Month: August 2025

The Champions League, formerly the European Cup, is the most prestigious club competition in Europe. It has become a touchstone of soccer history, as it has witnessed and been the protagonist of the inexorable advance of soccer as a world sport. It was born in the mid-20th century as a concept in the mind of visionaries such as Gabriel Hanot, editor of the French newspaper L’Equipe, and Jacques Ferran, the head of the governing body of European football (UEFA), and has since evolved to reflect a number of changes in the game itself.

The current version of the competition was introduced in 1992-93, and it is structured to include two phases – a group stage and a knockout phase. During the group stage, teams are drawn into groups of four or five. Seeding is used when making the draws, and teams from the same national association are not usually drawn together. Teams play each other home and away, with the winners and runners-up from each group progressing to the next round, where they meet the top two teams from the other groups.

The competition has a long and rich tradition, with many iconic clubs achieving success in the modern era of the Champions League. The illustrious Ajax team of Johan Cruyff and Paul de Geer won the competition three times in a row between 1970 and 1976, while Real Madrid are the most recent champions, winning their second title in 2021.

The Asian Games is the biggest multi-sport event in Asia. It was founded in 1951 after World War II to reestablish bonds between Asian countries through sports and contribute to everlasting peace. The Games are held every four years, and they are a major part of the Olympic calendar. The Games are organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and have 45 participating countries and regions.

The ‘floating village’ will have all the usual facilities that athletes get in Games villages, including dining halls and gymnasiums. But the timing of the Aichi-Nagoya Games from September 19 to October 4 is a concern, as it falls during Japan’s peak typhoon season. A contingency plan will be in place to evacuate athletes if the waters turn violent.

Esports will feature 11 events at Aichi-Nagoya, four more than Hangzhou 2023. This includes the Arena of Valor Asian Games version, PUBG and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Indian esports teams have been strong in these titles, with Pavan Kampelli winning a bronze in eFootball and S8UL competing regularly at the League of Legends world championship.

The AINAGOC has created a Master Plan for the success of Aichi-Nagoya 2026, which sets out the fundamentals in various fields including planning and operations. It also provides a rough preparation schedule.

A lot of hard work culminates with this three-day event when the NFL’s best and brightest young players hear their names called. They have been working towards this moment for years, and hearing those words read in front of a crowd at Lambeau Field in Green Bay is their biggest chance to do something special with the next chapter of their lives.

The first round of the draft is full of prospects with high ceilings. Shlain targets the Titans’ need at quarterback with Cam Ward, a player that should have a strong chance to develop into a franchise starter given his talent and current roster around him.

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is another prospect with a massive upside, as the Heisman Trophy winner is expected to excel at both wide receiver and cornerback this season. Shlain takes him with the fifth overall pick.

Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter is a highly-regarded rookie with tremendous upside. He’s a rare high-round player that is expected to make an immediate impact in the NFL. Cooterdoodle wisely exploits the mispriced ADP here, taking him one spot ahead of where he was predicted to go.

Round 3 opens with a smattering of classic alpha wide receivers, but Cooterdoodle targets a more intriguing prospect in the form of rising Colts tight end Tyler Warren. The former Boise State standout profiles as a high-volume target earner thanks to his speed and strength to evade blocks and overpower offensive linemen.

The game of ice hockey was first contested at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, and has been a mainstay of every Olympic program since. It’s the most popular men’s event at the Olympics, and Canada has won the most gold medals in the sport’s history. In the 1980 Olympics, a famous moment in Olympic ice hockey history took place when the U.S. team beat the Soviet Union in the ‘Miracle on Ice’ game.

Olympic ice hockey rules differ slightly from those in the NHL, as is true of most ice sports. For example, fighting is not allowed in the Olympic tournament, and players who willingly participate in a fight are penalized. The sport also follows the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules on performance enhancing drugs and maintains a Registered Testing Pool for top players.

In addition to a standard set of rules, Olympic ice hockey also uses different overtime periods depending on what stage of the tournament they are playing in. In group play and quarterfinal games, there are no ties; the winner is determined by the first team to score in the extra period. For the semifinal and final rounds, the rules change again. During these rounds, the teams are divided into two groups, and the winner of each group goes to the medal round.

In 1998, the format for the tournament changed again. Until that time, teams played a preliminary round without NHL players and then had a medal round in which the top six teams (Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States) competed together.

A sport is considered international when its participants represent more than one country, which is typically the case in competitions like the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. But many other sports are also played at an international level, with global leagues and teams competing across borders. The popularity of international sports is often fueled by the fact that they offer an opportunity to experience another culture, whether it’s through attending a football match in Brazil or taking part in a karate competition in Japan.

The appeal of international sports has long been a source of fascination for politicians, academics, and the general public. As early as the ancient Olympics, city-states of Greece would travel to Olympia to compete, putting their internal struggles on hold for the duration of the event. This set a precedent for the modern world of international sport, and today, the spectacles of the Olympics and the buzz of the World Cup are global phenomenons.

We’ve scoured the globe for the latest rankings of international sports, with data from authoritative sports federations and research reports. Our results highlight the popularity of different sports around the world, and illustrate clear patterns in regional preferences.

Athlete endorsements are a critical marketing strategy that leverage the credibility and popularity of athletes to drive product sales. However, the effectiveness of athlete endorsements depends on how well the endorsed brand aligns with the athlete’s public image and ethos. When a celebrity endorses a product that contradicts their ethos, the public perception of both the athlete and the brand is harmed. This is why the selection of athletes for endorsements requires a thorough understanding of their audience engagement, social media presence, and overall public image.

Endorsements can take on a variety of forms, from simple sponsorship deals to long-term ambassadorships that create deeper integration with the brand identity. Long-term partnerships also allow brands to evolve the narrative, allowing the athlete to participate in ongoing campaigns and product development. Examples of these types of partnerships include Cristiano Ronaldo’s global partnership with Nike, which has yielded multiple successful products and marketing campaigns.

To maximize the impact of athlete endorsements, brands need to ensure that they are selecting the right celebrities for the job and developing impactful marketing campaigns. The most effective endorsements deliver genuine value to the consumer and align with an athlete’s ethos and personality. This creates authenticity that boosts the credibility and attractiveness of the brand, resulting in increased sales and brand loyalty. To achieve this, brands must track key metrics including conversion rates, sales uplift, and customer lifetime value. They must also utilize sentiment analysis and other qualitative data to evaluate the long-term impact of an endorsement campaign.

If you’re a track and field fan, the World Athletics Championship is like the Olympics in a more compressed format. The event is hosted biennially and covers all the disciplines — from sprints to middle distance events to the lung-busting 400m, it’s a showcase of the best athletes in the sport. The competition also doubles as a preview of the next Summer Olympics and is a key step for many title-hungry athletes.

The 2023 edition will take place in Budapest, Hungary at the National Athletics Center from August 19 to 27. It’s the first World Championships since the pandemic pushed 2022’s event in Eugene, Oregon back a year. The World Athletics Championship is one of the largest sporting events in the world, behind only the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games in terms of number of athletes. The event has nine days of action packed with 49 track and field events.

For those who can’t make it to the event, FloTrack will provide streaming coverage on all platforms. Subscribers will be able to watch all of the races, as well as full replays of each event, for the duration of their subscription.

You may be familiar with the names of a few of the athletes competing, but there are always some surprise performers. Last year’s Championships saw British bright light Keely Hodgkinson powering her way to bronze in the women’s 800m, while the country’s men’s and mixed 4x400m teams clinched medals as well.

Picture a basketball arena or a football stadium — but filled with fans cheering on teams as they compete head-to-head in their favorite video games. Esports tournaments are the gamer’s version of athletic championships, and they draw a massive audience online and in-person. As esports evolve, they’re merging with traditional sports, and that shift points to the future of entertainment.

Despite its recent growth, the esports industry still faces challenges. Rules and regulations vary across countries, creating confusion about player contracts, gambling and intellectual property rights. Many tournament organizers operate at a loss, hoping that future growth will bring profitability. This creates a gap between top events and grassroots competitions, which can struggle to survive.

In 2025’s first month, the esports calendar is jam-packed with international competitions for popular titles like PUBG Mobile, Counter-Strike and League of Legends. PGL Bucharest, BLAST Rivals Spring 2025 and IEM Raleigh highlight a busy calendar that also includes the 2025 League of Legends World Championship in China.

While fighting games continue to dominate the esports landscape, other genres are growing quickly. The first-ever Fortnite World Cup skyrocketed the popularity of the popular Battle Royale title, and a new tournament for TEKKEN 8 is drawing huge audiences. Meanwhile, new hardware is bringing the experience of playing a video game to a whole new level. The latest consoles allow players to move, gesture and interact with the screen in ways that are impossible on a PC or laptop.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Black fans turned their love of sports into a powerful tool of nonviolent protest. They boycotted pro teams with segregated seating and pressed city leaders to integrate housing, schools and public services. They used newspapers to share boycott information and pickets that were placed on public property such as stadiums and bus stops. Black sportswriters like Jim Hall, Marcel Hopson and Marion Jackson encouraged fandom to be a force for change.

Those tactics still work today. The key to any protest is how it’s framed, and it’s important for journalists to report on the full range of fan activism tactics, from rallies to walkouts and boycotts. In addition, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and assembly, so fans often express their concerns with chants and signs.

For example, a group of Chelsea fans is planning to protest the club’s owner, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, ahead of the team’s match with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge next week. They plan to wear black to symbolize that the club is “slowly dying,” due to debts and mismanagement.

Gloria Jimenez and Bruce Martin, leaders of the Angel City Brigade that sits during Los Angeles Galaxy home games at Dignity Health Sports Park, have used their stance to highlight the immigration raids in Southern California’s Latino communities. They also have a message for the team’s ownership: “Let’s be a team of color.” Their protest, which will continue until the players and management support their cause, is a prime example of how fans can use their fandom to promote social justice issues.

LOS ANGELES — It was a World Series like no other. After 33 years without a championship team in the nation’s capital, the Washington Nationals took advantage of a shaky start from the New York Yankees and dominated the final four games to win the World Series three-games-to-one on Wednesday night. The clinching victory was only the latest memorable moment in a series full of them, and it also marked one of the most exciting moments since the best-of-seven format was adopted in 1905.

From crazy game-winning home runs to comeback victories, the World Series has always delivered high drama. So we decided to take a look back at the most iconic World Series highlights of all time.

1. Jim Leyritz’s Game 4 home run against Mark Wohlers

While there have been many great World Series moments it is hard to think of any that are more iconic than Leyritz’s game-tying home run in Game 4 of the ’96 World Series. The shot against Mark Wohlers was the defining moment of the Yankees’ greatest dynasty and it is still a famous moment in baseball history.

2. Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series

No one will ever forget Freddie Freeman’s game-winning grand slam in Game 1, which turned Chavez Ravine into blue heaven and won the series for the Dodgers over the New York Yankees. It was a thrilling game and Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek’s exclamation, “Touch ’em all, Joe!” remains one of the most famous calls in baseball history.