The WNBA is 64% to 70% Black, yet there is not a single Black female head coach in the league this season. MSR sports columnist Charles Hallman examines why that disparity is not getting the attention it deserves.
Charles Hallman
Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Natasha Howard returns to Minnesota for a full-circle moment
Natasha Howard has returned to Minnesota, where she won her first WNBA championship in 2017, signing as a free agent and immediately becoming one of the Lynx’s most impactful contributors alongside fellow free agent addition Nia Coffey.
Posted inWNBA
WNBA’s push for cleaner play brings more fouls, longer games
Nearly a month into the WNBA season, the league’s new officiating points of emphasis have produced mixed results, with foul counts up significantly and games stretching longer, while the new CBA’s developmental player spots are opening doors for younger players across the league.
Posted inLocal & State
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a trusted voice in Twin Cities sports, dies at 71
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., the beloved Minnesota sports journalist and MSR columnist who spent nearly five decades as a trusted voice for Black athletes and coaches, has died at age 71. Tributes from across the sports world honored a pioneer, trailblazer and door opener.
Posted inBlacklight On Sports
Lucas Patterson Has Sent 35-Plus Kids to Division One. Minnesota Still Doesn’t Know His Name.
On Blacklight on Sports, hosts Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald and Charles Hallman sit down with Lucas Patterson, founder of Future Academic Ballers and Minnesota Prep, whose program has sent more than 35 players to Division I programs over nine years.
Posted inSports
The man who brings the big events to Minneapolis
Meet Minneapolis president and CEO Melvin Tennant was integral in landing the 2028 NFL Draft for the Twin Cities, continuing a quiet legacy of bringing major events to Minneapolis that the mainstream media rarely credits him for.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Maya Caldwell: Right where she’s supposed to beÂ
Minnesota Lynx guard Maya Caldwell has navigated waivings, overseas stints and four WNBA clubs in five years on a journey built on faith, perseverance and a belief that she is right where she is supposed to be.
Posted inAnother View
Royce and Kaelen: Working their way back to the show
Royce Lewis is working to rediscover his game after a demotion to the St. Paul Saints, while top prospect Kaelen Culpepper is making a case for a promotion, and the two Black teammates are leaning on each other along the way.
Posted inSports
 From Rondo to Cooperstown: St. Paul Honors David Winfield With BronzeÂ
A bronze statue of Baseball Hall of Famer David Winfield now stands at Toni Stone Field in St. Paul, honoring the Rondo native and 22-year MLB veteran who credits his upbringing in the heart of St. Paul’s Black community as the foundation for everything that followed.
Posted inAnother View
The NFL blinked. Now what?Â
Charles Hallman examines the NFL’s rollback of minority hiring mandates under pressure from Florida’s attorney general, and the NAACP’s new Out of Bounds campaign calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott SEC programs in states targeting Black voting rights.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Rachel Banham delivers for Chicago Sky in Minneapolis return
Rachel Banham returned to Minneapolis and delivered 13 points off the bench to help the Chicago Sky past the Minnesota Lynx 86-79, continuing a decade-long WNBA career built on delivering buckets when her team needs them most.
Posted inSports
Trailblazing NFL coordinator denied a head coaching shot, dies at 83Â
Sherman Lewis, a Heisman Trophy finalist, three-time Big Ten track champion and 12-year NFL offensive coordinator who was repeatedly passed over for a head coaching job, passed away May 15 at age 83.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Lynx veteran Nia Coffey is her father’s daughter
Nia Coffey, St. Paul native and nine-year WNBA veteran, is back home with the Minnesota Lynx, bringing a decade of professional experience and a commitment to pouring into younger players on a roster that is 71% new this season.
Posted inBlacklight On Sports
Blacklight on Sports: EJ Shelby Brings a New Vision to Anoka High School Football
On this episode of Blacklight on Sports, hosts Charles Hallman and Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald sit down with EJ Shelby, the newly named head football coach at Anoka High School, on his long road to a head coaching job and what it means to lead as a Black man in education.
Posted inCoaching while Black
Gopher running backs Coach Mohamed Ibrahim and Tennis Coach Lois Arterberry
Former Gophers star Mohamed Ibrahim returns to Minnesota as running backs Coach Mo, while tennis head coach Lois Arterberry reflects on a difficult 2026 season and former Hamline coach Chip Taylor lands at Lehigh.
Posted inSports
Playworks brings 1,000 young leaders to Saints Park for End-of-Year Celebration
Nearly 1,000 Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota elementary school students gathered at the St. Paul Saints ballpark to celebrate their participation in the Playworks Minnesota Youth Leadership Program, which serves more than 25,000 students statewide.
Posted inTwins/MLB
LaTroy Hawkins: From the Mound to the Dugout
LaTroy Hawkins, now in his first season as the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen coach, is the franchise’s first Black bullpen coach in history and the first Black pitching coach since 2018, bringing a 21-year playing career and a hard-earned college degree to his new role.
Posted inBlack College Sports Report
HBCU baseball makes history at Wrigley Field
MSR sports columnist Charles Hallman reports from Chicago’s historic Wrigley Field, where Prairie View A&M and Alabama A&M made history as the first HBCU teams to play baseball at the iconic ballpark during the Chicago HBCU Baseball Classic.
Posted inAnother View, Twins/MLB
Two Black aces, one rotation: Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods Richardson make history in Minnesota
Twins pitchers Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods Richardson are one of the rarest sights in MLB, two Black starting pitchers on the same team, and both say the bond they have built is making them better.
Posted inOdds and Ends
WNBA season 30 tips off Friday with a revamped Lynx roster and a new TV deal
The 2026 WNBA season tips off Friday, May 8, with two new teams, a new CBA and a Minnesota Lynx roster that looks drastically different after key departures and new additions including rookie Olivia Miles.