Gophers still in play after loss to Ohio State HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL — Wonder if empty seats will be as noticeable at this week’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament in Chicago as it was last weekend outside the Windy City at the tournament of their female counterparts. Located literally in the middle of nowhere, this was the second time the cavernous Sears Centre, which has … [Read more...]
A space for national and local sports coverage from columnists Charles Hallman, Larry Fitzgerald, Jr., Mitch Palmer McDonald and more.
North High’s AD aims to ‘turn athletics around’ at the school
Dr. Leo Lewis III has made a successful transition from college to high school athletics administration. He moved from the University of Minnesota to North High School last year. “Larry McKenzie [the school’s boys’ basketball coach] came to me and talked about being the athletic director at North,” recalls Lewis, the former U of M associate athletics director, the only Black … [Read more...]
City prep star returns to play for Gophers
There are approximately 100 African American and other student-athletes of color this school year at the University of Minnesota. In an occasional series throughout the 2014-15 school and sports year, the MSR will highlight many of these players. This week: Gopher women’s basketball transfer Allina Starr. Allina Starr is Gophers Head Coach Marlene Stollings’ first city signee. … [Read more...]
Four City Conference teams could be playing come March
By March there could be three teams from the Minneapolis City Conference and one from the St. Paul City Conference representing at the state boys’ basketball tournament while being led by some of the state’s top players. St. Paul Johnson, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, is led by point guard Jalen Mobley’s 17.5 points per game. Tyler Johnson leads Minneapolis North, ranked … [Read more...]
Trailblazers like Bobby Bell integrated college football
It’s commonplace today seeing young Black men sign up to play big-time college football, such as during last week’s National Football Signing Day. But it wasn’t that long ago when Blacks were Jim Crowed out of college football. “You asked me has the game changed? Yes, it changed a lot,” responded Bobby Bell to our question. We spoke on New Years’ Day after the Gophers played … [Read more...]