iHigh.com creating America’s High School Sports Network
Some 10,000 Events to be Available for Viewing
iHigh.com is developing America’s first nationwide high school sports network.
Nearly 2,000 high schools throughout the United States already have signed commitments to join the network, which will include team sports Web sites, photos, schedules, video, plus live and recorded game broadcasts.
Through iHigh.com, sports teams are provided – free of charge – a Web site they control. On this site, they can place live broadcasts, videos, photos and team information. In addition, high school student-athletes looking to gain the attention of college coaches can create their own student profile and social network on MYiHigh.com, complete with game videos, photos and personal information.
“We are the first to offer a national network of member schools that can pull all high school sports and activities together,” said Tim Campbell, president and CEO of iHigh.com. “Others may have individual offerings, but ours is a comprehensive – and free– approach. Where else can you go to have total free access at your fingertips to high school games from throughout the country?”
Participating schools are strong supporters:
- “It’s clean and it’s simple and it gives the information I think that people want to see,” says Cary (NC) High School Athletic Director Kurt Glendening.
- “I think it’s something each school should have because it’s just an awesome site,” adds Todd Shipley, football coach at Shelby County (KY) High School.
- “iHigh.com is a site that every school in the country should turn to! There is no better way to promote your student-athletes and your school,” says Redd Rider of the Raider Sports Network at Good Hope High School in Cullman (AL).
- “It’s great for our community. It’s great for our school and to promote what we do here,” states A.J. Stadelmeyer, trainer for Ashland (KY) Paul G. Blazer High School.
As many as 10,000 sporting and school events are expected to be streamed live or on recorded video on iHigh.com this year. This is providing another benefit for schools and students because students are gaining valuable experience announcing and writing about games and special events. In the near future, iHigh.com will be providing seminars for aspiring announcers, using broadcasters from major colleges and universities as instructors.
Schools also are invited to include all sports on their site, as well as other extra-curricular activities such as band performances, club information, dance and commencement photos.
“The sky’s the limit. Each school has the ability to make their site as large as they want,” said Campbell. “We want iHigh.com to be a place where the community comes to find out about what’s going on in their local high school. We also want relatives living far away to be able to go online and watch their loved ones live on the Internet. iHigh.com is a gathering place for families and communities who enjoy high school sports and activities.”
Source: iHigh.com
New Era National Youth Baseball Championships Coming to Memphis August 27 – 30
Gameday Baseball Named Tournament Host Through 2012
For the next four years, “We’re going to Memphis” will be the rally cry for youth baseball players in eight major national organizations. The Memphis Sports Council and the Major Youth Baseball Alliance (MYBA) announced that this year’s New Era National Youth Baseball Championships (NYBC) will be held August 27 through 30 at Gameday Baseball’s First Tennessee Fields, and that Memphis will host the NYBC though 2012.
“The Memphis-area youth sports community is excited for the opportunity to continue to play ball with this great youth sports organization,” said Malvin Gipson, Director of the Memphis Sports Council. “We loved hosting the inaugural NYBC in 2008. We saw great youth baseball and met great players, coaches and fans. It’s an honor to be invited to host the tournament for the next four years. We look forward to working with each organization to make the New Era NYBC one of the best events we could possibly host and to encourage the Alliance to return in 2013 and every year that follows.”
Ten games, including the championships, will be televised nationally by the MLB Networks as part of their “Youth Baseball Month” programming during August. These games will be streamed globally at www.mlb.com and the MLB Network will televise the games to over 50 million cable and satellite television viewers.
The New Era National Youth Baseball Championships will feature champions from eight major youth organizations. The MYBA includes the American Amateur Baseball Congress, Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation, PONY Baseball, Super Series Baseball of America, and United States Specialty Sports Association.
“Returning to Memphis was an easy decision,” according to Wes Skelton of the National Youth Baseball Alliance. “Last year we enjoyed great hospitality and the opportunity to play at one of the finest youth sports complexes in the nation.”
Event sponsors include the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, Memphis Sports Council, AT&T, AutoZone, Backyard Burgers, Commercial Advisors, LLC., First Tennessee, Juice Plus, Linkous Construction, Terminix, and Wolfchase Toyota.
Gameday Baseball is an operating entity of the Gameday Healthy Kids Foundation. Its mission includes encouraging youth to participate in sports and reducing childhood obesity. For more information, go to www.gamedaybaseball.com.
Source: Gameday Baseball
USA TODAY Sports Weekly Publishes Special Edition: Fantasy Football Guide 2009
A special edition of USA TODAY Sports Weekly devoted to the 2009 fantasy football season hits newsstands today. The Sports Weekly Fantasy Football Guide ’09 gives fans all the information they need to win their fantasy leagues in the upcoming season.
Featured in this 56-page special edition:
– Our Top 200 ranking with a handy cheat sheet by position.
– In-depth player capsules by position with statistics.
– Our mock draft has 12 experts picking in a point-per-reception league.
– Team analysis for all 32 NFL teams with position grades and in-depth charts.
The guide features five regionalized covers: Chicago Bears’ Jay Cutler, Jacksonville Jaquars’ Maurice Jones-Drew, New England Patriots’ Tom Brady, Philadelphia Eagles’ Donovan McNabb, and San Diego Chargers’ Philip Rivers.
The Sports Weekly Fantasy Football Guide ’09 will be on sale at newsstands into September at a cover price of $4.95. The preview issue can be ordered by visiting https://service.usatoday.com/specialeditions/. Sports Weekly publishes special editions throughout the year covering special events in the world of sports.
Ronnie Record: Motocross Star Ronnie Renner Breaks Big Air World Record at Red Bull High Rise
Unparalleled insanity met high hopes in the friendly confines of Chicago’s Butler Field at Grant Park as professional motocross athlete Ronnie Renner broke his own Guinness World Record for highest motorcycle jump off a quarterpipe.
Thousands of excited fans from all over the Midwest huddled together in anticipation and watched as Renner fearlessly approached the imposing ramp, which featured Chicago’s world famous skyline as the backdrop. On his third attempt, Renner launched himself an astounding 63 feet 5 inches above the ground, eclipsing the record he set a year ago.
“It’s been crazy. I’m so pumped to have done it,” said Renner after his jumps. “What a killer vibe! All these people coming out to see me and they were psyched. I could hear the crowd cheering.”
Guinness World Records certified Renner’s highest jump, which was officially measured from the top of the 22-foot-tall quarterpipe, as 41 feet 5 inches from the top of the ramp (63 feet 5 inches high, total).
“I was super excited to come but didn’t really know what to expect,” said Lindsey Marlow, a fan. “I’ve seen a lot of motocross events, but Ronnie’s jump was amazing!”
Immediately following Red Bull High Rise, Renner jumped on a yacht to be a part of Chicago’s 52nd Annual Venetian Night as the last boat of the evening. Adding his usual touch, he played air guitar as he sailed down Lake Michigan. During Renner’s time in Chicago, he witnessed both a White Sox and Cubs game, priding himself on being a non-biased fan. Unfortunately, he missed Mark Buehrle’s perfect game by a day.
Ronnie set his initial world record in 2008 on the Santa Monica Pier by jumping 59’2″ above the ground. After that jump, he knew he could go higher, and under an ominous Chicago sky, he did. When asked what he planned to do next, Renner stated, “Between myself and Red Bull, we’re bound to come up with something crazy.”
Renner is a respected freestyle motocross veteran whose credentials include a gold medal in Moto X Step Up at the 2007 Summer X Games, and the Step Up world record. He will participate in the X Games next weekend, competing in the Moto X Step Up and Best Whip events.
Renner’s jump completed yet another amazing chapter of world-firsts, following the record-shattering performances of fellow motocross sensation Robbie Maddison and BMX star Kevin Robinson. Maddison jumped the length of a football field in front of thousands on New Year’s Eve 2007, clearing 322 feet in Las Vegas. Last June, Robinson soared 27 feet above the lip of a huge quarterpipe (54 feet above the ground) in New York’s Central Park to set the BMX big air world record.
For more information about the event, visit www.redbullusa.com.
SIRIUS XM To Offer Exclusive Radio Coverage of Baseball Hall Of Fame Induction July 26
MLB Home Plate and Mad Dog Radio channels to broadcast live from Cooperstown, NY, during Hall of Fame Weekend Listeners will hear Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Ripken as they host a Hall of Fame edition of ‘Ripken Baseball’
SIRIUS XM Radio announced that it will offer listeners the exclusive radio broadcast of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Sunday, July 26, 2009 on MLB Home Plate, XM channel 175 and SIRIUS channel 210 with the “Best of XM” programming package.
MLB Home Plate, SIRIUS XM’s 24-hour baseball talk channel, will have live coverage starting at 1:30 pm ET, as all-time runs and stolen bases leader Rickey Henderson, longtime Boston Red Sox slugger Jim Rice, and former Yankees and Indians second baseman Joe Gordon are enshrined in Cooperstown, NY.
In addition to the Induction Ceremony, Hall of Fame Weekend (July 24 – 27) features a variety of baseball events and is attended by dozens of Hall of Famers. MLB Home Plate and Mad Dog Radio, SIRIUS XM’s all-sports talk channel, will broadcast live from Cooperstown Friday, Saturday and Sunday, giving fans around the country access to the epicenter of baseball history, plus live one-on-one interviews with some of the game’s legendary players who will be in town for the festivities.
Listeners can tune in to hear Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and his brother and major league veteran Billy Ripken host a special Hall of Fame edition of their weekly MLB Home Plate show, Ripken Baseball. The Ripkens will discuss this year’s Hall of Fame class, air an interview Cal and Billy conducted with Jim Rice, and reminisce about Cal’s induction into the Hall in 2007. Ripken Baseball airs every Friday (12:00 – 2:00 pm ET) exclusively on MLB Home plate. The show replays Saturday morning at 6:00 am ET.
Today, July 24, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo will host his daily show, Mad Dog Unleashed, live from Cooper Park, located outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mad Dog Unleashed airs every weekday (2:00 – 7:00 pm ET) exclusively on Mad Dog Radio, SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144.
On Saturday, July 25, MLB Home Plate’s Jim Duquette and Bill Pidto will broadcast live (10:00 am – 1:00 pm ET) from Cooper Park. The following day, July 26, Pidto and Duquette will be live at the Clark Sports Center (10:30 am – 1:30 pm ET) to preview the Induction Ceremony, interview Hall of Famers and lead in to SIRIUS XM’s live coverage of the Enshrinement starting at 1:30 pm ET.
For more info on the MLB Home Plate channel and a schedule of MLB games on XM, please visit www.xmradio.com/mlb.