Erica Hunzinger

DENVER (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks ripped out the grass at Chase Field ahead of the 2019 season, replacing it with synthetic grass. It was a business decision, but it also ended up being a water-conservation measure.

Male athletes are leading the way six months after the NCAA cleared the way for college athletes to earn money on their celebrity. They lead in total name, image and likeness compensation and have more NIL deals than women, according to third-party data from July 1 through Dec.

A figure sprints toward the camera along a walkway at an apartment complex, first in real time, then in slow motion before going back to real time. The woman is dressed in a tracksuit, she’s fast and the spoken word-song playing over the video says “it’s me against me.”

Alexa Puccini was just a few days into her freshman year at Iowa, working out with a couple other members of the women’s swimming and diving team. It was August 2020 and she was finally on campus after committing as a junior in high school.

Arkansas did something rare during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons: It watched its baseball and softball teams reach the NCAA tournament. The similarities end there. For all the talk of gender parity at NCAA championship events, a closer look at one school’s participation shows how much less was spent on the Razorbacks’ softball team — a difference not uncommon between men’s and women’s programs in college athletics.

After the first year of college sports’ name, image and likeness era, football and men’s basketball still claim the throne for the number of deals and average compensation, and social media remains the most popular way to get that NIL money.

School’s starting up. That means new textbooks, new clothes — and maybe a few new name, image and likeness deals for college and high school athletes eager to earn some money. Whether it’s social media posts, in-person appearances, hosting sports camps (or even fishing tournaments) , the ability to…

Mississippi’s largest public corruption case, in which tens of millions of dollars earmarked for needy families was misspent, involves a number of sports figures with ties to the state — including NFL royalty Brett Favre and a famous former pro wrestler.

Sports leagues and teams often use Pride nights to raise the visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people — as well as sell them tickets — and the NHL has been a leader. They can include special jerseys designed by LGBTQ+ artists, performances, information tables, even drag performances.