💖 Simone Biles: Finding Love & Joy In Performing Again

Simone Biles is one of the architects of the Gold Over America Tour, which delivers a message of hope, confidence and seizing control.

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In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: The Gold Over America Tour began on Tuesday and is the first public gymnastics action Biles is undertaking since her traumatic yet ultimately inspirational Olympic adventure in Tokyo ... we take a look at potential U.S. host cities for the 2026 World Cup ... and we are treated to a laugh-out-loud video featuring New York Jets fans. Simone Biles just hit the road and it is one heck of a schedule: Seven weeks, 35 performances before packed crowds, and a whirlwind of media and promotional events along the way. The four-time Olympic gold medalist and 19-time world champion is not only the headliner but also one of the architects of the Gold Over America Tour, which, given her popularity and the initial response, seems virtually guaranteed to be a serious commercial success. But there is a bigger goal that that. “To see them smile,” Valorie Kondos Field, a storied collegiate gymnastics coach, a long-term friend of Biles and the tour’s coordinator, told me via telephone this week. “We are trying to show the whole person of these athletes. The fans will get to see the silly side of Simone and it is wonderful. You get to hear her voice as a young woman who got into the sport because she loved it. It is about getting that joy back. Simone wanted to find the love in what she is doing again.”   The tour began on Tuesday and is the first public gymnastics action Biles is undertaking since her traumatic yet ultimately inspirational Olympic adventure in Tokyo. Along the road, she won’t be alone, as the roster also includes Olympians past and present such as Laurie Hernandez, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, MyKayla Skinner, plus hugely popular UCLA star Katelyn Ohashi and others. The Tokyo Olympics was supposed to be the time when Biles added an exclamation point to her already-etched status as the greatest gymnast and one of the greatest athletes in history. An overwhelming favorite to win five golds, she eventually was forced to withdraw during the team final, prioritizing her mental health. It later emerged the accompanying stresses of the Olympic campaign had caused her to suffer from the “twisties,” a devastating gymnastic condition that prevents the athlete from recognizing where they are in midair, making landings not just difficult but severely dangerous. Biles pulled out of the individual all-around, with gold going to United States colleague Sunisa Lee, and skipped the apparatus finals with the exception of the beam, in which she claimed bronze.   Her plight, coming so soon after the public difficulties faced by tennis star Naomi Osaka, sparked important further discussion about mental health and the issues faced by athletes, especially young ones. “Simone’s really young,” seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady told USA TODAY. “I’m 44. When I was 24, I certainly didn’t have all the answers to all the different pressures and the adversities that you face. I don’t know if we have expectations for people that we should have all the answers, have all things figured out at young ages.” Elite gymnastics carries an intense burden for both the body and the mind. Biles is in her mid-20s but was considered a veteran while still in her teens. To get to the top requires years of sacrifice and in most cases, it’s still not enough. Through it all, the cloud of serial abuser Larry Nassar and his evil catalog of crimes sits above the entire national team program. The astonishingly brave testimony of Biles and hundreds of Nassar victims at his court trials and during senate hearings is some of the most moving – and utterly haunting – television you could ever see.   In many ways the tour, deliberately designed to highlight happiness and celebration, is shaped as the complete antidote to that darkness. Biles had one non-negotiable criteria for being a part of Gold Over America – that USA Gymnastics – the organization that failed to protect her and others, was to be in no way involved. The tour’s performances mix artistic creativity with dance and feature active conversations about mental health and anxiety along with extraordinary feats of gymnastic excellence. One of the most poignant moments, Kondos Field said, is when Biles’ friend Ohashi reads a letter to her younger self. This is far from a routine gymnastics show. “It is something much deeper,” Kondos Field added. The relationship between Biles and Kondos Field goes back years. Originally Biles had thoughts of going to college and attending UCLA, where Kondos Field was a groundbreaking coach whose team crafted routines that would go viral on social media and made meets at Pauley Pavilion a hot ticket even in the crowded Los Angeles entertainment space.   Their current collaboration is filled with champions, but this time that’s not what matters. Its focal point is to find again what made these athletes fall in love with gymnastics in the first place, all those years ago before it became about seven-hour training sessions and one-mistake-and-you’re-done levels of strain. “With all those tour stops on the schedule mistakes are going to happen,” Kondos Field said. “That’s just part of the fun. “If you are not failing you are not trying hard enough,” she added. “It means you are going after life with everything you’ve got.   Here’s what others have said ... Ben Church, CNN: “It's not yet clear whether Biles will compete at Paris 2024, meaning the tour could be one the last chances for many people to see her perform live.” Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports: “For Biles, this is a chance to finally be free of USAG... It will be the kind of show that Simone Biles wants.” Iliana Limon Romero, LA Times: “Star gymnast Simone Biles is still recovering from trauma, but she finds strength in helping others.” Maximum Comfort With Minimalist Feel: The Ridge Wallet Sponsored Content When it comes to your wallet, less is more, and that's why the Ridge Wallet such an ideal fit. It is made with premium materials -- carbon, titanium, aluminum -- yet the Ridge is 60 percent slimmer than the traditional wallet. This makes the Ridge an easy, comfortable fit in your pocket. And because the Ridge is fortified with RFID blocking technology, you can rest easy knowing your cards are safe from electronic pick-pocketing. Lighter, sleeker and a 45-day return policy -- it's a no-brainer. Get yours now. Free shipping. FIFA is currently touring potential U.S. host cities for the 2026 World Cup. FOX Sports Soccer Writer Doug McIntyre ranks the list of contenders. Ahead of their Week 3 tilt, the Rams and Bucs are duking it out for the No. 1 spot in Colin Cowherd’s latest Herd Hierarchy. There’s a new heavy favorite to win the Heisman, yet FOX Sports Betting Analyst Sam Panayotovich is turning his attention to a familiar face for his best bet. The team over at B/R Gridiron posted a video on Tuesday morning that certainly made us laugh out loud. Check out the video, which shows someone going around MetLife Stadium, asking fans for one word to describe what it’s like being a Jets fan. A total of 10 fans were asked, and as it turns out, the responses are… well, probably what you’d expect from fans. Give the video a watch and let us know which word you would use to describe the J-E-T-S. New York Mets at Boston Red Sox (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) Taijuan Walker takes the mound for the New York Mets, who take on Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox. San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET) Brandon Crawford and the San Francisco Giants go up against Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres. Odds provided by FOX Bet Carolina Panthers at Houston Texans Sam Darnold 250+ Passing Yards & Panthers To Win: +100 Sam Darnold and the 2-0 Carolina Panthers travel to Houston to take on the Texans, who are coming off a 31-21 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Darnold has been better than expected through two weeks this season. He is completing 68.5% of his passes and has thrown for 584 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception. Darnold is going up against a Texans defense that has given up 52 points through two games, which ranks 20th in the NFL. Rookie QB Trevor Lawrence threw for 332 yards in Week 1 against the Texans, while Baker Mayfield threw for 213 yards in a Week 2 loss to the Browns. FOX Bet is offering a wager for Sam Darnold to throw for 250-plus yards and the Panthers to win at +100. Go ahead and lock this bet in. “I would hope I would inspire kids everywhere to know that you can do anything you put your mind to.”  — Simone Biles Download FOX Sports App: Also available on these devices: Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please unsubscribe. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click here to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900

A Billion-Dollar Moment for Sports NFTs

Dapper Labs raised $250M and Sorare raised $680M in a huge 24 hours for digital collectibles.

TODAY on SportTechie Live: Join us today at 12:30 p.m. ET for an interactive conversation with sports tech entrepreneurs, as they discuss the challenges they’ve overcome, how they're growing their businesses, and their plans for changing the industry. Register for today’s episode>>     Sports. Smarter. Today’s newsletter is powered by Fantasy soccer NFT company Sorare has raised a $680 million Series B funding round that values the Paris-based startup at $4.3 billion. With the new funding, Sorare will pursue partnerships with the Top-20 global soccer leagues, expand its NFT-based fantasy platform into other sports and open its first U.S. office in New York.    Japanese investment firm SoftBank led the round alongside contributions from Atomico, Bessemer Venture Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, Eurazeo and LionTree.   Sorare’s Ethereum blockchain-backed platform lets users buy, sell and trade digital cards of soccer players, while utilizing their cards to build fantasy lineups that compete against other users. More than $150 million worth of cards have been traded on Sorare since January through its 600,000 registered users.   More than 180 soccer organizations have licensing deals with Sorare, including top teams such as Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Juventus F.C., as well as leagues and unions such as the MLSPA, Dutch Eredivisie, Japan’s J-League and the national soccer governing bodies in France and Germany.     “We believe this is a huge opportunity to create the next sports entertainment giant, bringing Sorare to more [soccer] fans and organizations and to introduce the same proven model to other sports and sports fans worldwide,” Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare, said in a statement.    Sorare is not the first European digital collectibles company to raise funds this year while expanding into U.S. sports. In March, Malta-based Chiliz raised $50 million to produce its Socios fan tokens for U.S. teams and leagues after initially creating branded tokens for Europe’s top soccer teams. Dapper Labs Raises $250 Million, Strikes NFT Partnership With Spain’s LaLiga Dapper Labs, the creators of NBA Top Shot, announced a $250 million fundraising round as well as a partnership with La Liga to launch a new NFT marketplace for the Spanish soccer league.   Similar to Top Shot, Dapper’s La Liga NFTs will consist of video highlights representing in-game moments from players and clubs. The new marketplace will be built over Dapper’s Flow blockchain and include highlights that span the past 10 La Liga seasons. Expected to launch in June of 2022, the aim of the deal is to help Spanish soccer expand its popularity among international fans.   Dapper’s funding round was led by Coatue with participation from venture capital firm Bond and existing investors a16z, GV and Version One Venture. The company previously raised $305 million in March with investments from stars such as Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant. Last month, Dapper added WNBA player highlights to its NBA Top Shot platform.     Between funding rounds from Dapper Labs and Sorare, a combined $930 million has been invested into the sports NFT space this week. The massive capital commitment comes a week after New York Mets owner Steve Cohen led a $50 million investment into Recur, a company making NFTs for college athletics.    Roham Gharegozlo, the CEO Dapper Labs, will speak during Day 1 of SportTechie’s upcoming Sports Capital Symposium on Sept. 29.  Register now for the second annual Sports Capital Symposium conference! This year’s event will feature a theme dedicated to Investing in Women + Sports and will focus on: Women’s Sports Women-Owned Sports Companies Women at Sports Organizations Register Now Sports Injuries Can Possibly Be Predicted and Avoided Through DNA Testing Concussions, ACL tears and Achilles ruptures are all debilitating injuries that can derail athletic careers. Stress fractures and plantar fasciitis can linger and recur. These ailments often seem like bad luck, suffered by happenstance, but what if new research suggests that some athletes were born more susceptible to these injuries—and that maybe they can be prevented?   The Palo Alto-based startup AxGen, led by a respected former Stanford University geneticist, is pioneering peer-reviewed DNA tests that indicate key genomic markers of specific injury risk. AxGen, named as shorthand for “actionable genetics,” offers tests for 13 sports injuries and counting, as well as 15 biomarkers that can prompt users to take action through preventative exercises or nutrition.   “It’s scientifically rigorous, and it addresses the idea that all athletes are not created equal, and some of them are going to be at more risk for a knee injury at birth and more at risk for shoulder injury,” says Stuart Kim, a co-founder and the CEO of AxGen. “We could know that, and we could alert an educated team.”   Read full story >>> Riot Games Enters Mobile Esports With League of Legends Tournament Planned for Singapore League of Legends developer Riot Games will host the Wild Rift Horizon Cup in Singapore on Nov. 13, their first time organizing a mobile esports tournament. The event will be held through Nov. 21 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.    Earlier this year, Riot Games established eight regional leagues world-wide for Wild Rift, a mobile version of its League of Legends PC game that has emerged as the world’s most-popular esport competition. The Wild Rift Horizon Cup will feature the top 10 teams that pass their region’s qualifier competition.   “The Wild Rift Horizon Cup is the first of many steps we will take to show how committed we are to our mobile fans around the world,'' Leo Faria, Global Head of Wild Rift Esports, said in a statement. "We are excited to share more of what we’ve been preparing for the future of the sport later this year.”     Riot Games is owned by Chinese gaming conglomerate Tencent. WildRift’s mobile multiplayer gameplay has 10 players compete at a time, five on each team. Dodgers Install WaitTime Computer Vision to Monitor Fan Movement  The Los Angeles Dodgers have begun using WaitTime, an artificial intelligence software company, to better understand crowd dynamics and concourse congestion. Of particular interest is the flow of fans, as well as the attraction of  new ballpark features after the franchise completed a significant renovation of Dodger Stadium in June -- particularly of the centerfield plaza that architect Janet Marie Smith calls the “front door” of the ballpark.   WaitTime uses the Cisco Meraki network with machine vision cameras, Intel Xeon Scalable processors and its own patented A.I. algorithms to assess and analyze crowd location and elements of the fan experience. The Dodgers can combine this information with its own datasets to make objective determinations about which activations are working or not.   “We’re using this information to understand the impact of various points of interest, and this information will allow us to not only think about long-term revenue strategies but also understand how to better engage with fans and what is most impactful to them,” Ralph Esquibel, the Dodgers’ VP of information technology, said in a statement. A message from Oracle New research from Oracle shows that U.S. consumers are eager to return to stadiums—provided that certain changes are implemented.   Fans increasingly expect teams to provide an integrated 360° experience that makes it easy to enjoy game day their way—and they’re willing to pay extra for it. Get the Latest Information J.J. Redick Announces Retirement On His Own Podcast, Plans To Take GMAT J.J. Redick, a laser-eye shooting guard for 15 NBA seasons – not to mention the league’s podcast pioneer – announced his retirement Tuesday on (no surprise) his own show, “The Old Man and the Three.’’   “I would like to describe last season as a seven-month exercise in coming face-to-face with my own athletic mortality,’’ said Redick, the 2005 National Player of the Year at Duke. “And it was scary and confusing.   “I have some clarity now. And I know it’s time. It’s time for me to be a dad. It’s time for me to reflect, to pause, and it’s time for me to get ready for the next phase of my life.”   Redick, who is married with two young sons, was the first NBA player to produce and partake in an in-season podcast – only on non-gamedays, though – and, at various times during his career, has shown interest in sports technology and business.   “No. 1, I am signed up to take the GMAT later this year,’’ he said Tuesday.   Redick has previously delivered speeches to Stanford Business School classes and has invested, along with the Phoenix Suns’ Chris Paul, in the shot-tracking startup RSPCT, which attaches sensors to a backboard, along with high-res cameras, to evaluate a player’s shooting patterns and release.   He said Tuesday he will, at some point, undergo Achilles-related foot surgery before deciding on his next career move. His podcast, however, will carry on.   “So much of our stimuli is physical,’’ Redick said on Tuesday’s podcast, “[But]….I always talk about this: the best NBA players are also the smartest NBA players. So much of this next part of my life is where I can find intellectual stimulus….That’s exciting.’’ Join us today, September 22 at 12:30 p.m. ET for an interactive conversation with sports tech entrepreneurs about the challenges they've overcome, how they're growing their businesses, and their plans for changing the industry. Register Now Must-Reads ScreenRant: How Ted Lasso Turned 20 People Into a Stadium Crowd of 26,000   The New York Post: Peyton Manning Casually Drops Patriots Locker-Room Bugging Accusation   PlayNY: Fanatics Sportsbook CEO: ‘We Want To Create The Best Sportsbook’   The Action Network: How College Football Coaches Are Impacted by the Spread   Bloomberg: Justin Timberlake, Lizzo Back Rowing Startup Hydrow Ahead of SPAC Deal Today — SportTechie Live: Startups Roundtable Sept. 29 & 30 — Sports Capital Symposium Nov. 17 & 18 — PRO DAY Doubleheader: Venue Tech + Fan Engagement Get details on all of our events >>> Learn more about SportTechie AMPLIFY here. View Online | Partnerships | Contact Us   You are receiving this message as part of your email subscription to SportTechie. Update your information or change your email preferences  Unsubscribe   Was this email forwarded to you? 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