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A Service Fit for a Queen
President Barack Obama strode to the podium Thursday morning at Washington National Cathedral, 41 minutes into Dr. Dorothy Height’s funeral. His presence alone indicated the 98-year-old’s significance in American history, which she impacted for the better part of the 20th century as a civil rights and human rights pioneer. Not that Wednesday’s services at Howard…
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The Trial of Allen Iverson
The most amazing thing about ESPN’s new documentary, No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson, is the breadth of issues underneath it – sports, race, education, culture, politics and economics – issues far beyond “Bubba Chuck’s” stellar NBA career (which will land him in the Hall of Fame if voters get over his tattoos, cornrows and…
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TIGER WATCH: Woods Falls Short
SUNDAY APRIL 11 It’s difficult to determine what’s more amazing. The fact that Tiger Woods took five months off and went through hell, yet was a favorite to win the Masters? Or the fact that he actually contended all weekend after a five-month layoff and a tour of his personal hell, to finish tied for…
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TIGER WATCH: On the Third Day, He Stayed in the Hunt
SATURDAY APRIL 10 Tiger Woods was sinking fast, bogeying three of five holes starting with No. 6, in danger of falling out of contention Saturday at the Masters. It appeared that the adrenaline rush of Thursday and Friday had run out, and everything he’s been through since Thanksgiving had finally caught up to him.…
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Changing Tiger's Stripes
Four months, one week and four days after the National Enquirer reported he was having an affair with Rachel Uchitel—initiating a calamitous chain of events for him personally, publically and professionally—Tiger Woods finally fielded questions from a roomful of reporters. Thirty-five minutes and 48 questions later, we didn’t know anything more than we had known…
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Let Them Play for Pay, But Not in College
University of Kentucky freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins didn’t make it to the Final Four, where they could’ve played at least one more college basketball game before possibly bolting for the NBA. Otherwise, the young Wildcat players reached the pinnacle of their field, becoming the first freshmen teammates selected to the Associated Press All-America…
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Keep Recruits Out of the South Carolina Trustees Fight
Not that I’m surprised, but parts of “post-racial America” are dead ringers for the bad ol’ days. Especially places where the majority might’ve voted for President Obama, but many remain hung up on the Civil War. Take South Carolina, for instance. Not only does the Palmetto State insist on flying the Confederate Flag on statehouse…
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Urban League Calls for $168B in Job Spending
The National Urban League, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, has produced an annual State of Black America (SOBA) report for one-third of its existence. At a press conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C., the organization released its 34th SOBA, and similarities to the inaugural report were striking. “We’re facing many of the very same issues,”…
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Tiger Woods Is Still in Charge
Perhaps the most consistent criticism of Tiger Woods, both before and after his nationally televised apology last month, is that he’s such a control freak. And it was never more apparent than in the handling of his mea culpa, which featured select friends, a few reporters and no questions. After listening to his critics’ harsh…
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Torii Hunter Was Right About Baseball
Baseball was once a popular choice among African-American professional athletes who constituted about 27 percent of all major-leaguers in 1975. But the numbers have declined steadily since, down to about 9 percent on last year’s Opening Day rosters. That’s the point All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter tried to make recently, though his choice of words in…
