Someone on Twitter recently complained that WNBA President Lisa Borders has mainly adopted a “cheerleading” posture rather than providing real answers on several hot topics facing the league. In her September 7 press conference transcripts, Borders seemed to dance around nearly every topic asked by reporters in Seattle, where the 2018 Finals began. On revenue sharing between … [Read more...]
Sports: Local and national sports reporting and commentary by the state’s leading African American sportswriters, with a special emphasis on the local prep scene and disparities in sports administration and media coverage
MIAC teams provide some good competition, too
It was a beautiful night for football as summer was winding down, a warm and breezy Saturday night. Fans cheered without being prompted by a wacky video scoreboard. The final score wasn’t decided until three seconds remained on the clock. No, it wasn’t the state’s only Division I school playing, but instead Hamline University, one of two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic … [Read more...]
New partnership formed to address ‘ton of need’ among youth
Two foundations founded by two legendary athletes with similar missions to support youth have now joined forces. The Sanneh Foundation (TSF) and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation hope their new partnership can better address the “ton of need” they see among youth in the community. St. Paul-born Tony Sanneh started TSF in 2004, five years before he retired after a … [Read more...]
Twins make lemonade from lemon season
With no chance of making the playoffs this season, the Minnesota Twins are doing more than playing out the string or playing spoilers for those opponents who are vying for post-season spots in the final weeks of the 2018 season. There are still opportunities to improve player performance, for example. Second-year Batting Coach James Rowson and first-year Pitching Coach … [Read more...]
America’s number-one game is back!
Watching an NFL preseason game in comparison to a regular-season game is like night and day. All 32 teams are in many ways showing why the NFL game is, by a wide margin, America’s number-one sport. In the early 1980s, the NFL passed Major League Baseball (MLB) as the number-one-viewed game in the United States. As we know, MLB may have fallen even further behind in 2018 … [Read more...]
Baseball growing more diverse off the field, if not on
Conclusion a two-part column Despite its overall paucity of Blacks on the field, baseball has shown a significant increase in racial hiring off the field. According to the 2018 MLB Racial and Gender Report Card by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), nearly 34 percent of MLB Central Office professional staff are people of color (10 percent Black, … [Read more...]
DeLaSalle dominates in opener
During the first quarter of a 57-19 season-opening football victory over Richfield last Friday afternoon, a DeLaSalle assistant coach had a chat with safety Nathan Thomas as he was late running onto the field to defend an extra point attempt. “First team defense,” the coach said as Thomas emerged from a crowd of his Islander teammates. “First team defense,” he repeated as … [Read more...]
Vikings: It’s time to fish or cut bait!
We have been waiting, and now it's here! Are you ready for some football? The NFL 2018 season is now. This marks my 40th season of covering the NFL and your Minnesota Vikings. I can tell you, Vikings fans are hungry. In fact, they are starving for a winner. The Vikings had their best season in years in 2017, going 13-3 and 1-1 in the playoffs. For those of you keeping … [Read more...]
Colin Kaepernick: the face of Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ 30th Anniversary campaign (updated w/vid)
Press play to see the new Nike ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams and LeBron James. Colin Kaepernick may not be suiting up in the NFL any time soon, but he'll continue to dominate the sports conversation as the season starts. In a move that seemed to shock many, global sporting goods giant Nike announced on Monday that the former San Francisco … [Read more...]
Jett helps team capture championship
There are many former metro area student-athletes accomplishing great things at the professional level. St. Bernard’s High School standout Jordair Jett is among them. Jett’s name is not unfamiliar in Minnesota prep circles. After starring in both football and basketball during his freshman and sophomore year at St. Agnes High School, he transferred to St. Bernard’s and … [Read more...]