UPDATE: Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. and New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning were selected as co-winners of the”Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year” award. When things don’t go your way you simply hope for the best. The Arizona Cardinals were pre-season 8-1 favorites to reach Super Bowl LI. So were the Green Bay Packers after winning eight […]
Sports
Local and national sports reporting and commentary by the state’s leading African American sportswriters, including award-winning columnists Charles Hallman and Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald, with a special emphasis on the local prep scene and disparities in sports administration and media coverage.
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Hageman headed to the Super Bowl
Marshall turning heads at collegiate level NFL Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman is headed to Super Bowl LI in Houston next month after helping his team defeat the Green Bay Packers 44-21 to capture the NFC championship last Sunday at home. Before being taken by Atlanta in the second round of the 2014 NFL […]
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Let’s refocus a warped view of college sport
College sport has reached out-of-whack proportions when you read that we should feel sorry for a fired football coach with a half-million-dollar payoff, or blame a university president who doesn’t put athletics at the top of his priority list. This is the case among some local media who have suggested this over the recent negativity […]
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Ode to Obama, big WNBA fan
The WNBA’s number-one fan is leaving the White House later this week after an historic eight-year presidency. President Barack Obama was perhaps the first U.S. president who treated the WNBA no differently than other pro leagues and was often seen at games as a fan, and not for political or publicity purposes. This may not […]
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St. Paul City Conference title up for grabs
For the first time in recent memory, the St. Paul City Conference boys’ basketball title is up for grabs. As demonstrated last Friday evening, there is no clear-cut favorite for this year’s crown. Highland Park, led by the dynamic duo of guard Amitri Collins-Westlund and forward Dreem Kelly-Jabbar, scored an impressive 72-67 victory over Minnehaha […]
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Remarkable UConn win streak disrespected
Winning 90 consecutive games is remarkable. Doing it twice is nothing short of greatness. Yet, more attention has gone to the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets’ 16-game win streak or an English soccer team’s 13 straight wins than to the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team, who won their 91st straight game last weekend. The Huskies […]
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NFL Final Four: Follow the rings!
In many ways the NFL playoffs, better known as the Super Bowl LI tournament, is like an Easter egg hunt. When the playoffs begin, just take the Super Bowl Championship rings off the head coaches and quarterbacks, hide them, and let the search begin. When the Super Bowl rings are found, they will lead you […]
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College sports leadership like corporate America — mostly White
Those who run college sports are still “overwhelmingly” White and male. Such is the conclusion of the latest report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) on key leadership positions at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools and conferences. There remains a “consistent underrepresentation” of Blacks, other people of color and women. The […]
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Hopkins grad raises the bar for Northwestern
Nia Coffey makes her final stop in her hometown Wednesday [Note: at press time this game has been postponed] as a collegiate when Northwestern plays Minnesota in women’s basketball at Williams Arena. The 6’-1” senior forward and Hopkins grad last weekend became only the fifth Big Ten player to have 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds […]
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Tracy Claeys: Gopher scapegoat
Usually leadership at NCAA Institutions like Big Ten schools with 45,000 students comes from university presidents. Not at Minnesota, where President Eric Kaler has done his best recently to bungle the important role of the athletic program. He places academic achievement as his number-one priority, and in many ways under his watch he has undermined […]
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Urgently needed: Gopher culture purge
Big troubles in Gopherland Last week’s whirlwind moves by Minnesota AD Mark Coyle, firing Tracy Claeys and hiring P.J. Fleck in a three-day span, kept me from my usual unapologetic advocacy as a Black journalist. This time, however, I am glad I didn’t push for a Black coach. Coyle said January 3 after firing Claeys […]
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Wolves’ Thibodeau shouldn’t get a pass
The NBA has now completed a third of its season. A year ago, some criticized former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell for the team’s dismal record at the time. A year later, with virtually the same roster Mitchell inherited from the late Flip Saunders, the Wolves’ season record isn’t that much better under new coach […]
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Some of Minnesota’s finest in Chicago
During a visit to Chicago last month I decided to take in an NCAA Division l basketball game between the University of Illinois Chicago and Bradley University. Attending the game as a member of the media, I found a few Minnesota connections worth noting: Taylor Toney: The former DeLaSalle guard starts as a sophomore for […]
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Honors given, honors due
Rachel Banham’s jersey was hoisted in the Williams Arena rafters on New Years’ Day — only the second Black female basketball player to be so honored. “I’m glad you brought that up,” responded Banham Sunday prior to the pre-game ceremony when the MSR commented on the honor. “That’s something I can tell my kids… It’s […]
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Vikings’ playoff hopes gone like a fart in the wind
In covering the NFL and the Vikings all these years since 1978, I feel the disappointment and frustration of Vikings fans. The purple pain cuts so deep because expectations were sky high for this team. Not since 2003 when the Vikings started 6-0 under Mike Tice and also missed the playoffs have the team’s prospects […]
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2016 a busy year for our unique sports coverage
Once again this year, both our columns “Another View” and “Sports Odds and Ends” each week provided unabashed and often unprecedented coverage of women sports, Black coaches, Black players and Black people, staying true to our primary mission to provide readers news and information they can’t or won’t find anywhere else. “When are we going […]
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Outstanding 2016 prep highlights
This week my column will highlight five important accomplishments in prep sports for the year 2016. This includes a Minneapolis City Conference school that captured state basketball and football titles; another winning a championship in a St. Paul City Conference school making its first-ever state tournament appearance; a traditional Class 4A power capturing another state […]
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2016 was the year of the upset
These events in sports were covered by me this year. I was there and saw it with my own eyes. The Timberwolves finished 29-53, missing the playoffs for the 12th straight season. They fired Sam Mitchell as interim coach even though the team improved from just 16-66 the previous year under the late Flip Saunders. […]
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History of Blacks in NFL escapes young players
“Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” a traveling exhibit, opened at St. Paul’s Minnesota History Center in September. Over 200 artifacts, photos, film footage and interactive displays are featured. One of the exhibit’s 10 sections, “Pro Football’s Road to Equality,” uniquely caught my attention. It is billed as “an inspirational […]
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Christmas Day NBA games preview
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Since its second season in 1947, the NBA has played on Christmas Day. The 1998 lockout was the last time without league games scheduled or played. Over a decade later in 1983, NBA Christmas Day telecasts became traditional as NFL Thanksgiving Day games and New Years’ Day college bowl games. Five […]