• Slug: Sports-Phoenix Mercury Resurgence, 830 words.
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By Patrick Holleron
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The NFL has always claimed that it prioritizes the health and safety of its players above everything else. Yet, as the 2024 season begins Thursday night, a topic that has concerned participants for years continues to linger. 

 The field-surface debate seems to grow louder with each passing season, sometimes with each passing down. Gruesome lower-extremity injuries appeared to consistently transpire on synthetic turf surfaces more often than natural grass in 2023, according to data from Sharp Football Analysis.  

Among the group of injured players, none was more notable than New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tore his Achilles tendon four snaps into his Jets’ debut on Sept. 11. His injury occurred at New Jersey’s MetLife Field, which uses a synthetic turf surface.  Continue reading “Grass is greener? NFL’s field surface dilemma still a concern as 2024 season kicks off”

• Slug: Sports-Phoenix Mercury Resurgence, 830 words.
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By Aya Abdeen
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – One year ago, the Phoenix Mercury were a train wreck on an 11-game, season-ending losing skid that curtailed their consecutive postseason streak since 2012, with Diana Taurasi and other key players sidelined due to injuries.

Fast forward to September, and the organization appears re-energized following an offseason overhaul that saw only three players returning, along with the installation of a new coaching staff. The team’s energy on and off the court has improved thanks to the additions of Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and Kahleah Copper, bolstered by the playoff and championship experience from the duo of Brittney Griner and Taurasi.

It is also clear there is still work to do. A tough loss Thursday to the Washington Mystics that saw no starters come to the postgame interview room afterward suggests the Mercury are still trying to right the ship. Continue reading “Year of change: From last place to playoff berth, Phoenix Mercury beginning to find their stride”

• Slug: Sports-Brandon Aiyuk Extension, 630 words.
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By Patrick Holleron
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Former Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has evolved into one of the top NFL wide receivers, much like first-year Arizona State wide receivers coach Hines Ward accomplished during his playing days. Now, with a fresh four-year, $120 million extension from the San Francisco 49ers, Aiyuk is also one of the top-earning players at his position like Ward. 

Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers came to terms on a four-year, $120 million extension last week, according to NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. Aiyuk’s new deal includes $76 million in guaranteed money. The deal comes as the NFL season opens this week, with the 49ers hosting the New York Jets Monday night.

Aiyuk is now one of the NFL’s top 10 highest-paid wide receivers, trailing only Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, Cedee Lamb and Justin Jefferson in average salary per year. Continue reading “Former ASU WR Brandon Aiyuk’s gamble pays off with San Francisco 49ers”

• Slug: Sports–Women’s Sports Betting. 1212 words.
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By Anne-Marie Iemmolo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – When sportswriter Jim Turvey arrived at his in-laws for dinner, he was shocked to hear his non-sports-centric relatives discussing Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA rookies rivaled each other at LSU and Iowa in a memorable championship game in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament, with a rematch the following April that drew a women’s college basketball record of 12.3 million viewers in the women’s Elite Eight. Clark and Reese’s high-profile matchups and competition have spiked growth in women’s basketball.

“It’s truly broken through to everyone and anyone. Unless you’re living under a rock, you know about women’s sports and women’s basketball in particular,” Turvey said. Continue reading “Risk and reward: Sportsbooks cash in on rise of women’s sports betting, but at what cost?”

• Slug: Sports-Arizona Football McMillan, 620 words.
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By Saleh Awwad
Cronkite News

TUCSON – For a half Saturday, it appeared Arizona wasn’t quite ready for the Big 12 Conference as the Wildcats struggled against New Mexico in the debut of coach Brent Brennan.

Before the night was over, however, the Wildcats demonstrated that the offensive firepower of sophomore quarterback Noah Fifita and junior wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan will be all that the team’s new conference can handle as the Wildcats gave Brennan his first victory at the helm.

With a handful of NFL scouts in attendance, McMillan – affectionately known to his teammates and UA football fans as “T-Mac” – hauled in 10 passes for a school-record 304 yards, scoring four touchdowns as the Wildcats trounced the Lobos, 61-39. Continue reading “304 yards for receiver Tetairoa McMillan casts attention on Arizona football, new coach Brent Brennan”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Quarterback Follow, 600 words.
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By Tucker Sennett
Cronkite News

TEMPE – In an era when some college quarterbacks are as old as 25 – hello, Utah’s Cam Rising – Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt is just a young pup. However, in his first collegiate start against the University of Wyoming, the native of West Linn, Oregon, proved age is just a number.

“I wasn’t too nervous going into this game,” the 19-year-old redshirt freshman said after Saturday’s 48-7 victory over the Cowboys. “That’s a testament to the coaching staff and the team.”

The Sun Devils as a whole showed few nerves while pummeling Wyoming 48-7 in their season opener at Mountain America Stadium. Continue reading “‘Be yourself’: Quarterback Sam Leavitt proves experience isn’t everything in strong ASU debut against Wyoming”

• Slug: Sports-Grass League Golf, 1,540 words.
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By Jack Reeves
Cronkite News

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?

Enter the Grass League. Established in February, the startup league has brought a new vision to the game loved worldwide. Continue reading “Golf after dark: Grass League ushers in new era with primetime professional, amateur tournaments under the lights”

• Slug: Sports-CFP Format Clark, 1,100 words.
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By Doyal D’angelo
Special for Cronkite News

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.”

Part of the change is the novel 12-team CFP playoff format that Clark is inheriting, which he is preparing extensively for with training and the reliance on his selection committee to make the proper choices. Continue reading “Seismic shifts: New CFP director Richard Clark visits Fiesta Bowl, reflects on 12-team playoff”

• Slug: Sports-Paralympic Archer Bennett, 750 words.
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By Sydney Lovan
Special for Cronkite News

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.

“When I realized that I could shoot again, that’s when a fire was lit, and I had gotten my love back,” said Bennett, who is set to compete in the recurve Para Archery event beginning Thursday in Paris. Continue reading “Arizona archer Eric Bennett prepares for fifth Paralympics, this time with family by his side”

• Slug: Sports-WNBA Salary Minimum, 1,400 words.
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By Joshua Heron
Cronkite News

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”

• Slug: Sports-Olympic Pins Paris, 730 words.
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By Tyler Bednar
Cronkite News

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.

Continue reading “From Snoop Dogg blowing Olympic-like rings to Simone Biles’ heart, pins remain the talk post-Paris Games”

• Slug: Sports-Olympics Sports Courts Paris, 1,900 words.
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By Zach Bradshaw and Doyal D’angelo
Cronkite News

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”

• Slug–Sports: Paris Street Sports, 880 words.
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By Scott Sandulli
Cronkite News

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”

• Slug–Sports: Olympians Mental Heath, 840 words.
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By Walker Smith
Cronkite News

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.

Continue reading “IOC, Team USA use new technology to promote athlete mental wellness, even after Olympics are over”

• Slug–Sports: Sports Betting Arizona. 1,563 words.
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By Mateo Arenas
Cronkite News

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?’”

Continue reading “Betting on the future: Legalized sports gambling thrives, but at what cost to students and athletes?”

• Slug: Sports–Arizona Training Paris Olympics, 570 words.
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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.

Among the distance runners who trained in Flagstaff and competed in Paris is Grant Fisher, who grabbed bronze in the men’s 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. Many others who competed came to the Phoenix area to train in the winter for the forgiving weather, included triathlete Kirsten Kasper. Continue reading “Paris Olympics showcase athletes who choose to train in Arizona’s heat, high altitude”

• Slug: Sports–Paris Women Equity, 760 words.
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By Melanie Hogue
Cronkite News

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”

• Slug: Sports-Paris Movie Popularity, 1,000 words.
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By Walker Smith
Cronkite News

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.

“The thing with Paris is its beauty,” said Juliette Dubois, founder and director of Ciné-Balade. “You can project what you want to project. This is part of the magic, and also there is all the history, all the heart which has inspired the movie makers.” Continue reading “Action! Paris’ beauty translates to a city that serves as a backdrop to endless movies”

• Slug: Sports-Delaney Schnell Tucson Olympics, 900 words.
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By Tyler Bednar
Cronkite News

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.”

Continue reading “A plunge into greatness: Arizona diver Delaney Schnell wraps up second Olympics”

• Slug: Sports–Arizona Swimmer Sheikhalizadehkhanghah, 800 words.
• Photo available.

By Lux Butler
Cronkite News

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”