Latest news with #sportsleague
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Report: Grand Slam Track to cancel season-ending L.A. event
June 12 - Grand Slam Track will not touch all bases in its debut season as the startup league canceled its final event, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles later this month, Front Office Sports reported Thursday. Grand Slam Track completed events in Kingston, Jamaica (April 4-6), Miami (May 2-4) and Philadelphia (May 31-June 1), but the June 28-29 event on the campus of UCLA will not take place. The league, which was founded by four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, began with $30 million in funding, with $12.6 million set to be awarded in prize money. Those numbers indicate that just over $9 million would have been distributed to competitors in the three completed meets so far. Signs of concern started early. The inaugural event in Jamaica was poorly attended. Originally scheduled to be comprised of three-day meets, the Philadelphia event was shortened to two days. According to the report, sources had indicated to Front Office Sports that the addition of a new "strategic partner" was somehow part of the reason the Los Angeles event was being canceled. There were also concerns over political tensions following the government's ICE raids in the region. More information on the future of Grand Slam Track could come from a reported staff-wide meeting that was called for Thursday. --Field Level Media
Reuters
30-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Sha'Carri Richardson investing in team-based track and field league
May 30 - Building off the success of its inaugural event in 2024, Athlos will debut a team-based track and field league in 2026, with Olympic gold medalists Sha'Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall on board as founding adviser-owners. Athlos, which was created by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, drew 3 million viewers for its women's track event last September in New York. Thomas and 1,500m women's world-record holder Faith Kipyegon were among the 35 female athletes participating for the largest prize purse for a women-only track and field event. "I take pride in doing what is right for people," Richardson told ESPN. "Joining ATHLOS as an advisor-owner gives me the opportunity to create something that genuinely empowers people both on and off the track." Slated to debut following the World Athletics season, the league -- designed for and by athletes -- will feature teams competing in multiple meets in major cities. A championship event will determine the overall winner at the end of the season. "Gabby, Sha'Carri, and Tara represent a new generation of athletes who have put this sport on their shoulders and deserve to be compensated for being the standard-bearers," Ohanian said in a press release. "We were focused on bringing them into the league as founding owners to ensure we're building a League that our athletes will love." Before the league debuts, Athlos will hold another event at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island on Oct. 10, with Thomas and Davis-Woodhall among the athletes committed to compete, with six track events and one field event on the docket. Fellow Olympians Masai Russell, Marileidy Paulino, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Brittany Brown are also slated to participate. Last year, Brown finished first in the 200 meters and second in the 100 meters and claimed the largest prize total. --Field Level Media
CBS News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Team boxing? Philadelphia Smoke fighting to give the sport a makeover
A new sports league in Philadelphia is fighting to give boxing a makeover. Instead of two fighters going 12 rounds, this league is doubling the number of rounds, but there's a catch: it's a team style. Team Combat League is professional boxing, with a twist. It's the nation's first-ever team boxing league. "That's something I've been wanting since I was a kid because high school has football, soccer, basketball teams, but we don't have that for boxing," Francisco Rodriguez, a lightweight boxer, said. "So, this is new and I'm excited and blessed to be in this opportunity. I'm going to train hard and win these fights." How Team Combat League boxing works There are 12 teams in 12 cities across the country, including the Philadelphia Smoke. League matches feature 24 three-minute rounds where the boxers are switched out after every round. One round, and you're done. "It's one round of non-stop action. It's exciting," Smoke head coach Bobby Kane said. "When you're in there, you're not going to sit down in your seat the whole entire time. It's action-packed, non-stop. It's best fighter vs best fighter. A lot of people are used to taking their time and studying a fighter in the beginning for rounds, but the fighters that come to TCL say this one is harder than doing that." "It's back to wall, time to go" Ray Robinson, a super middleweight boxer for the Smoke, says team boxing is more of a "crowd-pleaser to me." "I think the crowd wins here because you get to see so many different styles in one night," Robinson said. "There's no warm-up round or 'let me see how his style is.' It's back to wall, time to go." Fighters hearing their teammates cheer them on in the ring brings a camaraderie that boxing has never had. "In a traditional fight, you hear three people in your corner, but here you hear the whole team," Rodriguez said. "You hear everyone give their thoughts, motivating you when you feel like you're getting tired. They push you even more." "Not just an all-men sport" Nine of the 12 weight classes are for men, and the last three are for women, making this a co-ed league. "We're bringing female boxing up, and it's not just an all-men sport, boxing," Smoke lightweight boxer Shera Mae Patricio said. "So, we're exposing females out there saying, 'We can actually do the same thing as a man in the sport.'" The Philadelphia Smoke won the championship last year during their first year in the league. They're hoping to repeat this season.
