Long Beach, California has created a $5 million fund in order to dole out thousands of dollars in grants to gyms and other personal care businesses that are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Robert Garcia said at an Axios virtual event on Tuesday.
Why it matters: "It's critical that we support them. We don't want to lose this critical piece of our economy," Garcia said, adding that many gyms in the area are small businesses that have "been hardly hit by this pandemic."
Gyms that follow coronavirus mitigation strategies — like enforcing masks, social distancing, and prompt cleaning — should stay open when possible under local guidelines, Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona said at a virtual Axios event on Tuesday.
Where it stands: Several states have shuttered gyms as coronavirus cases rise, or introduced limitations on how many customers can be inside the facility at once, per a New York Times tracker.
Blue Wire, a sports podcast company, has raised $5 million in its series A round, founder Kevin Jones tell Axios.
Why it matters: The company, which focuses on long-form sports narrative podcasts and conversational podcasts, now hosts more than 140 podcasts with over 20 million downloads for the year. It has $1.5 million in 2020 revenue via sponsorship partnerships via brands like Chevy and Visa.
The Cleveland Indians will adopt a new name after meeting with Native American groups who say the team's moniker is racist, owner Paul Dolan told AP in an interview on Monday. “The name is no longer acceptable in our world," he added.
Driving the news: Washington, D.C.'s NFL team temporarily rebranded as the "Washington Football Team" after making a similar decision, but Dolan stressed that the Indians will not use an interim name.
Major League Baseball unveiled its restructured minor league system last week, with all 30 big league clubs extending invitations to four farm teams apiece.
How it works: Under the newly configured system, every franchise will have a Triple-A team, a Double-A team, a high-Class A team and a low-Class A team, along with a variety of developmental teams.
Younger siblings have a significantly higher chance of becoming elite athletes, according to a new book titled, "The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made."
What they're saying: "Playing with older siblings is better for skill acquisition because athletes learn at a faster rate when they fail regularly," co-author Tim Wigmore tells Axios. "Younger siblings can't use physical advantages so they need skills, tactics and resilience to compete."
The Cleveland Indians baseball team will remove the nickname they've used for 105 years, the New York Times first reported Sunday.
Why it matters: Native Americans have long called the moniker offensive. Cleveland announced in July the team was looking into changing its name. It began removing the Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms last year as it's deemed racist by many.
