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Rio Olympics: 11 Black Athletes in Less Popular Sports Who Are Worth Your Time
The Summer Olympics are more glamorous than their counterpart every four winters. And of all the competitions being held in Rio de Janeiro over the next two weeks, none are more familiar than basketball, gymnastics, swimming, and track and field. They are the Mount Rushmore of Summer Olympic sports. But athletes will compete in roughly…
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40 Black Athletes to Watch at the Rio Olympics
After all the discussions about crime, poverty, pollution, corruption and the Zika virus, it’s now time to shift our attention to the actual games at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. More than 11,000 athletes representing more than 200 countries will compete in 42 Olympic sports beginning Friday. In total, there will be…
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The Real MVP: TV Movie About Wanda Durant’s Life Offers a Powerful Tribute to Single Moms
Superstar Kevin Durant was sniffling, getting teary-eyed and speaking with a cracked voice toward the end of his acceptance speech in 2014 after winning the NBA MVP award. And he hadn’t even mentioned his mother yet. He was talking about his brothers, his friends and his grandmother, thanking them for their love and support as…
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Not for Kids: Is Football Too Dangerous for Our Boys?
It’s the mentality in football: Playing hurt. Playing in pain. Playing with a concussion. NFL star Emmitt Smith recently said that he did it. His peers did it. And others will continue to do it. It’s part of the sport. But it’s that part that’s also taking parents who had been sitting on the fence…
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Jameis Winston: A Good Player With a Bad Reputation
Most folks have made up their minds about quarterback Jameis Winston, having read and heard enough about misbehavior and alleged misdeeds by the Heisman Trophy winner from Florida State University. They have been inundated by reports of the silly stuff—stolen crab legs and soda, obscenities screamed in public, BB-gun battles—and the gravely serious matter of a sexual…
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Obama: 'The Heat' to Romney's Jeremy Lin?
(The Root) — With all due respect to President Obama, Mitt Romney is no Jeremy Lin. Romney, scion of a heavyweight businessman and politician, enjoyed a life of power, privilege and prestige en route to becoming the GOP presidential nominee. Lin, the son of a computer engineer who emigrated from Taiwan, overcame rejection from major…
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NFL Taking Risks With Replacement Officials
(The Root) — It’s official: The NFL’s regular officials won’t be in action when the season kicks off on Wednesday. Hard as it is to believe, the world’s richest and most powerful sports league will entrust its product to officials who aren’t even at the top level in college! NFL executive Ray Anderson has told…
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NFL Star Should Not Be Treated Like a Baby
(The Root) — I’m glad that troubled Dallas Cowboys star receiver Dez Bryant realizes the error of his ways. I’m glad that he wants to make some changes. And I’m glad that people are in place to help him. But I don’t like the notion of special rules that essentially relieve Bryant of all responsibility.…
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NBA Vet's Book on Fatherhood a Slam Dunk
(The Root) — Etan Thomas is on a mission. While the 6-foot-9 forward would like to resume his 11-year NBA career after sitting out last season, his new quest has nothing to do with rebounds and blocked shots. It’s about affection and connections. Thomas, a poet who also blogs for the Huffington Post, grew up…
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Ochocinco Reduced to Forgotten Man
As a player who starred on his own VH1 reality show, founded his own news network, performed on Dancing With the Stars and became one of the NFL’s most flamboyant personalities, Chad Ochocinco always seemed tailor-made for Super Bowl Media Day. Except this year, the first season he reached the big game and his first…
