JD Sports Off To Strong Start In U.S.

So far so good for Finish Line under its new owner, JD Sports. JD Sports said Finish Line’s comps were up 7 percent in 2018 with sales trends improving as the year progressed. The first JD stores to land in the U.S. are also seeing encouraging initial results.

NFL and NFLPA Release Helmet Laboratory Testing Results

The NFL and NFL Players Association released the results of their annual laboratory study to assess the performance of helmets worn by NFL players. The top-three rated helmets were the Vicis Zero1 (2018), Schutt F7 LTD (208400) and Riddell SpeedFlex Precision Diamond (R41106).

NFL Flag-In-Schools Program Enters Fifth Year

The NFL, USA Football, GENYOUth and Fuel Up to Play 60 announced the fifth year of the NFL Flag-In-Schools Program, which aims to increase physical activity among youth by providing Flag football resources to underserved school communities.

Tillys Partners With High School ESports League

High School ESports League (HSEL), the longest-running high school eSports organization, announced a partnership with Tillys Inc. to offer students care packages and the chance to compete for prizes through an augmented reality (AR) experience and mobile game at Tillys’ stores.

BSN Sports Acquires Rochester’s Valenti Sport

BSN Sports, the nation’s largest direct marketer and distributor of sporting goods to the school and league markets and a division of Varsity Brands, announced that it has acquired Rochester-NY based Valenti Sports.