Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Lunch and dinner inquiry

Hello,

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to make a five days reservation for both lunch and dinner at your restaurant for two batches of our Amateur Cricket Team from Northampton, the United Kingdom visiting your area on a training tour that also doubles as a trial
for new entrants. As part of the relaxation, we hope to consume a 3-course meal [Appetizer (Soup/Salad), Main course, and Dessert/pudding] following our daily training course in your area in the month of March,2023. We do not currently have
the means to provide our own catering, hence we are contacting your restaurant in regards to the good reviews/ratings, to see if you can serve us the requested meals. The two separate dates in the month of March for our team's Junior and
Senior Cricketers are as stated below:

First Batch (the senior team) booking/reservation dates will be as follows:

* Dates: 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st March (5 days)
* Time: 1:30 pm (lunch) and 7:30 pm (dinner)
* Number of guests: 18 (eighteen guests only)
* Reservation period: either lunch or dinner or for both as the case may be at your restaurant
* Our meal budget per person per meal is between €35 euros - €85 euros (without drinks)
* They can be seated on separate tables to ensure the Covid-19 social distance rule

Second Batch (the junior team) booking/reservation dates will be as follows:

* Dates: 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th March (5 days)
* Time: 1:30 pm (lunch) and 7:30 pm (dinner)
* Number of guests: 16 (sixteen guests only)
* Reservation period: either lunch or dinner or both as the case may be at your restaurant
* Our meal budget per person per meal is between €35 euros - €85 euros (without drinks)
* They can be seated on separate tables to ensure the Covid-19 social distance rule

Let me know if the above dates are available for both batches for either lunch or dinner or both as the case may be in your restaurant. If your restaurant does not serve lunch, kindly revert back to me with only the proposed dinner menu and
total cost. Any suggestion on the menu will be appreciated since it would be our first time coming to your restaurant. We have no special dietary, no allergy, non-smokers, and no accommodation in this budget. Plans for the location of our
accommodation will have proximity to your restaurant and will be properly taken care of by our tour guide who will give the details to you when all is concluded.

We are flexible with any good food or menu so let your restaurant's Chef go ahead and propose a nice menu suitable for athletes on those dates then get back to me. I hope this will be done without delay to enable us to forward your quota to
our financial department in charge of the trip to facilitate the approval process. Your cost estimate should include all taxes and service charges if applicable except drinks which will be paid for at your place by us. I request for any
discount attached to my reservation to be reflected in your quotation. If there are other options that might be of benefit, please feel free to contact me as soon as possible. Thank you for the anticipated prompt assistance and kindly
confirm receipt of this letter and implementation of my request. Do not hesitate to call or WhatsApp me on the number below during regular office hours for further clarification. I look forward to the event and am eagerly anticipating the
delicious meals and good relaxation time.

Sincerely yours,

--
Alexander Roban.

The County Ground,
Abington Ave,
Northampton NN1 4PR,
United Kingdom.

Email: robanalexander53@gmail.com
Tel: +44 7438 304419 (Whatsup Only)

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Rising travel, food costs straining college athletic budgets

Rising travel, food costs straining college athletic budgets

Rising travel, food costs straining college athletic budgets

College athletic programs are reacting to soaring inflation the same way as everyone else - they're looking for ways big and small to save money.

In the Power Five, home of college sports' biggest budgets and most considerable resources, schools are working with boosters and other partners to try to bridge the financial gap. Working down the line to smaller institutions, where budgets and resources are smaller, creativity is a must.

For schools of all sizes, travel and food are the most challenging issues.

Nebraska, with 24 sports programs and an athletic budget of $168 million this year, hopes to work with its beef and chicken vendors to find more cost-effective ways to order food for the training table. It's also lining up more nonprofit groups to work concession stands to reduce labor costs.

The school expects the cost of doing business to be about $3 million more than it would be if the U.S. inflation rate hadn't risen to more than 8%.

Arizona, which has a $101.6 million budget and 21 sports, projects costs could increase by $4 million, according to Derek van der Merwe, an assistant vice president and chief operating officer for administration and athletics at the Pac-12 school.

'œYou have to work real closely with all your teams to take a look at what changes you can make to absorb that cost within your operating budgets, or you have to look at other opportunities to increase revenues to offset those costs,' van der Merwe said. 'œThe post-pandemic economy and insecurity is around a lot of the budgets we have to manage and makes it challenging because we don't know what to anticipate.'

Those Power Five schools, though, have deep-pocketed boosters they can often rely on in times of need, an insurance policy for budgetary concerns.

At Mary Baldwin University, a private school with about 1,000 undergraduate students in Staunton, Virginia, it's a far different story. The school competes in Division III in the USA South Athletic Conference, and most of its members are in North Carolina, anywhere from 3½ to 6 hours away.

Besides the cost of travel, there are overnight stays and food expenses.

The Fighting Squirrels do not field a football team, having only started admitting men in 2017, but added baseball and men's basketball last year. The new programs began just as the athletic budget, cut 20% during the pandemic, was restored to its previous level before those additions, athletic director Tom Byrnes said.

'œSo we're doing things here on a shoestring,' he told The Associated Press. 'œAnd we're getting it done, you know, as best we can. But inflation is not helping us.'

The school is banking on its creativity and some local generosity.

Men's basketball, 8-13 in its inaugural season, will play exhibitions against two Division I programs, rather than a couple scrimmages that might be more helpful for player development, hoping to bring in $3,000-$4,000 for each to pay for the team's basketball shoes.

'œBaseball, softball and women's basketball teams all work in concession stands or as ushers at James Madison football games,' Byrnes said, traveling in a bus provided by a local company at cost. The school also is negotiating with a used car dealer to have it provide a car for coaches to use on recruiting trips for free, and has local restaurants that sometimes provide food at a discount.

'œSo those are the kind of things we have to do. We do nickel and dime stuff, too. The women's soccer team has a Kona ice truck at games, so stuff like that," Byrnes said.

While unlikely to have to resort to such measures, the biggest schools are not immune to belt-tightening wherever possible. Coaches' requests for equipment are scrutinized, and they are sometimes asked to give up something in return.

But they all still have to travel, and eat.

Nebraska expects to spend $9.2 million on athletic department travel this year, executive associate athletic director and CFO Doug Ewald said. That's a 17% increase, or $1.3 million. Arizona, meanwhile, expects its athletic travel costs to increase 20%-25% over last year, van der Merwe said.

Foresight helped Iowa State avoid some of the increases, senior associate athletic director Chris Jorgensen said, by locking in charter flight costs months or even years ago, while rival Iowa's football travel will increase appreciably.

Charter flights for the Hawkeyes will be 8.5% higher and charter bus costs are up 12%, associate athletic director and CFO Greg Davies told the AP.

The Nebraska training table will see food costs rise about 20% this year, from $3.2 million to $3.8 million. Nebraska athletes consume 2,200 pounds of beef each month, and Ewald said the athletic department hopes to work with vendors to find ways to get better deals for buying in greater bulk.

Arizona, like Nebraska, is trying to absorb the added costs due to inflation by tightening belts. One thing is not negotiable, van der Merwe said.

'œOur philosophy is that we make sure the student-athlete experience is the priority for everything we budget and plan for,' he said, 'œand everything around that is curtailed in order to make sure we maintain the integrity of that priority.'

The philosophy is the same at Randolph-Macon College, another Division III school in Virginia. Athletic director Jeff Burns credits the school's athletic success for having allowed it to dip into reserves to maintain that standard.

'œThere's really a spectrum across Division III. You're going to see a lot of different ways where the haves are going to be able to handle it and the have nots are probably going to be forced to make some changes,' Burns said.

After more than three decades in sports, it's not how Mary Baldwin's Byrnes imagined things. He took the job six months before the pandemic began.

'œIt's challenging," he said. "But you know what? It keeps every day interesting.'

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports



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The Arrington Settlement and Its Implications: What It Says and What It Doesn’t | Sports Litigation Alert

The Arrington Settlement and Its Implications: What It Says and What It Doesn't | Sports Litigation Alert

The Arrington Settlement and Its Implications: What It Says and What It Doesn't

By Dylan Henry, Kacie Kergides, and Kimberly L. Sachs, of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP
 
Recently, the NCAA and the plaintiffs in a concussion class action lawsuit reached a settlement that has major implications on how NCAA member schools structure their concussion management policies and how those policies are carried out in practice.
 
In 2011, Adrian Arrington, a former safety on the Eastern Illinois University football team, filed a class action lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging the NCAA negligently failed to ensure a safe environment for student-athletes. Arrington initially filed the suit on behalf of all former and current NCAA football players who suffered concussions or concussion-like symptoms while playing football at NCAA schools. The class was ultimately expanded to include "all persons who played an NCAA-sanctioned sport at an NCAA member school on or prior to July 15, 2016." The class claimed the NCAA was negligent in how it treated concussions and fraudulently concealed the long-term effects of concussions. The NCAA, however, denied all allegations of liability and wrongdoing. After multiple proposed settlement agreements, the parties ultimately reached a settlement (the "Settlement Agreement"), which benefits both former and current student-athletes and has implications for NCAA member schools and their concussion-related policies and procedures.
 
The Settlement
 
The parties first agreed on a proposed settlement in July 2014, but it wasn't until August 2019 that Judge John Lee in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the Agreement's terms.
 
Under the Settlement Agreement, the NCAA agreed to a Medical Monitoring Fund of $70 million, which will provide monetary resources for the screening and medical evaluations of class members. In addition, the NCAA committed $5 million to fund research regarding the prevention, treatment, and/or effects of concussions.
 
In addition to the monetary contributions, the Settlement Agreement requires the NCAA to implement reporting processes and educational requirements for its member schools. The NCAA must create (1) a reporting process through which its member schools will report diagnosed concussions in student-athletes and how those concussion cases resolve; and (2) a reporting mechanism through which anyone can report concerns about concussion management issues to the NCAA. The NCAA must also provide member schools with educational materials for their faculty regarding academic accommodations for student-athletes with concussions (i.e., "return-to-learn" materials and accommodations).
 
The Settlement Agreement also requires the NCAA to change its policies and procedures for concussion management and return-to-play. Specifically, member schools will now have to implement the following five return-to-play guidelines into their concussion policies:
 
Every student-athlete will undergo pre-season baseline testing for each sport in which they participate before practicing for or competing in that sport. 
 
Every student-athlete who has been diagnosed with a concussion will be prohibited from returning to play or participating in any practice or game on the same day on which the athlete sustained the concussion.
 
Every student-athlete diagnosed with a concussion by medical personnel must be cleared by a physician before being permitted to return to play in practice or competition.
 
NCAA member schools shall ensure that medical personnel with training in diagnosis, treatment, and management of concussion are present at all Contact Sports[3] games.
 
NCAA member schools shall ensure that medical personnel with training in the diagnosis, treatment and management of concussion are available at all Contact Sports practices.
 
 
The member schools will also have to provide NCAA-approved concussion education and training to student athletes, coaches, and athletic trainers before each season.
 
In accordance with the Settlement Agreement, member schools must certify within six months after the Effective Date, defined as November 18, 2019, that they have put in place a concussion management plan that meets the return-to-play requirements. Member schools who certify by May 18, 2020, will be released from certain legal claims that might otherwise be brought by members of the settlement class; although, it is not mandatory for member schools to do so. It is also important to note that certification does not release member schools from all liability as student-athletes who current, specific concussion-related injuries are still able to bring claims against the NCAA and member schools.
 
Implications of the Settlement and Unanswered Questions
 
While the five return-to-play guidelines outlined in the Settlement Agreement seem quite simple on the surface, they are susceptible to multiple interpretations. Though the NCAA released answers to Frequently Asked Questions in an attempt to provide some guidance to the member schools, the NCAA has not clarified several key provisions.
 
For example, the guideline regarding baseline testing is ambiguous. According to the language of the Settlement Agreement, one might interpret that provision to mean that all student-athletes need a baseline test for all sports in which they participate every year. That could be a heavy burden on athletic trainers; under this interpretation, athletic trainers would be required to provide baseline testing every year for every student athlete, and that could increase to twice a year, every year for those student-athletes that play two sports. Putting the heavy burden aside, some athletic trainers view this frequency of baseline testing as overkill and not necessary to receive an accurate medical reading. Furthermore, the NCAA's "Interassociation Consensus: Diagnosis and Management of Sport-Related Concussion Best Practices" and Concussion Safety Protocol Checklist suggests that all student-athletes should receive a one-time, pre-participation baseline test.[4] The Settlement Agreement and the NCAA's Checklist seem to conflict on the required frequency of baseline tests, which can be problematic for member schools trying to update their concussion management policies to comply with the Settlement Agreement. Member schools should recognize that compliance with the Settlement Agreement does not necessarily mean that they are compliant with the NCAA's Protocol Checklist.
 
Another area of concern is the undefined terms "present" and "available" in guidelines four and five, which require member schools to ensure medical personnel are present and available at all contact sports games and practices. Most member schools have a limited number of athletic trainers for their teams, so schools with smaller athletic departments may interpret "present" and "available" differently than schools with large athletic departments and multiple athletic trainers.
 
Further complicating this issue is that it is also unclear how the NCAA defines "practice," leaving member schools with unanswered questions. Does "practice" include captains-led practice? Weight-lifting sessions? Summer workouts? The NCAA did not provide any guidance on how it defines these terms, and thus the member schools are left with their own interpretations, for now.
 
The Arrington Settlement Agreement is just another example of how the standard of care for concussion management and prevention in sport is always evolving. These changes can come from a wide range of sources (medical, legal, association rules and regulations, statutes, best practices, etc.). Here, the evolution came from a legal settlement. The NCAA has slightly altered the standard of care (not in the clearest fashion), which impacts how member schools must conduct themselves. This has a butterfly effect on how non-NCAA collegiate programs should operate, and, in turn, how high school coaches and trainers, and so on, should run their programs. Or at least that is what a plaintiff's lawyer would argue.
 
In an area that is already a hotbed for litigation, the inclusion of another set of concussion protocols and standards, while intended to increase the athletes' safety, will also increase the number of legal claims against coaches, trainers, and universities. One can expect that future claims will involve allegations that a school failed to conduct baseline testing before each season each year or failed to have medical personnel "present" at all Contact Sports "games" or "available" at all Contact Sports "practices."
 
Ultimately, member schools should review and update their concussion management policies, not only to benefit from the Settlement Agreement release terms, but also to better protect the health and safety of their student-athletes, which in turn will hopefully reduce injury and prevent the inevitable lawsuit that would follow. It would also behoove any other program that is capable of making such changes to do so. But, these schools and programs must continue to monitor updates to the standard of care, from the NCAA and beyond, and continue to review all changes with legal counsel and risk managers.
 
[3] Contact Sports include, whether a men's or women's team, football, lacrosse, wrestling, ice hockey, field hockey, soccer, and basketball
 
[4] "Interassociation Consensus: Diagnosis and Management of Sport-Related Concussion Best Practices" p. 8 http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/SSI_ConcussionBestPractices_20170616.pdf; see also NCAA "Concussion Safety Protocol Checklist" https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ssi/concussion/2020_Concussion_Safety_Protocol_Checklist.pdf



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Ncaa vs Alston - concussion protocol lawsuit

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ssi/concussion/Feb2020SSI_ArringtonFAQ.pdf

Arrington v. NCAA: Lawsuit Challenges NCAA’s Concussion Policy – Barlow Garsek & Simon, LLP

Arrington v. NCAA: Lawsuit Challenges NCAA's Concussion Policy – Barlow Garsek & Simon, LLP

Arrington v. NCAA: Lawsuit Challenges NCAA's Concussion Policy

Adrian Arrington, a former football student-athlete at Eastern Illinois University, filed suit against the NCAA and NCAA Football (collectively "NCAA") challenging the NCAA's policies related to concussions and concussion-related maladies.  Arrington claims the NCAA "has failed its student-athletes—choosing instead to sacrifice them on an altar of money and profits.  The NCAA has engaged in a long established pattern of negligence and inaction with respect to concussions…all while profiting immensely from those same student-athletes." Specifically, Arrington points to the NCAA's failure to correct or address the tackling methods taught by coaches throughout college football that lead to head injuries and he further claims that the NCAA has failed to implement system-wide "return to play" guidelines for student-athletes who have sustained concussions.

According to Arrington, the NCAA has turned a "blind eye" to student-athletes being coached to use all portions of their helmet to "block, tackle, butt, spear, ram, and/or injure opposing players by hitting with their helmeted heads."   Arrington claims the NCAA has had knowledge of the damage caused by these practices and actually partially funded a University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ("UNC") study that concluded NCAA football players required an average of five to seven days after a concussion for their cognitive functioning to return to normal.  Indeed, another UNC study, also partially funded by the NCAA, found that NCAA football players who had a history of concussions are at an increased risk of sustaining additional future concussions.  As stated by Arrington, despite having knowledge of the risks exhibited by the UNC studies in 2003, the NCAA failed to implement legislation requiring its member schools to have a concussion management plan until 2010. 

Arrington has filed a class action lawsuit seeking to define a class as:

 All former NCAA football players who sustained a concussion(s) or suffered concussion-like symptoms while playing football at an NCAA school, and who have, since ending their NCAA careers, developed chronic headaches, chronic dizziness or dementia or Alzheimer's disease and/or other physical and mental problems as a result of the concussion(s) suffered while a player.

Arrington has set forth causes of action for negligence, fraudulent concealment, and medical monitoring.

For any questions, feel free to contact Christian Dennie at cdennie@bgsfirm.com.



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Thursday, November 3, 2022

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Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Fired LMU Women's Soccer Coach Alleges Fracture in Player Dedication - MyNewsLA.com

Fired LMU Women's Soccer Coach Alleges Fracture in Player Dedication - MyNewsLA.com

Fired LMU Women's Soccer Coach Alleges Fracture in Player Dedication

by Contributing Editor October 30, 2022

Loyola Marymount University's former women's soccer coach is suing the school for wrongful termination, alleging she encountered a split loyalty from players from the start and that a member of the athletics staff said he did not care about the success of the women's teams.

Jenny Bindon's Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit contains a host of other allegations, including breach of contract, retaliation, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Bindon seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

An LMU representative could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought Oct. 21.

Bindon was hired in December 2019 as the sixth head coach in program history. During her two seasons with LMU, she posted an overall record of 1-26-1. In the 2020-21 season — which was played during the spring semester due to the coronavirus pandemic — the Lions posted a 1-7-1 record.

As a player, Bindon represented the New Zealand national team for 10 years, collecting 77 caps, the most by a goalkeeper, men's or women's, in that nation's history. Prior to joining LMU, Bindon was an assistant coach with UCLA for three years.

Soon after she was hired, Bindon encountered resistance from students, parents and members of the LMU athletic department, the suit states.

"Despite Bindon's valiant and herculean attempt to motivate and inspire the students, her efforts were rebuffed," the suit states. "Her frank discussions as to the level of dedication needed to get back to the Sweet Sixteen were scoffed at."

Bindon's directives were ignored and even expressly rejected, according to the suit.

"Students who were directed to work out more, or differently, flatly refused to do so," making it clear they were on the team only to build their resumes, the suit states. Their alleged lack of dedication interfered with the progress of those who wanted to work hard and improve, according to the suit.

The allegedly undedicated students bragged to their other teammates that they had gotten rid of their last coach and would do the same with Bindon, according to the suit.

Athletics department management brushed aside Bindon's concerns and stated a concern only for the success of men's, but not women's teams, which disturbed the plaintiff because her contract was tied in part to wins, the suit states. She was placed on a 10-day leave after being accused of uttering the "N-word," a term she says she actually used in admonishing students to never say it, according to her suit.

Bindon returned to work on Oct. 8, 2021, and met with students, explaining how she sought mental health assistance and contacted a suicide prevention hotline, the suit states. An athletics department manager later told her that her psychological disclosures to her students caused them trauma and that she had committed misconduct, the suit states.

When Bindon asked a management member who had told him about her disclosures to the students, she was accused of retaliation and fired on Oct. 28, 2021, according to the suit.



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Fired LMU Women's Soccer Coach Alleges Fracture in Player Dedication - MyNewsLA.com

Fired LMU Women's Soccer Coach Alleges Fracture in Player Dedication - MyNewsLA.com

Fired LMU Women's Soccer Coach Alleges Fracture in Player Dedication

by Contributing Editor October 30, 2022

Loyola Marymount University's former women's soccer coach is suing the school for wrongful termination, alleging she encountered a split loyalty from players from the start and that a member of the athletics staff said he did not care about the success of the women's teams.

Jenny Bindon's Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit contains a host of other allegations, including breach of contract, retaliation, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Bindon seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

An LMU representative could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought Oct. 21.

Bindon was hired in December 2019 as the sixth head coach in program history. During her two seasons with LMU, she posted an overall record of 1-26-1. In the 2020-21 season — which was played during the spring semester due to the coronavirus pandemic — the Lions posted a 1-7-1 record.

As a player, Bindon represented the New Zealand national team for 10 years, collecting 77 caps, the most by a goalkeeper, men's or women's, in that nation's history. Prior to joining LMU, Bindon was an assistant coach with UCLA for three years.

Soon after she was hired, Bindon encountered resistance from students, parents and members of the LMU athletic department, the suit states.

"Despite Bindon's valiant and herculean attempt to motivate and inspire the students, her efforts were rebuffed," the suit states. "Her frank discussions as to the level of dedication needed to get back to the Sweet Sixteen were scoffed at."

Bindon's directives were ignored and even expressly rejected, according to the suit.

"Students who were directed to work out more, or differently, flatly refused to do so," making it clear they were on the team only to build their resumes, the suit states. Their alleged lack of dedication interfered with the progress of those who wanted to work hard and improve, according to the suit.

The allegedly undedicated students bragged to their other teammates that they had gotten rid of their last coach and would do the same with Bindon, according to the suit.

Athletics department management brushed aside Bindon's concerns and stated a concern only for the success of men's, but not women's teams, which disturbed the plaintiff because her contract was tied in part to wins, the suit states. She was placed on a 10-day leave after being accused of uttering the "N-word," a term she says she actually used in admonishing students to never say it, according to her suit.

Bindon returned to work on Oct. 8, 2021, and met with students, explaining how she sought mental health assistance and contacted a suicide prevention hotline, the suit states. An athletics department manager later told her that her psychological disclosures to her students caused them trauma and that she had committed misconduct, the suit states.

When Bindon asked a management member who had told him about her disclosures to the students, she was accused of retaliation and fired on Oct. 28, 2021, according to the suit.



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Kansas suspends Bill Self for 4 games in infractions case

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/34932400


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