Maggie Walker among local schools receiving an NFL Golden Football
The former Maggie L. Walker High School has been awarded an NFL Golden Football for being among the high schools that contributed to the first 49 years of Super Bowls. Willie Lanier, a member of the Maggie L. Walker Class of 1963, helped the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970, in New Orleans. From Walker, Lanier went on to star at Morgan State University in Baltimore before embarking on a Hall of Fame career with the Chiefs.
Serena gracious even in defeat at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Serena Williams’ relaxed outlook on life spilled over even in defeat last Saturday when she appeared to be almost as happy that Angelique Kerber had won her first grand slam final as the German herself. The 34-year-old Serena lost the Australian Open final to the seventh-ranked Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in just more than two hours of scintillating tennis at Rod Laver Arena in which the German negated the American’s power and capitalized on unforced errors.
Area high school basketball standouts racking up points in college
The University of Kansas has won three NCAA basketball tournaments —1952, 1988 and 2008. If the Jayhawks are soon to add No. 4, look for Frank Mason III at center stage.
Former AAU player is NCAA leading scorer
A Howard University junior with Richmond connections is the NCAA’s leading basketball scorer. James Daniel III starred at Phoebus High School in Hampton and played offseason AAU ball for Richmond-based Team Loaded.
VSU coach calls it quits
By Fred Jeter Virginia State University is looking for a new football coach — again. After posting a 6-4 record in his only season with the Trojans, Coach Byron Thweatt, 38, has resigned to become the linebackers coach at James Madison University.
MLB icon Lee Smith almost had basketball career
Before Lee Arthur Smith became one of baseball’s ace relief pitchers, he was affectionately known as “that other guy” back home in tiny Castor, La. Smith, a guest at the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ annual Hot Stove Banquet last Thursday at the Siegel Center, spoke of the day his sporting focus shifted from basketball to baseball.
VCU eyeing 11th straight win Friday
From mid-December to mid-January, it would be hard finding a more dominant college basketball team than the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. Since Dec. 15 when the record was 5-5, Coach Will Wade’s squad has won 10 straight games with an average victory margin of 17.2 points.
Former VSU Coach Harold Deane to be honored Feb.6
Harold Deane served Virginia State University for more than a half century as athlete, coach and educator. Now it’s VSU’s turn to give back.
Local players help MJBL teams to victory
Richmond coaches and players took on big roles in helping the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League mark its 50th anniversary providing youth baseball during the nonprofit organization’s recent East-West All-Star games in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Savannah, Ga.
VIA Heritage Association to induct inaugural Hall of Fame group
Numerous athletes, coaches and contributors from the Richmond area have been named to Virginia Interscholastic Association Heritage Association’s (VIAHA) inaugural Hall of Fame Class. The induction banquet will be 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 20, at DoubleTree by Hilton in Charlottesville, 990 Hilton Heights Road.
Sherron Mills, former VCU basketball standout, dies at 44
Former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball star Sherron Mills died Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Mr. Mills was 44 and lived in Baltimore.
Charles Oakley, Charlie Stukes among 2016 inductees into Va. Sports Hall of Fame
For the second year in a row, a former Virginia Union University basketball center has been named to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Charles Oakley, the NCAA Division II Player of the Year for VUU in 1985, will be inducted April 30 at the Renaissance-Portsmouth Norfolk Waterfront Hotel in Portsmouth.
Pistons retire ‘Big Ben’ Wallace’s No.3
Ben Wallace wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school in Alabama. Nor was his name called in the NBA draft following a career at Virginia Union University. Despite that, he goes down as one of basketball’s all-time greats on the low post.
Hiring one, firing one among NFL black coaching ranks
The Cleveland Browns have turned to journeyman Hue Jackson to jumpstart the stalled franchise. The 50-year-old Jackson, most recently offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, is accepting what has been the NFL’s version of mission impossible. Since 1999 when the “new” Browns were born in Northeast Ohio, the franchise has gone 87-185, with just two playoff games (losses in 2002 and 2007). Coach Mike Pettine, after two years on the sidelines, was fired after going 3-13 this last season as the latest casualty on the coaching merry-go-round.
Freedom Classic comes to Coliseum Sunday
It’s fitting that someone from historic Yorktown has helped spark a basketball revolution at Virginia State University. The reasons are numerous why VSU has vaulted from the bottom to the top of the CIAA standings. You can start the list with versatile 6-foot-8 junior Elijah R. Moore, aka “ERM,” from Yorktown’s Grafton High School.
VIA to discuss creation of Hall of Fame Saturday
The Virginia Interscholastic Association Heritage Committee will meet at noon, Saturday, Jan. 16, at Vincenzo’s Restaurant, 609 Boulevard, in Colonial Heights.
Former area football standout signs with Hampton University
Former L.C. Bird High School sensation Yahkee Johnson has signed a full National Letter of Intent to continue football next season at Hampton University.
Yay Rah Rah!
Armstrong’s Rashaundra Thomas hits 1,000 points
Rashaundra Thomas has a long name, a short frame and an often dazzling game. The 5-foot-3 Armstrong High School senior, who answers to “Rah Rah,” is the Wildcats’ first 1,000-point basketball scorer since Denise Winn in 1994.
Chaise Johnson eyeing options after Steward School
Like many star high school guards, Chaise Johnson has speed, court smarts and a keen shooting eye. Unlike most, he also has a former NBA first-round draft choice as his longtime tutor. The Steward School all-time scorer credits Cory Alexander — San Antonio’s first-round draft pick in 1995 — with advancing his development.
MJBL celebrates 50th anniversary with games in Ga., Fla.
When his son was banned from Richmond area Little League baseball programs because of the color of his skin, physician William M.T. Forrester Sr. took action.
Lee Smith guest at Flying Squirrels charity event
Seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star relief pitcher Lee Smith will be among the star attractions at the Richmond Flying Squirrels Charity Hot Stove Banquet.
Monte Irvin, who helped integrate major league baseball, dies at 96
Monte Irvin, a trailblazing baseball star and the oldest surviving Negro Leagues player, died Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, of natural causes at a retirement community in Houston. He was 96. Had it not been for a contractual issue with the Negro Leagues’ Newark Eagles in New Jersey, Mr. Irvin — and not Jackie Robinson — might have been the first African-American to play in the modern big leagues. Eagles owner Effa Manley would not allow Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey to acquire Mr. Irvin without financial compensation.
VUU’s Kiana Johnson leads CIAA all around the ball
Fueled by transfer Kiana Johnson, the Virginia Union University women’s basketball team has taken off like a rocket. The 5-foot-7 dynamo leads the CIAA in scoring (24.8 points per game), assists (8.2 per game) and steals (4.2 per game) while steering the Lady Panthers to an 8-1 takeoff under first-year Coach AnnMarie Gilbert. Inheriting a squad coming off a 9-18 season, Coach Gilbert felt she needed a quality point guard to jump start her inaugural season on Lombardy Street.
Rams wreak ‘Havoc’ at home and on the road
“Havoc” is alive and well at Virginia Commonwealth University, even though its founder, former Coach Shaka Smart, has left for Austin, Texas. In examining the Rams’ recent basketball statistics, you’d hardly suspect Coach Smart had been replaced by Coach Will Wade.
Henrico High gym becomes ‘Buckingham Palace’
It’s about time for De’Monte Buckingham to be entered into the discussion of the Richmond area’s all-time, high school basketball greats. At least since the 1970s, few players have piled up more points — and more championships — than the Henrico High School megastar.
Sister of Seattle’s star has star power of her own
It’s no surprise Anna Wilson is having a sensational senior year in high school playing basketball. The surprise is that she’s playing on America’s West Coast instead of in Richmond’s West End.
Springers bring home the crown
Instead of Highland Springs High School, perhaps it should be Highlight Springs. Forget the slow but sure approach. Coach Loren Johnson’s Springers were fast and sure in sprinting to the State Division 5 football title last Saturday at the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium in Charlottesville.
VUU’s Shawheem Dowdy wins coveted Lanier Award
Willie Lanier starred for Morgan State University. But until now, no athlete from a historically black college or university had won the Touchdown Club of Richmond’s Lanier Award. The drought ended Dec. 9 when Virginia Union University quarterback Shawheem Dowdy won the Lanier Award. The trophy was presented to Dowdy by Lanier, a Richmond native, at a Henrico County hotel. The Lanier Award, dating to 2004, goes to Virginia’s top performer in the NCAA Division II or III or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
John Marshall’s ‘Baby-faced Bomber’ morphs into ‘J-Rock’
It seems fitting Jeremy Carter-Sheppard goes by two surnames. That’s because he’s about twice as hard to guard as most teenagers. John Marshall High School’s hyphenated hero can wow you in so many ways. John Marshall Coach Ty White was asked if his senior star was most effective popping from outside, driving to the basket or dishing to teammates. Coach White’s quick reply: “All of the above.”
Golden State’s winning streak halted by Milwaukee
No one is contesting the Golden State Warriors’ status as the NBA’s best team last year and thus far this season. But are the Warriors the best of all time? Led by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Oakland franchise is on pace to achieve the top winning record since the NBA was founded in 1946.
Melvin Johnson brings heart, big numbers to Rams
Melvin Johnson obviously enjoys big cities, big name basketball opponents and national TV cameras. VCU is hoping his sharpshooting trend continues next Tuesday when the Rams travel to Atlanta to play ACC member Georgia Tech in a 9 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2. The Rams are 5-3 after a 76-71 loss Sunday at Atlanta’s Philips Arena to another ACC school, Florida State University, on ESPNU.
Dave Roberts first black manager for L.A. Dodgers
Richmond’s legion of NBA fans will again have local favorites to follow on both sides of the country this season. Former Virginia Commonwealth University marksman Troy Daniels, who holds the Atlantic 10 record for the most three-pointers in a season, is beginning his fourth NBA season and his second with the Charlotte Hornets.
Local favorites hitting NBA boards this season
Richmond’s legion of NBA fans will again have local favorites to follow on both sides of the country this season. Former Virginia Commonwealth University marksman Troy Daniels, who holds the Atlantic 10 record for the most three-pointers in a season, is beginning his fourth NBA season and his second with the Charlotte Hornets. Meanwhile, former Hanover High School/Benedictine/University of North Carolina standout Ed Davis will commence his fifth NBA season overall and first season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
VCU Rams jostle the crowns of basketball royalty
Native New Yorker Melvin Johnson wasn’t about to get blinded by the lights on arguably college basketball’s brightest stage, Madison Square Garden.
Dr. Robert M. Screen, Hampton University’s longtime winning tennis coach, dies
Dr. Robert Martin Screen, who ushered Hampton University tennis into the national spotlight, died Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, in Hampton. In more than 40 years of coaching at HU, Dr. Screen led the Pirates to two NCAA Division II tennis championships, 22 straight CIAA titles and 11 consecutive MEAC crowns.
Kenyan, Ethiopian runners clinch top spots in marathon
Runners from Kenya and Ethiopia were first to the finish line last Saturday in the 38th Annual Anthem Richmond Marathon. More than 19,000 runners competed in the main event — the 26.2-mile marathon — along with its companion races, the half marathon and 8K.
VCU Rams take on Duke Blue Devils in NY
Here comes the rubber match. Virginia Commonwealth University and Duke University have met twice before in basketball, in 2007 and 2012, with each school winning once.
Panthers win 28-27 over Trojans; now looking for NCAA bid
Virginia Union University has rested its case — a powerful case for sure — in its effort to win a NCAA football playoff invitation.
38th Richmond Marathon to run on Saturday
Little could Greek courier Pheidippides have known he was kick-starting an activity that would endure for centuries. The sport now known as the marathon is said to stem from 490 B.C. when Pheidippides ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the outnumbered Greek army had defeated the invading Persians.
VUU, VSU clash on Saturday
Panthers eyeing tournament bids
All goals remain possible for Virginia Union University as it prepares for its final regular season football game Saturday against Virginia State University in Ettrick.
Simone Biles wins 3rd world championship
Simone Biles reigns as the queen of gymnastics. The 18-year-old American continued her dominance by winning her third straight world championship, beating Olympic champion and teammate Gabby Douglas last week at the gymnastic competition in Glasgow.
Dusty Baker named manager of Nationals
Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker once hung his baseball cap in Richmond before becoming a successful big league player and manager.
VUU hopes for NCAA bid despite takedown
Here is the good news/bad news update on Virginia Union University football. Unsettling news is that by losing 23-19 last Saturday at Bowie State University, VUU is now a long shot to win the CIAA Northern Division title and advance to the CIAA title game.
Few black coaches at top tier teams
On NCAA football’s top tier — Bowl Championship Subdivision (BCS) — statistics show a dramatic disparity. African-Americans comprise 53 percent of athletes but only 11 percent of head coaches, according to a 2014 report of The Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport.
VUU homecoming victory sets up fight against the Bulldogs
Virginia Union University has become both the irresistible force and the immovable object of CIAA football. Under second-year Coach Mark James, the Panthers have showcased the league’s most powerful offense — 422 yards per game — and also the stiffest defense, with a scant 149 average yield.
VSU homecoming a heartbreaker
Virginia State University’s Trojans are down but not necessarily out. Following a heartbreaking 22-19 homecoming loss Oct. 17 to Bowie State University before 7,300 fans, VSU still has an outside chance of “three-peating” as the CIAA Northern Division champion. But for that to happen, the Trojans, now 1-1 in the division, will need to go on a winning streak — and get some outside help.
VCU hoops opens with exhibition game
The Will Wade era of Virginia Commonwealth University basketball is on the launching pad, preparing for a long-awaited take off.
WNBA champs
Minnesota Lynx party like it’s 1999 — with Prince
What better time to party than after winning the WNBA title for a third time in five years. And who better to party with than Prince. The Minnesota Lynx and the megastar singer-songwriter partied like it was 1999 after the Lynx won the WNBA championship crown Oct. 14 over the Indiana Fever.
VUU men win cross-country meet
Virginia Union University’s Franck Charles remains undefeated this season after winning the Panther Classic cross-country meet last weekend at Richmond’s Bryan Park.
Field of dreams
Armstrong High’s coach wants decent baseball field for team
Armstrong High School’s baseball program has a passionate coach, a covey of eager athletes and an East End pipeline suggesting more talent is on the way. What it doesn’t have is a decent field to play on.
