Throughout the pandemic, sports have often been at the forefront of America's response. That remains true as 2022 approaches — though health experts are split on how leagues are handling Omicron's spread.
Driving the news: The NFL responded to a recent surge in cases by limiting, rather than expanding, testing protocols. Moving forward, fully vaccinated players will only be tested if they show symptoms.
Ferris State (Mich.) completed a perfect season Saturday (14-0), winning its first-ever D-II football championship behind conference player of the year Jared Bernhard.
Driving the news: The triple-option QB, a fifth-year senior and graduate transfer, rushed for 349 yards and 8 TD in his final two games alone.
Athletes Unlimited — a network of women's sports leagues that launched in 2020 with softball and has since added volleyball, lacrosse and basketball — just upped the ante on player empowerment.
Driving the news: Volleyball star Cassidy Lichtman is joining the Athletes Unlimited board of directors, Axios has learned. This makes her the first active athlete to serve on a pro sports league's board.
We've had laser tag studios, indoor golf and even indoor skydiving, and now a ping-pong pro wants to bring his favorite sport to a corner near you.
What's happening: A team of entrepreneurs, including a table tennis phenom from the Philippines, has started up Pingpod, which operates two indoor studios in New York City (with more coming soon, including one in Philadelphia).
People can play ping-pong on demand 24/7 at its studios, and book tables online.
"We call it an autonomous concept: There are no employees working here onsite, so you make a reservation, you show up, you play, you walk out, and we have a great security system to make sure everyone is following protocol and keeping the place safe," David Silberman, one of the business partners, told NY1.
Another partner is Ernesto Ebuen, a six-time Philippine national table tennis champion.
Details: Not only can players find partners online through the "Pingpod community," they can also play against a paddle-wielding robot.
"If everyone in New York has a place to play within 20 blocks of them, I think that a lot more people will play a lot more regularly," NY1 quotes Silberman as saying.
My thought bubble: With pickleball now a national phenomenon, could ping-pong be next?
MLB players in their age-29 season or younger made a huge impact in 2021, generating 63% of league-wide wins above replacement.
Why it matters: They also made just 38% of the salary — a discrepancy that illustrates what, exactly, the players' union is fighting for as the MLB lockout heads toward the New Year with no end in sight.
The National Hockey League announced it's briefly postponing all NHL games from Wednesday in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Omicron variant spreads across North America.
Why it matters: Monday night's announcement of the postponement until Dec. 27 means the NHL is the first major pro sports league in North America to pause its season due to the coronavirus surge.
