TEMPE – The World Series, Super Bowl, World Cup, Olympics, and the Rose Bowl all have something in common. Yes, they are among the world’s most famous sporting events, but one unique feature ties them together: each event is played under the lights.
While that may seem obvious, not all sporting events benefit from playing under the lights, especially in golf. Countless golf tournaments have been postponed due to darkness, requiring an early morning finish. But what if there was a way to play not just a few extra holes, but an entire round during primetime hours?
SCOTTSDALE – Richard Clark, the newly appointed College Football Playoff executive director, is not going to reinvent the wheel under his new title, even as the landscape of not only college football, but also all of college sports, is shaping and shifting like never before.
“Right now, there’s a lot of change already, and it’s exciting,” Clark said Tuesday at Fiesta Bowl headquarters. “I think people are going to see things that they never imagined in what happens during this playoff.”
PARIS – Full-time teacher by morning, Paralympic athlete by afternoon and a father always, Team USA archer Eric Bennett is embarking on his fifth Paralympic Games with his sights set on a prize bigger than the gold medal: his family in attendance to watch him shoot.
Bennett, a Surprise native and graduate of Northern Arizona University, began practicing archery when he was 7 and quickly found a passion for the sport until he lost his right arm at 15, when a drunk driver hit the car in which he was a passenger. It wasn’t until about 10 years later that he started shooting again, this time with help from his father.
PHOENIX – On June 27, Liz Dixon sat on a furniture top in the Verizon 5G Performance Center hallway, discussed the difficulties of living on a WNBA minimum contract and knew she was vulnerable on the one-year, $64,154 deal that offered little to no security and stability.
Five days later, the Phoenix Mercury waived the forward.
“One of the hardships is teams can get anybody under minimal contracts,” Dixon said. “You’re already paying me less than everybody else, but what if one day they don’t need you? They’ll want somebody else they can get. They can get another vet at the exact same price as a rookie. So it’s more like, ‘Hey, even though I am making the minimum payment, am I still needed? Am I still an asset to them?” Continue reading “Minimum salaries, max effort: The unseen financial hardships of Phoenix Mercury and WNBA players”
PARIS – From Snoop Dogg blowing Olympic-looking smoke rings to a heart with gymnast Simone Biles’ name in it, the pins of the Paris Games are still creating a buzz even weeks after the competitions ended.
Pin trading at the Olympics is popular for athletes and spectators. Some fans travel across the world specifically to collect and trade them.
The tradition can be traced to the first modern Games in 1896, when the pins were used to identify athletes, officials and media members. In the Athens Olympics, only 241 athletes – compared to the more than 10,000 in Paris – competed for 14 teams in 43 events.
PARIS – The enhancement of sports facilities at the Paris Games wasn’t limited to Olympic venues.
The City of Paris also reinvigorated community sports courts, a vital component of any neighborhood’s urban culture.
This isn’t a new concept. When Phoenix has hosted big events, professional leagues and local organizing committees often contribute money to improve youth fields and and athletic structures. But it was particularly important in Paris, where updating the sports landscape requires a deft touch in a city knows for its one-of-kind architecture. Continue reading “Olympics bring vibrant sports courts to Paris’ often forgotten neighborhoods”
PARIS – Hosting the Olympics gives any city a chance to show itself off to the world. Paris, with the Eiffel Tower lit up at night among several glamorous visuals, hardly needed any introduction when the world converged upon the City of Light for the 33rd Olympiad.
Even in such a picturesque atmosphere, the distinct street culture survives the millions of tourists that flock to Paris every year. Graffiti lines many public spaces and is embraced as part of a cultural identity. Among the arrondissements, it might as well be their screaming crowd backdrop as they play against their friends and foes in a little-known, tight-knit community of Paris street sports. Continue reading “From skateboarding to basketball, Paris showcased its street sport culture during Olympics”
PARIS – Even though the Paris Games are over, a commitment to the mental health of athletes is not.
While it’s the pinnacle of sporting achievement, the Olympics create a pressure-filled environment for athletes that almost no other competition can mimic. The weight of a nation, the expectations of greatness and the knowledge that this may be the only chance at gold all take a toll on an Olympian’s mental health.
The IOC and Team USA are proactive in protecting the athletes’ mental health as well as finding ways to help block out social media attacks. The Paris Olympics highlighted that mental health awareness continues to grow through therapy, high-tech relaxation and AI.
PHOENIX – When looking for a best bet, the data never lies.
Since legalization in 2021, sports gambling has surged in the state of Arizona. In April, the state outpaced the betting mecca of Nevada, with almost $100 million more wagered at sportsbooks in the month, according to the Arizona Department of Gaming. With a checkered past related to wagering on sports, Arizona State University students have plenty contributed to the massive handle.
“I absolutely think sports betting has picked up a lot recently, especially just in classes and stuff. More of it being like a regular day activity rather than, ‘Oh we’re sports betting,’” said ASU student Douglas Santo. “I think you’ve seen it kind of infiltrate the classrooms, like it’s not something where people are trying to be quiet about or tiptoe around it.
“It’s here to stay, and people know that.”
While betting on college campuses is hardly a new fad, the legalization of sports betting in 38 of 50 states has certainly brought the daily betting lines out of the shadows. Gone are the days when ESPN spoke about spreads in innuendo, and here are the days of throwing over/under bets in math class.
“I would say mostly everyone I talk to has at least placed more than 50 sports bets in their life,” said ASU rising senior Brendon Pehar. “I find myself watching a game, and the first thing I ask about the game to my friend is, ‘What do you got on this?’”
Slug: Sports–Arizona Training Paris Olympics, 570 words.
Photo available.
By Abigail Scott Cronkite News
PARIS – If the Paris Olympics taught us anything, it’s that the combination of high-altitude and extreme heat training in Arizona help prepares athletes for high-level competition. From Flagstaff’s mountainous elevations to the scorching deserts of Tucson and Phoenix, these environments are proving to be invaluable for building endurance and resilience.
Approximately 250 Olympians and Paralympians trained in Flagstaff before the Tokyo Games, and many others escaped to the Phoenix and Tucson areas for warmth during winter months. A similar amount did the same before Paris.
PARIS – From this year’s Paralympics’ mascot proudly displaying a disability to the introduction of the first nursery in the Olympic Village, the Paris Games inspired conversations about inclusivity.
Although the Games are coming to a close, the discussion is far from over. Paris has long been a site of historic milestones for women, from Joan of Arc to Marie Curie. This year’s Olympics, the first to achieve full gender parity – an equal number of male and female athletes represented – marks significant progress since women were first allowed to compete in 1900, in Paris.
At the time, women only represented 2.2% of athletes and were limited to competing in tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf. Today, that has expanded to 20 mixed gender events and 152 female competitions at this year’s Games, including triathlon, which has been put in the spotlight recently due to the controversy over swimming in the Seine River. Continue reading “As Paris Olympics comes to a close, gender equity, inclusivity discussions continue”
PARIS – Hollywood may be the cinematic capital of the world, but few cities are featured more in film than the City Of Light. From American favorite such as “The Da Vinci Code,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and “Taken” to French hits like “Amélie,” Paris has provided the backdrop for some of cinema’s best projects.
Paris’ flexibility as a film-making city has no bounds. The city has countless iconic scenes from movies. With its rich film history, more and more directors requested to shoot in Paris following the COVID-19 shutdown.
PARIS — It was clear early on that diver Delaney Schnell had the right personality to become an Olympian.
Her mother, Cindy Feaman, who was her middle school cross country coach, recalls Schnell not wanting to run one day. All of a sudden, something clicked in her as she walked to the trophy table.
“She walked over to the award table, and there was this horse trophy,” Feaman said. “I saw her eyes, she’s staring at it, I saw her eyes, and I knew she was going to run that race hard. She came in second, but she gave it her all to try and get that trophy.”
PARIS – Weeks before starting her sophomore year of college at the University of Arizona, Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhanghah made her second appearance on the Olympic stage in Paris, swimming the 50-meter freestyle for team Azerbaijan.
At just 20, Sheikhalizadehkhanghah has made a name for herself in multiple countries. Born in Iran, she immigrated to Azerbaijan at a young age to pursue her swimming dreams and then made another pivotal choice to move to the U.S. to attend and compete for the University of Arizona.
“It’s a really good feeling and I’m really glad that I could represent my country for a second time and I’m also really proud of myself because it’s a lot of challenges and a lot of hard working to be able to stay at this place,” Sheikhalizadehkhanghah said. “I’m also really proud that I also represent my university as a Wildcat here.” Continue reading “University of Arizona swimmer Sheikhalizadehkhanghah represents Azerbaijan in Paris Olympics”
PARIS – The idea of the Olympics leaves many people imagining a mega-event with flocks of people from all over the world participating in cultural exchange, contributing to a flourishing economy and filling up restaurants and bars.
Yet as many tourists and Parisians have discovered, the Olympics have not brought the expected amount of customer traffic that local businesses wanted. As a large number of Parisians have left the city to vacate the Olympics altogether, businesses like historic cafe Le Sarah Bernhardt hoped to capitalize on the event, yet this opportunity for increased business didn’t material for many.
PARIS – Walking down the canals and streets of Paris, the Summer Olympics’ presence is felt everywhere. Multi-colored signs say “Paris 2024,” fan festivals buzz with thousands of people and stadiums at the feet of iconic Parisian architecture highlight the energy of the Games.
Slug: Sports–Nico Young Olympics Reflection, 1,000 words.
Photo available.
By Abigail Scott Cronkite News
PARIS – For Nico Young, the moment was like no other.
“Walking out into the stadium was overwhelming,” he said. “At first, it felt like being at a concert, but I was the singer, the one everyone was looking at.”
Many of them were. On Aug. 2, the day of the Paris Olympics’ 10,000 meters, Young was barely 22, the youngest U.S. Olympian in the race in 20 years. And his time of 26 minutes, 58.11 seconds was so fast it would have set the Olympic record at any other Summer Games. Except this competition was so fast Young, who stayed with the leading pack much of the race, finished 12th.
PARIS – For the first time, amateur runners had a chance to follow in the Olympians’ footsteps and run the same course used for the marathon earlier in the day. Among the athletes that competed Saturday?
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
The congresswoman is a fitness fanatic, having competed in multiple marathons and Ironman triathlons, summited Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013 and hiked Mount Fuji in July
“The opportunity to run in the Olympics, that’s like a bucket list, so I couldn’t miss it,” Sinema told Cronkite News Friday in Paris.
And she didn’t. She was one of 20,000 amateur runners who competed in the Marathon Pour Tous (Marathon For All), finishing in 4:48.48. The race started in Paris and looped through Versailles, passing through some of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
The senator, 48, started running cross country in high school, and by her own admission, wasn’t very good. Not until her 30s and now 40s did she start getting faster, she said, a classic late bloomer.
“Growing up, my family, we were pretty poor, and so I didn’t have a lot of money to play lots of different sports,” Sinema said. “But running, all you need is a pair of tennis shoes. I just kind of increased my distance over the years and found it’s a great way to relieve stress and also hang out with friends.”
It wasn’t long before Sinema was competing in long distance races and finishing well. In 2019, she qualified for the Boston Marathon, and in a three-mile race for government officials and media staff, she posted the fasted female time and broke a senate record in the process. Sinema would soon start competing in Ironman triathlons, which required her to learn how to swim.
“I didn’t have a lot of access to swimming (as a child), so I was an adult learner,” Sinema said. “I can swim good now, you know, I’m pretty decent.”
In all, she’s done four full Ironmans and “a bunch” of half Ironmans.
Sinema trains almost everyday to keep in shape. Within the busy schedule of being in Congress, how does she find the time to train? It’s simple.
“The reality is, I just wake up early in the morning,” Sinema said. “If you are dedicated to it, you can get the training in, you can work your job and you can enjoy this incredible opportunity of running.”
The reality is she may have more time to train in the future. In March, she announced she would not run for a second term.
She does her best to run or cycle every single day and lift weights a few times a week in order to not lose muscle mass. While some are collecting chip crumbs on their couches, she’s making sure she’s in physical shape to allow for her demanding athletic schedule. If she’s on the treadmill though, she might watch a Netflix show or two.
“I like ‘The Gentlemen,’” Sinema said. “There was a movie, and then they made a Netflix show, and they’re both very good. I would highly recommend it.”
Another advantage of coming to Paris? The anonymity. It’s a far cry from the U.S. where security escorts her wherever she goes.
“Nobody knows who I am here, nor do they care,” Sinema said. “So I get to be kind of normal. It’s wonderful.”
The same can’t be said for the incredible athletes who are recognized everywhere they go that Sinema has been following throughout the Olympics.
“I am one of those people who struggles with productivity during the Olympics because I obsessively watch everything and I get super hyped,” Sinema said. “Obviously the U.S. athletes are amazing, and we’re killing it in track and field.”
With less than 100 days until the election, Sinema preaches a message of inclusivity, saying as a country we have more in common with each other than we don’t, and the Olympics promote the same message.
“What I love about the Olympics is how it brings people from all over the world together, and the camaraderie and support that you see through sport is amazing,” Sinema said. “It has the power to transcend pettiness and politics and show the real heart of the human spirit and bring us together.
“The person who’s making the most noise on Twitter is not usually the one who’s going to solve your problems.”
Ariizona Sen. Krysten Sinema meets with media Friday in Paris, where she will run in the “Marathon Pour Tous” (the Marathon for Everyone) Saturday on the same course on which the athletes compete. (Photo courtesy of Cronkite News)
PARIS – Food is sacred in Paris. From the way cafes make croissants differently to each brasserie’s take on steak and frites, the culinary scene in the City of Light is one of the most prestigious in the world. Yet tucked in a courtyard on the corner of Place du Colonel Fabien sits a restaurant that is one of a kind and has its roots in a culture far outside France’s borders.
The first soul food restaurant in Paris: Gumbo YaYa Southern Kitchen.
Located in Paris’s 10th District, Gumbo YaYa was started in 2015 by Afro Parisian chef Lionel Chauvel-Maga. In the near decade that followed, the spot received awards, grew into a passionate community, and attracted big names to its doors, including some of the biggest current stars in American music, including Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean and Lil Yachty.Continue reading “Soul food in Paris? Popular Gumbo YaYa attracts hip hop stars, loyal following during Olympics”
PARIS – With over 15 augmented reality experiences developed, this year’s Summer Olympics is incorporating AR like never before.
The IOC and the Paris 2024 organizing committee engaged in a variety of digital partnerships to bring AR into the Olympics. From the world’s first AR vending machine to Olympic-themed filters and Lenses, each AR experience offers a new way for users to engage with this year’s Games.
