TOKYO — Save the date! On Monday, September 28, Tokyo 2020 will make a decision on the additional event(s) to be proposed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2020 Olympic Games. 

The final decision will be taken at the 129th IOC Session in Rio in August 2016.

Eight International Federations are hoping to join the Olympic Program of the 2020 Games: the World Baseball Softball Confederation, World Bowling, the World Karate Federation, the International Roller Sports Federation, the International Federation of Sport Climbing, the World Squash Federation, the International Surfing Association, and the International Wushu Federation.

Message from the World Baseball Softball Confederation
WBSC is hopeful that putting baseball and softball – Japan’s National sport – under the Tokyo 2020 umbrella could help further position the Olympic Games as the center of the sporting and cultural universe – and provide Tokyo 2020 organizers with another tool to shine the spotlight on the 2020 Games and on the host nation itself, optimizing fan-, youth- and overall engagement nationally and internationally.

With the existing baseball/softball venues throughout Japan, it could bring Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Movement dividends – particularly in engaging both genders and youth — with no associated construction costs and minimal operational costs – aligning with the Agenda 2020 vision.
Website: http://www.wbsc.co/

— Courtesy of Toyko 2020

DICE has announced that the changes made to Battlefield 5’s Time to Kill (TTK) values will soon be undone following negative fan feedback.

Announced by DICE on the Battlefield 5 Reddit, TTK will be reverting back to launch values starting tomorrow, December 18 at 4am PT. DICE made the changes so it would be easier for new players to jump in to BF5, though experienced players quickly made their grievances known.

At launch, many fans felt that TTK and Time to Death (TTD) was far too quick, though the recently implemented changes went in the opposite direction, causing many players to feel like enemies were “bullet sponges” and took far too long to kill. Many complained of overall balancing issues caused by the changes.

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On Friday, DICE announced “Core” playlists were coming alongside changes to how long it took to kill other players in the game. However, with TTK values being reverted, the “Conquest Core” playlist will be removed, and future core playlists that were planned will not be introduced.

“Our intent with the TTK changes was to see if we could evolve the Battlefield V experience and make it more enjoyable for new players, whilst also making sure the Battlefield vets have a choice with a more ‘core’ experience suiting their preferred play-style,” wrote BF5 community manager Dan Mitre. “Clearly we didn’t get it right. Veteran players didn’t ask for the change, but as game developers, we took it upon ourselves to make those changes based on extensive data and deliberation.”

Though some took issue with the change ever happening in the first place, many fans responding to the Reddit post were positive on the announced reversion, noting DICE’s responsiveness and willingness to listen to the community.

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User RandomFactor_ wrote: “Between the Infinity Blade in Fortnite and now this, i’m so thankful that game developers are getting better at differentiating between good and bad player feedback and keeping lines of communication open. This is what people wanted, and you’ve delivered. Thank you.”

DICE has also identified weapon imbalances and has recorded real-world data on how TTK impacts BF5, and will use that knowledge to improve the game going forward for all players, both new and veteran. Tomorrow’s update will be server-side, and won’t require a client download from players.

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For more on Battlefield 5, check out how players previously felt like they had been dying too quickly, and how the Overture update was delayed earlier this month.

Colin Stevens is a news writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association is proud to release the 2015 High School All-Region teams. Overall, 160 players from 103 different institutions comprised first and second team squads chosen from the East, North, South, South Central and West regions.

Immaculate Heart Academy of New Jersey (East), Keystone High School out of Ohio (North) and North Davidson (N.C.) High School (South), along with California’s Clovis and Buchanan High Schools (West) garnered the most representatives, with four apiece. All four of Keystone’s players garnered first-team accolades. Joining Immaculate Heart with three first teamers is Bridgewater-Raynham High School (Mass.), Deer Park High School (Texas) and Red Mountain High School (Ariz.).

Deer Park, The Woodlands High School (Texas) and Papillion-LaVista High School (Neb.) led the South Central region, respectively, with three overall honors apiece.

The All-Region teams are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the five high school regions. The NFCA High School All-America teams will be announced on June 25 via NFCA.org.

To view the complete 2015 NFCA High School All-Region Teams, please click this LINK.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – St. Mary’s Hannah Michel and Missouri-St. Louis’ Hannah Perryman were named the Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. The duo played key roles in a combined 10 wins over contests played February 8-14. It is Perryman’s third overall selection and the first in Michel’s young career.

Michel went on a tear for the 12th-ranked Rattlers, knocking in 15 runs, scoring 12 more and recording nine extra-base hits as St. Mary’s went 5-2 last week. The sophomore third baseman hit .625 (15-24) with five doubles, two triples, two home runs for a 1.250 slugging percentage.

“Definitely the hard work paid off,” Michel on the recognition. “January is time to go hard and prepare for the season. Going day by day, improving on the little things and coming up with hits that get me on base. It’s rewarding.”

After launching a grand slam against Our Lady of the Lake, Michel did most of her damage at the West Texas Invitational in Canyon, Texas. She doubled twice and recorded four RBI vs. Midwestern State and followed that with three consecutive three-hit games against 2015 NCAA participants- Cameron, 22nd-ranked and host Lady Buffs and Metro State. Against the latter Roadrunners, the Giddings, Texas native was a single away from the cycle with three RBI and three runs scored. She also scored twice three times and swiped two bags versus Cameron.

“As a coach I always look at the total team performance and do not focus on the performance of the individual, but we took note of the level of play Hannah performed at this week,” said head coach Donna Fields. “To be recognized as the NFCA Player of the Week is an exceptional honor.  Of the many great athletes that have come through this program, there are not too many that have had the privy of the award.  We are proud of what she has accomplished. She is such a dedicated and well-disciplined individual; her work ethic has brought her to this level of play.”

Perryman was lights out keying the seventh-ranked Tritons (10-0) to five of their six wins. In five starts last week, the senior from Streamwood, Ill. did not allow a run, surrendered just seven hits and struck out 64 in 33 innings of work. Perryman registered her 12th career no-hitter with 10-strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Southeastern Oklahoma at the 8-State Classic hosted by Arkansas-Monticello. The no-no moved her into a tie for fourth on the NCAA Division II career charts.

“This honor means so much to me,” Perryman said. “My team and I have worked incredibly hard this off season, so being recognized is a true honor. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this season has in store for us.” 

The lefty hurler twirled a pair of one-hitters, including a scintillating 18-strikeout performance against Northwestern Oklahoma. She also notched a two-hit blanking of Nebraska-Kearney, fanning 14 and bringing the NCAA’s, across all divisions, active strikeout leader’s total to 1,257, which is seventh all-time in Division II. For the week, she held opponents to a .069 batting average and struck out 10-plus in all five appearances.

“Hannah has had an amazing start to the season,” said head coach Brian Levin. “Going six straight starts without giving up a run is astonishing. She never ceases to amaze me, and I am really looking forward to what else she has in store for us.”

— Hannah Michel image courtesy of Antonio Morano / Hannah Perryman image courtesy of UMSL Media Relations

Player of the Week
Feb. 17 – Hannah Michel (St. Mary’s)
Feb. 10 – Darian Harris (Southern Arkansas)

Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 17 – Hannah Perryman (UMSL)
Feb. 10 – Kaylee Garner (Southern Arkansas)

Selected Top Performances
Alexis Kelsey of Northwest Missouri picked up MIAA/AstroTurf Hitter of the Week after clubbing four home runs, driving in 10, scoring eight runs, hitting .583 and slugging 1.667… GAC Pitcher of the Week, Southern Nazarene’s Katelyn Brown, tossed two complete-game shutouts, a no-hitter (5 IP, 6 K) vs. Southwest Baptist and a one-hitter (8 K), holding opponents to a .026 batting average…. West Texas A&M’s Brittany Cruz hit .643 (9-14), with three doubles, five extra base hits, 10 RBI and nine runs scored to garner Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week… Florida Tech’s Rachel Pence was 5-0 with a 0.65 ERA and 27 strikeouts and named Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Week… Newberry’s Christina Linton was named South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week after hitting .615 with eight hits, seven RBI, two home runs, a 1.154 slugging percentage and .667 OBP… Tori Bice of East Central garnered Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week honors with a 3-0 record, 0.93 ERA with 13 strikeouts… Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, Saint Leo’s Samantha Ohmie went 5-for-6 (.833) at the plate with four extra base hits, three RBI, three runs and a 2.000 slugging percentage… Harding’s Kimmy Hendricks launched two grand slams and recorded 10 RBI on her way to Great American Conference (GAC) Player of the Week honors… West Florida’s Rhiannon Sassman, the Gulf South Player of the Week, hit .529 with four doubles, two long ball, 11 RBI and six runs scored… Sarah Magill of Young Harris hit .583 and slugged 1.417 with a double and three home runs to take home Peach Belt Player of the Week accolades… Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Co-Pitcher of the Week, Saint Martin’s Loryn Williams recorded a 2-0 record with a save, allowed just one earned run and struck out 18…  Central Washington’s Kiana Wood earned GNAC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors after going 4-0 with a 0.66 ERA, two shutouts and 15 strikeouts… Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week Hayley Fields of Metro State hit .455 with four doubles, two triples, one homer, eight RBI and seven runs scored… Carly Lewis of Georgia College earned the Peach Belt Pitcher of the Week plaudit going 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work… SAC Pitcher of the Week, Augie Pena of Anderson struck out 31 in 20 innings of work to earn three wins and post a 0.70 ERA… Upper Iowa’s Brooke Redmond was selected Northern Sun Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with 1.40 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 15 innings… Central Washington’s Taylor Ferleman was named GNAC Player of the Week after batting .480 with 12 hits, two triples, a homer, seven RBI and six runs.

Avengers: Endgame’s first trailer is finally here, and comes with the tagline, “Part of the journey is the end.”

Picking up after the catastrophic events of Avengers: Infinity War, this newest story sees our heroes at their lowest point.

Those who survived Thanos’ snap, which now has an official name, are figuring out how to find their loved ones in a universe where 50% of all living things have vanished.

As for Thanos himself, we only get a glimpse of the Mad Titan and the Infinity Gauntlet, as well as his armor that he is no longer wearing, his mission completed.

In addition, this new trailer features Hawkeye and Ant-Man, who were both missing from Avengers: Infinity War.

Captain Marvel, who was teased during the end credits of Infinity War, did not make an appearance but her movie, which recently received a new trailer, will debut just a month before Avengers: Endgame on March 8, 2019.

Avengers: Endgame, originally scheduled for May 3, 2019, will now be released in theaters on April 26, 2019.

For more, be sure to check out our 5 theories on what will happen in this newest Avengers film, how we think Thanos’ snap victims could return, find out where to get every Marvel movie on Blu-ray and 4K to prepare, and you can read about how the Russo brothers confirmed that while the ending of Infinity War can be undone, it’ll come at a “high cost.”

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who will need some time to recover after this first amazing trailer. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.

OKLAHOMA CITY –  The Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced the game schedule for the World Cup of Softball XI, featuring eight of the Top 10 Women’s National Teams in the world, to be played July 4-10 at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex – OGE Energy Field – INTEGRIS Field. The World Cup of Softball will be part of a 60-game schedule that features the eighth-annual Men’s Border Battle Slow Pitch game and Slow Pitch Showdown.

Click here to view the entire game schedule for World Cup of Softball XI

With a record-12 countries slated to participate, the World Cup of Softball XI features No. 1 Japan, No. 2 USA, No. 3 Australia, No. 4 Canada, No. 6 China, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 8 New Zealand and No. 10 Czech Republic.  Also slated to compete are No. 11 Puerto Rico, No. 14 Mexico, No. 19 Venezuela, No. 23 Philippines and the USA Softball Women’s Elite Team. Rankings are calculated by the WBSC world ranking system, which tracks the performance of each country’s National Team over a three-year period.

The 2016 Women’s National Team and Elite Team rosters were named in January as 18 athletes have been selected to represent the Red, White and Blue on the Women’s National Team and an additional 16 have been named to the Women’s Elite Team.  For complete schedules and rosters for both the Women’s National Team and Women’s Elite Team, please click here.

All-session Gold Pass tickets, which are $175 for reserved seating, and general admission tickets, which are $60, can be purchased by phone at 800-654-8337or online at ASAUSASoftball.com.  Gold Pass all-session tickets include a USA Softball hat, World Cup XI program, a personalized name slide on the videoboard at OGE Energy Field, exclusive parking and advanced autograph sessions.  Fans that hold the Gold Pass all-session ticket will have open seating in the Gold Pass section (click here to view seating chart).  Single session Gold Pass and general admission tickets will go on sale in early June.

For complete coverage of World Cup XI including bios, rosters, live stats, streaming and results log on to www.ASAUSASoftball.com.  

— Courtesy of ASA/USA Softball