Saying goodbye to a friend and mentor, Adam Jacobs

Today, I want to say a final goodbye to a friend and mentor, Adam Jacobs. Adam was the Editor-in-Chief of TheFinalSprint.com and CEO of the TFS Media Network. Just a few days ago, I received word from his mother that Adam passed away on May 22, 2009.

For those of you who don’t know him, Adam was the mastermind behind an athletics blog network that consisted of his own running blog, TheFinalSprint.com, a women’s health Web site, HerActiveLife.com, a men’s health Web site called HesFit.com, and an outdoor Web site called TrailFit.com.

I met Adam during my junior year of college (2006). I was looking for an internship experience on CareerBuilder.com and saw an ad for a writer on TheFinalSprint.com. I applied for the job and later that day received a phone call from Adam offering me a spot as a featured writer. That phone conversation lasted for over an hour. Adam certainly didn’t hold back – he wanted to know all about me, why I loved sports and what my career goals were.

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Her Sports Rounds… The Best of Women’s Sports

Below is my roundup – hope you enjoy!

Lauren at Feministe discusses the beauty and power displayed in the image of female bodybuilders – an image that “isn’t that of a delicate orchid.”

Jane from Pretty Tough gives a great recap of what’s happening in the women’s figure skating industry. I know I’ve said this before, but I think Jane probably has the best coverage of women’s sports out there.

Diane from Women Who Serve talks about “who’s hot and who’s not” for women’s tennis in ’09. This is a very interesting read, and a great blog – I’m so glad Diane decided to start this blog – a life-long fan of women’s tennis… what a great way to express her passion.

Rob from the Athletic Women blog discusses the importance of strength training for female athletes.

Apryl Delancey from Women Like Sports discusses how Lisa Guerrero from Inside Edition and TV Guide has decided to become a sports blogger!  I hope she takes the lead in covering women’s sports!!!

Ted and Sara at the Women’s Hoops Blog give great recaps of what’s happening in college hoops – check out their post from November 23 – what great coverage!

Lyndsey from Girls Dig Sports (B5 Media) says that Alicia Sacramone, from the Olympics gymnastics team, is considering a reality show with Lou Reda Productions.

Erica Ortiz discusses what she’s thankful for at Horsepower & Heels.

Keri Mikulski heads back to Texas for a book signing at The Ronald McDonald Tournament which benefits the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.

Our Bodies Our Blog linked to me this week – blogger Christine took a liking to a YouTube video I posted this week about five year old basketball phenom Milan Simone Tuttle.

Sara from Rock Climber Girl is attempting to bring together the rock climbing community by to making a directory of climbing-related Twitter-ers.  I think Twitter is awesome – I’d love to see a community of female athletes raising influence on Twitter.

Stanford FBC gives us the back story on how a musician (Bud Anderson) and a graphic artist ( Sarah Boruta) are the new videographers for the Stanford women’s team.These two seem to be responsible for Stanford’s viral videos and possibly a music video for the team.

Adam Jacobs at The Final Sprint discusses corruption at the top of the track and field industry. He came out with Part III and Part IV of his Dysfunction Run Amuck series. I highly recommend you read them – very, very interesting.

Her Sports Rounds: The Best of Women’s Sports

Below is my weekly rounds of what’s being discussed in the blogosphere of women’s sports:

16-year-old girl (with a mean knuckleball) is playing professional Japanese baseball. Check it out at Girls Dig Sports (b5 media). Also cross-posted at Girls Can’t What! and Pretty Tough. (I will likely be blogging about this later, too).

Sue Favor surveys foreign players on US college teams – covered at the Women’s Hoops blog.

Mara Yamauchi, a British long distance runner who holds the record for the second fastest time in a marathon amongst British women, is discussed at Right Fielders.

Jennifer discusses her frustration with playing on mixed-gender rec teams on From a Left Wing. (I have to say – I have to agree with her points).

Women Who Serve posted a link to a 2009 guide for the Women’s Tennis Association.

Keri Mikulski discussed her recent trip to Texas to meet professional softball players, including USA Softball gold and silver medalist and the best shortstop in the world, Natasha Watley.

Pat Griffin discussed Jeff Sheng’s Fearless Campus Tour, a traveling photo exhibit of GLBT high school and collegiate athletes, on her LGBT Sports blog.

Over at Sports, Media and Society, Marie Hardin discussed a new book about women’s basketball by by Marie Hardin, titled, “Why She Plays” . The book features interviews with top figures in women’s basketball — including Val Ackerman, Tamika Catchings, Donna Lopiano, and Diana Taurasi.

At the Stanford Women’s Basketball blog, Judy Richter discussed how Stanford’s forward Jillian Harmon is looking to lead the team this year.

At The Final Sprint, editor Adam Jacobs featured post-run interview videos with elite runners Paula Radcliffe and Kara Goucher.

Apryl Delancey from Women Like Sports, featured a video from the Seattle Majestics, an IWFL team in her area.

Hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to send your links over to me at bciplayedsports@gmail.com to be considered for inclusion the next rounds.

Her Sports Rounds: The best of women’s sports

Each week, I will be featuring Her Sports Rounds, a blog round-up of the best postings on women’s sports.

From stories of the best athletes to funny YouTube videos and Presidential nominees’ comments on Title IX, the women’s sports blogosphere brought a lot of great information to the table this week!

Sheila Weaver over at She Loves Sports reports on Europe’s sports woman of the year, Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva.

At the Athletic Women Blog, Rob Mars posts a video of female athletes (namely Vicki Unus) in the circus from the 1960′s. Totally cool!

Over at C and R’s Stanford Women’s Basketball Blog, there are some funny YouTube videos that made me laugh – and wish I were somewhere near Stanford to see their games. My favorite is the Media Day video, found here.

Over at The Final Sprint, U.S. middle distance runner Sara Hall blogs about how she is re-inspired and motivated to start a new season.

Over at the Title IX blog, Kris discusses Senator McCain’s comment on Title IX and his concern for popular athletic programs that have been cut due to the need for equal funding for male and female athletic programs. Kris says,

“I have yet to see (though would be happy to) an athletic department that is equally funding its men’s and women’s programs.”

At Pretty Tough, Jane Schonberger praises Sports Illustrated for Faces in the Crowd, which covers females and males equally (shocker – because this publication usually doesn’t). Jane says,

“In addition to featuring athletes in sports such as soccer, volleyball and cross country, the magazine highlights girls who are participating in less traditional pursuits.”

Over at Women Like Sports, in her “Tales from the Inbox” post, Apryl Delancey discusses Lyndsey D’Arcangelo‘s new book, The Trouble with Emily Dickinson, and the Women’s Sports Foundation’s V is for Victory video campaign.

At the Women’s Hoops blog, Steve posts about Northwestern’s new coach Joe McKeown. Steve says, “seems to me he’s a good fit for the place.”

Over at the Women’s Sports blog, they discuss how Lorena Ochoa was featured in the Mexican version of British gossip mag Hello!. They say,

“It gives  lie to the yammerers who keep insisting she’s not that popular in the U.S. because she’s ‘unattractive,’ while at the same time emphasizes stereotypical class privilege and femininity at the expense of being real.  Ah, the magazine industry.”

- If I missed a great blog post, please be sure to add it to the comments below!

Check out The Final Sprint this month for great podcasts on womens track & field

The Final Sprint, a site dedicated to news and information on track and field as well as and healthy, active lifestyles has a theme this month for its podcasts… women.

I’d like to congratulate The Final Sprint’s CEO/President Adam Jacobs on a job well done in covering women’s track and field. I used to write for Adam, and as long as I’ve known him, he’s always been an advocate for female athletes and a true fan of the sport of track and field.

I highly encourage you to check out the TFS podcasts… they’re great! So far, they’ve interviewed Steeplechaser Lindsey Anderson and Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards. Keep checking The Final Sprint to see when new podcasts are posted.

Note: These posts are sponsored by Secretsport.com, a who has deemed women’s track and field important enough to invest in. I cannot thank Secret enough for their support of great sports information.