Sports

A memorable scene from Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is Lee character’s argument with a White man over the latter not recognizing the Black players he liked, such as Magic Johnson, as being just as Black as Lee is. The late Kirby Puckett was hailed a Minnesota hero but once he was charged with […]

MIAMI — For all those who pulled against LeBron James because he made a decision that you disagreed with for his future — this one’s for you. I was really kind of surprised at the nearly 3-1 margin of fans on Facebook-Twitter-media and fans of basketball that picked against the Miami Heat vs. the Oklahoma […]

Travis Bledsoe also wants to give back to basketball-loving Native American youth on reservations By Sheri Crockett Contributing Writer Travis Bledsoe and I met at a Caribou Coffee Shop in Brooklyn Park. My first impression of him was he is laid back, confident, and very easygoing. My impression was correct; not only that, he is also soft […]

Editor’s note — June marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon signing Title IX into law on June 23, 1972. Ever since, the law has been lauded for increasing the numbers of girls and women participating in sports at the secondary and collegiate levels. “View” will look at the law in an occasional series, […]

MIAMI — Not many teams win NBA Finals games shooting 37 percent. However, the Miami Heat have rallied; after droppinggame one of the Finals 105-94, the Heat have taken a two-games-to-one lead by calming the Oklahoma City Thunder in the pivotal game three 91-85. History says 85 percent of the teams that win game three […]

By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Last weekend at Tubby Smith’s team camp at Minnesota’s Williams Arena, we got five perspectives on what makes a good basketball official from a former championship head coach, a longtime assistant coach who played as a professional for over a decade, a current college player, present officials, and a supervisor […]

The 19th Annual Inner City All Star Classic had its highlights on Father’s Day at Washington Technology Magnet in St. Paul. The game featured some ofthe metro area’s top graduating seniors of color, who were invited to participate based on their outstanding play during the basketball season last winter. In the girls’ game KIONDA NICKS […]

Shelley Patterson is one of seven Black assistant coaches in the WNBA — only Tulsa, Seattle and Indiana have no Blacks on their staffs. Last season, her second on the Minnesota Lynx bench, Patterson became the first Black woman since 2009 to be on a championship-winning ball club. “I’ve been with some good teams, but […]

OKLAHOMA CITY — Miami returns to the NBA Finals stage after finishing off the Boston Celtics in a dramatic game seven (101-88)  to capture their second straight Eastern Conference title. The Big Three — yes, Miami is again knocking at the door of an NBA title as they did last year. We all remember them […]

This column introduces new MSR sports columnist Sheri Crockett, who promises to bring a new dimension of excitement to the best Black sports-writing team in America.  By Sheri Crockett Contributing Writer Has anyone ever wondered what it would be like to be involved in a sport on the professional level? I always wanted to know what it […]

TAYLOR ANDERSON (Hopkins), PHILLIS WEBB (Osseo), ANULI OKONKWO (Osseo) and JESSICA JANUARY (Richfield) made a name for themselves last March at the girls’ state basketball tournament.  Anderson, a point guard, led the Royals to their second consecutive Class 4A championship. Webb, a shooting guard, helped the Orioles place second in the Class 4A. Okonkwo, a […]

Under Laurel Richie’s leadership after being named WNBA president in 2011, a national cell phone company signed a multiyear deal and became the first league-wide marquee partner — one of eight new corporate marketing partnerships. “We are so thrilled to have the partnership with Boost Mobile,” Richie told the MSR during a May 20 one-on-one […]

What a remarkable achievement at age 36 — Tiger Woods, the first billionaire athlete, has caught his childhood dream, Jack Nicklaus, in career wins on the PGA tour at 73. Golf is an incredible game, and what you achieve in it is so satisfying. Golf is an individual mental and physical test of your will […]

By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Nykesha Sales is a WNBA legend, a term that both her former league and the NBA these days uses to tell us that once-active players are now retired.   But the six-foot forward-guard and former seven-time all-star last week told the MSR by phone from Venezuela that she hasn’t yet […]

JERAD GARDNER (St. Paul Central) and MICHAELA BOLDEN (St. Paul Central) were recently named winners of the 36th Annual Winfield Awards at the banquet held Sunday, June 3 at the Crown Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. The awards, established in 1977 by Major League Baseball Hall of Famer DAVE WINFIELD (a 1969 St. […]

Selling the NBA to a White fan base historically has been a challenge. First it was seen as second class to college basketball. Then came Black players in the late 1950s. Later, the growing Black rank-and-file were being seen as nothing more than drug users during the 1970s. Then came Earvin Johnson and Larry Bird […]

As if the NFL did not have enough problems to deal with from all the lawsuits they face from current and former players, now the NFL Players Association is suing them for $3 billion claiming collusion from 2010 during the NFL’s lockout by league owners. And there’s the troubling question of whether parents should let […]