The NWSL is once again expanding, this time the league is heading to Ohio where Columbus NWSL 2028 will take the field. Of course, Columbus NWSL 2028 is a placeholder for now and the the new team will unveil its name, crest, and uniform to build an identity around as it approaches its first season.

News of the club was announced yesterday, though this has been in the works for some time, in a press conference. Team owners, the Haslam Sports Group (HSG), Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards, spoke about what they hope the club will bring to Columbus and women’s soccer more broadly.

“Our family is thrilled to help bring an NWSL team to Columbus and further invest in Ohio, with the honor of bringing the 18th team into the league,” said Haslam Sports Group Managing Partner Whitney Haslam Johnson. “We believe in the power of women’s sports and are humbled to be part of the number one women’s soccer league in the world.”

Nationwide insurance has been a corporate partner in both NWSL and MLS for years and now joins an ownership group deepening those ties. “Today’s announcement is about inspiring young athletes across Central Ohio, elevating women’s professional sports and reminding the world that Columbus is a first-class sports city,” said Kirt Walker, Nationwide Chief Executive Officer. “As Nationwide marks 100 years, this is a powerful way to celebrate our milestone with the community that has been our home from the very beginning.”

The Edwards family has deep roots in the Columbus soccer scene with Dr. Pete Edwards serving as team doctor for the Crew in 1996 and the family joining the team’s ownership in 2019 during the Save The Crew effort. “Columbus is very important to our family. For over 30 years, we’ve supported the Columbus Crew and MLS. We’ve seen how a men’s professional soccer team has brought people together and created a positive impact in our community. It’s truly special to now welcome an NWSL club and the incredible women athletes who will also uplift our city on and off the pitch,” said Dr. Christine Edwards. “We’re very excited to partner with Haslam Sports Group and Nationwide for NWSL Columbus 2028, and we can’t wait to share even more memorable moments with fans, especially during the Club’s first game at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.”

The NWSL has continued its expansion with the announcement and the team will join Atlanta in its inaugural season in two years.

Disgraced ex-Ohio State President Ted Carter repeatedly snuck his alleged failing podcaster lover through a campus garage for secret visits to his office as he funneled university resources into her business ventures, a shocking new report claims.

The report into the circumstances behind Carter’s abrupt exit from his cushy $1.5 million-a-year role last month detailed his secret office rendezvous with Krisanthe Vlachos, host of “The Callout Podcast,” and at least five trips he took with her.

The duo jetted off to Richmond, Virginia; Orlando, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Las Vegas – with the married 66-year-old allegedly cooking up a fake business excuse for one trip, the report released Tuesday by the college found.

One social media post showed the pair at a Colorado Springs conference in January, with the ex-prez smiling next to Vlachos, who is clad in an all-black leather getup. 

Carter – married to Lynda Carter for nearly 45 years – admitted giving Vlachos “inappropriate access” to university leadership and public resources to boost her private business when he voluntarily resigned.

The probe found he tapped at least 14 staffers to help his purported paramour, who hosted a veteran-focused podcast, including efforts to score her a university job, campus space, support staff, and financial backing from the school and outside agencies like JobsOhio for different business ventures.

“Carter’s actions betrayed Ohio State’s shared values and violated university policy,” the 47-page report said, adding his “wide-ranging” efforts dragged on for almost two years.

“Carter had a close personal and business relationship with Vlachos and he allowed that relationship to improperly influence his actions and impair his judgement.”

JobsOhio shelled out $60,000 to the prexy’s reported flame to produce four podcast episodes about veteran issues – though only one was completed, the agency said last month. 

The company, which said its decision to invest was driven by Carter’s recommendation, is now trying to “clawback” the funds after all of Vlacho’s poorly performing podcast episodes were hastily removed from YouTube and other streamers when the scandal erupted.

Carter – who served as a Top Gun pilot and instructor during 38 years in the Navy – admitted in one episode he was a “frequent flyer” on the floundering show, appearing as a guest at least nine times since 2024. 

JobsOhio also dished out $10,000 to sponsor a January 2025 event for vets and military families at Ohio State, calling it an “opportunity that Ms. Vlachos brought our attention.”

The agency’s handouts for Vlachos came to an end after she requested a $2.9 million investment in her proposed mobile app, which aimed to help Ohio veterans get jobs. 

An Ohio State spokesman previously confirmed officials were investigating an LLC registered to Vlachos at a university-owned building, in connection with the ex-leader’s departure.

Carter and Vlachos have not responded publicly to the relationship allegations.

With Post wires.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Step aside, Bigfoot.

A new bill introduced to the Ohio House on April 13 wants to make the Loveland Frogman Ohio’s official state cryptid.

This very real bill is being sponsored by Ohio Representative Tristan Rader, who represents district 13 in Cleveland, and Representative Jean Schmidt, who represents district 62 in Loveland.

“This bill is about showcasing our communities,” said Rader in a press release. “The Loveland Frog is uniquely Ohio. It reflects the stories we tell, the places we’re proud of and the creativity that makes our state worth celebrating.”

The bill makes note that Loveland’s beloved legend has inspired books, documentaries, local festivals, artwork, merchandise and local tourism — all contributing to the local economy.

The Loveland Frogman is, as described by House Bill 821, “a frog-like, bipedal creature standing approximately four feet fall.”

The legend also inspired a found footage horror movie released in 2023.

But what is the Loveland Frogman?

The legend of the Loveland Frogman started with the story that, on two different nights in March of 1972, two different police officers spotted the Frogman.

The creature went unseen for decades, until in 2016, when a couple playing Pokemon Go said they spotted something weird between Loveland Madeira Road and Lake Isabella.

“We saw a huge frog near the water,” Sam Jacobs wrote in an email. “Not in the game, this was an actual giant frog.”

Jacobs said he stopped playing Pokemon Go so he could document what he was seeing, snapping some photos and shooting a short video.

“Then the thing stood up and walked on its hind legs. I realize this sounds crazy, but I swear on my grandmother’s grave this is the truth,” he wrote. “The frog stood about 4 feet tall.”

When they returned to Jacobs’ girlfriend’s home, her parents told them about the legend of the Frogman.

So was it the legendary Frogman? Or just a big frog? Jacobs wasn’t sure.

Around a day after WCPO’s story about Jacobs was published, we got a phone call from a man who claimed to be one of the original police officers who first saw the cryptid.

Mark Mathews told us the creature was not a frog at all.

Mathews explained that the first officer to encounter the purported Frogman, Ray Shockey, called him one night in the March of 1972 after spotting something strange on Riverside Drive/Kemper Road near the Totes boot factory and the Little Miami River.

“Naturally, I didn’t believe him … but I could somehow tell from his demeanor that he did see something,” Mathews said.

Later that month, Mathews was driving on Kemper Road near the boot factory when he saw something run across the road. However, it wasn’t walking upright and didn’t climb over the guardrail as the urban legend of the Frogman goes. The creature crawled under the guardrail. Matthews said he “had no clue what it was.”

“I know no one would believe me, so I shot it,” he said.

Mathews recovered the creature’s body and put it in his trunk to show Shockey. He said Shockey said it was the creature he had seen, too.

It was a large iguana about 3 or 3.5 feet long, Mathews said. The animal was missing its tail, which is why he didn’t immediately recognize it.

Mathews said he figured the iguana had been someone’s pet and then either got loose or was released when it grew too large. He also theorized that the cold-blooded animal had been living near the pipes that released water that was used for cooling the ovens in the boot factory as a way to stay warm in the cold March weather.

“It’s a big hoax,” he said. “There’s a logical explanation for everything.”