Sports
Fifty years after Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, his legacy remains in Gresham Park
ATLANTA — On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of Henry “Hank” Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record, Gresham Park on Eastside Atlanta hosted an event inviting Black teenage baseball players on a visit to Chicago for an exhibition. The event, organized by the baseball association of former Atlanta Braves outfielder Marquis Grissom and Mentoring Viable Prospects, brings together dozens of young black baseball players from across Atlanta.
It’s in Gresham Park, where 50 years of Black history, Atlanta history and baseball history converge, where Aaron’s ball looks like it’s still going as much as the sky and everybody down there may be attempting to survive and play the sport they love.
As I pull as much as Gresham Park, a black kid who cannot be older than 10 or 11, wearing baseball shorts and cleats, runs across the car parking zone, a rag flapping in the wind behind him. It’s a picture you’ve got been led to consider is not possible: Little boys in Black Atlanta don’t care about baseball anymore, they’d reasonably spend their time on their phones or play basketball or football. And while which may be true for many individuals, it is not true for a child and his friends who try to get a spot at an exhibition game in Chicago in May.
I attempt to follow the child with my eyes to see where he’s running. I feel he’ll team up with a few of his teammates. Maybe he will consult with his mom on the sidelines. But I’m losing it because my eyes are actually on the batting cage. A black dad throws the ball to his son and offers him instructions with every swing.
Atlanta is a city uniquely positioned to have a good time its black heroes. Of course, to do that requires a singular combination of black political power and luck. But wherever you switch in town, you may see the names, likenesses or monuments of such black icons as civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy and John Lewis.
Aaron is one in every of those icons.
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Aaron, a Southern kid born in Mobile, Alabama, who became a Negro League phenom and an MLB phenom all over the world from Boston to Milwaukee, got here to Atlanta with the Braves for the 1966 season. That season began a couple of months after the Voting Rights Act was signed into law 1965 A couple of months into the season in June, black nationalist Stokely Carmichael stood before a crowd in Greenwood, Mississippi and called for Black Power.
In some ways, Aaron would represent the subsequent phase of Black empowerment, where Black people had the chance to enter newly desegregated spaces and show that they might dominate. One where white people could attempt to discredit their skills, but they only couldn’t because a black kid from Alabama was hitting 30 home runs a season. And he broke baseball’s most beloved record in the face of racism and death threats, all in a city that had change into a black mecca.
In the early 2000s, the Gresham Park area of Atlanta was 95% black. It was the heartbeat of town, but at the identical time a neglected space. Still, the park was known for showcasing town’s best black baseball players, who went on to play at historically black universities, other colleges, and even in the professionals. Recent players who’ve passed through Gresham Park include Oakland A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Taj Bradley and Braves center fielder Michael Harris.
In 2021, the Braves renovated the park, repairing three diamonds. When I got to the park, I saw something I didn’t expect: two of the parks were hosting games played by white teams with white audiences. This can be Atlanta, where gentrification is rampant and places that look latest suddenly change into home to white people. By the way in which, the Gresham Park area is currently only 72% black.
Across from these games was an unrestored diamond that looked like old Gresham Park. This is where local kids are only beginning to learn the game. They are as much as 8 years old, wear T-shirts and sweatpants, catch their first ground balls and throw them somewhere near first base. They do that when the sound of aluminum bats hitting baseballs echoes across the polished fields where white kids play.
“I don’t know why our kids aren’t in these fields,” Jared Fowler said. He’s one in every of the Gresham kids’ coaches, and his son can be determining how you can play the bottom ball. He coaches because his dad introduced him to baseball at a young age and he desires to pass it on. “But this is what has been happening in this area for some time.”
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Fowler says kids change into interested in baseball at a really early age, but as they invest in other sports and hobbies, interest wanes. It’s a preferred story, but it surely’s undermined by what’s happening on the pitch behind the park. This is one other refinished diamond with the number 44, Aaron’s number, on the fence. It is on this diamond that black boys jump around, initially throwing rockets into outstretched arms, and batting practice turns right into a series of bombs falling off the back fence. from where perhaps sooner or later the subsequent great Hammerin’ will come.
He looks at Grissom’s brother, Antonio, who currently coaches the Morehouse College baseball team and helps scout players. Next to him is Greg Goodwin, a former Dodgers scout whose Viable Prospects Mentoring program can be undergoing a trial. About half of the children in these programs go to varsity to play baseball.
“We make sure we tell them about Aaron,” Goodwin said. “We make sure they know whose shoulders we are standing on.”
As we talk, one other man walks up, making fun of Morehouse along the way in which. He is older. Ralph Gullatt. He was the coach of Clark’s Atlanta baseball team. He grew up playing at Gresham Park, playing in the 12-year-old league in 1974.
So you were alive when Aaron broke the record?
Gullatt smiles.
“Oh, I was at the game.” His eyes never leave the diamond and watch the kids. He himself is as excited as a baby. Like he was watching Aaron break the record again. “My friend’s mother worked in concessions and got us a ticket. I happened to be there. I remember those white boys running at him. We didn’t know what was going to happen. “Amazing night.”
Gullatt goes back to talking nonsense. There are more men in the world who talk concerning the high schools that ruled the world. The best players to come back from Gresham. There are more white kids than before. They’re talking about baseball. But they’re talking about Atlanta. They discuss Atlanta, which owes a lot to Aaron. The Atlanta that embraced him, held him, and idolized him, despite the fact that much of the country – and parts of Atlanta itself – wanted him gone.
But Aaron and his legacy won’t fade away until there’s somewhat black kid in Gresham Park running to the baseball diamond to catch ground balls with a rag catching the air beneath it.
The 2025 Basketball Africa League season will feature a brand new venue for the finals and playoffs and will also start at a brand new location.
The BAL 2025 Playoffs and Finals, scheduled for June 14, 2025, will happen at the recent home in Pretoria, South Africa. This will be the first time the BAL playoffs and finals haven’t been held in Kigali, Rwanda. The BAL 2025 season will also debut in a brand new location in Rabat, Morocco on April 5, 2025. During the BAL 2025 season, 12 of the best club teams from 12 African countries will play 48 matches in Rabat, Kigali and Dakar, Senegal, before traveling to Pretoria for play- offs.
“Over the first four seasons of BAL, we have seen tremendous growth in on-court competition, attendance and engagement from fans and partners in Africa and around the world,” BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said in a press release. “Our groundbreaking fifth season will build on this momentum and continue to showcase the level of talent and passion for basketball in Africa, including through the first BAL games in Morocco and the first BAL Finals in South Africa.”
The 12 teams will be divided again into three conferences of 4 teams each. The group stage of the Kalahari Conference will happen from April 5 to 13, 2025 in Rabat. The group stage of the Sahara Conference will be held in Dakar from April 26 to May 4, 2025. The group stage of the Nile Conference will be held in Kigali from May 17 to 25, 2025. Eight teams from the three conferences will qualify for the play-offs in Pretoria, which will start on June 6 and end with the BAL 2025 finals.
“The Kalahari conference marks another expansion of BAL into a new country on our continent and we are more than satisfied,” FIBA Africa president Anibal Manave said in a press release. “The competition continues to grow each year, providing greater exposure for our sport and helping to raise the level of basketball in Africa, making the league increasingly competitive.”
National champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia routinely qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams are from FIBA Africa’s Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments.
In the 2024 BAL season, Petro de Luanda of Angola became the first team from Sub-Saharan Africa to win the championship. According to BAL, the 2024 BAL season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of greater than 120,000 fans in the 4 host countries and generated greater than 1.2 billion views across the NBA and BAL social media channels.
NFL Hall of Fame receiver and podcast host Terrell Owens has signed with a talent agency to further strengthen his claims within the entertainment game.
According to , Owens was signed by SMAC Entertainment, headed by host and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and his business partner Constance Schwartz-Morini.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz has also joined SMAC Entertainment.
“We are excited to add TO and Jordan to the SMAC family. They are both at the top of their game and set the standard in their industry,” Schwartz-Morini said in a written statement. “TO and Jordan have already brought an infectious energy to our team, and we are excited to help them realize their vision for careers in media, business and branding.”
A five-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2018, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A member of the 2000 NFL All-Decade Team, Owens finished his profession with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 touchdowns, rating third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Since retiring from skilled soccer in 2012, Owens has already made several moves. He has appeared in several movies and tv shows, including “,” and in addition had his own reality show, “, on VH1.
He currently co-hosts the podcast with former NFL player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe.
SMAC Entertainment is home to stars similar to rapper and actor Common, Wiz Khalifa, Strahan, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and current NFL players similar to Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf.
Sports
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker brings an NBA championship desire with his Olympic experience
The gold medal went to the USA Basketball team. Mission completed on the 2024 Paris Games. U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr just answered his final query during his final news conference on Aug. 10 after his team defeated France within the gold medal game.
However, before leaving the stage of the press conference in Paris, Kerr stopped to deliver an unsolicited message to media around the globe.
“Devin Booker is an amazing basketball player. Nobody asked about him. He was our unsung MVP. I just desired to say that,” Kerr said.
The “underrated MVP” compliment meant so much to the Phoenix Suns guard.
“It meant everything. No one really asked him,” Booker recently told Andscape. “That was probably something that was weighing on his mind throughout the entire process. A 12 months ago I said what I desired to do for this team and what we desired to do for the country.
“It was a lot larger than all of us. Survival was something we’d discuss for the remainder of our lives.
The USA Basketball team was centered around NBA star icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. There has also been some discussion amongst media and fans in regards to the lack of playing time for Jayson Tatum and, to a lesser extent, Tyrese Haliburton. Lost within the shuffle was the all-around, unselfish play of sharpshooter Booker wearing the armband.
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Booker was fourth in scoring for the U.S., averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 assists and a couple of.2 three-pointers made early in all six Olympics, and likewise had the perfect plus/minus (plus-130) for an American. Kerr was impressed with Booker’s deal with a difficult defense, regardless that he is thought for his offense, ball movement and the way he has adjusted to not being one in every of the highest options on offense.
“I just understood what was at stake,” Booker said. “I’m proud to be from this country. I’m happy with playing basketball. Even though it wasn’t invented in America, we dominated for a very long time. Obviously the world is incredibly talented and the sport is growing, however it was just one other message to allow them to know who we’re.
Booker said he also learned in regards to the preparations from his all-star team, watching the preparations on and off the court. The 28-year-old added that he gained lifelong friendships.
“It’s cool to see that everyone has their own issues,” Booker said. “In my 10 years in the NBA, I’ve learned that you have to choose what you can use for yourself. But the level of detail, the attention to detail, the intensity – it’s all consistent across the board.”
As for Durant, Booker said the bond between the 2 Sun stars “is close and grows stronger every day.” They live about five minutes from one another within the Phoenix area and commonly spend time at home and on the road. Most recently, Booker had to steer the Suns without Durant, who was sidelined with an injury.
The amazing Durant averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and three.4 assists, which were tops for the Suns. However, the 14-time NBA All-Star has been sidelined since November 8 with a left calf strain. Suns players Bradley Beal (calf) and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) were also sidelined. The Suns are 1-5 without Durant, which incorporates 4 straight losses.
Booker and Suns sans Durant’s next rivals shall be the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Over the last six games, Booker is averaging 24.1 points, shooting 43.2% from the sphere and making 16 of 43 three-pointers. Suns guard Tyus Jones said there was numerous pressure on Booker offensively due to the injury.
“We’re asking a lot of Book,” Jones said after Monday’s 109-99 loss to the visiting Orlando Magic. “It’s numerous pressure for him. We are very focused on it. They are physical with him, holding him and grabbing him, throwing two or three bodies at him all night long. So he’s got so much on his plate and we just need to proceed to seek out ways to get him open within the moments we will and proceed to assist him when other players are taking shots and making plays.
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Booker currently has two Olympic gold medals, 4 NBA All-Star appearances and one NBA Finals appearance. The only thing missing from the Suns’ second-leading all-time scorer is an NBA championship. Since the Suns joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1968, they’ve yet to win a title.
After experiencing the joys of winning a gold medal, Booker as an NBA champion wants the gold Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy much more.
“Most of the guys that were there did it,” Booker said of his Olympic teammates who were NBA champions. “They were champions. This is standard for them. Anything lower than that, they need nothing to do with it. It’s contagious…
“That’s all I want. That’s all I want.”
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