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Posts published in “Sports”

Donald Driver Retires; Receiver’s Career Celebrated at Lambeau Field

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2013
Donald Driver #90 of the Green Bay Packers on the sidelines against theTennessee Titans at Lambeau Field on December 23, 2012 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Tom Lynn /Getty Images)

Donald Driver #90 of the Green Bay Packers on the sidelines against the Tennessee Titans at Lambeau Field on December 23, 2012 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Tom Lynn /Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Donald Driver rewrote the Green Bay Packers record books and on Wednesday morning, the wildly popular wide receiver might’ve rewritten the book on how a player should call it a career.
Officially retiring after 14 seasons – all with the Packers, something that was extremely important to him – the franchise’s all-time leading receiver celebrated his career during an unprecedented event inside the Lambeau Field atrium with 1,500 fans, his family, Packers coaches, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Green Bay mayor Jim Schmitt and a handful of teammates.
Driver says it was a tough decision but he’s ready for the next chapter in his life. He retires after catching 743 passes for 10,137 yards, making the team as a seventh-round draft pick out of Alcorn State in 1999.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com

Barclays Center Pays Tribute to Segregated Black Basketball Stars "The Black Fives"

By goodblacknews on February 5, 2013
Smart Set Athletic Club, 1911. Compilation Copyright 2013 Black Fives Foundation, All Rights Reserved
Smart Set Athletic Club, 1911. Compilation Copyright 2013 Black Fives Foundation, All Rights Reserved

The Barclays Center is linking Brooklyn’s African-American basketball history and its present-day team, the Brooklyn Nets, with a new installation of historic photographs of the Black Fives, early-20th century African-American basketball teams, throughout the arena’s main concourse. Before the NBA, there were the Black Fives, segregated basketball teams formed shortly after the game’s invention in 1891.
The Black Fives Era photographs chosen to be displayed include four pictures of Brooklyn’s historic team, the Smart Set Athletic Club, from 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1912.  To celebrate the unveiling of the large-scale photographs for Black History Month, the Barclays Center hosted an event Monday where Claude Johnson, founder and executive director of the Black Fives Foundation, greeted students, members of the local community, and descendants of Black Fives players.

Happy 78th Birthday, Baseball Hall of Famer Henry "Hank" Aaron!

By goodblacknews on February 5, 2013


Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed “Hammer,” or “Hammerin’ Hank,” is a retired American baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 through 1976. Aaron spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) before playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League (AL) for the final two years of his career. Aaron is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time, and in April 1974, he broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing career home runs record. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on their “100 Greatest Baseball Players” list.  To learn more about Aaron’s life and career, click here, and watch him hit magic number 715 below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S6KPtpGn9E&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Ray Lewis Ends Brilliant NFL Career with Super Bowl Championship

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013
Ray Lewis #52 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates on the field afte the Ravens won 34-31 against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Ray Lewis #52 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates on the field afte the Ravens won 34-31 against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Before he could bask in a shower of confetti, before he could put his fingerprints on the Lombardi Trophy and before he could head into retirement as a champion, Ray Lewis had one final task: stop the San Francisco 49ers on three plays 5 yards from the end zone.

After two passes went awry, Lewis charged up the middle on a blitz. The Ravens stellar linebacker never made it to Colin Kaepernick, but after the quarterback’s pass flew out of bounds, Lewis and Baltimore could begin to celebrate.  “How could it end any other way than that?” Lewis said. “And now I get to ride into the sunset with my second ring.”

97 Years Ago Today: The Negro Baseball League was Founded in Missouri

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013
The Negro National League was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, by former player Robe Foster on Feb. 3, 1920.  The Negro Leagues would be home to some of America’s greatest Black talent and future Hall of Famers like Martin Dihigo and John Henry “Pop” Lloyd . Minorities were banned from major league teams until Jackie Robinson, a former Negro Leagues star, broke the color barrier in 1947, when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
article by Britt Middleton via bet.com

Black History Facts of the Day: Feb 3rd

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013

Check out the facts below:
– In 1903 Jack Johnson became the first black Heavyweight Champion
– In 1956 Autherine J. Lucy becomes the first black student to attend the University of Alabama. She was expelled three days later “for her own safety” in response to threats from a mob.
– In 1964 NYC School officials reported that 464,000 Black and Puerto Rican students boycotted New York City public schools. More than 267,000 were absent during second boycott, March 16.
– In 1965  Geraldine McCullough Wins Widener Gold Medal
article via blackenterprise.com

Robert Griffin III Named AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 27-23. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 27-23. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins has won The Associated Press 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, beating out two other sensational first-year quarterbacks.
Griffin, whose thrill-a-minute combination of running and passing skills led Washington to its first NFC East title in 13 years, pulled away from Andrew Luck of the Colts and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks in a lopsided vote announced Saturday.
RG3 earned 29 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. Luck was next with 11 and Wilson got 10.  All three led their teams to the playoffs.  Griffin, who severely injured his right knee in a wild-card round loss to the Seahawks, set the NFL record for best passer rating by a rookie QB.
He accepted his award at the “2nd Annual NFL Honors” awards show on CBS saluting the NFL’s best players, performances and plays from the 2012 season.
 article by Barry Wilner, Associated Press via thegrio.com

Adrian Peterson Awarded NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year Honors

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013
Adrian Peterson #28 of the Minnesota Vikings walks off the field after his team's 24-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers during their season-opening game on September 11, 2011 at Qualcomm Stadium in San DIego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Adrian Peterson #28 of the Minnesota Vikings walks off the field after his team’s 24-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers during their season-opening game on September 11, 2011 at Qualcomm Stadium in San DIego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Adrian Peterson called it a blessing in disguise.  Strange way to describe career-threatening major knee surgery.  The Minnesota Vikings’ star came back better than ever, just missing Eric Dickerson’s longstanding rushing record and closing out the season with two of the top NFL awards from The Associated Press: Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year.
As sort of an added bonus, he beat Peyton Manning for both of them Saturday night.  “My career could have easily been over, just like that,” the sensational running back said. “Oh man. The things I’ve been through throughout my lifetime has made me mentally tough. ”I’m kind of speechless. This is amazing, ” he said in accepting his awards, along with five others at the “2nd Annual NFL Honors” show on CBS saluting the NFL’s best players, performances and plays from the 2012 season. The awards are based on balloting from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL.

Magic Johnson, Common and Debra Lee join Coca-Cola to Help ‘Pay it Forward’

By goodblacknews on February 2, 2013

magic johnson debra lee & common
NBA legend and business mogul Earvin “Magic” Johnson, multi-Grammy Award-winning musician, actor and philanthropist Common, and Black Entertainment Television (BET) chairman and CEO Debra Lee join forces with Coca-Cola this month in a movement to uplift and pay it forward to the next generation.
Kicking off the second year of its signature program, “Coca-Cola Pay it Forward,” the world’s most recognized brand enlists the help of some of today’s leading African-American history makers to offer exciting apprenticeship experiences to aspiring youth. Magic Johnson, Common and Debra Lee will serve as mentors, giving four lucky young people the opportunity to shadow them and their teams for a week during the summer. The four apprenticeship experiences will focus on: business (Johnson); music and community (Common); and media/entertainment (Lee). Expanding this year’s program offering, the Company has partnered with UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the country’s largest minority education organization, for a text-to-donate program.
“I have and always will remain committed to uplifting the urban community in my business and nonprofit endeavors, and that makes the Coca-Cola ‘Pay It Forward’ program a perfect fit,” said Johnson. “There is no better way to empower a community than to arm its youth with the necessary skills to succeed.”

Born On This Day in 1919: Baseball Legend Jackie Robinson

By goodblacknews on January 31, 2013
Legendary Baseball player Jackie Robinson
 
Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball, was born in Cairo, Georgia, on Jan. 31, 1919.
Robinson had a litany of firsts in his career: He was the first Black television analyst in Major League Baseball, and the first Black vice president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem. In the world of baseball, Robinson played a prominent role in ending racial segregation in professional baseball. Prior to Robinson playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, African-American players were restricted to the Negro Leagues for 60 years.