A prestige Bellarine Peninsula acreage property with garaging for 14 cars should have big boy toy enthusiasts revved up.
There’s plenty of room to store jetskis, boats or even luxury vehicle collections at the lavish semirural entertainer, which brings together all the ingredients for a good life.
A swimming pool, spa, sauna room and deck framing tranquil views of surrounding farmland are key to the resort-style vibes at 1161-1169 Bellarine Highway, Wallington.
The property has been extensively landscaped, with irrigation throughout.
The view from the deck makes you feel like you’re living miles from anywhere.
The vendors have spared no expense on building the architectural four-bedroom house, just moments from Adventure Park and the Flying Brick Cider House.
But, two years after finishing their ‘forever home’, they’re eyeing their next project.
Their 1.74ha property is expected to fetch circa $4.5m.
Gartland, Geelong agent Greg Matheson is calling for expression of interest by November 25.
He said everything about the home is luxurious, from the internal fittings to the extensive landscaping with beautiful uplighting at night.
The planting design has been chosen to reduce noise via growth patterns.
Burnished concrete floors feature in the open-plan living zone.
Recycled Geelong bricks sourced from the waterfront make an appearance.
There’s lots of space to host friends and family.
“With that backdrop at the rear of the property overlooking the pool and entertaining deck there’s a feeling that you are on a much larger piece of land than what you are and that’s because as far as the eye can see it’s green pastures and farmland, breathtaking,” Mr Matheson said.
“But at the same time, you’re a stone’s throw to amenities in just about every direction, whether it’s the Surf Coast or Bellarine Peninsula wineries or Geelong, it’s such a pivotable location.”
An open-plan living zone with burnished concrete floors, raked ceilings and high-end kitchen is the centrepiece of the home.
It merges with a large north-facing deck featuring an outdoor kitchen and Vergola roof, the pool and sunken fire pit seating.
The main bedroom suite has its own electric heater.
The circular driveway adds to the sense of prestige.
Both the rumpus room in the children’s wing and the luxurious main bedroom suite also have direct deck access.
In addition to a triple garage attached to the main house, the second stand-alone shed providing three bays, three-phase power, a bathroom and laundry so you can wash up before coming inside.
“It has to be seen to believe just how much attention to detail is involved,” Mr Matheson said. “There isn’t anything that’s been missed, forgotten or misplaced, it’s very deliberate in its architectural design and functionality.”
A prestige Bellarine Peninsula acreage property with garaging for 14 cars should have big boy toy enthusiasts revved up.
There’s plenty of room to store jetskis, boats or even luxury vehicle collections at the lavish semirural entertainer, which brings together all the ingredients for a good life.
A swimming pool, spa, sauna room and deck framing tranquil views of surrounding farmland are key to the resort-style vibes at 1161-1169 Bellarine Highway, Wallington.
The property has been extensively landscaped, with irrigation throughout.
The view from the deck makes you feel like you’re living miles from anywhere.
The vendors have spared no expense on building the architectural four-bedroom house, just moments from Adventure Park and the Flying Brick Cider House.
But, two years after finishing their ‘forever home’, they’re eyeing their next project.
Their 1.74ha property is expected to fetch circa $4.5m.
Gartland, Geelong agent Greg Matheson is calling for expression of interest by November 25.
He said everything about the home is luxurious, from the internal fittings to the extensive landscaping with beautiful uplighting at night.
The planting design has been chosen to reduce noise via growth patterns.
Burnished concrete floors feature in the open-plan living zone.
Recycled Geelong bricks sourced from the waterfront make an appearance.
There’s lots of space to host friends and family.
“With that backdrop at the rear of the property overlooking the pool and entertaining deck there’s a feeling that you are on a much larger piece of land than what you are and that’s because as far as the eye can see it’s green pastures and farmland, breathtaking,” Mr Matheson said.
“But at the same time, you’re a stone’s throw to amenities in just about every direction, whether it’s the Surf Coast or Bellarine Peninsula wineries or Geelong, it’s such a pivotable location.”
An open-plan living zone with burnished concrete floors, raked ceilings and high-end kitchen is the centrepiece of the home.
It merges with a large north-facing deck featuring an outdoor kitchen and Vergola roof, the pool and sunken fire pit seating.
The main bedroom suite has its own electric heater.
The circular driveway adds to the sense of prestige.
Both the rumpus room in the children’s wing and the luxurious main bedroom suite also have direct deck access.
In addition to a triple garage attached to the main house, the second stand-alone shed providing three bays, three-phase power, a bathroom and laundry so you can wash up before coming inside.
“It has to be seen to believe just how much attention to detail is involved,” Mr Matheson said. “There isn’t anything that’s been missed, forgotten or misplaced, it’s very deliberate in its architectural design and functionality.”
But it’s likely that Netflix executives won’t care about the quality (or lack thereof) of the pugilism.
All that was ringing in their ears was the size of the audience (an impressive 65 million concurrent streams at peak), that the servers held up under the enormous demand (only just … at one stage they were creaking more than Tyson) and that every ad was sold.
Jake Paul throws a punch at Mike Tyson. Photo / Getty Images
Its success told senior executives at the world’s biggest movie and TV subscription service – and its Big Tech rivals like Amazon and Apple – that Netflix can be a major player in live sport.
Of the five established tech players circling live sports rights – Apple, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok and Netflix – until now it has been the latter that has been perceived to be dragging the chain.
But it’s Johnny-come-lately Netflix who is making the biggest moves.
For close to a decade, the subscription platform scoffed at the idea of buying sports rights.
While its phenomenally successful Drive to Survive Formula One series and Michael Jordan’s brilliant The Last Dance cemented its reputation as the master of the fast-emerging fly-on-the-wall doco genre, Netflix seemed indifferent to live sport.
Instead, it baffled us with weird and offbeat plays like its “Netflix Cup” golf tournament, a “crossover” event featuring F1 drivers and professional golfers, including Lando Norris and Rickie Fowler, and dropped it after only one year.
In hindsight, we can now see that Netflix was slowly but surely building livestreaming capability while also testing its audience’s appetite for personality-driven live sports.
And in May this year, the world’s biggest subscription-based streaming service suddenly shifted gears and jumped all-in to live sport with the first of three big plays – a live comedy roast of retiring NFL superstar Tom Brady.
NFL Xmas Day to come followed by wrestling and UFC
While the three-hour Brady show was cringeful and as painful to watch as Tyson-Paul, it’s likely that the Netflix bosses were only interested in two things … did people watch and did the servers hold up?
It was “yes” on both counts.
Netflix revealed the The Roast of Tom Brady was the 26th-most-watched show in the platform’s history, drawing more than 22 million viewers in the US alone.
Executives could sense a growing appetite for sport among its subscriber base.
Former NFL star Tom Brady whispers in the ear of comedian Jeff Ross during the Netflix show The Roast of Tom Brady.
Paul-Tyson was the next test, one made easier by being able to deal directly with the pair rather than a major sports organisation.
Part of the US$60 million ($102m) that the boxers reportedly earned was their participation in a build-up series called Countdown, which drew massive male audiences ahead of the fight.
It was another example of Netflix changing the sports content landscape. Produce a Drive to Survive-style series that then culminates in a major live event.
Crucially, the servers largely stood up to the capacity test last weekend and the blowback over the fight’s poor quality was manageable for Netflix because it did not charge subscribers extra (had it done so, fury levels would have been much higher).
By selling out its entire advertising inventory, Netflix also took a giant step towards entrenching a cheaper (or free) ad-supported tier as an option to its subscription service, a move it needs to make to secure its long-term future.
Netflix can now swing into its third and biggest sports play of this year – two headlining Christmas Day NFL matches – with confidence its streaming infrastructure will cope under intense demand.
The NFL (American National Football League) deal is a more conventional one. Netflix paid US$150m for the two games. At US$75m each, that sounds expensive but the production of an original mid-tier movie costs the streaming service about the same figure. And ad spots for Christmas Day – at US$5m a pop – are already sold out.
Netflix won’t charge a pay-per-view (PPV) fee for the Christmas Day NFL extravaganza and has added further popular appeal for viewers by securing Beyoncé as halftime entertainment in the Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens game.
In that sense, its approach is similar to Amazon, which is using high profile one-off sports encounters from the Champions League and English Premier League (EPL) football as part of its Prime programming to persuade users to retain their annual sub to the online shopping giant.
Netflix thinks you’re less likely to dump your subscription if you know that next month’s treats include some high profile sport as well as the new season of Bridgerton.
Already, Netflix has an industry-leading churn figure of only 2% and occasional monthly sporting treats will only aid subscriber retention, while offering big audiences for advertisers on any lower-tier offering.
But Netflix’s biggest sports play is still to come.
World Wrestling Entertainment and Dana White’s UFC, both now owned by the same company, are expected to make Netflix infinitely more powerful by doing deals where content from the two combat sport juggernauts features regularly on the platform.
That will raise the stakes substantially in sport’s battle of the streamers.
YouTube and its ‘we’re your friends’ sports strategy
Once upon a time, YouTube was considered the mortal enemy of sports bodies. Now it is the No 1 destination for online sports content.
Gone are the days when organisations like New Zealand Rugby and broadcasters Sky TV would comb the Google-owned platform for “illegal” content such as game highlights posted by fans.
Now no marketing executive from Barcelona FC to the Blues could hold down their job without an effective strategy for using the video-sharing platform.
How did this happen? And is it a sustainable strategy in the face of the other tech players?
The attitude of rights holders has shifted due to the sheer size and reach of YouTube’s global audience of 2.5 billion active monthly users. Sports teams and leagues (and some broadcasters) now see livestreaming and digital highlights on YouTube as just as vital as linear broadcasts.
There are several reasons why.
Firstly, people are lazy and don’t search for sports content online anymore. Instead, YouTube has become their default destination. Google long ago recognised this and created a dedicated business unit to attract rights-holders and help monetise and protect their content.
For smaller sports and competitions who can’t afford the cost of creating and marketing their own digital channels, this has been a godsend.
It’s cheaper than building your own platform and while Google takes a decent slice of the ad or subscription revenue, the trade-off is a massively increased viewing audience which grows in popularity and, ultimately, other commercial opportunities.
This is the lesson New Zealand Rugby learned the hard way and why it ran up the white flag and made YouTube the primary home of its specialised behind-the-scenes content, when it was originally planned solely for the national union’s new app, NZR+.
YouTube now holds deals with everybody from Sky Sports UK for Premier League content to the International Olympic Committee, UFC, NBA and Formula One, who all run partnership channels.
“Google is the largest search engine in the world and YouTube is the second-largest,” said YouTube’s head of sport, Rob Pilgrim.
“People expect highlights when they come to the site. People come to YouTube to search after major sporting events and there is a 97% chance you will find the moment on YouTube legitimately.
“The days where a highlights video might be posted 24 hours later are gone. Organisations are putting up highlights in minutes, not hours now.”
YouTube holds deals with everyone from Sky Sports UK for Premier League content to the Olympics and more. Pictured is goalscoring Nottingham Forest and All Whites striker Chris Wood. Photo / Getty Images
Increasingly, YouTube is adding subscriber channels driven by individual sporting stars and live coverage itself as a powerful means of seducing viewers into spending even more time on the platform.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s channel has 68 million viewers. Jake Paul’s has about 22 million. The NBA’s channel draws a similar number.
It’s why the organising body of the UK’s women’s professional football league threw out its strategy of creating an exclusive OTT (over-the-top terrestrial) platform to instead screen selected matches live on YouTube.
Those games are regularly drawing an audience that’s five times bigger now.
It’s a strategy markedly different to Apple, Amazon and Netflix but one that continues to strike paydirt and keep Google in the game.
Time’s ticking: Will Tiktok eat everyone’s lunch?
TikTok is the outlier keeping rival tech executives awake at night.
With a billion active monthly users (more than three times YouTube’s audience), the maverick Chinese app attracts one in eight people living on the planet.
And that’s causing the sports world to take notice. There’s now not an athlete of substance or sporting team or league of consequence not on TikTok.
TikTok says 57% of its users watch sports content on the app every week, which is why it’s making an aggressive push into sport, including live broadcasting rights.
With its emphasis on “co-creation”, TikTok believes it’s best placed among the BigTech players to secure younger fans, top athletes and progressive sports bodies.
An ability to partner with individual stars as well as leading teams and brands to showcase their personalities (think the recent Fast5 netball team pre-match dances) is TikTok’s secret sauce.
By also encouraging “creators” to further augment and share that content, it only amplifies the message and reaches more people.
To encourage “user activity”, TikTok spends millions on developing “content tools” making it easy for fans to add special effects, music and graphics to clips.
These sit in its newly-introduced “SportsTok” area within its app.
“SportsTok is powered by the community-driven nature of the platform,” says TikTok’s marketing spiel. “62% of TikTok users watch major sports events to be part of cultural conversations.”
TikTok is trying to eat the lunch of YouTube, which operates in a similar ecosystem but with longer-form clips and premium product often behind a paywall.
Its strategy draws existing sports fans by working with athletes, but also attracts passive viewers, by partnering with sports-adjacent creators and communities, and new viewers attracted by relatable content.
No other tech platform can match this.
It’s why Hyundai used TikTok exclusively to launch its new electric car in collaboration with the NFL, which drew 2.3 billion video views.
TikTok’s latest big sporting experiment launched this month.
It has partnered with David Beckham’s Inter Miami Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise and its star player Lionel Messi to provide exclusive player-focused content during key playoff matches this month.
The “Player Spotlight: Messi” taps into Messi’s immense global fanbase, taking viewers behind the scenes before, during and after matches and is a play by the MLS to capture younger viewers.
Despite short-form content being the platform’s lifeblood, TikTok has also been buying selected live sports rights and its global head of sports partnerships Rollo Goldstaub confirmed placing itself in a nexus of both types of content is the app’s sweet spot.
“We think official rights are brilliant and they do really well on TikTok, but it’s about all of the different behind-the-scenes stuff, the characters of the athletes involved in the sports, the diets, how the training facilities work, the chef making the meals. It’s all of that really interesting rich information that can perform so well,” Goldstaub said.
“Sports is a key vertical for the business. It’s a top-five category.”
Next week: In the final part of this Sports Insider feature on sport’s big tech players, we reveal how Sky TV New Zealand can ward off its cashed-up international rivals and remain a dominant player in Kiwi sport.
Jeff McTainsh:Grant Nisbett and Tony Johnson get to rest their tonsils as Sky’s rookie commentator makes his debut as a television test match caller when the All Blacks face Italy this weekend.
Chris Wood: The new sheriff of Nottingham Forest can’t stop scoring. Five goals in two games for the All Whites while on international duty continued his hot streak. So does the EPL star now rate ahead of Wynton Rufer as our greatest striker?
This lofty Penn State football defense has one box yet to check this season.
Something that could make life a lot easier when it goes on the road Saturday against a rested, prepared and plucky opponent, the Minnesota Golden Gophers (3:30 p.m., CBS).
This Nittany Lion defense, led by new coordinator Tom Allen, has been increasingly effective in most every facet the past month. It’s up to No. 4 nationally in total yards allowed (only 272.6 yards per game). It’s No. 5 in stopping the run. It’s No. 6 in yielding points.
Penn State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) just hasn’t been very good at taking the ball away from its opponent.
The Lions have forced only 12 turnovers in 10 games − middle of the pack among the nation’s 133 teams. The lone standout has been safety Jaylen Reed (three interceptions).
Meanwhile, Minnesota (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten), for all of its hot and cold play, has been remarkably consistent and efficient at taking the ball away on defense (20 forced turnovers) and protecting it on offense (eight turnovers). The Gophers have already intercepted 16 passes.
It’s an intriguing factor that could tilt a game the Lions have no business losing. They are a 12-point favorite. They are more talented, deeper and productive than Minnesota in most every major factor.
Turnovers could be the one thing that keep the Gophers in the game at home.
Penn State football: How to avoid a Minnesota upset
Coach James Franklin broke down what is otherwise-elite defense needs to improve in this regard:
“The first thing is shots on goal, what we call it. Making sure the second (defender on a play) is stripping and punching at the football. A few years ago, we were causing a decent amount of fumbles but not recovering them. So making sure we’re doing both at a high level.
“Then I think we’re doing a pretty good job of PBUs and contested catches, (but) we’ve got to come with a few of those. There’s been a couple that are 50-50 balls, and the way the rules are in college football, the tie goes to the offense. We’ve got to find a way to win a few more of those …
“The next step is not just the confidence of breaking the ball up but actually going after the ball.”
Senior Day set:Penn State football: Kickoff, TV details set for Senior Day vs. Maryland
The key on Saturday, then, will not be just halting the running of Minnesota’s Darius Taylor (5 yards per carry) but pressuring, disrupting and making life more difficult than usual for quarterback Max Brosmer. Force him to rush things. Pressure him into mistakes.
Create a couple of turnovers.
Doing that could trigger another landslide Penn State victory.
Likewise, allowing the Gophers − the best turnover-ratio team in the Big Ten − to take advantage could keep them in the game, brew an upset − and put them in peril of missing the College Football Playoff.
It’s the most important opportunity yet, in a sense, for this improving top-five Penn State team. To conquer one thing it just hasn’t quite yet.
Bodani’s prediction: Penn State 27, Minnesota 13
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
BIG RAPIDS – Revenge is sweet it’s said, and the Whitehall football team relished the taste Nov. 8 when the Vikings upset Big Rapids, 17-7 on the Cardinals’ field to win the Division 4 district title and move on to this week’s regional championship.
The Cardinals (9-2) dealt the Vikings a heartbreaking 28-27 loss in last year’s district final, but couldn’t anything going against the Vikings in this one, ending their nine-game winning streak.
Whitehall held the Cardinals to just 185 yards total offense, including just 74 yards rushing in establishing complete control of the game, and the time of possession.
Meanwhile, the Vikings displayed a balanced offensive attack, totaling an impressive 287 yards, 139 rushing and 142 passing in smashing the Cardinals.
“It was a lot of fun. It was pretty special,” Viking coach Tony Sigmon said. “There were some untimely penalties on us, and they were all effort-based penalties like holding and stuff like that. Just kind of at the wrong time.
“I felt like we were really behind the sticks for really pretty much the whole first half, and then we had a couple of balls that were on the ground.
“We lost one fumble as we were getting ready to go into the red zone. It seemed like any time we had momentum in the first half something just kind of stalled it, whether it was a ball on the ground or an untimely penalty.
“Truthfully, road games are tough, but road playoff games are even tougher.”
Despite some first half foibles, the Vikings kept the Cardinals offense under wraps by forcing some fumbles as well, and getting some key stops at crucial times.
Judd Musk gave the Vikings a slim 3-0 lead at the half with a 28-yard field goal after a fumble deep in Big Rapids territory cost them an earlier chance to score.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the Vikings would strike two minutes into the fourth to extend their lead to 10-0 when quarterback Camden Thompson pitched a 28-yard scoring strike to Hunter Osborne and Musk kicked the extra point.
Osborne also scored on an 11-yard run with just 3:23 left and Musk again booted the extra point to make it 17-0.
Big Rapids finally cracked the scoring column with 2:11 to play.
“The defense was fantastic all night long, and I think that starts in a couple areas,” Sigmon said. “Number one, all the credit goes to our kids because they have stepped up in a big way, in a lot of different places.
“A lot of places on the defensive line, the linebacking corps and the secondary this year. We’ve been beat up a lot this year, and it seems we’ve had to sub a person in that maybe wasn’t on the original starting lineup from what we projected Week One.
“Our team has done a wonderful job, and that showed on defense (against Big Rapids). And then a lot of credit has to go our assistant coaches. They put together a heck of a game plan, and they were able to teach it at high level, and really put our kids in a great position to be successful. There’s a lot of finger prints on that game.”
Gavin Craner had 79 yards rushing on 19 carries to lead the Vikings, Nathan Betz contributed 36 on seven carries and Thompson added 23 on 14 runs.
Thompson, who was a nearly perfect 5-of-6 passing in the first half, hit on both of his throws in the second half to end the night completing 7-of-8 for 142 yards and one score.
Osborne caught three passes for 84 yards and a TD, while Corde Anderson had two receptions for 38.
Anderson was in on nine tackles to lead the Vikings defense, and had one sack. Craner finished with seven stops, and Jack Ambrose five.
Whitehall will be looking for more revenge this week when the Vikings (8-3) host Grand Rapids South Christian (7-4) in the regional finals.
The Sailors defeated top-ranked Hudsonville Unity Christian, 35-28 in their district title game. They lost to Harper Woods, 33-27, in last year’s state final.
Sri Lanka’s so-called National Olympic Committee (NOC) with just one medal in 75 years has been allowed to outgrow nearly everyone in the country and turn into a movement that even the country’s sitting Parliament could do nothing other than debate allegations of corruption, human smuggling and other malpractices.
It reached a point where the NOC were also wary of arresting the situation that it had to fall on the shoulders of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to step in and call for the suspension of its secretary Maxwell de Silva after a previous order by the Ethics Committee.
Last December Parliamentarian Chaminda Mayadunne branded the NOC the most corrupt in the country based on an Audit Report of 2022 and there was complete media silence from its head Suresh Subramanium as the bandwagon kept rolling and De Silva continued amid numerous media reports calling for investigations before the IOC that provides the funding stepped in.
In his speech in Parliament, Mayadunne accused the NOC of taking custody of international funding meant for former Olympic silver medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe and depriving another Olympian sprinter Yupun Abeykoon of opportunities to move forward.
For Sri Lankan Olympic officials it was more of a case of serving themselves than serving the needs of the sportsman and women. They perform like total dictators and are excellent at attending ceremonial functions.
Former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, the bravest and boldest of them all, could be kicking his heels that he was sacked when he was just one shot away from a clean-up of corruption in sport.
More than two years after Ranasinghe was sacked by a pompous Head of State in Ranil Wickremasinghe who in turn was shown the door and ousted in a popular people’s vote, sport has ended up in a worse situation with cricket administrators continuing to feather their nests, rugby played in a courthouse and so-called Olympic officials some of whom are not worth a grain of salt continue to hold sway and the country pre-occupied.
But the biggest fear among sports followers in the country is who will be the new Sports Minister and will he or she be able to rid the country of a rotten sports set up where corrupt and shady administrators cling on to technical clauses in their Constitutions that were created when sport was amateurish and followed by handful of people unlike today when seven out of 10 or more are passionate followers.
Unlike in other areas, what many don’t see is that some of the biggest rip-offs are taking place behind closed doors by the keepers of sports in the country. Today sport is either a stepping stone to climb the social ladder and get things done that would not be possible in other fields, a goldmine for plundering.
The so-called National Olympic Committee needs to be completely purged and purified of some of its officials who are allowed to bask in prominence with the country having won just one medal in 75 years.
While the few independent cricket scribes in the country have nothing more to add to the present scenario other than spare a thought for the passionate lay followers of sports in the country, comes another alarming episode where schoolboy boxers were made to kill sleep, fight in the ring like professionals at the 105-year old Stubbs Shield meet last week and go back with sunrise just a few hours away.
The Stubbs Shield meet of all was never created to enter into a pickle with other sports in what has now become School Games, Provincial Games, National Games and Sports Festivals that have become platforms catering merely to quantity and not quality
Why won’t the fabric of sports breakdown when it is left to fester in the hands of custodians who look for escape routes and there are plenty of ways to hoodwink.
The sport of rugby that was in the hands of gentlemen who had no vested interests when it was played for the enjoyment of both player and spectator has now become a platform for egoistic keepers who have been caught on the blind side while attempting to shift the goal posts for self gain and left behind while the international fraternity has moved forward.
To cling on to position and defy an order to step down is the biggest conflict at a time a new People’s Government has launched out on a clean-up drive.
NEW YORK — As the International Rescue Committee copes with dramatic increases in displaced people in recent years, the refugee aid organization has looked for efficiencies wherever it can — including using artificial intelligence.
Since 2015, the IRC has invested in Signpost — a portfolio of mobile apps and social media channels that answer questions in different languages for people in dangerous situations. The Signpost project, which includes many other organizations, has reached 18 million people so far, but IRC wants to significantly increase its reach by using AI tools.
Conflict, climate emergencies and economic hardship have driven up demand for humanitarian assistance, with more than 117 million people forcibly displaced in 2024, according to the United Nations refugee agency. As humanitarian organizations encounter more people in need, they are also facing enormous funding shortfalls. The turn to artificial intelligence technologies is in part driven by this massive gap between needs and resources.
To meet its goal of reaching half of displaced people within three years, the IRC is building a network of AI chatbots that can increase the capacity of their humanitarian officers and the local organizations that directly serve people through Signpost. For now, the project operates in El Salvador, Kenya, Greece and Italy and responds in 11 languages. It draws on a combination of large language models from some of the biggest technology companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.
The chatbot response system also uses customer service software from Zendesk and receives other support from Google and Cisco Systems.
Beyond developing these tools, the IRC wants to extend this infrastructure to other nonprofit humanitarian organizations at no cost. They hope to create shared technology resources that less technically focused organizations could use without having to negotiate directly with tech companies or manage the risks of deployment.
“We’re trying to really be clear about where the legitimate concerns are but lean into the optimism of the opportunities and not also allow the populations we serve to be left behind in solutions that have the potential to scale in a way that human to human or other technology can’t,” said Jeannie Annan, International Rescue Committee’s Chief Research and Innovation Officer.
The responses and information that Signpost chatbots deliver are vetted by local organizations to be up to date and sensitive to the precarious circumstances people could be in. An example query that IRC shared is of a woman from El Salvador traveling through Mexico to the United States with her son who is looking for shelter and for services for her child. The bot provides a list of providers in the area where she is.
More complex or sensitive queries are escalated for humans to respond.
The most important potential downside of these tools would be that they don’t work. For example, what if the situation on the ground changes and the chatbot doesn’t know? It could provide information that’s not just wrong, but dangerous.
A second issue is that these tools can amass a valuable honeypot of data about vulnerable people that hostile actors could target. What if a hacker succeeds in accessing data with personal information or if that data is accidentally shared with an oppressive government?
IRC said it’s agreed with the tech providers that none of their AI models will be trained on the data that the IRC, the local organizations or the people they are serving are generating. They’ve also worked to anonymize the data, including removing personal information and location.
As part of the Signpost.AI project, IRC is also testing tools like a digital automated tutor and maps that can integrate many different types of data to help prepare for and respond to crises.
Cathy Petrozzino, who works for the not-for-profit research and development company MITRE, said AI tools do have high potential, but also high risks. To use these tools responsibly, she said, organizations should ask themselves, does the technology work? Is it fair? Are data and privacy protected?
She also emphasized that organizations need to convene a range of people to help govern and design the initiative — not just technical experts, but people with deep knowledge of the context, legal experts, and representatives from the groups that will use the tools.
“There are many good models sitting in the AI graveyard,” she said, “because they weren’t worked out in conjunction and collaboration with the user community.”
For any system that has potentially life-changing impacts, Petrozzino said, groups should bring in outside experts to independently assess their methodologies. Designers of AI tools need to consider the other systems it will interact with, she said, and they need to plan to monitor the model over time.
Consulting with displaced people or others that humanitarian organizations serve may increase the time and effort needed to design these tools, but not having their input raises many safety and ethical problems, said Helen McElhinney, executive director of CDAC Network. It can also unlock local knowledge.
People receiving services from humanitarian organizations should be told if an AI model will analyze any information they hand over, she said, even if the intention is to help the organization respond better. That requires meaningful and informed consent, she said. They should also know if an AI model is making life-changing decisions about resource allocation and where accountability for those decisions lies, she said.
Degan Ali, CEO of Adeso, a nonprofit in Somalia and Kenya, has long been an advocate for changing the power dynamics in international development to give more money and control to local organizations. She asked how IRC and others pursuing these technologies would overcome access issues, pointing to the week-long power outages caused by Hurricane Helene in the U.S. Chatbots won’t help when there’s no device, internet or electricity, she said.
Ali also warned that few local organizations have the capacity to attend big humanitarian conferences where the ethics of AI are debated. Few have staff both senior enough and knowledgeable enough to really engage with these discussions, she said, though they understand the potential power and impact these technologies may have.
“We must be extraordinarily careful not to replicate power imbalances and biases through technology,” Ali said. “The most complex questions are always going to require local, contextual and lived experience to answer in a meaningful way.”
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Ohio State moved up to No. 2 behind Oregon in the AP Top 25 on Sunday, and the Big Ten captured four of the top five spots with Penn State moving to No. 4 and Indiana to No. 5. According to the AP, it’s the first time the Big Ten has had four of the top five.
It’s the first time the Big Ten has held the top two spots in the rankings since 2015, and it’s Indiana’s highest ranking since 1967. Room was created by a pair of top-five losses, as Georgia dropped from second to No. 11 after losing to Ole Miss and Miami fell from fourth to No. 12 after losing at Georgia Tech. It’s Georgia’s lowest spot in the poll since 2020, ending a 60-week streak of top-10 appearances.
The top-ranked Ducks are a unanimous No. 1 for the second straight week, making them the first team to be unanimous No. 1 for multiple weeks of a regular season since Georgia did it eight times in 2021.
The Big Ten holds the top two spots for the first time since Ohio State and Michigan State were atop the poll on Sept. 27, 2015. That was the second of consecutive weeks with the Buckeyes and Spartans at Nos. 1 and 2.
Georgia dropping gives Ohio State the longest streak of top-10 appearances at 55, though that could actually be considered an 80-week streak. The Buckeyes were not eligible to be in the poll early in the 2020 pandemic-altered season while the Big Ten was not playing. Georgia dropped to as low as No. 13 in 2020 and spent most of the second half of that season outside the top 10 before finishing seventh. Georgia had not been ranked lower than sixth in each of the past three seasons and started 2024 as preseason No. 1 for the second consecutive year.
The only non-Big Ten team in the top five is No. 3 Texas. Tennessee is up a spot to No. 6, and No. 7 BYU and No. 8 Notre Dame each moved up two places.
No. 4 Penn State is becoming one of the most polarizing teams in the country because of its rankings in both the AP and coaches poll and by the College Football Playoff selection committee, especially for those who are stumping for unbeaten Indiana and BYU.
Is that fair?
The argument goes that Penn State is getting a helmet bump as a big-brand school over less traditional powers, especially Big Ten conference-mate Indiana. It’s a fair take: Penn State has no victories against teams in the rankings and a seven-point loss at home to Ohio State.
Indiana has taken a lot of flak for its less-than-formidable schedule while romping through its opponents with nothing but double-digit victories until Saturday against Michigan. The Hoosiers’ schedule strength is still lagging behind the rest of the highly ranked teams.
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The better case might be BYU, which stayed unbeaten in dramatic fashion against Utah and has a couple of victories against ranked teams in Big 12 rival No. 20 Kansas State and No. 14 SMU, the first-place team in the ACC.
You can make a fair case that either or both the Hoosiers and Cougars should be ahead of Penn State — and maybe even Texas and/or Tennessee.
But allow me to play devil’s advocate: If the difference between Penn State, Indiana and BYU is one of these teams played Ohio State and the other two did not, is it really that egregious to have the Nittany Lions ranked highest? Penn State is not the only team impacted by this, but there is a tendency to put all teams into two buckets: ranked teams and bad teams, basically lumping everybody outside the Top 25 in the same grouping. It’s a poor evaluation. There are 134 FBS schools and another 129 more in FCS and each has a value.
It’s also not just about who you played, but how you played, and while Indiana has gotten a lot of attention for running roughshod over its opponents, Penn State has six victories of at least 14 points, too, after Saturday’s 35-6 thumping of Washington.
This is not so much making a case for Penn State as it is for a more thoughtful approach than everybody stinks. — Ralph Russo, national college football writer
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In and out
After a second consecutive loss, this time at home to Virginia, Pitt is out of the rankings for the first time in six weeks. The Panthers started the season 7-0 but didn’t quite have the staying power of the turnarounds at Indiana and BYU. Iowa State faced a similar fate, going from unbeaten and ranked to out of the poll after consecutive losses. The Cyclones lost to Kansas on Saturday.
Vanderbilt also slipped out of the Top 25 again after losing to SEC rival South Carolina, which is making its season debut at No. 23. The Gamecocks (6-3) are ranked for the first time since 2022 and have one of the country’s most what-could-have-been seasons. Losses to Alabama and LSU by a combined five points, along with a blowout loss to Ole Miss, kept the Gamecocks out of SEC championship and playoff contention. The LSU game was especially painful because of a blindside block penalty that wiped out a pick six.
No. 24 Missouri (7-2) returned to the rankings after the Tigers stayed in the “Playoff hunt,” according to coach Eli Drinkwitz. The SEC has nine teams ranked this week, one short of the record of 10 it set early in the 2015 season.
No. 25 Tulane (8-2) is ranked for the first time this season, joining No. 13 Boise State and No. 16 Army as teams from Group of 5 conferences in the rankings in the pursuit of an automatic Playoff bid.
How Matt voted
• I’ve been lower than most voters on Ole Miss all season, but suddenly the Rebels’ resume looks a lot better. The loss to Kentucky still hurts and LSU is getting worse, but the Rebels dominated Georgia 28-10 for their most lopsided win against an AP top-10 team since 1969. Throw in the increased value of their 24-point win against South Carolina and the fact that they lead the FBS in yards per play margin, and the Rebels finally feel like they’ve earned their top-10 billing. I didn’t hesitate to jump them to No. 9 on my ballot — actually a spot ahead of where they are in the poll.
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• Am I too high on Indiana? Possibly, but who would have thought we’d be parsing a Hoosiers win over Michigan for being too unimpressive? No, the Hoosiers haven’t played a ranked team yet, but they’re 10-0 and they dominated each of their first nine opponents. I have them at No. 3, ahead of one-loss teams like Texas (no ranked wins), Tennessee (lost to Arkansas) and Penn State (no ranked wins), and they’ve been more impressive from week to week than fellow surprise unbeaten BYU. Ultimately, the margin feels very tight from No. 1 to No. 15 — perhaps the tightest since I became a voter in 2017 — and thus I have no problem rewarding the teams that just keep winning … and being swift to penalize a loss, like dropping Miami to 13th after it fell at Georgia Tech.
• Only 30 teams received votes this week, and Tulane moved into the rankings at No. 25. The Green Wave were my runner-up for the final spot, as I opted for Arizona State, which is a surprising — and quiet — 7-2 but will have a chance to prove itself the next two weeks against Kansas State and BYU. — Matt Brown, college sports managing editor and AP Top 25 voter
How Week 12 will impact the rankings
There are two ranked matchups next Saturday, both in the SEC:
• No. 6 Tennessee at No. 11 Georgia: The Vols have a chance to do the unthinkable and all but eliminate Georgia from the 12-team Playoff. But they haven’t stayed within single digits or scored more than 21 points against the Bulldogs since 2016.
• No. 24 Missouri at No. 23 South Carolina. Nine of 16 SEC teams are ranked, though the loser here is likely to fall out.
The top four will all by heavy favorites on the road — No. 1 Oregon at Wisconsin, No. 2 Ohio State at Northwestern, No. 3 Texas at Arkansas and No. 4 Penn State at Purdue — while No. 5 Indiana is off before its showdown with the Buckeyes.
In the semifinals, both Sheridan and Big Horn will rematch a team that they each faced nearly 2 months ago.
Sheridan: The Broncs defeated Natrona County on the road in middle September 29-7, in a game which neither team scored in the 2nd half.
Since then, the opposition has had time to rebuild and has put together what is now the #1 defense in 4A and #3 defense in all of Wyoming 11-man football.
Sheridan Head Coach Jeff Mowry says he’s noticed what NC has done differently, and the Broncs are going to have to think fast, because the Mustangs can and will switch strategies as the game goes on.
“They were predominantly a 4-man front with a 1-high safety in the first time we played them and then moved into a 3-man front 2-high safety in the 2nd half and then we’ve seen quite a bit of that in the 2nd half of the season. They’re mixing in between the 3-man front and the 4-man front and our offense has really got to pay attention to that. We have some things that we think we can attack in the 3-man front and then some things that we can attack in the 4-man front, but our team has to be able to identify that. We’ve got to be able to see it on the fly, and we’ve got to be able to make adjustments in the play. We think we have some things, but there’s only one way to find out, and we’ll get out there and I think the thing we’ve got to do is we got to get the ball in our play-makers hands and try to get them in a little bit of space, and if we can get them in space in a 1-on-1 situation, our guys to a good job of making tacklers miss and running through tacklers.”
Kickoff in Sheridan on Saturday is scheduled for 1pm.
As big as the history is between these 2 teams, the home team has won every time in the post-season, not counting when they’ve played each other in the state championship game at Laramie (6 times at Sheridan, 6 times at Natrona County).
Big Horn: Big Horn and Lovell will meet in the 2A semi-finals on Friday at BH.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm.
The Rams won on the road in Bulldog country 2 months ago, but a lot has changed between then and now.
Lovell is led by quarterback Davin Crosby who averages nearly 226 passing yards per game, which is tops in 2A, and 3rd in all of Wyoming 11-man football.
Big Horn Head Coach Kirk McLaughlin says he’s well aware of the passing threat, and the Rams defense can’t put 100% of their focus on just the opposing QB.
“They got a good scheme and they got great athletes. Their quarterback, the Crosby kid, really good football player. Smart, but he’s got a good offensive line to protect him, and then he’s got just athletes out there he can throw it to and they do some good things, but you can’t overlook them from the run game perspective either. They’ve got threats there. They may not be the top rushing team in the state, but they are good enough running the ball that they keep you honest.”
This is the 3rd year in a row that these 2 teams have played each other in both the regular and postseason.
The introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities has transformed the landscape of college sports, offering student-athletes the chance to profit from their personal brands. While the spotlight often shines on male athletes in revenue-generating sports like football and basketball, female college athletes are emerging as significant beneficiaries of NIL deals, breaking barriers and reshaping the endorsement world.
The Rise of NIL for Female Athletes
Since NIL regulations came into effect in July 2021, female athletes have quickly capitalized on the new opportunities. With a growing focus on social media presence and personal branding, many female student-athletes have established themselves as powerful influencers. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become important tools for female athletes to engage with fans and attract endorsement deals.
According to a report by Opendorse, female athletes, especially those participating in sports like gymnastics, volleyball, and basketball, have seen considerable success in leveraging their social media platforms to sign lucrative deals. This shift highlights the increasing market value of women’s sports and the growing influence of female athletes.
Key Factors Driving NIL Success for Female Athletes
Several factors contribute to the rising prominence of female athletes in the NIL space:
1. Strong Social Media Presence
Female athletes often excel in building large, engaged followings on social media, where they share workout routines, behind-the-scenes glimpses of their lives, and advocacy for causes they care about. This authenticity resonates with audiences and makes them attractive to brands looking for genuine influencers.
Take Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU, as an example. With millions of followers across her social media platforms, Dunne has secured partnerships with major brands, making her one of the top-earning female athletes in the NIL landscape. Her social media influence allows her to reach a diverse audience, making her a valuable asset for companies.
2. Representation and Marketability
NIL deals are helping to bridge the gender gap in sports endorsements. Female athletes are being recognized for their marketability and ability to connect with a broad demographic, including young girls and women who look up to them as role models. Brands are increasingly aware of the value of representation and are investing in female athletes to appeal to these audiences.
For instance, basketball star Paige Bueckers from UConn signed significant deals with companies like Gatorade and StockX, further emphasizing the marketability of female athletes in mainstream sports.
The Impact of NIL on Women’s Sports
The ripple effects of NIL deals are being felt throughout women’s sports. Increased visibility and financial support can lead to greater investment in female athletic programs, more opportunities for athletes, and enhanced awareness of women’s sports overall. As brands partner with female athletes, they contribute to the broader movement for gender equality in sports.
A standout example is Angel Reese, the LSU basketball star who has leveraged her athletic prowess and strong social media presence to land major NIL partnerships. Reese’s success underscores the growing marketability of women’s sports and highlights how NIL opportunities can elevate female athletes both on and off the court.
Addressing Challenges and Unequal Access
Despite the success stories, there are still challenges. Female athletes, particularly those in less popular sports, may face barriers to accessing the same level of opportunities as their male counterparts. Additionally, disparities in media coverage can impact the visibility of female athletes, making it harder for some to attract endorsement deals.
However, initiatives aimed at promoting women’s sports, such as increased media exposure and brand campaigns dedicated to empowering female athletes, are helping to level the playing field.
High-Profile NIL Deals and Their Significance
The rise of high-profile NIL deals among female athletes is reshaping the perception of women’s sports. Gymnasts, basketball players, and even athletes in emerging sports are demonstrating that female athletes can be just as marketable, if not more so, than their male peers. These deals not only provide financial rewards but also empower female athletes to be trailblazers for future generations.
A Look to the Future
The future looks bright for female athletes in the NIL era. As more brands recognize the value of partnering with women in sports, the endorsement opportunities will continue to expand. Female athletes have already proven their ability to inspire and engage audiences, and their influence is set to grow even more.
Embracing a New Era in College Sports
The advent of NIL has undoubtedly transformed college sports, but perhaps the most exciting development is the empowerment of female athletes. By breaking barriers and earning significant endorsement deals, they are paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive future in sports marketing. As we look ahead, the stories of these trailblazing women will continue to inspire and redefine what’s possible in the world of athletics.
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