In the News                                

Overgrowth, Rodents, Insects Upset Residents Near Park
Palm Beach Post (Florida), June 17, 2013 Monday
For four years, John Knoblock, a 20-year village resident, put up with noise, dirt and seemingly unending construction while Commons Park was being built right outside his backyard. "I was patient because I felt like when it was finished, I'd have something pleasant to look at," said Knoblock, a retired New Jersey police commissioner whose home on Heron Parkway borders the north section of the park. "But it looks like I'm on a landfill, not a parkland." That's because clumps of unsightly weeds -- some of which Knoblock said have grown as high as 4 feet --as well as large patches of land where grass hasn't grown, have made Commons Park look more like, well, Jurassic Park.

Falcons to Offer Contractors Incentives to Complete New Stadium Early
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 19, 2013 Wednesday
The Atlanta Falcons will offer financial incentives to motivate contractors to finish a new downtown stadium ahead of schedule, the team's top executive said. The Falcons want to open the new facility by March 1, 2017, but Falcons CEO Rich McKay said the deal with its construction team offers money if specific goals are met ahead of the deadline.

Twitter Trips Up Olympic Hurdler Lolo Jones 
USA TODAY, June 19, 2013 Wednesday
Potential distraction has come in many forms for Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones, but most publicly and often at the landing end of her own Twitter account. On the day Jones settled into her hometown for the U.S. Track & Field Championships, she faced as many questions about a bobsled video dust-up as she did about piloting her world-class legs through the 100-meter hurdles. The two-time world indoor champion posted a tongue-in-cheek video about being paid $741.84 to compete with the U.S. bobsled team last season. In the clip, Jones makes a mock phone call to a landlord to say she would be late with a rent payment.

Wyoming Self-Reports Volleyball Violations to NCAA 
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne), June 19, 2013 Wednesday
bkm Written 6-18-2013 for 6-19-2013 Hed: UW self-reports volleyball violations By WyoSports staff LARAMIE - University of Wyoming athletics officials recently told the NCAA that five volleyball players received benefits that were not allowed.

Change in How Student Fees Counted Could Boost Athletic Departments
USA TODAY, June 19, 2013 Wednesday
Proposed changes in how the NCAA compiles financial data from college athletics departments could lead to more of them being in the black, though not by increasing revenue or cutting expenses. Just 23 athletic departments are self-sufficient by the NCAA's current bench marks. That has led to criticism of increases in athletic spending across Division I public schools that have been greater than the considerable increases in athletic revenue. Under one proposed change, student fees might no longer be treated only as subsidy but also as revenue generated by the athletics department. That could make it easier for some athletic programs, especially those at schools in the power conferences, to be considered by the NCAA as self-sufficient at a time of tight university-wide finances and increasing costs for students. The standard for self-sufficiency is whether revenue generated by an athletics department at least equals its annual expenses.

Anti-Hazing Focus Groups Likely to Spark Significant Changes
Chicago Daily Herald, June 15, 2013 Saturday
The consultant hired by Maine Township High School District 207 to lead anti-hazing focus groups at its three high schools recommends the district take steps to include students in decision making and leadership activities and to provide more staff training on bullying intervention. The 24-page Community Matters report recently released to the District 207 school board was the result of a "school climate audit" of all three district high schools. Focus groups with parents, students and staff were held at each of the schools in March, and people were given the opportunity to submit anonymous surveys.

County Parks in S.C. Are Leaders in Pay-to-Play Rec Movement
Post & Courier (Charleston, SC), June 16, 2013 Sunday
Ever wonder why you have to pay $1 admission at many of Charleston County s parks, unlike many parts of the country? That s because in a county where many residents bristle at even the thought of a tax increase, the parks generate much of the money it takes to maintain them. The Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission has become known as a leader in the national pay-to-play movement in recent years. In the last several years, it has covered between 45 percent and 55 percent of its operating budget with income it generates from charging fees for activities including: water parks, cabins and campgrounds, retail and food sales, admission and parking fees and special events.

Extreme Obstacle Course Races Gain Momentum Despite Risks
Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), June 16, 2013, Sunday
BALTIMORE - Mud pits, electric wires, climbing walls and a long-distance run - for most participants, outdoor obstacle races offer a chance to overcome physical challenges and bond with friends, often in a rowdy atmosphere. But even as these adrenaline-fueled races have exploded in popularity in recent years, creating an industry with tens of millions of dollars in revenue, some racers have paid a high price. The April drowning of an Ellicott City, Md., man at a Tough Mudder series race in West Virginia was at least the fourth death involving participants at such events since 2011. And across the nation, participants have been paralyzed, suffered hypothermia and electric shocks, or come away with other serious injuries. In 2011, for example, two men died after a Warrior Dash event in the Kansas City area; it was canceled after many participants were treated for heat-related illnesses, according to a report in the Kansas City Star. Last year, a Dallas man drowned while swimming across a river in the Original Mud Run in Fort Worth; a lawsuit is pending in that incident.

Athletic Trainer to Spend Summer Strengthening Post-Concussion Plan
Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA), June 15, 2013 Saturday
U-Hi trainer takes special care with head trauma U-Hi trainer takes special care with head trauma By Steve Christilaw wurdsmith2002@msn.com Scott Wardian has plans for the summer. A certified athletic trainer with Performance Physical Therapy, Wardian doubles as the trainer at University High School, where he not only treats strains and sprains, he's the resident expert on head trauma. "Of all the things I do, I spend more time dealing with concussion than anything else," he said. "It takes some work to stay up on it all.

Star HS Football Player in Steubenville Case Classified as Sex Offender
Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City), June 16, 2013 Sunday
On Friday, a judge in Steubenville, Ohio, classified one of the teenagers convicted in the Steubenville rape case as a sex offender. CNN reports Trent Mays must register every six months with the county and the sheriff where he lives. Mays will be required to do so for the next 20 years.

Sixth-Graders Design Safer Helmets for National Army Competition
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts), June 14, 2013 Friday
It is hard to believe a group of middle-school boys would willingly take on extra work while keeping up with their studies, homework, sports and Boy Scouts. But these three sixth-graders from Skyview Middle School took on the challenge to create their own prototype - a helmet that they say will make football and hockey players safer - and are going to a national finals competition to show it off and compete against 15 other teams from around the country. Christopher S. Mabie, 12, and Eric P. Jenny, 11, competed in the U.S. Army's eCYBERMISSION competition before. A few years ago, the boys designed a backup system for refrigerators that would prevent food from spoiling during power outages. They did well, they said, and the judges liked their design - until they were disqualified from the competition because of their age. At that time, they were too young to participate in the program, which is only open to students in Grades 6 through 9.

Steelers Feuding with Municipal Authority Over Heinz Field Funding
Tribune-Review (Greensburg, PA), June 14, 2013 Friday
Attorneys for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Sports & Exhibition Authority disagreed on Thursday over which entity is responsible for paying for 3,000 more seats at Heinz Field.

Mayor Says Cricket Could Be Town's Next Big Thing
Post & Courier (Charleston, SC), June 17, 2013 Monday
Cricket is a pitch Summerville just couldn t seem to resist. Town Council has approved spending up to $15,000 to equip a back field at the Gahagan Park sports complex, wickets and all, at the request of a native Briton with a business on Dorchester Road.

Options Abound for Nassau Coliseum 
Long Island Business (Long Island, NY), June 10, 2013 Monday
There are three distinctive – unexpected, really – features to Blumenfeld Development Group’s proposal to redevelop the Nassau Coliseum. The first is the company’s plan to tear down the existing arena – the county would love to save it – and replace it with a $180 million sports and entertainment facility with an adjoining convention center. Next is relying on college sports, rather than pro teams, to supply a lot of the entertainment. The biggest surprise: A bold pitch to develop the entire 77 acres of the site, including two 14-story office towers, a 14-story hotel, retail stores, parking garages and an assortment of housing stock. Rights to that work, you may remember, have already been assigned to Renaissance Downtowns, the master developer of the so-called Nassau Hub.

Booster Club Member's Tip Leads to Wrestling Coach's Arrest
The Press Enterprise, June 14, 2013, Friday
A 44-year-old Murrieta wrestling club coach was arrested this week on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of minors and other charges after police say he provided alcohol, pornography and drugs to team members.

Church Settles Dispute with Neighbors Over Soccer Field Use

Chicago Daily Herald, June 13, 2013 Thursday
Schaumburg officials believe they've resolved a months-long dispute between St. Peter Lutheran Church and its neighbors about the use of the church's field by a youth soccer club.

Crowded County-Run Waterpark Still Not Breaking Even 
The Press Enterprise, June 13, 2013, Thursday
The Cove Waterpark has been a success, judging by the crowds who have jammed the Jurupa Valley facility over the past two summers. But those crowds haven't translated into enough revenue for the waterpark to break even.

School Pool Out, Classrooms In

The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 14, 2013 Friday
In an effort to add classrooms to the Knowledge A to Z (KATZ) Academy Charter School in Camden, the city Planning Board approved a proposal Thursday that would eliminate a pool in the Parkside Boys and Girls Club, which houses the school.

Fitness Club Replacing Weights with CrossFit-Style Training Areas

New York Observer, June 13, 2013 Thursday
Town Sports International-owned New York Sports Clubs is in the process of renovating its existing city locations by removing bulky weight-lifting equipment and adding CrossFit-like training areas - a move that reflects its struggle to compete with the insurgence of a niche fitness industry. Crain's reported that so far 22 of the chain's 39 Manhattan Read More

WVU Allegedly Rigged Media Rights Bidding Process

Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), June 13, 2013, Thursday
In their latest salvo on West Virginia University's handling of a media rights deal, lawyers for Morgantown businessman John Raese alleged Wednesday that WVU officials "tailored" a recent bid request so that Winston Salem, N.C.-based IMG College and subcontractor West Virginia Media Holdings would win the lucrative contract.

Departures Taking Toll on NCAA Enforcement Staff

USA TODAY, June 14, 2013 Friday
On June 3, attorneys who represent schools and coaches in NCAA infractions cases were invited to Indianapolis for an informal gathering with the association's beleaguered enforcement staff. The main purpose of the meeting, according to multiple people who participated, was to discuss the NCAA's new penalty structure that will take effect in August and some of the deregulation initiatives that President Mark Emmert has been pursuing. And, according to two of those people, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the meeting was supposed to be confidential, every important aspect of the discussion was led by veteran enforcement official Rachel Newman Baker. One week later, Newman Baker took a compliance job at the University of Kentucky, leaving the NCAA after 12 years.

Do College Baseball's Equipment Specifications Need Tweaking?

USA TODAY, June 14, 2013 Friday
Back in April, a couple of months before his team exited the NCAA tournament with a four-hit loss at Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall was fully struck by college baseball's move to a more traditional, less offensively overblown brand of play, he says. In the series opener at Duke -- two aces on the mound, both dialed in, every baserunner precious -- he signaled for a sacrifice bunt. Then he did it again. Then three more times in what turned out to be a 2-0 loss.

Youth Football Teams Take Leagues to Court, Claim Discrimination

Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), June 13, 2013, Thursday
Two local youth football teams with mostly black players said two youth football leagues in Kanawha and Putnam counties are discriminating against them. The MidWestern and Western Generals youth football teams asked for an injunction against the Mountain State Elite Football League and the Kanawha Valley Youth Football League in Kanawha Circuit Court June 7. A hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. today in front of Judge Paul Zakaib. The Kanawha County Board of Education also was named as a defendant because the youth football leagues play on fields owned and maintained by the school board.

Sports Marketing Firm Learfield Sports Up for Sale

The New York Post, June 12, 2013 Wednesday
Learfield Sports is looking to cash in on America's passion for college athletics. The Plano, Texas, company that has marketing rights with more than 50 universities - including much of the vaunted Southeastern Athletic Conference - is putting itself up for sale, The Post has learned.

NYC's Citi Bike Program: Bad for SoulCycle?

New York Observer, June 12, 2013 Wednesday
Students at P.S. 19 get in a quick workout before class.(via YouTube) Dorothy Rabinowitz's worst nightmare is coming true. The New York Times reported today on the latest anticapitalist development in the scourge that is Citi Bike. This morning Jim Pavia, surely an innocent, good person, stumbled upon a woman cheating the free-market system in all its glory--rather than paying $34 for one SoulCycle class, this woman had decided to get her spin session in atop a stationary Citi Bike. Shameful.

Pool Envy Strikes Illinois School District

Chicago Daily Herald, June 11, 2013 Tuesday
After Palatine-Schaumburg District 211 voted last month to spend $15 million on new swimming pools at all five of its high schools, some parents in neighboring Northwest Suburban High School District 214 are wondering why the same isn't being done in their district.

Tough Scrutiny Awaits Both Sides as NCAA and Miami Meet in Court

USA TODAY, June 13, 2013 Thursday
Like with so much the NCAA does, the guidelines for a hearing of the Committee on Infractions are laid out in precise detail, right down to the arrangement of the hotel conference room. For an organization that obsesses about blue curtains and paper cups at its championships, there's obviously comfort in familiarity. So when Miami (Fla.) gets its time in court beginning today, the process will be routine. And since the hearing is closed, we'll have to take their word for it. But nothing about this case is routine, from the magnitude of the allegations to the admitted misconduct by NCAA investigators to Miami's subsequent tone of defiance.

More Youths Working Out with Personal Trainers

Chicago Daily Herald, June 12, 2013 Wednesday
Brian Peters actually smiles when he talks about pushing hundreds of pounds across the floor using a heavy sled during his workouts. "It's kind of horrible, but it's really effective," said Brian, who just finished his sophomore year at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. The heavy sled is just one aspect of the workouts that Brian, 16, and his brother, Nate, 12, of Roselle, do during their workouts with trainers at The Academy for Athletic Advancement in Schaumburg. The Academy offers both one-on-one and small-group training for athletes as young as 8 all the way up to professionals.

Vandals Deal Damage to Another Iconic Collegiate Fixture

Post & Courier (Charleston, SC), June 13, 2013 Thursday
CLEMSON One of college football s most touted traditions has been vandalized. Clemson University indicated Wednesday night university police are investigating damage done to Howard s Rock, the famed fixture the Tigers touch on their way down the Hill before football games. All Clemson released at this time is that vandals broke into Memorial Stadium either June 2 (a Sunday) or June 3 (a Monday.)

IHSAA Postpones Call on Three-Man Ref Crews for Basketball Tourneys

Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho), June 13, 2013 Thursday
Three-man referee crews might still come to Idaho's high school state basketball tournaments. But the change won't happen until the 2014-15 season, at the earliest.