Sports

As breaking debuts at Olympics, meet the New York DJ behind the Paris party

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2024

As breaking debuts at Olympics, meet the New York DJ behind the Paris party

PARIS — All eyes are on the round boxing ring, where dancers trade air flares instead of jabs under a bright spotlight. But the most influential person in the room stands in the shadows behind a turntable.

It’s where Stephen Fleg does his work.

2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games

More than a neutral referees but less than a dancer at center stage, DJs like him are the backbone of breaking competitions. The New York-based DJ, producer and B-boy is one of two DJs who will be at the controls of breaking’s Olympic debut at Place de la Concorde. DJ Fleg will split duties with Poland’s DJ Plash for the women’s competition Friday and the men’s event Saturday.

In an art form redefining Olympic sport, it’s no surprise that breaking is built on a unique relationship that doesn’t exist in other events.

“A referee is very much supposed to stay out of it, a judge is staying out of it, they’re completely separate from the event itself,” Fleg said. “What I’m doing is not. I have direct involvement.”

A B-boy of 25 years who deejayed his first event in 2005, Fleg is fully aware of the power he wields playing music for the dancers. He earned his spot by overseeing several Olympic qualifiers, including the final competition in Budapest in June. After the event, Zack Slusser, the vice president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance, heard from first-time breaking spectators that it was the first sporting event they had attended in which no one was on their phone. Everyone was entrenched in the atmosphere Fleg created in.

“The DJ,” American B-boy Jeffrey “Jeffro” Louis said, “is everything.”

The best ones separate themselves by reading the room, understanding the dancers and then choosing the perfect songs that can take the room on an emotional journey, said B-girl Sunny Choi. There are aspects of a breaking battle that only some people experience, but everyone — judges, dancers and spectators — interacts with the music.

It should be funky, maintaining the essence of the art form that originated in the 1970s in the Bronx, while offering a mix of sounds. The drum break from which it derives its name name is key. The rhythm may be faster than some contemporary hip-hop, Fleg said, but some songs will be familiar to viewers tuning in to their first competition.

The International Olympic Committee licensed about 400 songs for the competition. They include vintage funk songs and 1990s and 2000s hip-hop. Some songs are brand new. Others will be comfortable classics for the breakers. Instead of the mechanical “pots and pans” sounds that DJs used for years to avoid copyright infringement issues during the early days of livestreamed events, viewers may recognize the sounds of James Brown, Busta Rhymes or A Tribe Called Quest.

But DJs don’t just pick good songs. Breakers have the opportunity to make songs stand out.

Jeffrey Louis works out with teammates during a breaking practice session at the Team USA training facility

“Any song really has all these different notes, elements, instruments going on,” Slusser said. “The best dancers out there will highlight something that the audience probably isn’t hearing. … It’s totally interpretive and the best dancers are those that are able to capture those moments and also feed the audience exactly what that dancer is feeling.”

Dancers do not know which song they will get until it starts blaring over the speakers. Unlike gymnasts and figure skaters who practice their routines to set music for months before the Olympics, breakers have about five seconds to think of a plan before a round, Choi said.

Competitors are critiqued by a panel of nine judges who look for technique, vocabulary, originality, execution and musicality. The movements, from the high-flying power moves to intricate downrock movements on the floor, are a dancer’s vocabulary. They use them to write the sentences of each battle’s story.

The DJ, with his musical selection, chooses the plot.

“It’s a conversation between the breakers,” Slusser said. “But it’s a conversation contextualized by what the DJ does.”

Jeffro acknowledged DJs can control the result of a battle by giving a dancer a particularly difficult song. Fleg knows he can’t simply give his friends their favorite tracks. The IOC wanted to safeguard against potential bias by requiring DJs to present a set list of roughly three songs for each battle slot the day before the competition. They won’t know who will be dancing in each slot when they select the list. When the battle begins, DJs can choose only from their short list, selecting different sections, tinkering with transitions and looping in different effects.

American Sunny Choi, also known as B-Girl Sunny, competes in the B-girl Red Bull BC One World Final

With the discipline determined to maintain its roots while teetering between art and sport, the set list compromise is one of the few formatted elements that won’t be exactly authentic to the culture.

“We’ve taken so many cultural wins with this,” Fleg said. “Being big-picture, it’s just like, we get to play funk music, we get to play these classic breaks, we play new things, all these things are great representations of how breaking has been perceived. … I understand that we kind of have to put this aside to be able to make this come through at this level at the Olympics.”

Fleg says he has always been a fan of the Games and recalled attending the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Getting to elevate the art he’s cherished for decades onto this global stage is a coveted opportunity. While he stops short of calling breaking a sport, he feels that the top breakers are the same level of athletic and creative genius as the basketball player who turns off a screen to drain a long three-pointer.

In his role, he’s ready to spin the perfect assist.

Sports

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old.

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Published

11 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away.

“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”

Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.

“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”

Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.

“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”

Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.

“Yes.”

Sports

Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.

“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”

A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.

Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.

Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.

Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.

On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.

The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.

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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.