World Cup tackles color complex
France won its only World Cup in 1998 with the theme “Black-Blanc-Beur,” meaning black, white and Arab (or North African),” a slogan celebrating integrated France.
After changing his life, Neblett hopes to change others
Raymond Neblett, the former basketball standout who once took a costly wrong turn, continues to make up for lost time.
Trinity Episcopal's Bacot helps national team win gold
Armando Bacot has lifted his basketball game to the international level.
NBA draft roundup
The NBA draft has come and gone and only time will tell who will rise to stardom and who will sink.
VCU’s Justin Tillman still working toward NBA contract
Former Virginia Commonwealth University standout Justin Tillman has one foot in the NBA door.
Kentucky 8th-grader already pulling in scholarship offers
Such football powers as Alabama, Florida State and Louisiana State University are convinced Kiyaunte Goodwin will someday be a college star — even though he hasn’t yet begun high school. The 6-foot-7, 350-pound Goodwin just completed eighth grade at Olmstead North Middle School in Louisville, Ky.
A star is born: NBA draft expected to pick talent from U.S. and abroad
The NBA’s reward for a team having a miserable season is a high draft pick and hopes of a brighter future. Thus, the Phoenix Suns vault from having the worst standings to first in the 2018 draft of incoming talent.
A primer for the NBA Final Four
The NBA’s greatest father-son combination in history — Dell and Steph Curry — has Virginia roots. That’s according to website Sportschew.com.
Father-son combos part of NBA history
The NBA’s greatest father-son combination in history — Dell and Steph Curry — has Virginia roots. That’s according to website Sportschew.com.
VSU’s Blair has eye on Olympic trials
It will take a Herculean effort for anyone to upset the apple cart in the long-established, track and field events in the CIAA.
VT’s Edmunds brothers make NFL draft history
Lots of brothers have made it to the NFL. Some have played on the same team or been selected in the same draft. But siblings Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds of Danville made history April 26 as the first brothers selected in the same opening round.
Washington NFL team picks 2 in draft to fill holes
The Washington NFL team finished dead last — 32nd — in defense against the run during the 2017 NFL season. Da’Ron Payne has been chosen to help plug the sieve.
John Marshall standout Isaiah Todd transferring
Isaiah Todd, arguably the area’s top college prospect since Moses Malone, is changing basketball addresses. After leading Richmond’s John Marshall High School to the State 3A title this past winter as a sophomore, the 6-foot-10 Todd is transferring to Trinity Academy, a Christian-based private school in Raleigh, N.C.
VSU on the lookout for its next great running back
Auditions for the marquee role of the next Trenton Cannon are now underway at Virginia State University. Realistically, the All-American tailback will be nearly impossible to replace. Finding a replacement might be compared to trying to find a fill-in for the Statue of Liberty.
VSU opens football season in Norfolk at Labor Day clasic
Virginia State University hopes to start its 2018 football season the same way it opened the 2017 season — by defeating Norfolk State University in the Labor Day Classic.
VSU opens football season in Norfolk at Labor Day classic
Virginia State University hopes to start its 2018 football season the same way it opened the 2017 season — by defeating Norfolk State University in the Labor Day Classic.
VUU banking on talent of Tabyus Taylor this fall
Virginia Union University football fans were treated last season to what amounted to a teaser of what Tabyus Taylor can do with a football under his arm.
VUU to host CIAA golf championship
Virginia Union University will partner with Richmond Region Tourism to host the CIAA Golf Championships on April 19 and 20 at the Club at Viniterra in New Kent County.
Monument Avenue 10K now a national championship
In case no one has noticed, the annual Monument Avenue 10K has changed dramatically. The event continues to draw more than 25,000 participants and ranks among Richmond’s best organized and most anticipated community activities.
‘Funville’ opens Friday the 13th
The Richmond Flying Squirrels have an antidote for any hints of Friday the 13th bad luck that might haunt the home opener.
Early players tried slipping past baseball’s color line
Long before Jackie Robinson broke into professional baseball under the bright lights of New York City, there were other men of color with unquestionable talent who tried doing the same.
VUU to have home field advantage next fall
Virginia Union University’s upcoming football season will be top heavy with home games.
Preston Beverly moves from No. 2 to No.1 as coach at Richard Bland College
Richard Bland College has chosen Preston Beverly to usher its basketball program into the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1.
From hoops to music, Cornell Jones still playing to win
Cornell Jones may have lost the hops that made him such an exciting basketball performer, but his distinctive soulful voice remains a Richmond treasure.
Villanova wins crown
Villanova University has climbed to the top step of college basketball’s highest staircase. And the Wildcats made it the old-fashioned way — minus any “one and done” elite, NBA-bound freshmen players.
Capel named head coach at Pittsburgh
Jeff Capel III, a coach familiar to Richmonders, is the latest addition to a relatively small fraternity — African-American head coaches at NCAA Division I basketball programs.
Robinson works to get Armstrong on track
As a teenage athlete, Valentino Robinson ranked with top high hurdlers in Virginia. Now as coach, he faces a different type of hurdle.
U.Va. makes NCAA history it would like to rewrite
The University of Virginia basketball team seemed ticketed for a magic carpet ride to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.
Coach Tubby Smith gets the boot at Memphis
Memo to colleges in search of a new basketball coach: One of the very best, Tubby Smith, is available again. With Richmond roots, Smith is among college basketball’s most successful coaches. He is also among the most traveled.
VSU’s Aaron Harris becoming a heavy hitter
Aaron Harris has compiled some batting statistics even the great Hank Aaron would be proud of. Baseball fans are familiar with Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who set numerous slugging records — most notably with a former record 755 homers — largely with the Atlanta Braves.
VSU has one of best seasons despite NCAA loss
This basketball season will go down as one of the best in Virginia State University history. Before the Trojans’ season-ending, 77-58 loss Sunday to visiting Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in the NCAA Division II Atlantic regionals, the Trojans achieved these firsts:
Claflin University joining CIAA
Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., has been accepted as the 13th member of the CIAA, the nation’s oldest historically African-American athletic conference.
John Marshall High wins state basketball championship
The best may be yet to come for the John Marshall High School basketball team. Tall, talented and boasting of having almost everything but seniors, the team strolled to the 3A state basketball championship title last Friday, routing Western Albemarle High School 63-42 before a crowd of 5,400 at the Siegel Center in Richmond.
John Marshall heads to Saturday’s state final
John Marshall High School has proven it’s tops in the Richmond area. Now the Justices are out to show they are No. 1 in Virginia.
Huguenot’s Deshawn Ridley snags regional Player of the Year
Deshawn Ridley’s trek to basketball stardom hasn’t always been the smoothest of rides. Twice, he was cut from his school teams — first as a seventh-grader at Elkhardt Middle School, and again as a Huguenot High School freshman.
Lady Panthers win CIAA; headed back to NCAA playoffs
The Virginia Union University Lady Panthers have enjoyed a steady drumbeat of success during the last three years, and the drummer shows no signs of weariness.
VCU Rams open in A10
Plenty of lunchtime basketball is on the menu for Virginia Commonwealth University. The eighth-seeded Rams will open Atlantic 10 Tournament play at noon Thursday, March 8, against No. 9 University of Dayton at Capital One Arena in Washington.
John Marshall hoping to go the distance at state tourney
Richmond’s John Marshall High School is rumbling into the State 3A basketball tournament with a full head of steam.
Darrell Purdie poised to take George Wythe to state finals
Darrell Purdie may be the area’s MVP — most versatile player.
Despite no home court, Huguenot goes to state quarterfinals
A basketball season that couldn’t have started much worse is now on track to be Huguenot High School’s best ever.
Trinity Episcopal’s Donavan Goode takes record in 55-meter dash
Donavan Goode excels in acceleration. Renowned for his Road Runner-style takeoffs, the 17-year-old Trinity Episcopal School senior is the fastest 55-meter dash man in Virginia private school history.
‘Pocahontas’ comes to Va.
More than 400 years after Pocahontas’ burial at St. George’s Church in Gravesend, England, near the mouth of the River Thames, the Pocahontas Project will honor and tell her real life story.
Russell Wilson to play pro football and baseball?
Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and Brian Jordan juggled playing in the NFL and baseball at the same time. Now former Richmonder Russell Wilson, best known as the star quarterback for the NFL Seattle Seahawks, is considering double duty, too.
VUU football Coach Alvin Parker hits ground running
Virginia Union University’s new football coach has hit Lombardy Street running. Since being introduced as the Panthers’ coach on Dec. 18, Alvin Parker has completed his coaching staff, signed his first recruiting class, arranged the spring football schedule and, perhaps best of all, averted the kind of player mutiny often associated with a coaching change.
NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace finishes 2nd at Daytona
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. is making racecar history. The 24-year-old African-American driver finished second Sunday at the prestigious Daytona 500, behind Austin Dillon.
Highland Springs’ Jada Walker inherits mom, dad’s basketball genes
If anyone was ever born to shoot, dribble and pass a basketball, it might be Jada Walker. Her family tree likely has hoops on each branch and perhaps a 3-point arc surrounding the trunk. With great expectations, Jada arrived this season as a freshman guard at Highland Springs High School in Henrico County and she hasn’t disappointed.
Towering Andre Walker helping VUU push past the competition
Virginia Union University boasts its own version of “Andre the Giant” in 6-foot-11 Andre Walker. After a sputtering start, the senior transfer from Hofstra University is aiding VUU’s push toward a No. 2 seed for the CIAA Tournament that starts Feb. 26 in Charlotte, N.C.
VUU rebounding in view of TV cameras
The Aspire TV cameras may have served as a wake-up call for Virginia Union University’s slumbering basketball Panthers.
DaVaughn Kelsie lights it up for Shaw Univ.
DaVaughn Kelsie is Shaw University’s spark from the arc. The Richmond native leads CIAA basketball in filling the cup from behind the 3-point arc.
Smothering defense propels VSU against VUU and in CIAA
Virginia State University and the University of Virginia share more than just school colors. Wearing orange and blue, the University of Virginia has featured a smothering defense in rocketing to the top rank in college hoops.
