Long Beach State men’s volleyball program lives by the slogan “expect greatness.” So when they took the court Monday night against UCLA in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship, they expected nothing less.

Featuring two of the top teams in the nation in a rematch of last year’s national championship, the match was expected to be intense and tightly contested. But the Beach put on a performance nothing short of greatness, avenging their championship loss with a commanding sweep over the Bruins at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Beach won 25-17, 25-23, 25-21.

It marks a fourth national championship in program history and the first since the Beach went back-to-back in 2018-2019. Head coach Alan Knipe has been a part of each national championship with the program, one as a player in 1991 and now his third as a coach here in 2025. 

“It’s incredible. The feeling absolutely never gets old,” Knipe said. “I’m so proud of the guys and everything they did all season long. With what we went through with our lineups and our roster, and pretty much a brand new team at the beginning of the year, losing three starters along the way, and changing guys’ positions. [These guys] handled it so well and I’m so proud of them.”

It feels like there was no opponent more fitting for Long Beach in the national championship match than UCLA. It’s the fifth time in the last six years that the teams have met in the NCAA tournament, and third time they’ve ever met in the championship including their first championship bout in 1970. The Beach have had their season ended by UCLA in each of the last two seasons.

The match started and ended in the same way, and it’s the same way it’s been all season: Moni Nikolov. The National Player of the Year opened the match with his first of four aces and swung on an overpass for a kill at match point to seal the win. He finished the match with six kills on .300 hitting and had a match-high 27 assists.

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Nikolov hoisting the 2025 National Championship trophy.

“It’s such a relief. I wanted this win more than anything else,” Nikolov said. “I’m so glad that I got to share these emotions with our coaches in the whole team. It was the first time I actually started crying tears of joy so it truly meant so much to me.”

Nikolov was named the NCAA All-Tournament MVP, adding to his honors as AVCA National Player of the Year and Big West Player of the Year. His season will surely go down as the best debut season ever, and if it’s his only season in college, it could arguably be the greatest season for any NCAA men’s volleyball player ever. 

It sure helps having the best player in the nation on your team, but Nikolov has also been surrounded by a resilient team that has fought past injuries and played with a next-man up mentality. Though the cameras have been zoomed in on him and his story, Nikolov credited his teammates as the true reason for all of their success.

“If I could, all the spotlight that I’ve gotten all season, I would give it all to my team,” Nikolov said. “They deserve it as much as I do. I’m happy that this game is growing but I don’t want this to be a one-man thing. It’s completely opposite. This team deserves it.”

Fellow Bulgarian and outside hitter Alex Kandev has been one of the guys who has stepped in for injured players and has slowly crawled his way to becoming a shutdown hitter for the Beach through the back portion of the season. Kandev racked up a match-high 13 kills in the championship match.

“I always have to be ready and I was ready for the opportunity,” Kandev said. “That’s all I can say. It’s unfortunate that [Sotiris Siapanis] got hurt, but I was just being ready. I’m so grateful that coach gave me the opportunity.”

Alongside Kandev is fellow outside Nato Dickinson, and the pair have each stepped up into big roles and led the team in kills in each of the final two matches. The pair filled into their spots after injuries to Siapanis and Daniil Hershtynovich, which are two of many changes that the Beach has faced to their personnel throughout the course of the season.

“We’ve never needed this much,” said Knipe of the extra depth. He credited his staff for keeping everyone ready at all times. “We’ve never had to go this far down the depth chart to be successful. I don’t think anyone will ever grasp the amount of work that goes in. What we saw this year, at the end of the season, especially for the last month, is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in college volleyball.”

The Beach hit a monstrous .688 and never trailed in the first set while only recording just a single hitting error. LBSU found itself with its back against the wall in the second set while trailing 13-18 at one point, but went on a 7-2 run to tie the match up at 19 apiece.

The tide turned when Nikolov recorded an ace and forced a UCLA timeout with the Beach still down 18-19. Nikolov came out of the timeout with yet another ace, tying the match before eventually pulling away 25-23. Kandev hit 1.00 in the set with six swings and six kills.

“I didn’t see anything man. I just threw the ball and I knew that nobody could pass my serve,” Nikolov said of the second set service run. “When I need a serve I’m the one that’s gonna get it there. The team has put so much love into me and filled me with everything I’ve needed to have that confidence. The trust that these coaches put into me makes me feel  like the best player in the world and I love them to death.”

The fourth NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship comes in the Beach’s 11th championship appearance in program history, in what was a dominant season through and through. The Beach was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the last 14 weeks. It’s their third men’s volleyball championship in the last seven years, but it’s the first for Bobby Smitheran as athletic director.

“I’m so happy for the young men in our program because they’ve represented Long Beach and Long Beach State,” said Smitheran. “They’ve done it with heart and with class I’m just so proud of the way they’ve competed. To be the number one ranked team for as long as they have, that’s difficult to give that kind of bullseye on your back and to finish it off the way they did I’m just so happy for them.”



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Rock Bridge boys volleyball swept by Lee’s Summit North in district semifinals | High School Sports

No. 4 seed Rock Bridge boys volleyball fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-16) to top-seeded Lee’s Summit North in a MSHSAA Class 1 District 11 semifinal Monday at Battle High School. The Bruins ended their season with a 9-15 record. The Broncos (24-5-1) will face No. 2 seed Grain Valley in the district final at 5 […]

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No. 4 seed Rock Bridge boys volleyball fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-16) to top-seeded Lee’s Summit North in a MSHSAA Class 1 District 11 semifinal Monday at Battle High School.

The Bruins ended their season with a 9-15 record.

The Broncos (24-5-1) will face No. 2 seed Grain Valley in the district final at 5 p.m. Thursday at Battle.

Tolton golfer McIntosh advances to state tourney

Tolton boys golf finished in seventh place at the MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 Tournament in Innsbrook.

The Trailblazers shot 62-over 342 as a team. St. Charles West took home the district title, carding a 322. John Burroughs finished second with a 324, edging Southern Boone by a stroke for a spot in the state tournament.

Tolton senior Garrett McIntosh will compete at state after placing fourth with a 5-over 75. St. Charles West senior Justin Shy fired a 70 to earn medalist honors.

The two-day Class 3 Tournament will begin Monday at Twin Hill Golf Course in Joplin.

Rock Bridge girls soccer edges Rolla

Rock Bridge girls soccer picked up a 2-1 win over Rolla in Columbia.

The Bruins (13-5) next face Hickman (11-5-1) in the MSHSAA Class 4 District 6 Tournament at 6 p.m. May 20 in Sedalia.

Hickman girls soccer falls to Hannibal in 2OT thriller

Hickman girls soccer lost 2-1 to Hannibal in double overtime in Columbia.

Pirates junior Malia Stolte netted a brace.

The Kewpies next host Capital City at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Battle girls soccer blanked by Capital City

Battle girls soccer suffered an 8-0 loss to Capital City in Jefferson City.

The Spartans (1-13) end their regular season on the road against Kirksville at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Helias boys tennis falls to Warrensburg

Helias boys tennis lost 5-1 to Warrensburg in a MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal in Jefferson City.

The Crusaders ended their season with 15-3 dual record.

Helias senior Coen Loethen will next face Thomas Jefferson Independent Day senior Jack Goodhue in the Class 2 state Individual Tournament on Thursday in Springfield.



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San Anselmo’s Ella Woodhead adds to family’s water polo fame

Stanford University’s top-seeded women’s water polo team powered past No. 3 USC, 11-7, to claim the NCAA Championship on Sunday. Juliette Dhalluin scored three goals to lead the Cardinal to its 10th title overall, and third in four seasons. Christine Carpenter was named MVP of the All-Tournament team, with nine saves in the championship game. […]

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Stanford University’s top-seeded women’s water polo team powered past No. 3 USC, 11-7, to claim the NCAA Championship on Sunday.

Juliette Dhalluin scored three goals to lead the Cardinal to its 10th title overall, and third in four seasons. Christine Carpenter was named MVP of the All-Tournament team, with nine saves in the championship game.

Redshirt sophomore Ella Woodhead of San Anselmo finished the season with 23 goals and eight assists in 24 games. Woodhead, who was selected to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Freshman team in 2023, did not compete for Stanford last season as she trained with the U.S. National Team ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Woodhead’s brothers Dylan and Quinn, both competed for the U.S. National men’s water polo team in France. Dylan and Quinn Woodhead both competed for Stanford, following in the path laid out by mother Laura Woodhead, a former swimmer at Stanford. Their father, Jeff, was a rower at rival Cal.

Golf

Tiburon’s JP Odland finished 4-under 68 during a U.S. Open local qualifier at The Club at Ruby Hill in Pleasanton on May 6. San Rafael’s Alex Franklin finished at even-par 71 during a local qualifier at the Preserve Golf Course in Carmel on May 7, but missed the cut for a shot at the U.S. Open in a tiebreaker.

Baseball

The San Rafael Pacifics open the2025 Pecos League season at Albert Park against the Monterey Amberjacks on Thursday, May 22. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. For a full schedule of games and for more information, visit www.pacificsbaseball.com



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