LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Japan remains ranked No. 1 in the world, as the World Baseball Softball Confederation revealed the updated 2016 standings in the Official WBSC Women’s Softball World Rankings, following a reformatting of the rankings methodology to weigh additional events.

View World Rankings

Four continents (Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania) are represented within the Top 10, while all five global continents are within the Top 25.

Japan held on to the top spot, following a second-place finish at the 2016 Women’s Softball World Championship earlier this year in Surrey, Canada, which boosted the nation’s total ranking points to 3,798.

Winning the gold medal at this year’s Women’s Softball World Championship was not enough for the USA to move up in the rankings, as the U.S. keeps its No. 2 world rank — just 36 points behind Japan.

Canada has risen to a historical high at No. 3 in the world, with 3,042 points, continuing on their momentum of winning the bronze medal at the WBSC flagship Women’s Softball World Championship.

Australia, slipped one position to No. 4, following a 10th place finish in Surrey, while New Zealand jumps up three spots to round out the Top 5 with 2,616 points.

China remains at No. 6 with 2,262 points. No. 7 Puerto Rico enters the Top 10 for the first time, only 66 points behind China. Their bronze medal finish at the Jr. Women’s World Championship helped push them to their highest position to date.

Netherlands remains the highest ranked European nation at the No. 8 post with 1,978 points. Trailing 12 points behind Netherlands, Chinese Taipei drops four spots to No. 9. Mexico elevates their position four spots to round out to the Top 10 with 1,784 points.

Brazil made the biggest jump, advancing seven spots to No. 11 (1,604 points). The top-ranked nation in Africa is No. 23 Botswana with 348 points.

Sixteen nations are also making their first debut in the Softball World Rankings: Philippines, Austria, Greece, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, France, Korea, Uganda, Serbia, Ireland, Switzerland, Kenya, Singapore, India, and Israel. This follows a historic ten nations playing in their first women’s world championship this year in Surrey, Canada.

NEW METHODOLOGY

The WBSC Softball World Rankings reflect a four-year cycle with points generated from recent competitions including the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship (max 1,150 points), and U-19 Women’s Softball World Championship (max 920 points).

The qualifiers for the softball world championships, multi-sport and continental games and championships, and all WBSC sanctioned events involving Softball National Teams will now be granted world points beginning in 2017.

The web-based version and methodology of the WBSC Softball World Rankings can be found at www.wbsc.org/rankings.

— Courtesy of the World Baseball Softball Confederation 

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly video game talk show. This week we’re discussing open-world games, recent PS4 recommendations, Darkest Dungeon 2, and more. Watch the video above or download the podcast below.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma City head softball coach Phil McSpadden was named the 2016 NAIA Softball National Coach of the Year for the ninth overall time and first since 2007, announced by the NAIA national office. This accomplishment comes on the heels of the Stars winning the 2016 NAIA Softball World Series title June 2 with a 5-0 victory over Saint Xavier (Ill.).

The nine NAIA Coach of the Year plaques for McSpadden is the most in NAIA history and correlates with the NAIA-record nine national championship rings.
McSpadden completed his 29th year and stands with 1,545 all-time softball victories, which ranks No. 1 on the all-time college coaching list against four-year schools at any level (NAIA, NCAA). He officially set the all-time coaching wins record during the middle of the 2015 season.

In 2016, McSpadden’s club went 67-3, won the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season title and finished with the most wins in the NAIA. The 67 wins marked the fifth time in McSpadden’s career the program reached 60-plus victories and was two shy of tying the all-time NAIA single-season record of 69 set during the 1999 campaign.

McSpadden mentored six athletes on the 2016 NAIA All-America First Team, the most of any institution this season. Under his tutelage, the Stars ranked first in the NAIA statistically in total hits (749), runs scored (568), RBIs (491) and pitching ERA (0.860). Individually, pitcher Georgia Wall (2016 NAIA World Series MVP) was No. 1 nationally in ERA (0.470) and total earns runs allowed (13). She was joined on the national leaderboard by NAIA doubles-champion Kyndra Holasek (30) and NAIA runs-queen Kali Pugh (84).

McSpadden is a member of three prestigious Hall of Fames, which include the NAIA, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and Oklahoma City University Athletics.

Prior to coming to Oklahoma City in 1988, McSpadden coached at Ponca City and Dewey High Schools in Oklahoma, compiling an impressive 127-40 re¬cord in five years while leading teams at both schools to state tournaments. While at Dewey, his teams won the school’s first three crowns in any sport.

— Courtesy of Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Communications & Sports Information

The dates you can own the Aquaman movie on Blu-ray and digital have been revealed and it turns out there’s a little Shazam! bonus included.

You’ll be able to grab the digital copy of Aquaman on March 5 and if you’re after a physical copy, these versions will be out three weeks later on March 26. The editions will be available in 4K UHD combo packs, Blu-ray combo packs, and a DVD special edition.

All copies of Aquaman are going to include a three-minute preview of the upcoming DC superhero movie Shazam! However, it seems we’ll have to wait until March to see exactly what that entails.

As with most home releases, Aquaman will include a set of special features so fans can get a deeper look behind the scenes. These include looks into the world of Aquaman, some of the training required, creating the sea creatures, scene study breakdowns and other features.

Aquaman grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Thanks to its success, Warner Bros. doesn’t feel the need to focus on a shared DC universe.

Despite this, the upcoming Shazam film still fits into the DC Extended Universe. Shazam star Zachary Levi is pretty pleased about the whole thing, so much so he’s glad Marvel killed off his MCU character Fandral so he could take on the role.

Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Shoppers panicked as shots rang through Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, prompting a lockdown and then an evacuation.

“The moment the shots were fired, people panicked, ran and kids were crying as a wall of screaming people made their way for the exits from every direction,” witness Lily Jang told HuffPost Canada.

The mall was “semi busy” when she heard two shots “right by me,” said Jang in a Facebook message.

Jang, who was shopping with her brother, niece and nephew, was right near an exit and able to leave quickly.

‘Thankfully, no one was hit in this’

Police said there was an “altercation” between two groups of men, with at least three people on each side, before the gun was fired.

No injuries were reported, said Toronto police, who are looking for two male suspects in their 20s who fled on foot. The first suspect is described as black and was wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans, while the other is of mixed race and “skinny.”

UPDATE – Sept. 4, 2018: Toronto police arrested and charged Zion Sankar-Beharry, 20, as one of the suspects in the shooting. Sankar-Beharry faces eight charges including two counts of attempted murder.

The weapon involved was a black handgun, police said.

“Thankfully, no one was hit in this,” Supt. Rob Johnson told reporters at a press conference.

Social media posts showed mall workers and shoppers under lockdown, and alarms ringing through the facility.

Toronto’s mayor said he was relieved no one was injured in the mall shooting.

“Whether it is Yorkdale Mall or anywhere else in Toronto, people should not have to worry about gun violence breaking out,” John Tory said in a statement. “There are too many guns available to criminals in the city and I am determined to end that with the help of our police and our government partners.”

The mall was closed for the remainder of Thursday for the police investigation, but the centre tweeted that it was “secure.” Anyone who was evacuated from the mall and left personal belongings was asked to contact security at Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

The mall is Canada’s fifth-biggest when it comes to retail space, and opened in 1964. It is home to high-end stores including Gucci, Chanel and Holt Renfrew.

With files from Alisha Sawhney and The Canadian Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Each month, the NFCA will highlight one of its corporate sponsors, allowing an inside look at those who support the NFCA and the sport of softball. For our August spotlight, we feature Beth Reed, National Sales Director for Traveling Teams.

What does your company do?

Traveling Teams is a leading provider of cost-free travel accommodation services for youth sports teams and event directors. We fully partner with event holders, hotels, CVBs, and sports commissions to streamline and improve the room booking process. We continue to invest in developing technologies and systems that allow us to customize and deliver the highest level of service and value to our partners. Fifteen years of industry experience gives us access to a high volume of rooms and the ability to negotiate exceptional rates with hotels throughout the country. As Traveling Teams evolves, we always keep exceptional service at the forefront of our vision and model. 

NFCA member benefits?

Our partnership with the NFCA provides a platform that allows us to connect with and relate to the travel ball community we serve, building valuable long-term partnerships. 

What inspired your company to partner with the NFCA?

Fastpitch softball has become and continues to evolve as a sport that offers an increasingly high level and broadening spectrum of opportunity for young women. The leadership and educational forum provided by the NFCA strongly supports this evolution. Traveling Teams is thus, inspired and honored to have the opportunity to partner with and support the NFCA.

——————–

“From the moment I met Beth and Carlo, I was immediately drawn to their passion and enthusiasm for softball. Behind quality companies you find quality people. Traveling Teams puts customers first and provides excellent services for the softball community. Traveling Teams is a company on the rise, which mirrors the continued growth in the sport. The NFCA is proud to welcome Traveling Teams as an NFCA Official Sponsor.”

— Carol Bruggeman, NFCA Executive Director 

Update: New reports have once again confirmed Gunn’s involvement in the next Suicide Squad movie, with THR reporting he will direct the next film featuring the DC team following confirmation he would write it late last year.

However, THR reports Gunn’s new Suicide Squad movie will not be a direct sequel but in fact a relaunch of the property, with new characters and a mostly new cast.

Original story follows:

A Warner Bros. representative has confirmed to IGN that James Gunn will write what will presumably be Suicide Squad 2. “It is confirmed that James Gunn is writing the next installment of the Suicide Squad franchise,” the representative told IGN. Original story follows…

Suicide Squad 2 may have found both its writer and director in James Gunn.

The Wrap reports Gunn is in talks to write and direct the Suicide Squad sequel, while Polygon has confirmed Gunn will write it, but WB had no comment on whether he would also be directing it. IGN has reached out to WB for comment.

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According to the report, the Guardians of the Galaxy veteran “is in talks to write” and has “an eye to direct” the DC anti-hero sequel. What’s more, Gunn is said to be taking a completely new approach to Suicide Squad rather than following closely to what was established in the 2016 original.

Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant) was said to be the previous frontrunner to write and direct Suicide Squad 2 as recently as last month.

In July, Disney fired Gunn from his role as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director in the wake of Twitter jokes he’d made about rape and pedophilia in 2008 and 2009 resurfacing. Despite pleas from Gunn and others, Disney and Marvel decided they would not bring him back on board. Following Gunn’s ousting from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, IGN took a look at some other DC properties he might be a fit for.

Nick Santangelo is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. He loves video games and sports, but not sports video games. Follow him on Twitter.