Simone Biles waves to the crowd after competing at the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships on Aug. 15, 2015 in Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS – Simone Biles was so good in her pursuit of a third national title that she surprised even herself. “It’s really exciting; I keep shocking myself every year, it’s weird,” she said of her latest achievement.
Biles became the first American woman in 23 years to win three all-around national titles Saturday night at the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships.
The last woman to win three titles, Kim Zmeskal, did so leading into her first Olympic appearance, a feat Biles is now looking to emulate at next year’s Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“It’s amazing just because I know she took the same path and it led her to the Olympics, so I feel pretty good knowing I’ve achieved what she’s achieved,” Biles said of the 1991 world all-around champion.
Biles won her latest U.S. crown with a two-day score of 124.100, an impressive 4.95 points higher than second-place finisher Maggie Nichols. For comparison, her last two U.S. wins were by margins of 0.2 points in 2013 and 4.25 points in 2014. Her win was highlighted by a near-perfect 9.9 execution score on vault.
Clearly, the gap between Biles and everyone else in the country – or world, for that matter – is rapidly increasing. “It’s truly (a matter of wanting) to be the best version of me and I don’t want to replicate others,” Biles said. “Because a lot of people compare me to other people a bunch, but I just want to go out there and I just want to be Simone.”
Members of the Sophisticated Well Articulated Gentlemen’s Group at Brooklyn College Academy support each other socially and academically. (photo via usnews.com)
Last fall, a Howard University sophomore was fielding dozens of phone calls between midnight and 3 a.m. from seniors at Brooklyn College Academy.
The young men had a million questions about applying to college, and as a leader of the Sophisticated Well Articulated Gentlemen’s Group (SWAGG) to which they all belong, Jude Bridgewater had pledged to always answer their calls.
Class of 2015 BCA graduate Turel Polite, left, says he depends on older SWAGG members like Jude Bridgewater, Class of 2013.
Bridgewater, 20, says one of his best days of the year came this spring when a member named Turel Polite, who had clashed early and often with high school administrators, was accepted into his top-choice college – the Academy of Art University in California. Polite credits high school staff members who stayed on his case, and the close-knit network of SWAGG.
“This is a family to me, I can’t look at it any other way,” says Polite, 18, who graduated in June and will be the first male in his family to go to college. “These are my brothers, and every day I come to school, whether I’m feeling good or not … they’ve kept me from doing a lot of things which would have prevented from being here today.”
Brooklyn College Academy has ushered many students like Bridgewater and Polite successfully through high school: 100 percent of the school’s black students graduated on time last year, and almost all of them went on to four-year colleges. In contrast, the overall graduation rate for black male students in New York City was 58 percent in 2014.
School officials say their model is replicable – but only in schools where the adults are willing to pay relentless attention and to hold the students to consistently high expectations.
The secret to the school’s success is not simply which students they pick, administrators say (although they do get to choose – last year 2,800 students applied for 150 seats), but an unremitting and personalized focus on each individual. The understanding that the students come with challenges and unmet needs enabled SWAGG’s creation. It was founded by students who were searching for realistic pathways through the social land mines in their neighborhoods, and for older boys like themselves to learn from and emulate. More than a third of the 56 male students in this year’s senior class were members of SWAGG this year, and school administrators credit its alumni network and leaders for helping to guide an important group of students.
Ethiopian runner Genzebe Dibaba has set a new world record in the 1,500-meter run as she ran 3:50.08 at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Friday.
“I’m the first from Ethiopia to get the 1,500-meter world record. That is amazing,” Dibaba said after the race. “I think Tirunesh (Dibaba) will be happy. All Ethiopia will be happy.” Dibaba’s time surpasses a 22-year-old world record of 3:50.46 by Qu Yunxia of China set in Sept. 1993.
The 24-year-old Dibaba said she may attempt the 1,500-meter/5,000-meter double at next month’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing. No woman has ever medaled at both distances. She will have to run the 1,500-meter race three times (Aug. 22, heat; Aug. 23 semi-final; Aug. 25 final) over three days. The 5,000-meter run will have two rounds—a heat on Aug. 27 and a final on Aug. 30.
Dibaba now has her sights set on the 5,000-meter world record of 14:11.15, set by her sister, Tirunesh, in 2008. Genzebe Dibaba ran 14:15.41 at the Paris Diamond Legaue Meeting on July 4.
Second place finisher Sifan Hassan finished in 3:56.05. Two-time Olympian Shannon Rowbury ran 3:56.29 to set a new American record in the event. The previous record of 3:57.12 was set by Mary Slaney in 1983. Dibaba’s World Record splits: 400-meters at 60.3; 800-meters at 2:04; 1,200-meters at 3:04 before crossing the finish line in 3:50.7.
https://youtu.be/SjOrUCGNhpI article by Christopher Chavez via si.com
Professor Adams Bodomo (Photo via chinaafricaproject.com)
Founded in 1365, the University of Vienna in Austria is the oldest educational institution in the German-speaking world. Now for the first time in the university’s 650-year history, a Black scholar has joined its faculty. Adams Bodomo, from the African nation of Ghana, was appointed professor and chair of the department of African languages and literatures. He is the former director of the African studies program at the University of Hong Kong. Earlier, Professor Bodomo was a lecturer in the linguistics and African studies programs at Stanford University in California. Professor Bodomo is the author of Africans in China: A Sociocultural Study and Its Implications on Africa-China Relations (Cambria Press, 2012).
Dr. Bodomo earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree from University of Ghana in Legon. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and African studies from The Norwegian University of Science and Technology. article via jbhe.com
Ah, but when Williams plays her best, no one is better. Putting aside a lingering illness, a mid-match lull and a feisty opponent, Williams won her third title at Roland Garros and 20th Grand Slam singles trophy by beating 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 on Saturday.
The No. 1-seeded Williams took the last six games and added to her 2002 and 2013 championships on the French Open’s red clay. Those go alongside six each from the U.S. Open and Australian Open, and five from Wimbledon.
“When I was a little girl, in California, my father and my mother wanted me to play tennis. And now I’m here, with 20 Grand Slam titles,” the 33-year-old American said in French. “This is very special for me. I haven’t always played very well here, but I’m really happy to win the 20th here.”
Only two players in the century-plus history of Grand Slam tennis have won more majors: Margaret Smith Court with 24, and Steffi Graf with 22.
Williams also stretched her Grand Slam winning streak to 21 matches, following titles at the U.S. Open last September and Australian Open in January. She is the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win the Australian Open and French Open back-to-back and heads to Wimbledon’s grass with a chance to extend a bid to accomplish just about the only thing she hasn’t: win a calendar-year Grand Slam.
“Why not?” said her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. “That’s probably the most difficult thing to do in tennis. But it’s possible.”
Saturday’s victory did not come easily for Williams, who skipped practice Friday because she was sick, preferring to rest in her Paris apartment. Owner of the most feared serve in women’s tennis, she double-faulted 11 times. She made 25 unforced errors in the second set alone, and 42 in all, 25 more than Safarova, a 28-year-old lefty with a whip-like forehand appearing in her first major final.
Williams got broken serving for the match at 6-5 in the second set, then was down 2-0 in the third. But she kept aiming shots for lines and getting them to go where she wanted, improving to 32-1 in 2015, including 12-0 in three-setters.
“When she was on, she was just serving amazing and going for the returns, pressuring me right away,” said Safarova, who will play in the women’s doubles final Sunday with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. “It’s just hard to do anything with that.”
When it was over, Williams dropped her racket, threw her head back and lifted her arms into a “V.” In the stands, Mouratoglou held aloft two fingers on his right hand and made a fist with his left, to symbolize “20.”
And to think: Four times in this tournament, Williams dropped the opening set before coming back to win, including in Thursday’s semifinals, when she was lethargic and bothered by the flu. So the question leading into the final was: How healthy would Williams be? She began providing answers from the get-go.
Williams closed the first game with a 120 mph (194 kph) ace. She went up 3-1 by breaking with a cross-court forehand return winner. The first set flew by and even Safarova acknowledged afterward, “It was looking like it will be an easy match.”
At 4-1 for Williams in the second, seemingly all but over, she began to falter. A dull contest, and the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd, came to life. “I just had goose bumps,” Safarova said, “hearing those people cheering.”
Coughing between points, Williams double-faulted twice in a row to get broken for the first time, then double-faulted again to make it 4-all. When Safarova, growing ever more confident, held moments later, she had taken four consecutive games. She stood strong in the tiebreaker and at the outset of the third set, too, displaying the strokes that beat past champions Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic during what Safarova called an “amazing two weeks for me.”
As soon as Safarova made things interesting enough Saturday to perhaps begin thinking about clutching the silver trophy, Williams quickly regained control, as she so often does. article by Associated Press via latimes.com
Carolina Panthers Star Quarterback Cam Newton (photo via theurbandaily.com)
Cam Newton’s new contract is historic. Now the Carolina Panthers will hope his play jumps to historic levels. Newton not only got a mega-deal from the Panthers, it’s one of the biggest the NFL has ever seen. Newton will make $67.6 million in the first three years of his five-year, $103.8 million deal, according to multiple reports. The deal became official on Tuesday.
That would be the largest payout over the first three years of a deal in NFL history, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said. USA Today’s Tom Pelissero said Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger held the record at $65 million. The deal includes $60 million in guarantees for injuries, according to reports.
Newton is very talented and his production has been severely underrated throughout his career, but that’s still a heck of a payout based on what Newton has done so far. And it must make the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks a little nervous.
Newton isn’t considered at the same level as Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, and hasn’t been a part of as much team success as Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. So it’s fair to wonder if Luck and Wilson, who entered the NFL a year after Newton did, will get long-awaited contract extensions that will surpass Newton’s deal. That deal certainly sets the bar high.
Newton put up career lows in most statistical categories last season, but he dealt with some major injuries along the way. Still, expectations will increase for Newton now. That’s the nature of such a big deal. And, at least by one measure, there has never been a bigger deal.
At 77, Rose Green is still brushing off her cleats and maintaining her status as one of the fastest sprinters in her age group, My Fox DC reports. It’s a pretty impressive feat, not only because of her age but also because she took up the sport just last year and rose to the top of the ranks in such a short time.
According to My Fox DC, Green, a resident of Prince George’s County, Md., has won medals in several competitions, including the 200- and 400-meter races, and is the nation’s record holder in her age group in the 60-meter sprint. Green, a great-grandmother, is trained vigorously by coach Cortez Austin. He’s also her boyfriend.
“She’s world-class,” Austin said about Green’s work ethic and ability. She trains seven days a week.
Green says that she doesn’t get any special treatment from Austin. “He’ll tell me, ‘Your form is not right, you’re not going as fast as you should,’ ” Green said. “He’s a very strict coach even though we are lovers.”
Green is turning into a local celebrity in her Cameron Grove adult community, and she’s helping students and other runners strive to greatness as well. “She is like a celebrity,” said Austin. “It’s no question that she is an inspiration.”
“I hear that so many times that I’m starting to believe that I’m an inspiration to all these people,” Green said.
Green is currently training for the national senior championships in July. “I’m working towards the world record,” she said. “Why not?”
Read more and see video of this inspiring woman at My Fox DC. article by Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele via theroot.com
Barack Obama has joined Twitter and broken a Guinness World Record.
Some of you are probably thinking, “Just joined Twitter? He’s been on the social media site for years—it maybe even helped him win an election.” And you’d be correct—the President’s checkmarked profile, currently with 59.4 million followers, has been active since 2007.
But on Monday, the handle @POTUS (President of the United States) debuted, featuring tweets exclusively from the president. According to Forbes, it was amassing about 3,314 followers per minute in the time between his first tweet around noon and racking up his millionth follower around 4:15 p.m.
So, in just a little more than four hours, the Leader of the Free World got more followers on the microblogging site than many of us will ever see in our social media lifetime.
He’s still behind Twitter buddy and former President Bill Clinton, who has 3.52 million followers, and former rival Hillary Clinton, who has 3.54 million.
But back to the world record. According to the Huffington Post, Obama logged the “fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Twitter.” That honor had previously been held by Avengers actor Robert Downey Jr., who reached the milestone in about 24 hours upon joining Twitter in April 2014.
His new account is not in the top-tier of users with the most followers—at least not yet. The honor for the most followers belongs to singer Katy Perry, who has 69.9 million followers, and Justin Bieber, who comes in second with 64 million. Obama’s first Twitter account, run by the group Organizing for Action, is at No. 59.4 million followers. article by Joe Lyons via blackenterprise.com
Musical legends Michael Jackson and Ray Charles (photo via eurweb.com)
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is putting the icon status of Michael Jackson and Ray Charles towards a great cause with the establishment of two new scholarship programs.
A press release reveals the Michael Jackson scholarship will provide financial assistance to communication arts and social science students attending a UNCF college/university during the upcoming academic year.
To qualify for the scholarship, high school seniors must plan on enrolling at a UNCF member school in the fall. Proof of acceptance at the UNCF college/university must be submitted. Depending on the financial need of the student as verified by the attending University or College, the scholarship will provide an award totaling up $5,000.
In addition to the Michael Jackson scholarship, the release detailed the intent of the Ray Charles Endowed Scholarship, which is set up to help African-American students with high academic promise that have significant financial need.
Endowment scholarships, which are renewable for up to one year, will be awarded to students who meet the recommended eligibility criteria. Criteria includes students being an African-American junior enrolled full-time at a UNCF member HBCU and having a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. In addition, students must have a demonstrated unmet financial need that is verified by their college or university.
For more details on the Michael Jackson UNCF Scholarship, click here. More information on the Ray Charles Endowment Scholarship can be found here. article by Qwest7 via eurweb.com
(L to R) Top row: Amanda Allen, Darrius Atkins, Rashaun Bennett, Andre Evans, Qiddist Hammerly, and Donovan Hicks. Bottom row: Louis Laine, Krystal McLeod, Caylyn Perry, Mya-Lee Roberson, and Olivia Smith. (Photo via jbhe.com) The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation has announced the selection of the 2015 Truman Scholars. Each Truman Scholar is awarded up to $30,000 for graduate study. They also receive priority admission to several top-tier graduate schools, have career and graduate school counseling opportunities, and are fast-tracked for internships within the federal government.
Truman Scholars must be U.S. citizens and be in the top 25 percent of their college class. They must express a commitment to government service or the nonprofit sector.
This year, 58 Truman scholars were selected from 688 candidates nominated by 297 colleges and universities. This year’s winners will assemble for a leadership development workshop at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, in late May.
Of this year’s 58 Truman Scholars, it appears that 11, or 19 percent, are African Americans. Amanda Allen is a junior at the University of Louisville, where she is majoring in communication and political science. At the university, she is the executive director of the Engage, Lead, Serve Board which oversees student service projects on campus. She hopes to earn a master’s degree in education and then enroll in law school. Darrius Atkins is the junior class president at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He is majoring in political science with a concentration in American government. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy and then attend law school. He has interned in the Illinois House of Representatives and at Goldman Sachs. Rashaun Bennett is a political science major at Davidson College in North Carolina. He is also pursuing a minor in economics. He has worked with local public schools to increase enrollment in Advanced Placement programs. Bennett plans to earn a master’s degree in public policy. Andre Evans is a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. A native of Chicago, he is majoring in naval architecture. He is the president of the Midshipmen Black Studies Club and is the bass section leader for the academy’s gospel choir. He hopes to earn a graduate degree in social and urban policy. Qiddist Hammerly is a student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is majoring in social policy and her goal is to end racial disparities in education and the criminal justice system. She plans to study for a master of public policy degree. Donovan Hicks is a vice president of the study body at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is double majoring in government and finance and pursuing a minor in accounting. He studied abroad in Germany and interned in southern India. He plans to obtain a master of public policy degree and go to law school.
