Panthers looking for 3-peat Saturday against St. Augustine’s
William “Will” Stanback suffered a misstep, of sorts, in Orlando, Fla., and lost all football traction. Now he’s back in full stride in Richmond. Call it the “Stanback comeback.”
MLB African-American managers square off in upcoming series
Major league baseball’s lone African-American managers are on a collision course. Both the Washington Nationals’ first-year skipper Dusty Baker, and Dave Roberts, in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, have guided their squads to division titles. Baker’s National League East champs open a best-of-five series against Roberts’ NL West champs Friday, Oct. 7.
Coach Lancaster returns home for next chapter in legendary career
George Lancaster says there is one aspect of coaching he’s looking forward to even more than the home court advantage.
VUU beats CIAA defending champ Winston-Salem State
The clouds have parted, as least for now. After two deflating losses, the Virginia Union University Panthers are heading to Fayetteville State University this Saturday, Sept. 24, with a victory under their belts and a smile on their faces. Coach Mark James’ squad is 1-2 after a rousing 37-14 win last Saturday against its longtime nemesis, Winston-Salem State University.
VSU wins Kentucky matchup; meets Winston-Salem State on Saturday
Kavon Bellamy is listed as a running back, but battering ram might better describe his role for the Virginia State University Trojans. He pounds and pounds until he gets where he wants to go. The senior from Hampton leads the CIAA in rushing and, not coincidentally, the Trojans are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1997.
Andrew ‘Bo’ Hobbs, longtime TJ coach, dies at 57
Andrew Nicholas “Bo” Hobbs Jr., former athlete and basketball coach at Richmond’s Thomas Jefferson High School, died Monday, Sept. 19, 2016.
VSU wins home opener
When former NFL wide receiver Reggie Barlow was hired as Virginia State University football coach, many felt he would install a wide-open passing game. That may eventually come.
VUU Panthers trip themselves with 3 interceptions, 12 penalties
Two games into its football season, Virginia Union University has no wins and lots of problems. Tormented by penalties and turnovers, the Panthers now face a road trip to play CIAA juggernaut Winston-Salem State University on Saturday, Sept. 17.
UR wallops NSU; HU beat by W&M
Life on the visitors’ side of Robins Stadium didn’t go well for former University of Richmond football Coach Latrell Scott.
3 VUU players on watch list for inaugural Deacon Jones Trophy
Virginia Union University’s Shawheem Dowdy, Hakeem Holland and Paulin Miano are on the first Deacon Jones Trophy watch list.
VUU loses to LIU-Post; looking for victory in S.C.
Virginia Union University is an NCAA Division II football program with plenty of Division I talent. Some exciting Division I transfers made a positive impression but couldn’t produce a victory in VUU’s rainy opener last Saturday before 757 fans at Hovey Field in Richmond.
VSU opens at home on Saturday; defeated Lenoir-Rhyne University in first game
After just one game, Virginia State University football Coach Reggie Barlow has earned a Gatorade shower, a game ball and, best of all, a resounding road victory. The Coach Barlow era began gloriously last Saturday with a 34-9 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C.
NSU plays UR at Robins Stadium; HU takes on W&M at home
There was a time not so long ago when no man on earth wanted to see the University of Richmond win a football game more than Coach Latrell Scott.
African-Americans hold key NFL coaching, quarterback positions
The NFL season opens this weekend with five African-American head coaches and likely six African-American starting quarterbacks representing the 32 teams.
George Wythe wins opener for first time in 13 years
George Wythe High School found a quality quarterback and a long overdue victory all in the same week. As a result, the Bulldogs are 1-0 for the first time since 2003. “I saw some good things and some bad things. That’s always how a coach looks at it,” second-year head Coach Dion Foxx said after his 8-6 win last Friday at Armstrong High School.
Armstrong bracing for bigger opponents
Armstrong High School football Coach McDaniel Anderson says he is searching for a cure for what he calls “the inner city blues.”
HBCU athletes win spotlight, medals in Rio
Francena McCorory represents the gold standard of track and field in Virginia. The Hampton native and Hampton University graduate now has doubled her Olympic gold medal count. The 27-year-old added a second gold in the 4x400 relay at the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. McCorory helped Team USA to a first place finish in the semifinals. She did not run in the finals, but still qualified for individual gold.
Is Bolt the greatest sprinter of all time?
There is ample reason to label Usain Bolt the greatest Olympic sprinter of all time. But is he? In support of American heroes, admirers of Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis may contest Bolt’s kingly status.
George Wythe Bulldogs hoping to climb out of slump
Imagine you’re a lightweight boxer, and every time you enter the ring you’re facing a heavyweight. That’s about how George Wythe High School’s football Bulldogs must feel. The results are predictable. The South Siders were 0-10 last year, outscored 461-38. The team has just two wins in the last 10 years.
Clouds lifting for Huguenot Falcons varsity team
Huguenot High School’s 2015 football Falcons were either 2-8 or 8-2, depending on whether you attended games on Friday or Thursday nights.
Simone Manuel swims into history, Olympic record
It has taken 31 Olympiads and 120 years, but finally an African-American woman has won an individual gold medal in swimming.
Usain Bolt dashes off with medal
Jamaica, homeland of the incomparable Usain Bolt, ranks 139th in the world in population but it’s No. 1 in terms of speed. The Caribbean island of some 2.95 million people deserves the title “World’s Fastest Country” based on its domination in 100-meter dash Olympic competition.
Feggins hopes to get VSU football back to No.1
Small town kid, big time talent. That may be the best way to describe George “Geo” Feggins, Virginia State University’s bone-jarring middle linebacker. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior, who came to the Trojans from Park View High School in South Hill — population 4,541 — is VSU’s lone All-CIAA preseason pick.
NSU, HU may have rough going in MEAC football season
After dominating CIAA football, coaches Latrell Scott and Connell Maynor have found MEAC a tougher nut to crack. Coach Scott, 41, is in his second year at Norfolk State University following two banner seasons as the head football coach at Virginia State University.
Youth teams score big in USBA, AAU national competition
Local teams came back winners and runners-up in separate national basketball competitions. Team Loaded’s 12-year-olds dominated a 60-team field in winning the United States Basketball Association Nationals last month in Charlotte, N.C.
Youth enjoy tourney hosted by Flying Squirrels
Two Richmond youth baseball teams enjoyed a taste of victory last Friday and Saturday in Chesterfield County. The Richmond Hornets and a squad from the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League (MJBL) competed in the fourth annual Richmond Flying Squirrels Regional Youth Tournament for youngsters ages 12 and under at Harry G. Daniel Park at Ironbridge.
JM’s Carter-Sheppard signs with East Carolina
Jeremy Carter-Sheppard of Richmond’s John Marshall High School is headed to East Carolina University to play basketball on scholarship for the Pirates of the American Athletic Conference.
Coach Lancaster starts new chapter
George Lancaster says he has retired. Officially he has after 37 seasons and two Virginia championships at Highland Springs High School in Henrico County. But the more the 71-year-old coaching legend talks, the more you learn another chapter may yet unfold. Coach Lancaster is in the process of moving back to his hometown of Chase City in Mecklenburg County, where he just may pop up with a whistle around his neck at Bluestone High School.
Dry spell broken for Cleveland’s pro teams
It has been a long time between sips of champagne in Northeast Ohio. Led by LeBron James’ MVP performance, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored a heroic Game 7 win Sunday night over the favored Golden State Warriors to clinch the NBA title and end decades of sports frustration in the Midwest city. The Cleveland Cavaliers were an NBA expansion squad in 1970. They reached the playoff finals in 2007, losing 4-0 to the San Antonio Spurs and falling 4-2 to Golden State in the 2015 finals.
Henrico senior wins state title in 2 events
The term “country comes to the city” could be the title of Craig McElroy’s athletic fortunes. McElroy spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at rural Charles City High School, enrollment 285. As a junior, he transferred to suburban Henrico High School, enrollment 1,780.
Squirrels, others commit to sports field upgrade
The neglected baseball field at Charlie D. Sydnor Playground at the J.H. Blackwell Community Center in South Richmond is overgrown with weeds and unsafe for organized games.
VSU names new defensive coordinator
Dwone Sanders may be a newcomer at Virginia State University but he is a familiar face to VSU football Coach Reggie Barlow.
Statue of Josh Gibson greets visitors at the Washington Nationals Stadium
The greatest baseball player in Washington history never played for the old Washington Senators or current Major League Baseball team Washington Nationals. That is Josh Gibson, the super slugging catcher credited with a career total of nearly 800 home runs.
Injury cleared way for championship in high jump
Before Kequan Henley ever took off as a high-flying state champion in the high jump, the tall and springy Armstrong High School student was in love with basketball. Then during his sophomore year in 2014, he suffered a significant injury. “First game of the year, I went up for a rebound and came down on my head. Knocked me out. I woke up in the hospital with a bad concussion,” he recalled.
Old-fashioned baseball reigns in the country
Baseball is losing ground in urban areas but remains a premier attraction down dusty country roads, far removed from the city’s hustle and bustle. On diamonds carved out of the woods in places like Prince George and Dinwiddie counties, old-fashioned country hardball, spiced with ample music, food and socializing, still takes center stage on warm weekends.
VCU heading South
Virginia Commonwealth University will be taking its basketball talents South during the upcoming season. Coach Will Wade’s Rams will play the University of Illinois on Dec. 3 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
VUU signs 4
Virginia Union University basketball coach Jay Butler has announced signings of four new players and suggests more may be on the way.
Former VUU football center now Roanoke’s new mayor
Sherman Lea has gone from the center of the football action at Virginia Union University to the center of the political arena in Roanoke, where he is now the mayor elect.
Willard Bailey to keynote VIAHA Hall of Fame banquet
Former Virginia Union University football Coach Willard Bailey will be the keynote speaker for the Virginia Interscholastic Association Heritage Association’s inaugural Hall of Fame Banquet.
Ali was golden starting in 1960 Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome were held during the height of the bitter Cold War. Helping to ease world tension was 18-year-old Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., just two months after his graduation from Central High School in Louisville, Ky., where he was a bit of a class clown.
VSU extends Blow’s contract
Virginia State University officials like what they see in basketball Coach Lonnie Blow Jr. so much so they have extended his contract through 2021.
Washington Nats manager Dusty Baker recalls his ‘heckuva good time’ in Richmond
It has been 45 years since he last swung a bat at the former Parker Field, but Dusty Baker remembers Richmond. Graciously, Baker, the current Washington Nationals manager, granted an interview to the Free Press on May 28, prior to the Nats’ home game with St. Louis.
Va.’s fastest sprinter, Noah Lyles, running in Newport News this weekend
Track fans have one last chance to see in person the fastest sprinter in Virginia High School League history. Noah Lyles, a 5-foot-9 senior at Alexandria’s T.C. Williams High School, is the favorite to win 100-meter dash at this weekend’s state Division 6A meet at Todd Stadium in Newport News.
Local area softball stars gearing up for championships
The Cooke’s-Allen softball team, long known as Cooke’s Lawn Service, has been mowing down its softball competitors for decades.
Fayetteville State names new basketball coach
Ken Spencer is the new basketball coach at Fayetteville State University. Coach Spencer succeeds Alphonza Kee, who posted an overall 91-107 record in seven seasons at the CIAA Southern Division university.
Cavaliers coach seeking title, record
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tyronn Lue is seeking to become just the sixth African-American coach to win an NBA title. The Cavaliers commence their best-of-seven championship battle Thursday, June 2, against the defending champs, the Golden State Warriors. Game 1 of the finals will be played in Oakland, Ca.
VUU’s Taylor White named CIAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Few have maximized their college experience more than Virginia Union University’s Taylor White.
High school baseball players heading to camp in Cincinnati
In Major League Baseball’s search for young African-American talent, the Richmond area hasn’t been overlooked. Tyriq Branch of Henrico High School and Chris Hayden at L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield County have been selected to participate in the Breakthrough Series, June 15 through 19 in Cincinnati.
NSU basketball signs 3 transfer players
In need of immediate help, Norfolk State University basketball has gone all in on transfers. Spartans Coach Robert Jones recently announced three more signings — all transfers.
Mamie Rallins, former Olympic hurdler, Hampton University coach dies at 74
Two-time Olympian and former Ohio State University and Hampton University women’s track coach Mamie Rallins died Monday, May 16, 2016, in a car wreck near Port Clinton, Ohio.
