Brooklyn Nets guards Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. are in the midst of an important summer as both players will have to work on their flaws in their game. Brooklyn saw Demin and Brown share the floor together over the course of the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, but there are those around the NBA wondering how effective the duo can be next season.
"But how good the Nets are in 2026-27 is not as important as how good they can be a few seasons from now, so it's important that they hit on their Lottery picks from the last two drafts," John Schuhmann wrote for NBA.com when discussing the Nets and where they rank in the Eastern Conference at the moment. NBA.com ranks Brooklyn as the 14th-best team in the East, but that number could shift depending on how Demin and Brown play next year.
"Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. combined to take 51 (60%) of their 85 Summer League shots from 3-point range, probably too high a rate given the former's size and the latter's explosiveness," Schuhmann continued. "Brown will need some time to find his way, but the time is now for Demin to take a big step forward and show that there's a brighter future for this franchise."
Heading into next season, Demin and Brown are likely to be the starting backcourt for the Nets with the rest of the lineup being filled by forward Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle along with center Day'Ron Sharpe. Demin entrenched himself as a starter last season for Fernandez, but Brown still has to compete with Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf in training camp for the starting point guard spot.
As Schuhmann alluded to, the Nets know what they will be getting from Porter, Randle, and Sharpe so it will be on Demin and Brown to step up if Brooklyn is going surpass expectations. The Nets are already projected to be one of the worst teams in the league next season, but if Demin and Brown are better than expected, Brooklyn could surprise some people around the NBA.

#schuhmann #summer

With their lower value trade chips gone on deadline day, the Mets moved on to trading players with more significant value. The Pirates were the eventual landing spot for the first of these deals, landing Luke Weaver— along with some coverage of his contract—for infield prospect Sammy Stafura.
Stafura was drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft by the Reds out of Walter Panas High School. Two years later, he was traded to Pittsburgh as part of a deadline deal for Ke'Bryan Hayes. Stafura is actually a lifelong Mets fan from Westchester, the second local product (after Gary Gill Hill, acquired from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta trade) acquired by the Mets at this deadline. It is always cool when you can bring in players who are enthusiastic about the organization.
As for the on-field player, Stafura is your classic toolsy middle infielder; he has plus speed, is a decent shortstop defender, and has plus potential raw power. His on field performance prior to June of 2026 could best be described as "good, but not great". Then he hit 16 homers in his last 22 games at High-A Greensboro. That's something that should certainly grab your attention.
With the upside that performance portends comes serious hit tool questions. Stafura is striking out almost 30% of the time in High-A, is running a 71% Z-contact, and has a clear propensity to chase. This all portends to serious hit tool and/or pitch recognition issues, flaws that could be crippling as he moves up the minor league ladder. This weakness will likely him keep him at the back-end or just off offseason top-100 lists (a distinction that is largely meaningless from those that sneak on to the back of the list).
Sometimes guys with big tools and serious hit tool questions have a huge month with no root cause beyond statistical noise. Sometimes it's the product of actual changes that are real and sustainable. Parsing whether Stafura's recent surge – which pushed his OPS at High-A from the high 500s into the 1.000+ range – is the former or the latter is nigh impossible for us on the public side. **** , it's not even all that easy for team-side **** ysts to figure out. What this does serve to illustrate is the high risk, high reward nature of this profile.

#METS #tool #value #players

Barron Collier head football coach Brannon Tidwell is stepping down, according to Collier County Public Schools.
The second-year head coach of the Cougars was arrested on Aug. 1 for suspicion of driving under the influence and refusal of DUI testing.
"I am writing to provide an update regarding our football program," Barron Collier Principal Sean Kinsey wrote in a message to student-athletes, families and supporters on Sunday. "Earlier today, Coach Brannon Tidwell submitted his resignation as head football coach. We appreciate Coach Tidwell's service to Barron Collier High School and wish him well moving forward."
Barron Collier selected head freshman coach Andrew Clawson to serve as interim head coach.
"Coach Clawson has been a valued member of our football program for many years, serving as head freshman coach and as a member of the varsity coaching staff," Kinsey wrote. "He is well known to our student-athletes and families and has played an important role in the development of our program."

#coach #collier #brannon #tidwell

The Orioles have arrived at the day of the trade deadline in a place where we don't want them to be for a second consecutive season. That place is the point where the most sensible outcome is to trade away players. This year might be even worse than last year for that because of how often there is chatter about whether players who could help next year's team are being discussed as trade possibilities. We've already seen one of these get traded when Dean Kremer was dealt.
In this week's episode, I engage in the dangerous activity of trying to figure out and understand what Mike Elias thinks. He's a weird guy who does weird things, which is what makes this dangerous and also quite difficult. Given that the Orioles are 2.5 games out with three teams to pass, they're too close to give up, right? But they're also obviously fatally flawed, those flaws can't be fixed at this deadline, so they have to focus on next year.
If we're "lucky", so to speak, some of the trades may involve receiving MLB-caliber players who can actually help next year, rather than just far-off young international players, like Jhomnardo Reyes, the 18-year-old outfielder the Orioles received for Kremer. Elias is surely going to explore trades like that, but if other teams aren't willing to join him in making them, there's not much that he can do. We're going to find out by 6pm today.
Here's where you can listen to this week's episode:
View Link

#trade #elias #we 're

By Kenrick Cai
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its decision to close the Trump Organization's bank accounts years ago, stating that it did ‌so after a review by anti-money laundering experts.
The disclosure marks the first time a bank has ‌formally tied money laundering concerns to U.S. President Donald Trump's family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking — or denying services on religious or political grounds — the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization and Capital One did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Capital One has never accused the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering. But Friday's filing argues that "documents and Plaintiffs' own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs' accounts for anti-money laundering ("AML") reasons. The ‌closures were the result of months of ⁠analysis and a careful review by Capital One's AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance."

#accounts

Nearly two years after the Paris Olympics bronze medal dispute between Romania's Ana Barbosu and American gymnast Jordan Chiles, the case is headed back to the CAS. After Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court ordered a fresh hearing, Romania initially faced uncertainty over funding its legal defense. Those concerns have now been resolved after Parliament approved an amendment allowing the COSR to finance the country's representation before CAS.
Following the development, Barbosu shared a message thanking those who made Romania's legal defense possible.
"Thank you very much for the support and efforts made to make it possible to represent the Romanian side before the court in Lausanne. I always remain confident that the state fights for its most trusted ambassadors, the athletes." (Translated from Romanian into English using Google Translate).
Interestingly, the post was issued in the wake of weeks of doubt regarding Romania's participation in the reopened arbitration. In January, the original Court of Arbitration for Sport decision was overturned in part, and the case sent back for a new hearing, due to the new evidence presented by USA Gymnastics determining whether it is possible that Jordan Chiles' score inquiry was submitted within the required one-minute period.
When the case was brought back to CAS in Lausanne, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation estimated that defending Bărbosu's Olympic bronze medal would cost around 250,000 Swiss francs for lawyers, expert opinions, translations, a procedural fee and other legal costs. At that time, COSR stated that it had resources on hand, but under current laws, it was not legally able to use public funds for legal representation in international sports conflicts.

#back #barbosu #cosr

By Kenrick Cai
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its decision to close the Trump Organization's bank accounts years ago, stating that it did ‌so after a review by anti-money laundering experts.
The disclosure marks the first time a bank has ‌formally tied money laundering concerns to U.S. President Donald Trump's family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking — or denying services on religious or political grounds — the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization and Capital One did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Capital One has never accused the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering. But Friday's filing argues that "documents and Plaintiffs' own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs' accounts for anti-money laundering ("AML") reasons. The ‌closures were the result of months of ⁠analysis and a careful review by Capital One's AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance."

#Trump #review

Entering his third season as Texas A&M's head baseball coach, Michael Earley's journey to College Station was as a volunteer, unpaid hitting coach, but thanks to a 2022 lawsuit filed by multiple college baseball coaches alleging that the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws by restricting their compensation to zero, Earley, and many others are in line to benefit from a $49.3 million settlement for these coaches, offering long-overdue compensation.
After three seasons as one of Texas A&M's key ******* istants and ace recruiters, former coach Jim Schlossnagle's dramatic decision to leave the Aggies for the Texas Longhorns led Trev Alberts to make his first significant coaching hire during his first full year as A&M's Athletic Director, choosing to give Michael Earley a shot given his strong relationship with the incoming 2025 roster and background as a hitting coach.
Earley has plenty of advice to bestow upon younger players, including his own son, urging future players during his appearance on the Chasing Baseball Dreams podcast with Bobby Minor to "compete, not compare" and focus on improving instead of looking at the player ahead of them who may possess certain athletic traits or experience that has yet to be gained.
✍️ Compete > Compare

Texas A&M baseball coach Michael Earley with great advice for young athletes across all sports on the Chasing Baseball Dreams podcast with Bobby Minor pic.twitter.com/fvGfne9h4F
Due to injuries to star hitters Gavin Grahovac and Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M finished 30-26 during the 2025 season, missing the NCAA Tournament after being just one win away from securing the program's first College World Series ******* le just a year prior.

#texas

Aug. 1—A landmark ruling from a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado will open the door for hundreds of college athletes to return to school this coming fall and could help Gonzaga rebuild its roster at a crucial point of the offseason.
On Friday afternoon, Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction that will give any athlete from the high school class of 2022 an additional year of college eligibility.
The ruling comes after dozens of student-athletes in multiple states filed lawsuits against the NCAA, **** erting they should be eligible to compete under the regulatory body's new "5-for-5" rule that gives players five years to play five seasons.
NCAA President Charlie Baker, who previously stated outgoing college seniors wouldn't be grandfathered in to play under "5-for-5," reacted to Friday's court ruling through a written statement.
"Without targeted intervention from Congress, college sports cannot set nationwide rules everyone can play by and without Congress, failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships," Baker said. "It is long past time leaders across college sports call for the immediate passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act. ... Today's rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it's time to pass this bill."

#college #sports #play #congress

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A Texas mother deported to Mexico despite having legal permission to stay in the U.S. after arriving as a child has filed a lawsuit against the federal government after it notified her it would be terminating her permission because of "unauthorized travel" stemming from her deportation.
Jessica Treviño, 34, filed a lawsuit through her attorney this week asking a federal judge to intervene.
Treviño and her husband were arrested in December after federal agents followed them and two of their daughters into a Home Depot parking lot in South Texas. Both were deported and are living in Matamoros, Mexico, just south of Brownsville, Texas. Their three children, all U.S. citizens, are living with family on the U.S. side near the border.
After being brought to the country as a child at the age of 7, Treviño subsequently received legal permission at 20 to remain in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Introduced in 2012, DACA does not confer legal status but has allowed hundreds of thousands of people who had come to the U.S. as children to temporarily remain and obtain work permits.
As a DACA recipient, she must maintain a clean criminal record and is not allowed to travel outside the United States.

#Legal

Team Northern Ireland's judokas Joshua Green and Rachael Hawkes have both claimed Commonwealth Games bronze medals on Saturday.
Green took bronze in the 73kg lightweight category as he beat Wales' Ben Moore by golden score.
Hawkes finished third after victory by Ippon over Canada's Charlie Thibault.
Green had started his campaign with a golden score win over Mattheo Lawson by Yuko and in the quarter-finals he also defeated Scotland's Oliver Short by Yuko.
It set up a semi-final against England's Benjamin Levy, who proved too strong as he beat Green by Waza-Ari.

#yuko #team #northern

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Faced with a narrow path to winning control of the U.S. House, Democrats are seeing fresh opportunity in a northeast Ohio congressional seat where the Republican incumbent is facing mounting pressure over domestic abuse allegations in a bitter and drawn-out dispute with his ex-wife.
Allegations against U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a White House adviser during President Donald Trump's first term, have been public for years but have recently drawn increased media scrutiny amid an escalating legal back-and-forth with his former spouse, who is the daughter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. That has Democrats sensing Miller could be vulnerable in a district he won two years ago with just over 51% of the vote.
Over the past week, they have called for Miller to resign, requested a congressional ethics investigation and suggested more help could be directed in the fall toward his Democratic opponent, union ironworker Brian Poindexter. Miller has denied the abuse allegations and filed defamation lawsuits against his ex-wife and a second accuser.
The House Majority PAC, a super political action committee aimed at electing a Democratic majority, said it is monitoring the race's dynamics as part of its strategy to push deeper into GOP territory in this year's midterm elections.
"HMP is willing to do whatever it takes to take back the House, and nothing is off the table," spokesperson CJ Warnke said.

#House #democrats #majority #congressional

Massachusetts is on the way to giving doctors the final say on whether an abortion should be allowed late in pregnancy, a move expected to affect few cases but that supporters say is needed because hospitals are now turning away women they should be serving.
The state Senate adopted the measure Friday, sending it to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who has signed other laws strengthening abortion rights.
Under current Massachusetts law, abortion is legal for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. It is allowed after that only if a physician using best medical judgment says it is necessary to preserve the life, physical or mental health of the woman, because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis or because the fetus wouldn't likely survive outside the uterus.
State Rep. Christine Barber said that under that framework, hospitals turned away some women for abortions late in pregnancy, even in a case where a fetus had a stroke and was determined to be unlikely to survive.
The new law would take out the list of specific reasons and say simply that it would be allowed "based on the professional judgment of the physician."

#pregnancy #massachusetts

President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge's decision to continue investigating whether his lawsuit against the IRS was part of a greater scheme to mislead the court.
Trump filed his notice to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who ruled earlier this month that her court had the authority to continue probing a $10 billion lawsuit Trump, his family and businesses filed against the IRS for failing to safeguard his tax return information from leaks.
The parties announced a controversial out-of-court agreement in May in which the Justice Department — representing the IRS — would create a nearly $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" to pay out purported victims of political retribution and the IRS would spare Trump and his businesses from ongoing audits.
In a blistering order July 13, Williams accused Trump of filing the lawsuit to "gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a 'settlement' that had no viable basis in law or fact." She also said exempting Trump from audits would violate a federal law that prohibits the White House from directing IRS investigations.
Williams also noted that the case itself defied legal procedure because Trump sued an administration he runs, essentially putting him in the position of both plaintiff and defendant.

#court #audits

A federal judge in Colorado granted a class-wide preliminary injunction on Friday requiring the NCAA to restore eligibility to all Division I athletes from the high school class of 2022 who finished up their four years this past spring.
The decision by Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado was reported by Boise State ***** ociate professor Sam Ehrlich. The injunction grants a class certification and a temporary restraining order to plaintiffs who qualify as stated:
"All persons in the United States who began to play in collegiate sports in the 2022-2023 season, competed in NCAA Division I sports, and completed four years of eligibility as defined by the NCAA's prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season, and are therefore barred from playing a fifth season due to the NCAA's adoption and immediate implementation of the Five-Year Eligibility Rule."
Judge Sweeney's ruling is in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by 11 Division I athletes, including Minnesota men's college basketball player Cade Tyson, that challenged the NCAA approving an age-based, five-year eligibility model that allowed four seasons of eligibility over five years with no age restrictions. The model would eliminate redshirts and waivers.
In a statement released after Judge Sweeney's ruling was reported, NCAA president Charlie Baker disagreed with the ruling, saying Congress passing the Protect College Sports Act was necessary and suddenly restoring eligibility to an entire class would result in "chaos."

#eligibility #ncaa #five #season

Athletes who graduated high school in the Class of 2022 have been granted a preliminary injunction to play a fifth collegiate season, U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of Colorado said Friday evening in a ruling that clears Cole Hutson's return to the Texas football team.
Starting next season, the NCAA will fully implement an age-based eligibility model that grants collegiate athletes five years regardless of playing time, a requirement commonly known as the "five-for-five" rule. The model, which effectively removes the redshirt concept, calls for an athlete's eligibility clock to start upon initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs earlier. The age-based eligibility implementation will begin this summer. Recruits starting in 2027 are age-based only.
However, class of 2022 athletes such as Hutson have challenged the rule in court, saying it should be extended to their class and the athletes that were only allowed to play four full seasons before running out of eligibility.
Earlier in July, Hutson was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, allowing him to rejoin the Longhorns as he worked through his ongoing age-based eligibility lawsuit. He has been working out alongside his former teammates with the team but has not yet returned to the Texas roster while waiting for his scheduled court hearing Aug. 10 concerning Hutson's lawsuit filed earlier in July in Travis County.
That hearing is now, theoretically, unnecessary because of the ruling from Sweeney in her Colorado court.

#based

By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Coinbase won the dismissal on Thursday of much of a lawsuit in which customers accused the largest U.S. ‌cryptocurrency exchange of illegally selling securities without registering as an exchange or ‌broker-dealer.
Customers sued over 60 tokens, including XRP and dogecoin, that they claimed were unregistered securities, seeking unspecified damages in the proposed class action.
• U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan dismissed all claims based on "matched" transactions where Coinbase paired customers' buy and sell orders. These accounted for an estimated 99.97% of trading volume, equal to hundreds of billions of dollars.
• The judge also said ‌customers may pursue claims over "inventory" ⁠transactions, where Coinbase fills orders from tokens it owns. These accounted for the remaining trading volume, comprising at least $178 million in sales.

#Coinbase #accounted

By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Coinbase won the dismissal on Thursday of much of a lawsuit in which customers accused the largest U.S. ‌cryptocurrency exchange of illegally selling securities without registering as an exchange or broker-dealer.
Customers ‌sued over 60 tokens, including XRP and dogecoin, that they claimed were unregistered securities, seeking unspecified damages in the proposed class action.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan dismissed all claims based on "matched" transactions where Coinbase paired customers' buy and sell orders. These accounted for an estimated 99.97% of trading volume, equal to hundreds of billions of dollars.
The judge also said customers may pursue claims ‌over "inventory" transactions, where Coinbase fills ⁠orders from tokens it owns. These accounted for the remaining 0.03% of trading volume, comprising at least $178 million in sales.

#exchange #securities

It sounds like the eBay delivery from ******* : live ******* roaches and spiders, a ******* pig mask, a funeral wreath and a book about grieving a spouse's death.
Yet that's what a civil lawsuit alleges former eBay executives sent to the home of David and Ina Steiner, a Massachusetts couple who publishes the e-commerce trade publication EcommerceBytes, after their reporting drew criticism from the company.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closes

#ramsey

Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure.
Many class-action lawsuits involve data breaches, product liability, or fraud. But a recently settled case is based on a claim of a credit reporting mistake.
In a recent settlement involving Equifax, the legal claim concerns an alleged error in the reporting of unpaid debt. The consumer credit reporting company was accused of noting a collection account more than once on some individual credit reports. Equifax has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to a $2.2 million settlement.
The number of impacted consumers was estimated at 37,000, according to the official settlement notice.
Here is what the Equifax class-action lawsuit settlement is all about and who is eligible to receive a share of the multimillion-dollar cash payout.

#advertiser

Hims & Hers (HIMS) stock tanked on July 29 after the Federal Trade Commission, alongside Utah and Los Angeles County, filed a lawsuit against the telehealth provider. The regulators allege HIMS misled consumers about recurring subscriptions, deliberately obstructed cancellations, and illegally shared private patient health data with ad platforms like Meta (META) and Snap (SNAP).
Hims & Hers shares have rebounded slightly on July 30 and are now down about 32% versus their recent high.
Dear Sandisk Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for August 5
Intel Stock Sinks 40%, But Most ***** ysts Still Aren't Bullish on INTC
Nebius Stock Gets Another Wall Street Upgrade. Here's Why Investors Are Paying Attention.

#hims #utah

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) warned that China's latest regulatory moves could increase risks for U.S. companies and pharmaceutical supply chains, urging policymakers to reduce America's dependence on Beijing for critical medicines.
On Tuesday, in a post on X, Scott criticized China's government over new rules that he said could pressure U.S. companies that follow American laws or attempt to shift manufacturing away from China.
He said, "China's government passed new rules that harm U.S. companies who comply with U.S law or try to move production out of China."
Don't Miss:

#scott #government #rules #finance

WASHINGTON (AP) — Palestinian authorities asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to halt for now a $656 million judgment in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel.
The emergency appeal comes after a lower court reinstated the damages in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that followed more than two decades of litigation.
The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said in court documents that paying the hefty judgment now would "destabilize critical government services Petitioners provide in the West Bank, injure innocent citizens, and jeopardize regional security."
They asked the justices to pause payment as they appeal the reinstatement of the verdict.
The lawsuit was filed by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more. Families brought their lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law aimed at opening U.S. courts to victims of international terror attacks.

#wounded

Priscilla Presley proved that timeless glamour never goes out of style.
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#presley #navarone #ferguson #john

Howard Stern has secured the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by his former executive ***** istant, Leslie Kuhn, after a New York judge rejected her attempt to invalidate a 2025 nondisclosure agreement.
Kuhn alleged that Stern's production company, One Twelve, may have accessed her work email and electronically signed the agreement without her authorization.
The court found that theory unsupported, pointing to an email sent from Kuhn's account with the message "Signed NDA attached" and a copy of the agreement bearing her electronic signature.
Kuhn argued that she had not signed the May 2025 NDA and suggested that someone connected to One Twelve could have used remote access to create the email trail.
The judge characterized that allegation as a "bald ***** ertion," according to the decision obtained by TMZ and court documents reviewed by Page Six. The ruling concluded that Kuhn had not supplied sufficient facts to overcome the defendants' documentary evidence, which included the email from her account and the attached NDA.

#account #attached

On Friday, members of the Oregon women's basketball team filed a petition for union representation with the Oregon Employment Relations Board, marking the latest unionization effort in college sports—and the first based solely on public sector state labor laws.
The effort was led by the United College Athletes **** ociation, a 501(c)(5) labor union founded by former NCAA track athlete Andrew Cooper,which has been working to organize women's basketball specifically since 2024. While this is the first formal move toward unionization, the UCAA says it has more than 100 women's basketball players who have signed "unionization authorization cards."
The UCAA's advisory board includes current and former members of professional sports unions, including NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, as well as former National Labor Relations Board executives.
"We deserve a seat at the table, meaningful protections, fair compensation, and a collective bargaining agreement that raises the standard for everyone," Maryland women's basketball player Oluchi Okananwa, the interim president of the UCAA, said in a statement. "This work is bigger than any one season or generation. We are building lasting power for the athletes competing today and those who will come after us."
The news comes just several days after a separate organization, the College Football Players **** ociation, launched an organizing effort among football players at Stanford. Unlike the UCAA's effort, however, Stanford football players aren't filing for formal union authorization just yet—they're waiting for a more favorable political climate.

#labor #former

This week on the Five Heart Podcast, the Terrific Trio discusses numerous topics of the week.
It is Big Ten Media Days, and Minnie, Fred, and Greg will provide any necessary updates from Chicago.
Also, the Huskers defensive unit this past week was given the moniker of "potentially elite." Now part of that will be new Defensive Coordinator Rob Aurich, who has a history of elevating defenses of the teams he has coached. But another part of that will be added depth across the defensive squad, as there were eight players added to the defensive side of the ball this transfer portal season. How will the new additions merge with the players on the roster to bring about the best version of the Blackshirts?
Meanwhile, down South, a former Nebraska defender is involved in a lawsuit from his most recent school after jumping from Ole Miss to LSU on the coattails of his head coach. How will it all play out for him and others in this breach of contract lawsuit?
More Big Ten football teams are selling ad ******* e on their jerseys. Who are the newest? And what business would do the same for Nebraska?

#part #heart

It's a tough job. But somebody's gotta do it.
Step right up, Michele Meyer-Shipp.
Nearly five months ago, Meyer-Shipp replaced Rod Graves as executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance (FPA), an independent organization that promotes and monitors minority hiring for head coaching roles and other high-level positions in the NFL.
Yeah, that NFL. The one where Black coaches were 1-for-18 in landing the top jobs over the past two hiring cycles. The one that is a defendant, along with several teams, in a class-action lawsuit brought forth by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and two former coaches alleging racial discrimination. The one under attack from the Florida attorney general, aiming to wipe out the Rooney Rule, which ties so closely to the FPA's mission.
The challenges for Meyer-Shipp come from multiple directions, with multiple layers, against the political winds of the anti-DEI movement pushed by the highest levels of government.

#graves

The WNBA appears to be at an inflection point that will decide whether it can successfully navigate the inordinate attention around Indiana star Caitlin Clark, or if it will be captured by uninformed media perspectives and false narratives.
Clark is a full-fledged icon in America's culture wars, a straight white point guard in a largely Black and LGBTQ league. And she is also a money-maker like the WNBA has never seen. She also is a 24-year-old who can't seem to ever satisfy critics.
In an appearance on The Awful Announcing Podcast this week, sports commentator Jemele Hill shared her thoughts, after covering WNBA All-Star weekend, on the vast divide between media perspectives on television and across the internet and how the people close to Clark feel about her.
"I feel a lot of empathy for her, just because there's so much of this she did not ask for," Hill said. "She didn't ask to be some kind of bat signal for a culture war. She certainly didn't ask for the group of fans — which I believe are not the majority — the group of fans that have decided that she's going to be their vessel to get off as much racism as they possibly can."
Hill likened the intense scrutiny toward Clark to another sports story, transgender athlete laws, that has been co-opted by conservative media as well.

#Media #perspectives #feel

Several immigrant business owners are preparing to sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his plan for city-owned grocery stores, Fox News Digital confirmed on Wednesday.
The New York Post first reported on Tuesday that the Multicultural Business Coalition's (MBC) board voted to file a lawsuit against the city over Mamdani's plan to open five taxpayer-funded grocery stores that will sell food at prices up to 30% below traditional retailers.
According to MBC Chairman Frank Garcia, the MBC is now planning to send a letter to Mamdani's office in the coming days detailing its upcoming legal plans to protect competing stores, bodegas and other small businesses. If Mamdani does not respond or meet with the organization within the next three weeks, the group plans to take further legal action.
Mamdani Confronted On Failed City-run Grocery Store Attempt In Kansas City, Claims His Plan Will Work
The Multicultural Business Coalition announced efforts to take legal action against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's taxpayer-funded grocery stores.

#mamdani #business #zohran