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| Axios Sports |
| By Kendall Baker ·Aug 05, 2021 |
| 👋 Good morning! If you drink two five-hour energy shots, do you get 10 hours of energy? Or five hours of double energy? Today's word count: 1,547 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... |
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| 1 big thing: ⚾️ Shrinking Little League |
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| Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios |
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| The Little League World Series regionals begin today, with all roads leading to the championship in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 29, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: While the country begins its annual love affair with this ESPN-broadcast spotlight on youth sports, it misses the other side of the story: Little League participation has been dwindling for years. By the numbers: Participation has decreased by roughly 3% annually since peaking in the 1990s — part of a larger youth sports exodus. - Only 38% of kids aged 6 to 12 played team sports on a regular basis in 2018, down from 45% in 2008, per the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
- Local examples: In Warner Robins, Georgia, Little League registration fell from 1,000 in 2008 to 524 in 2019. In Indianapolis, it dropped from 500 in 2003 down to just 110 this spring.
The big picture: One of the biggest culprits behind this downward trend is the rise of pay-to-play travel leagues, which price families out and discourage non-elite players from sticking with the sport. - This isn't unique to baseball, but perhaps stings even more because America's pastime feels more sacred.
- There was a time when Little League meant playing a game then hanging out with friends. In today's era of select teams and showcases, "that concept doesn't exist anymore," one coach in Indianapolis said.
What they're saying: A father and volunteer coach wrote an excellent New Yorker piece that sums up beautifully what makes youth baseball so special — and what we lose when local leagues begin to shrink. "In the town league, there was one beginner kid every year who took much of the season to get their first hit, and when they finally did the rest of the team was jubilant — they went a kind of nuts that my son called 'a release of magical happiness.' The travel teams didn't have that." "Our teams are the children of nurses and doctors, electricians and mechanics, professors and librarians, guys who work in corrections and in sales, Mayor Curt and an elementary-school custodian — a little league of everybody." The bottom line: In 1947, 12 teams from two states competed in the inaugural LLWS on a small field nestled beneath a levee, reflecting the nascent youth sports landscape of the time. - 74 years later, 53 teams from all 50 states begin their nationally-televised journey in a production equally reflective of youth sports' hyper-competitive status quo.
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| 2. 🥇 Olympics dashboard |
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| Photo: Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance via Getty Images |
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- 📆 Coming up: Today's key events include the men's 400-meter final and USA vs. South Korea in the baseball semis (happening now). Full schedule.
- 🥇 Medal tracker (as of 8am ET): Team USA (87) has the most medals, followed by China (73) and Russia (55). Full list.
- 💬 Quote du jour: A life-size statue of a sumo wrestler has been spooking horses during the equestrian competition. "As you come around, you see a big guy's [butt]." Ireland's Cian O'Connor said: "There's a lot to look at."
Stories: - ❤️ For Grandpa: American Ryan Crouser set an Olympic record in shot put and dedicated his gold medal to his late grandfather, who died a week before the Games started.
- 🇺🇸 Athletic family: No American woman has won gold in the high jump since 1988, but 23-year-old Vashti Cunningham, daughter of former NFL star QB Randall, looks poised to break that streak.
- ️🔥 Beat the heat: American Nelly Korda leads halfway through the women's golf tournament, where the heat index reached 111.
Highlights: - 🇨🇦 Bridesmaid no more: Andre De Grasse won the 200 for his fifth Olympic medal. The win gives Canada its first 200-meter Olympic gold in 93 years, as De Grasse edged past a trio of Americans.
- 💪🏼 Whatever it takes: British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson re-injured her Achilles in the 200, but that didn't stop her from getting up, waving off the medics and finishing the race.
- 🇷🇺 Two Svetlanas: The Russian duet of Svetlanas, Romashina and Kolesnichenko, took gold in artistic (formerly synchronized) swimming with a mesmerizing, spider-inspired routine.
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| 3. 🇯🇵 While you were sleeping: U.S. sweeps Australia |
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| Photo: Francois Nel/Getty Images |
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| ⚽️ Women's soccer: The USWNT beat Australia, 4-3, to win the bronze medal five years after being left off the podium in Rio. 🏀 Men's basketball: Team USA beat Australia, 97-78, to clinch a spot in Saturday's gold-medal game against either Slovenia or France. |
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| A message from Axios |
| The biggest video game news delivered to your inbox |
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| Get the latest scoops, trends and news from the world of video games with Axios Gaming, delivered every weekday to your inbox. Why it matters: A crucial view into an industry that is an essential part of millions of people's lives. Subscribe for free |
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| 4. 🏈 Alabama tops preseason power rankings |
 Data: ESPN; Table: Axios Visuals Alabama tops ESPN's college football preseason power rankings, hardly a surprise following the Tide's undefeated championship season, Jeff writes. What to watch: Here are some key September games that could shuffle up the rankings early in the season. - Alabama vs. Miami (Sept. 4): The champs face the 'Canes in Atlanta at the home of the Falcons in an early test for both CFP hopefuls.
- Clemson vs. Georgia (Sept. 4): Another marquee game gets the NFL stadium treatment, this time in Charlotte.
- Ohio State vs. Oregon (Sept. 11): The Buckeyes host the Ducks after the two programs played just 15 combined games last season.
- Iowa State vs. Iowa (Sept. 11): An early rivalry-week preview as the Hawkeyes visit the Cyclones in Week 2.
- Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin (Sept. 25): The Irish and Badgers will take over Chicago's Soldier Field.
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| 5. 📸 Exclusive: Behind the camera |
| Getty Images photographers picked their favorite photos from the Olympics so far and provided commentary on how they got the shot. Photo: Harry How/Getty Images Caption: Japan's Tsukasa Yoshida defeats Georgia's Eteri Liparteliani in the women's judo 57 kg bronze medal contest at Nippon Budokan. The object of judo is to take down your opponent — the more forceful the take down, the higher the score. Putting opponents on their back scores four points and is an automatic win. This match went into sudden death, and I was lucky to be on the side of the mat to get an unobstructed view of Yoshida's bronze medal-winning blow. — Harry How Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images Caption: Caeleb Dressel breaches the water during the second semifinal of the men's 100-meter butterfly. When photographing swimming, the water can add an interesting element of beauty to really intense race moments. As Dressel pushes through the surface of the water, it creates a stunning arch-like shape showcasing the height he attains and his strong movements forward. — Clive Rose Coming up: We'll hear from more photographers tomorrow. |
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| 6. 🏈 Josh Johnson: America's spare QB |
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| Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images |
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| Josh Johnson, the former Jets QB, has signed with the Jets. Why it matters: Johnson's career is incredible. Since being drafted in the fifth round of 2008 draft by the Buccaneers, he has been with 13 different NFL franchises, thrown 268 passes, and earned over $7 million. - He's spent time with the UFL's Sacramento Mountain Lions and XFL's Los Angeles Wildcats and was the top pick in the Alliance of American Football draft by the San Diego Fleet.
- The dude just keeps chasing the dream, and it's legendary. At this point, he's also quite proficient at holding a clipboard — a dream in and of itself.
The big picture: Johnson's Wikipedia page is a thing of beauty, chronicling his journey from Tampa Bay to San Francisco to Sacramento to Cleveland to Cincinnati to San Francisco to Cincinnati to New York to Indianapolis to Buffalo to Baltimore to New York to Houston to Oakland to D.C. to San Diego to Detroit to Los Angeles to San Francisco and now back to New York. - Buccaneers (2008–11)
- 49ers (2012)
- Mountain Lions (2012)
- Browns (2012)
- Bengals (2013)
- 49ers (2014)
- Bengals (2015)
- Jets (2015)
- Colts (2015)
- Bills (2015)
- Ravens (2016)
- Giants (2016)
- Texans (2017)
- Raiders (2018)
- Redskins (2018)
- Fleet (2019)
- Lions (2019)
- Wildcats (2020)
- 49ers (2020–21)
- Jets (2021)
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| 7. ⚡️ Lightning round |
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| Photo: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images |
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| 🎾 Nadal's return: Rafael Nadal returned to the court after a two-month layoff, beating American Jack Sock at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. ⚾️ Mad Max's debut: Max Scherzer struck out 10 Astros in his Dodgers debut, a 7-5 win in front of a loud L.A. crowd. "You live for this," Scherzer said. "You live to pitch in front of 50,000 people going nuts." ⚽️ MLS All-Stars: Mexico superstars Javier "Chicharito" Hernández and Carlos Vela headline the MLS All-Star roster that will take on Liga MX's All-Stars on Aug. 25 in L.A. |
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| 8. 📆 Aug. 5, 2016: Olympics begin in Rio |
| Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images Five years ago today, the Olympics kicked off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as two legends prepared for their final moment in the sun. The backdrop: Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt had established themselves as the GOATs of their respective sports in a combined six previous Olympics — and both went out strong in Rio. - Phelps added five golds and a silver to push his overall tally to an inconceivable 28 medals, 23 of which are gold. No one else in history has more than nine golds or 18 total medals.
- Bolt completed his unprecedented triple-triple, winning gold in the 100, 200 and 4x100 for the third straight Olympics. (His 2008 relay gold was later stripped after a teammate was found guilty of doping.)
Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images 🎥 Watch: Rio 2016 highlights (YouTube) |
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| 9. 🥇 Olympics trivia |
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| Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios |
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| Entering Tokyo, Team USA had failed to medal in just five Summer Olympics sports. - Question: Can you name any of them?
- Hint: Two involve balls.
Answer at the bottom. |
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| 10. 🏀 Pic du jour: Embiid's face |
Screenshot: @buckets (Twitter) Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond have had beef for years, routinely talking trash on the court and social media. Now, they're teammates. - Embiid was among the first players to greet the newly-signed Drummond when he arrived at the 76ers facility on Wednesday.
- Of course, there was some fantastic side-eye from Embiid when they went in for the hug. This should be fun.
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| A message from Axios |
| The biggest video game news delivered to your inbox |
| |
| |
| |
| Get the latest scoops, trends and news from the world of video games with Axios Gaming, delivered every weekday to your inbox. Why it matters: A crucial view into an industry that is an essential part of millions of people's lives. Subscribe for free |
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| Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Josh Johnson is my hero" Baker Trivia answer: Badminton, handball, rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis, trampoline 🙏 Thanks for reading. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @thekendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. |
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