Sports
Justin Fields, Malik Willis and the Effectiveness of Second Chance for Black Quarterbacks

Earlier this summer, when the NFL released its 2024-25 schedule, the date that caught my eye was September 15: The Pittsburgh Steelers were traveling to Denver to play the Broncos. I immediately circled the date and made plans to attend. It could be Russell Wilson’s rematch.
After 10 seasons in Seattle, including two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl win, Wilson was moved to Denver. This was before Sean Payton became the Broncos’ head coach. Wilson and Payton were never on the same page, and Wilson was cut from the lineup with two games remaining in the season.
As it seems, Justin Fields — who was traded from Chicago to Pittsburgh in March — was ultimately expected to begin Sunday’s game against Denver. The Steelers announced Wilson would start this season, but a nagging calf injury catapulted the 25-year-old Fields into the starting lineup.
Fields is 2-0 as a starter, including Sunday’s 13-6 win over the Broncos.
When Fields addressed reporters after Sunday’s game, he mentioned that Wilson had been given a petty game ball. A petty game ball is something Tomlin presents when the Steelers beat a selected player’s previous team.
I believed Wilson was disrespected by the Broncos organization, and by Payton as well. Fields clearly felt the same way. After Sunday’s game in Denver, Fields shared his candid thoughts on what happened to Wilson in Denver. “I think we all know Russ was treated a little unfairly last year,” Fields said. “I know he knows he wants to play in today’s game, but it was awesome to get the win for him.”
Fields makes a robust case for remaining the Steelers starter whilst Wilson is poised to return. He has led Pittsburgh to wins over Atlanta and now Denver in his first two games of the season. But Fields looked as if it would suggest Sunday that he’s more concerned with respect for the elder Wilson, who has achieved a lot for black quarterbacks in the league.
Sunday was one other great day for Fields, who’s returning to form after three controversial years in Chicago, where he was essentially kicked off the team and moved to Pittsburgh to compete with Wilson for a starting spot.

Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports
Of all the landing spots listed for Fields, I believed Pittsburgh was the best fit. The Steelers are a solid organization. In Pittsburgh, the 25-year-old Fields wouldn’t only be under the tutelage of the 35-year-old Russell Wilson, but he would even have Mike Tomlin as his head coach. Wilson and Fields are at different stages of their careers and have different missions. Wilson was a Super Bowl winner and a Hall of Famer trying to end his profession on a high note. Fields is just attempting to do what Wilson has already done. In Pittsburgh, either quarterback could reclaim his profession: Wilson as the dignified elder statesman, and Fields as the talented young quarterback who simply needed a second likelihood.
Chicago has change into toxic to Fields, who has faced constant criticism — some of it deserved — because of the normal struggles of learning the game at this complicated position. He still must work on reading defenses and not holding on to the ball too long, but he’s fiddling with confidence.
Now Fields has a fresh start. This could also be one of the underrated points of the emergence of black quarterbacks: the all-important second likelihood, a fresh start in life.

There was a time in the evolution of black quarterbacks where there was barely a primary opportunity, let alone a second, to play the position. The beauty of what we see in the league now’s that there are so many various configurations of black quarterbacks. There are black quarterbacks competing with and supporting other black quarterbacks, and on any given Sunday there will probably be multiple games where two black quarterbacks will face one another.
The theme of recovery and second probabilities was highlighted in Green Bay on Sunday, where Malik Willis, a third-round pick in 2022 by the Tennessee Titans, stepped in and saved the day. Just 19 days after trading Willis, the Packers were forced to begin him in place of Jordan Love, who was injured in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Willis, like Fields, has not had an awesome run with the team that drafted him. In some ways, Willis’ profession has been defined by a disastrous start against the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of years ago, when he was clearly an underdog.
But on Sunday, Willis stepped into the role of quarterback and helped Green Bay to a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has its own spectacular black quarterback (Anthony Richardson).
Willis wasn’t spectacular, but he made plays after they needed to be made and used his athleticism to get out of trouble and keep plays alive. Willis accomplished 12 of 14 passes, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt, threw a third-down pass and ran for 41 yards. He didn’t lose the ball or get sacked in the Packers’ win.
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LeFleur praised Willis in a way that black quarterbacks would never have received years ago.
“I don’t think you can appreciate or even comprehend the task that Malik Willis … that guy was given three weeks ago,” he said. “For him to go out there and run our offense — we still had a lot of long decisions, we had substitutions, we had moves, a lot of different running patterns. He had a lot on his plate. And for him to go out there and do what he did today, I think it says a lot about who he is as a person and the work he puts in. I’m just super proud of him.”
Willis will probably be relegated to the bench when Love returns, but he’s in the process of revitalizing his profession. Fields spent three tumultuous years in Chicago before the organization decided it had had enough and shipped him to Pittsburgh. Fields’ rise in Pittsburgh illustrates the depth of black quarterbacks and the existence of a second likelihood to flourish.
When I have a look at the conversations we had about black quarterbacks, I take into consideration the same conversations we had about black middle linebackers and free safeties. Those were the so-called thinker positions that African-Americans supposedly couldn’t play. Over time, there have been so many black linebackers and free safeties that it became ridiculous to count.
Here’s the state of affairs for black quarterbacks in the NFL: There’s depth and there are second probabilities. In Week 1, six black quarterbacks faced one another in five of the NFL’s biggest games: Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts vs. Love, Dak Prescott vs. Deshaun Watson.
This will probably be a trend that can proceed. Only one query stays: When will we stop counting?
Sports
San Francisco Giants Honor Renel Brooks-Moon from Pa Booth Dedication

After almost 25 years within the team, REnel Brooks-Moon, the primary public announcer of San Francisco Giants, was quietly honored with the dedication of the stand.
Newly named REnel Brooks-Moon Pa stand characteristics Reports a plaque to honor her 24 vertical years with Giants from San Francisco. The dedication took place and not using a formal announcement or ceremony, and Brooks-Moon decided to publicly comment on homage.
“It was an important thing and the right thing we honored her,” said Shana Daum, senior vp of communication and community relations. “Her heritage lives in many ways, including naming the PA stand.”
Honor appears a 12 months after Giants parted with their beloved Brooks-Moon in March 2024, initially promising to vary the name of the stand in the primary half of the season. After delay, the dedication quietly took place on time for the Giants House opener on April 4, even though it recently got here to light.
Brooks-Moon received the title of retired announcer PA, but was excluded from the role of speaking in the course of the most important events, akin to the Celebrations of Life for Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda. She also skipped other ceremonies due to the unnecessary. A friend announced how difficult it was Brooks-Moon to go away this 12 months’s house opener, which honored the twenty fifth anniversary of the San Francisco Giants 2000 team.
“I recorded every player, every coach”, Brooks-Moon he said Then. “It was only bananas. But it was a great fun. I didn’t realize how much I needed it after I lost what I loved.”
The plaque at her dedicated stand celebrates Brooks-Moon as “one of the first announcers with black baseball women in Major League. She began a cult 24-year career who left an indelible mark in the history of Giants.”
There can be a quote emphasizes the involvement of Brooks-Moon in inspiring the marginalized communities to proceed their dreams.
“I really hope that my time at the stand was inspired by little girls, young women and colorful people, to realize their dreams, even if these dreams seem impossible, because impossible dreams can come true,” we read.
(Tagstotransate) san francisco giants
Sports
Minnesota Timberwolves Guardian Mike Conley “Having a ball” in search of the first NBA finals

San Francisco-Minnesota Timberwolves Guardian Mike Conley Jr. He danced after his training before playing on the Chase Center floor as Spun D-Sharp Golden State Warriors, “Life is Good”. After the end of the song, the 37-year-old tried to summarize.
After leaving the first attempt, Conley threw a second before he went to satisfaction to the cloakroom.
“I did it essentially throughout the season,” Conley said on May 12 to scape about his pregame dunk ritual. “They were like:” You cannot immerse. ” I told them, “I’m almost sure I can.” My coaches and teammates told me that I was going to be 38 years old. “
Conley hopes that he’ll soon win flowers as one of the oldest NBA masters, but now his Timberwolves are set off to the finals of the Western conference for the second 12 months in a row. The 18-year-old NBA veteran never played in the NBA finals. Since joining the NBA in 1989, Timberwolves has also never played in the NBA finals, losing in the finals of the Western Conference in 2004 and 2024.
Standing on the road to Minnesota, which appeared in its first finale, is Oklahoma City Thunder, Semen No. 1 of the Western Conference, which on average 24 years. Thunder host The Timberwolves tonight in the game 1 (ESPN, 20:30 et)
“Simply excited about the challenge of us,” said Conley. “We can compete with one of the best teams in the league to reach the NBA finals. We worked hard and focused. It should be a great series.”
For the aging Conley, he hopes that his third time, when a shot at the NBA finale, is a charm.
In 2013, 26-year-old Conley first appeared in the finals of the Western conference, but his Memphis Grizzlys was swept through San Antonio Spurs. At the age of 36, Conley and Timberwolves lost in five matches with Dallas Mavericks in the finals of the Western conference in 2024.
After the series, he wondered if it was his last likelihood to get to the NBA finals.
“I was really shocked because I thought it was a special year,” said Conley about losing in the finals of the Western conference last 12 months. “I thought it would make sense and we will all do it. My first thought was:” How long will it take us back here? Will it happen next 12 months. Will or not it’s one other 12 months? I do not know. Will or not it’s the last likelihood I’ll get? “
“All these thoughts were influenced. But this made me go in the summer, hoping that we would be able to do it again this season and have a chance.”

Noah Graham/Nbae via Getty Images
Conley was chosen with the fourth alternative at the NBA Draft in 2007 by Grizzlies. The only players in the NBA still remaining from this draft are Conley, the striker Phoenix Suns Kevin Durant, Boston Celtics Center/Forward al Horford and Houston Rockets Jeff Green. Horford won his first NBA title at the age of 37 from Celtics last season.
Conley was born on October 11, 1987 in Indianapolis. He is now the tenth of the oldest player in the NBA with Los Angeles Lakers striker Lebron James the oldest at the age of 40. New York Knicks, PJ Tucker, just over 4 months younger than James, is the oldest player remaining in the playoffs at the age of 40. James Johnson James Johnson is 38 years old.
“It’s terrifying, but also an honor,” said Conley. “I don’t feel that I’m so old, but I’m so old. I have to be fine with it and look in the mirror and say:” Man, we’re still doing it. ” “
Conley performed 76 performances in the season in the 2023-24 season, most frequently from 2012-13, and played in 15 Playoff matches. The essential coach of Timberwolves, Chris Finch, said he wasn’t planning to play Conley in so many matches this season in the hope of his behavior. Conley also got here in this season with a everlasting injury of the left wrist, which hinders his ability to address basketball or golf playing out of season. He scored a mean of 8.2 points and 4.5 assists in 71 matches of the regular season this season, playing a 24.7 minutes per match.
“One of the most difficult injuries was my wrist for me,” said Conley. “I needed to be in the forged for about two months of last summer. And at the moment I could not shoot the ball, touch the ball. Nothing. It isn’t like me. Usually I work and do all the pieces I can. So after I enter a training camp, I had no strength (in the wrist). It was poor (it was still pain and I attempted to work for some things.
“I hesitated before doing things and being myself. It was a battle (season). This is something that I slowly ended with. I hope it will be even better next season.”
Conley has the purpose of the game in 20 seasons of NBA. The next season can be his nineteenth and last 12 months of the contract with Minnesota for $ 10.7 million. Based on how Conley takes care of his body, he appears to be ready to attain his goal.
Departing from Indianapolis, he began to be more severe and more routine with a food regimen and training scheme in 2018 after surgery ending the season on the left heel after trying various options for the treatment of the side heel and Achilles. Conley felt his body breaks down, and said he needed to make a change to proceed fidgeting with less pain.
“I stopped eating red meat about eight years ago,” said Conley. “I did the work of blood, and my body was in some things, and fewer of some things. And beef was one of them. Something I do every single day, I get up around 7:30 (in the morning). I won’t eat until drinking water after 11 am. It’s almost like a quick.
“I try to extend it until I end up with treatment and exercise. I try to eat a meal. Good work, cleansing the intestine and stomach. You must heal yourself from the inside at my age. Cut off the inflammation that cause pain and slow down you at the age of 35, 36, 37 years.”
It is claimed that James spends $ 1 million on his body which he rejectedto maintain your health. While Conley doesn’t invest $ 1 million, he says that he’s investing financially in health and longevity. He said that he’s in a cold bathtub twice a day, and likewise performs a sauna of red light and a pool every single day, in addition to red light therapy, cryotherapy, STEM units (which incorporates their wearing while sleeping if obligatory) and lies in Softball to free pain from sore areas.
“I don’t have as much money as he,” said Conley about James. “But I also put a lot of money into my body. My diet is a big deal. My recovery is a big deal. From time to time I think Lebron:” I’m attempting to do what you do. ” Whatever it is, I need all this help. “

David Sherman/Nbae via Getty Images
Perhaps the most difficult part of being one of the oldest NBA players for Conley is what’s missing at home.
Conley and his wife Mary have three sons: Myles, Noah and Eli. Conley left Noah’s birthday on May 12, because Timberwolves were on the way in San Francisco in Play -ffach. He left Mother’s Day, and likewise Timberwolves defeated Warriors 117-110 in the match 4 of their second round in San Francisco the next day.
“I missed my son’s seventh birthday, Noah James Conley,” said Mike Conley. “He is a family speaker. A little bit joker. Just a shiny, supermart kid. He is my twin, the one who looks like me the most. He still wants me to hug him.
“But my wife did a great job, making him feel enthusiastic about himself. He had his little friends with a birthday celebration. … I used to be sex after they sang all the best and his friends arrived. Double Whammy.
There are 11 players on Timberwolves who’re lower than 25 years old, including 20-year-old debutant Rob Dillingham. Conley shares the outline with the 23-year-old NBA Guardian All-Star Anthony Edwards. But after 18 seasons of the game with mainly younger collaborators, Conley says that he still has love and fervour for taking part in.
“I have a ball, brother, to be honest,” said Conley. “I tell the boys all the time:” If you see the day after I don’t smile and haven’t got fun here and do not love, tell me to take a look at. Tell me to go home. ” This is one of the reasons I’m here.
“You don’t get it anywhere else in your life, especially my age. You can’t really take it for granted.”
Sports
WNBA testing racial insults by fans performed in Angel Reese while playing Indiana, AP Source

WNBA examines racial comments addressed to Angel Reese by fans during Chicago Sky’s Loss from Caitlin Clark and fever In Indiana on Saturday, based on a one who knows the situation.
The person talked to the Associated Press on Sunday, provided that the league didn’t publicly discover the subject of mockery or allegations.
“WNBA definitely condemns racism, hatred and discrimination in all forms – they do not take place in our league or in society,” said the league in an announcement. “We are aware of the allegations and we look at this case.”
Reese, which is black, and Clark, which is white, met for the seventh time in his time Ongoing competition-and very reproduced. Clark was appointed Rookie of the Year last season, and Reese took second place in voting.
The union of WNBA players published an announcement shortly after the League comment on this matter.
“WNBPA is aware of reports of hateful comments on yesterday’s game in Indianapolis and supports the current investigation of WNBA in this matter. Such behavior is unacceptable in our sport”, statement. “According to WNBA’s policy,” No Space for Hate “, we trust the league that they will examine and have taken quick, appropriate actions to ensure a safe and friendly environment for everyone.”
The president and general director of Sky, Adam Fox, later said on Sunday in an announcement that the organization accepts the investigation of the league.
“We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players and we encourage the league to continue taking sensible steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players,” he said.
Heaven and fever will play 4 times in the regular season.
“We are aware of the accusations of fans inappropriate behavior during yesterday’s game and we work closely with WNBA to end their investigation,” said the fever in an announcement. “We stand in our commitment to ensure a safe environment to all WNBA players.”
Reese had 12 points and 17 rebounds in 93-58 losses with fever. Heaven and Clark took the incident on the pitch, and 4:38 remained in the third quarter. It began with Reese organizing the offensive reflection, and Clark hit Reese’s shoulder hard enough to calm down the ball and lightweight Reese to the ground.
When Reese got up She tried to confront Clark In front of the Indiana Center, Aliyah Boston entered between the players. Clark’s third personal foul was improved to the gross 1, while Boston and Reese drew technical fouls after reviewing the repetition of the referees.
Both players left the sport after the match.
This season, the league has launched a “No Space for Hate”, a multidimensional platform designed to combat hatred and promote respect in all WNBA spaces each online and in arenas.
The league focuses on 4 areas: improved technological functions to detect hateful online comments; Increased pressure on the safety measures of the team, arena and the league; strengthening mental health resources; and adaptation to hate.
This shall be the primary league test.
“It’s nice words, but we have to see actions,” said Aces A’ja Wilson on Friday after training. “I hope that people can take actions and understand that it is bigger than basketball. We are real people for this. Every shoe we wear, every T -shirt we have, we are people. People must respect it. I hope that they pay attention and listen to words.”
(Tagstotranslate) Angel Reese
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