For the first time in WNBA history, the Chicago Sky has an all-Black coaching staff, a milestone in a majority Black league and a powerful statement on representation.
Charles Hallman
Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.
Posted inTwins/MLB
Twins’ Buxton leads by example
Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is the second fastest player on the basepaths in Major League Baseball. According to Statcast, Buxton is averaging 30.2 feet per second, his highest speed since 2019.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Maryland college baseball suits Burnsville native just fine
Freshman infielder Paul Jones II is the only Minnesotan on the University of Maryland baseball team. The Burnsville native and Cretin-Durham Hall graduate’s recent homecoming was a big hit.
Posted inSports
Broadcaster Brunson baffled by Mercury blindside
Veteran broadcaster Cindy Brunson is taking her first summer off from calling WNBA games since 2022, but it was not in her original plans. The Phoenix Mercury, after interviewing her several weeks ago, decided not to hire her for their regular broadcast team.
Posted inBlacklight On Sports
From the Court to the Kitchen: Sam Willis Keeps Giving Back
Former baller Sam Willis joins Blacklight on Sports to reflect on his basketball past, mentorship work, and his South Minneapolis restaurant, Just Turkey.
Posted inCoaching while Black
Losing coach hopes for better days
Jazmone Turner’s first season as Delaware State WBB Coach was not without its ups and downs. It also can make a coach, even one as experienced as Turner, self-question what they are doing.
Posted inCoaching while Black
Losing coach sees bright future
Malikah Willis came to Maryland Eastern Shore last April with over 23 years of collegiate coaching experience. She has various roles, including lead recruiter at most of the 12 schools Willis has served as an assistant coach.
Posted inLynx/WNBA
Looking ahead to WNBA 2025
Opening day for the 2025 WNBA season is Friday, May 16. “This year the talent has never been greater,” stressed Shimmy Miller on America’s longest running women’s pro basketball league and perhaps the hardest in pro sports for players to make a team roster.
Posted inBlacklight On Sports
Angel Robinson on Basketball, Coaching, and Giving Back
Angel Robinson, a Minnesota basketball standout and Hall of Famer, joins Blacklight On Sports to talk about her journey from championship player to mentor and coach.
Posted inSports
Few Black players on college softball rosters
College softball in Minnesota and elsewhere remains primarily White. Annual NCAA data show six percent of softball players are Black — it was five percent from 2014 to 2019.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Knowledge of the game gives hoops coach an edge
Sometimes it’s best to step back, take a break and get a different perspective in order to move forward, a needed time to inhale so to speak. This is exactly what Chantel Osahor has done after completing her first season as Gonzaga WBB assistant coach.
Posted inAnother View
‘Bigger than her size’ Diamond gets fair shot with Lynx
Many of us wanted Diamond Johnson to be drafted by a WNBA team in last month’s draft.
Posted inAnother View
For Oral Roberts U coach, faith is the only way
Cophie Anderson, a former Fresno State basketball player, has been promoted to head coach of the Oral Roberts University women’s basketball team, becoming the fourth Black female head coach in the Summit League.
Posted inSports
DeLaSalle grad scores NFL draft
Jalen Travis was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, and is excited to start his career in the NFL after being a two-time second team All-Ivy League offensive lineman at Princeton and Iowa State.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Woldeslassie leaves Mac for Denver
Abe Woldeslassie, a Macalester College grad who came back to coach the men’s basketball team for seven seasons, has resigned to take an assistant coaching position at Division I University of Denver.
Posted inAnother View
Gopher track athletes nominated for Jackie Robinson award
Two University of Minnesota student-athletes of color, Zariyah Black and Jordan Dunigan, are nominees for the Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award, which recognizes student-athletes who strive to make a positive impact in their community and their sport.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Black tennis coaches celebrate their historic matchup
Minnesota and Illinois in women’s tennis have met 32 times since 1991, and the 33rd meeting was the first time ever that both schools’ squads were coached by Black women, Lois Arterberry and Gabrielle Moore, who once were college teammates at Southern University.
Posted inSports
51 schools compete in first statewide high school girls flag football league
The state’s first high school girls flag football league begins its season on April 27, with 51 high schools competing on five consecutive Sundays this spring, and the NFL club contributing $600,000 to support the new league and the participating high schools.
Posted inAnother View
Bringing more Black fans to women’s hoops
The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team has a diverse roster of six Black players, including Amaya Battle, Tori McKinney, Taylor Woodson, Kennedy Klick, Eden Prairie redshirt sophomore Niamya Holloway, and graduate student Alexsia Rose, and is looking to increase Black attendance at games.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Twins Black hurlers warm up for the season
Alex Speas and Simeon Woods Richardson, both Black players on the Minnesota Twins, are working to make an impact on the team and to stick in the majors, with Speas aiming to join the “Black Aces” list and Woods Richardson aiming to improve his record.