Sports
Reggie Jackson reminds us that an MLB game at Rickwood Field is not a kumbaya moment
Clinton Yates takes readers on a journey through the primary MLB game in Birmingham, Alabama, at Rickwood Field, the oldest skilled ballpark within the United States.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When the game finally got here, it gave the look of baseball was the final thing on anyone’s mind. An intensely competitive week within the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, ended with a fairly average match when it comes to balls, hits, hits and runs, but there is little doubt that every player who was qualified for this matchup – together with every one who got here through through the partitions of Rickwood Field – a different person left this park than the one who arrived.
The proverbial food at the baseball feast provided the celebratory comfort they needed, considering.
Team St. Louis Cardinals, playing as St. Louis Stars of the Negro National League defeated the San Francisco Giants, playing because the San Francisco Sea Lions of the West Coast Negro Baseball League, by a rating of 6-5 in a game that nearly resulted within the Cards losing their third straight goal. That didn’t occur, however the end result of the game paled compared to the gravity of all the things we needed to reckon with: the death of Giants legend Willie Mays.
“Obviously devastating news. “This record-breaking event was truly designed with Willie in mind,” MLB director of baseball development Tony Reagins said during Thursday’s game. “I feel this event changed into a celebration of Willie’s life. I feel we’ll attempt to honor him in a way that hopefully his family can be pleased with. And Willie, , was 17 when he was here. To have that background, to have current top league players playing at Rickwood is exciting, but after all it’s bittersweet not having him here.
Was this event and week somewhat of a spiritual ending to Mays’ life, when it comes to things starting and ending in Birmingham? Sure, but for essentially the most part it wasn’t a kumbaya moment. Yes, it’s great to acknowledge the efforts of players who paved the best way for others, but the reality is that for a lot of them, this event opened the injuries of essentially the most traumatic experiences of their lives.
“Coming back here is not easy. The racism after I played here, the issue of traveling through different places we traveled,” Reggie Jackson said live to tell the tale FOX when asked by Alex Rodriguez about his feelings about returning to Rickwood Field. Jackson played for the Birmingham A’s in 1967, the AA affiliate of the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. “Luckily I had a manager and players within the team who helped me through it, but I would not wish it on anyone.
“I said, , I never need to do that again. I’d walk into a restaurant and so they’d point at me and say, “That nigga can’t eat here.” I’d go to the hotel and so they’d say, “That nigga can’t stay here.” We went to Charlie Finley’s (then owner of Athletics and Ensley in Alabama) country club for a home-cooked welcome dinner. And they pointed at me with the N word. – He cannot come here. Finley led all the team.
Photos by Daniel Shirey/MLB via Getty Images
Let’s stop and remind ourselves of something: racism is and has been a problem. The white supremacist system built into the law, not to say the collective consciousness, has robbed us not only of the very best entertainment we could have inside an integrated game, but additionally of the humanity of the individuals involved.
The truth is that I saw Jackson by accident when he got here to town. We were at the identical hotel and I used to be having a drink within the lobby when the Hall of Famer rolled in. I’d say we all know one another, but I assumed back to the time he called me at batting practice during a World Series game once in Houston to discuss then-Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker, black man to black man. Honestly, it was an honor I’ll always remember.
But that night he seemed a bit nervous, which I simply chalked as much as travel fatigue, as many Americans know well. But after his appearance Thursday at the Southern Negro League Museum and his moment during his Fox Sports pregame show, it is easy to know that he mainly ended up back in hell, which created the personality many know now.
He made this confession at a luncheon held Thursday morning honoring the families of former Negro League players. He was asked a query about one among his best Alabama memories and told a story about legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant, who, in an apparent moment of sympathy, told him that the Crimson Tide needed more N-words like him in running back competing with the very best. Think about it. Apparently it was a memory.
The story of this football team’s “journey” to integration has its own complicated history, but mainly Bryant, the houndstoothed man, needed to take several brutal beatings from teams with all-black players before he realized you could not win the SEC with 22 Forrest Gumps running around in your pitch.
“Luckily I had a manager, Johnny McNamara, who said if I couldn’t eat where no one would eat. We would get food for the journey,” Jackson said. “If it weren’t for Rollie Fingers, Johnny McNamara, Dave Duncan, Joe and Sharon Rudy… I slept on their couch three or 4 nights a week for about a month and a half. Finally, they threatened to burn down our apartment constructing if I didn’t get out. I would not wish this on anyone.
“The year I came here. The year before, Bull Connor had been sheriff and they had banned minor league baseball from here because the Klan had murdered four black girls in a local church in 1963 and was never charged. …the magazine wrote about them (the Klan) as if they were being honored. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
Jackson did not play within the Negro Leagues. But he played at Alabama. And he knocked it out of the park for the last time.
AP photo
You simply cannot separate the visceral sense of racism within the American South when a black person walks there daily. Does this mean that people in hoods at the moment are burning crosses on our porches? No, but it surely’s not prefer it’s ancient history. A Hall of Famer on live TV throwing out a hard “R” and referencing a lynching on the printed? Welcome to Birmingham.
“If it weren’t for my white friends, or the white manager, Rudy, Fingers, Duncan and Lee Meyers? I’d never do that,” Jackson said. “I used to be too physically aggressive. I used to be able to physically fight someone. I can be killed here because I’d beat someone… And you’d see me somewhere within the oak tree. Jackson concluded with the form of laughter that only black men of a certain age, with a certain experience and a certain courage can unleash.
At night all the things looked wonderful on the surface. Mays’ son Michael returned to the park to open proceedings, the teams continued playing, etc. The game went well, and the throwback to Nineteen Fifties-style black and white footage was very cool from a visual standpoint, reminding us of the primary American sports attraction , Mays with a catch to center field. But that didn’t occur in Alabama. Not by many miles. It was in New York that Michael Mays calls home.
“Get back on your feet,” he told the group in his authoritative Harlem accent. “Let him hear you, he listens.”
He was referring to the ghost of his father upstairs, a touching moment for a man who had endured a week of mental toll that nobody else could imagine.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
There are more players and other people than I care to confess who attended these ceremonies and smiled because the popularity gave them the sensation of satisfaction they deserved. However, it does not change their lives, the stories they heard as children, or the violence they experienced each physically and mentally.
MLB learned a lesson this week that I’m not sure anyone was prepared for. This game was never intended to repair anything and it still doesn’t. There were only two black players on the sector last night. What if you wish to talk concerning the reality of the world in and across the game each then and now?
On a hot June night, Mr. October reminded us: watch out what you want for. Maybe you may just get 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.
Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images
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.
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
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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