HBCU Track And Field
Congratulations! This HBCU won its eighth NCAA outdoor track and field title
Lincoln University’s women’s team cruises to championship
12:25 PMCHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Lincoln University women’s track and field team and coach Victor “Poppy” Thomas had grown sick and tired of near misses in NCAA Division II national championships.
Thomas said the team has missed out on at least three national outdoor and indoor titles by a total of five points.
Thomas and the Blue Tigers left nothing to chance Saturday, building up an insurmountable lead and cruising to the team’s eighth national outdoor championship at Johnson C. Smith’s Irwin Belk Complex.
Lincoln was led by the quick feet of sophomore Rene Medley, who won the 200-meter dash, finished second in the 100-meter dash and teamed with Diana Cauldwell, Christine Moss and Shaian Vandenburg to win the 4×100 relay in 44.51 seconds.
Medley said she had extra incentive in the 200 meters because she wanted revenge on the runner who finished ahead of her in the semifinals.
“It was a great race,” Medley said. “In the prelims I came in second place and I got lane 3, and the girl who beat me got lane 4. So that really motivated me to just run her down, and I did just that.
“It’s a great feeling to win the national championship with these great ladies. We came in third indoor in the nationals with just three girls, so this feels great.”
Cauldwell, a senior, also won the triple jump and was second in the long jump to help the Blue Tigers build a nearly insurmountable lead by midday.
“I just came out here to deliver, and do what my coach said I should do,” Caldwell said. “This is amazing; it is so amazing to win a national championship.”
Moss also helped pick up a third-place finish in the 4X400 relay, for which she teamed with Renea Ambersley, Segale Brown and Shanice Clarke.
“I think the girls did excellent,” said Thomas, Lincoln’s head track and field coach for 15 years. “We have three superstars, along with a supporting cast who did the job that they were supposed to do, and we were able to pull it off quite comfortably.”
Lincoln is a historically black university with an enrollment of 3,000-plus students in Jefferson City, Missouri. The Blue Tigers finished the meet with 60 points, followed by runners-up St. Augustine’s, which in typical fashion, climbed from 19th at the start of the day to second place at the end.
In fact, St. Augustine’s, whose men’s and women’s teams failed to achieve a 40th national championship for coach George Williams, was racing for second place in the final event and secured it when the Falcons’ Shannon Kalawan passed a Lincoln runner on the backstretch and cruised to the finish line for St. Aug’s victory in the 4X400 meter relay.
The Falcons finished with 48.5 points.
But Medley, Caldwell and Lincoln teammates had already been fitted for the crown.
Before that final event, Lincoln already had 54 points — 11.5 more than the next-closest competitor.
Angelo State (42.5 points), Grand Valley State (40.5) and Adams State (39) rounded out the top five.
For Lincoln, it was the school’s eighth national outdoor women’s championship to go with five indoor titles.
The Blue Tigers won five straight, from 2003 to 2007, and again in 2009 and 2014. Their national indoor titles came in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2016.
For Williams, it’s back on the recruiting trail and back to trying to cajole St. Augustine’s administrators for more scholarship funds.
“We only had five girls, and Lincoln had quite a contingent,” Williams said. “We put up a good fight, we just ran out of bodies. Until we can be able to find scholarships to get some more student-athletes, that’s about the best we can do.”
Commentary
The irony of Trump’s Jack Johnson pardon
He freed the memory of one black man while his attorney general revives policies that lead to mass incarceration
4:20 PMIt took a white president to pardon Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion, for having sex with white women.
Barack Obama wouldn’t touch it, to the dismay and puzzlement of many. Perhaps Johnson’s history was too messy. After winning the world title in 1908, Johnson flaunted his lust for money, clothes, cars, jewelry — and especially white women. In an America where black men could be lynched for a stray glance or remark, Johnson viciously beat at least one of his white girlfriends. Even though Johnson was wrongfully imprisoned under a Jim Crow law designed to police interracial sex, the first black president ignored pleas to exonerate the long-dead boxer. Instead, Obama focused his pardon power on living people unjustly imprisoned by the racially biased policies of mass incarceration.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump pardoned Johnson, who died in a car crash in 1946. “We righted a wrong,” Trump said in a ceremony attended by Johnson’s descendants, current heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder, former champ Lennox Lewis and Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone, who brought Johnson’s case to Trump’s attention.
There are many ironies in Trump’s decision, starting with the president being elected despite multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and assault. Add that Obama was handcuffed, to some extent, by a double standard that holds African-Americans accountable for all black sins while allowing whites to be judged as individuals. And Johnson’s gaudy lifestyle bears more similarities to Trump’s than to Obama’s.
But the saddest point is that while Obama used his pardons to free those victimized by mass incarceration, Trump’s Justice Department, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is reviving policies on criminal charges that disastrously and disproportionately packed American prisons with blacks and Latinos.
Trump just freed the memory of one black man who died 72 years ago. How many living black men are now headed to the place where Jack Johnson never should have been?
Gracie Awards
April Ryan and Rita Moreno shout-out each other and the power of diversity at Gracie Awards
Pam Oliver also shared advice she gives to young journalists
3:53 PMLOS ANGELES — As April Ryan took the stage Tuesday to accept her 2018 Gracie Award, she shouted-out several fellow award-winners in the audience and got the love right back.
As Ryan began her acceptance speech — “I’m sitting next to a hero, Elizabeth Smart. Rita Moreno, my God, what you went through” — she was interrupted by a familiar voice from the crowd.
“I love you,” shouted Moreno from the audience. Laughs erupted from the crowd of hundreds of women at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, there to celebrate women and to honor Moreno, who received the lifetime achievement award.
Ryan was onstage to accept the best interview feature award in the national radio category for her American Urban Radio Networks show On the Record. After accepting the compliment from Moreno, she continued.
“I watched West Side Story as a child, and I watched you sashay, and to be able to stand here and say you are one of my idols …”
Morento shouted-out to Ryan again, “You have good taste!”
The crowd cheered.
Ryan also acknowledged Smart, a child safety activist, Steve Harvey Show co-host Shirley Strawberry and others, who were part of a diverse group of women who received Gracie Awards.
“We need to be empowered to ask those questions at a time such as this. And I say that as we are under attack as women. I say that as we are under attack as press. But I say most importantly from the late, great Shirley Chisholm, we don’t have a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. My chair is in the third row of the briefing room. They act like they don’t see me, but I’m there,” said Ryan.
She received her award after the lady of honor of the night, Moreno.
According to Page Six, Moreno told Variety that she thinks the recent women’s empowerment movement “is not a gimmick. … I think it’s going to expand more and more, and it’s about damn time.”
She added that she’d like to see better representation of Latinas in Hollywood. “I think we need to take some very valuable lessons from the black community. They did it and they did it really well, and good for them.”
Fox Sports veteran reporter Pam Oliver said she tells young girls, “You have to protect your dream …” Oliver received the 2018 Gracie Award for on-air talent-entertainment and sports.
Other recipients and honorees included:
- Issa Rae (Actress in a leading role – comedy or musical)
- This Is Us (Drama)
- HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Made for Television Movie)
- Felicia D. Henderson for BET’s The Quad (Producer – Entertainment)
- Juju Chang (Reporter/Correspondent)
- Hoda Kotb for Sirius XM’s The Hoda Show (Host/Personality)
- Shirley Strawberry (Co-host)
- The View (Talk Show Entertainment)
- The Rundown with Robin Thede (Variety)
- Niecy Nash (Actress in a Leading Role – Comedy or Musical)
- Naturi Naughton (Actress in a Leading Role – Drama)
- Danai Gurira (Actress in a Leading Role – Drama)
- Merle Dandridge (Actress in a Leading Role – Drama)
- Gabrielle Union (Actress in a Leading Role – Drama)
- Retta (Actress in a Supporting Role/Comedy or Musical)
- Lisa Vidal (Actress in a Supporting Role/Drama)
- Lynn Whitfield (Actress in a Supporting Role/Drama)
Culture
Don’t hate on black graduation ceremony at Harvard University
Undergrads participated this year, but other schools have been doing it for years
2:04 PMA year-old article about Harvard University’s first black graduation ceremony resurfaced this week and caused a ruckus on social media.
Harvard will host its first ever “black only” graduation ceremony
This is racist and a disgrace to all racial progress made over the last 60 yrs
MLK would be disgusted at this
By the way, if you are a black person that goes to Harvard, you are the furthest thing from oppressed
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 21, 2018
The lines between “celebration” and “segregation” are getting blurry. https://t.co/9zzo9Ftn2T
— David Smalley (@davidcsmalley) May 22, 2018
Why would Harvard university have its first ever “only black” graduation ceremony? You know how hard MLK worked to not have this??
— Zach Borger (@ZBorger) May 23, 2018
The Ivy League university actually hosted its second black grad ceremony Tuesday at Radcliffe Yard. Similar to what took place in 2017, the event was sponsored by the Harvard Black Students Association and was designed to honor the achievements of black graduating students. No degrees were conferred during this ceremony; that practice is reserved for the school’s general commencement activities Thursday.
Jillian Simons, co-president of the Harvard Black Graduate Student Alliance, helped plan the event. Last year, only grad students participated in the ceremony, but all students were allowed to attend. Simi Falako, president of the Harvard Black Students Association and a human developmental and regenerative biology major, confirmed that senior undergraduates were included this year. In an email, she also acknowledged that the planning committee used the criticism from last year’s event to improve this year’s. Some tweeted support or defended the event.
Happy celebrating w @Kennedy_School @Harvard black graduation! #hksalumni pic.twitter.com/pS9wIbieQe
— Amy Davies (@adavies108) May 22, 2018
This is a lie, Harvard is not hosting a black only graduation ceremony. There is a ceremony organized by the students and not Harvard itself to recognize the unique struggles of black students have gone through, and it is still open to all people of all races.
— OhNoAnotherPutz (@ohnoanotherputz) May 21, 2018
It’s hard to tell if this is just an issue of not reading beyond a year-old provocative headline like “Harvard will host first-ever black only graduation” or an issue of understanding the difference between honoring the experiences and accomplishments of a group that shares something such as race, religion or sexual orientation, and racism. The former usually takes the form of an optional, one-day event designed to uplift and unify a particular group, culture or orientation, like Greek Jewish Festivals, Pride parades or girls’ night out. The latter uses economic, social and legislative restrictions to enforce the supremacy of one group over another.
The need and desire for culture-specific graduation ceremonies are not new or even unique to Harvard University. Syracuse University hosted its first black graduation ceremony in 2004, the University of Southern California initiated its in 1999 and Stanford established its black graduation ceremony more than 40 years ago. Columbia University, UC Berkeley and the University of Washington also host ceremonies. At each university, the ceremony is designed to honor the accomplishment of black students, but any student who registers may participate.
Yesterday, I sang the Black National Anthem ("Lift Every Voice and Sing"), with one of my closet friends playing the piano behind me, in front of my classmates, professors, family, friends and a few hundred other people at the 2nd Harvard Black Graduation Ceremony.
Surreal.
— Lemonade (@C_Rob919) May 23, 2018
Fanta Cherif, graduating senior and head of the 2018 Black Graduation Committee, said Syracuse’s black graduation event has not encountered the same backlash as Harvard’s. She was surprised it took so long for the prestigious Ivy League school to establish the ceremony.
“Every PWI [predominantly white institution] should have one,” she remarked. The only issues she encountered were that the school did not provide any funding for the event, nor did any high-ranking school officials attend.
So black graduations are not anti-anyone. They just celebrate black students, their accomplishments, experiences and supporters at schools where the main or department ceremony might not give them a more intimate opportunity to do so.
2018 NBA Playoffs
Will Harden’s dunk on Green alter NBA history?
LeBron, Shaq and Jordan had other franchise-changing smashes
1:22 PMOn the dunk Richter scale, nothing ranks higher than a smash that alters the course of a playoff series. (Well, almost nothing.) The funeral James Harden gave Draymond Green on Tuesday night could turn out to be one of those dunks. We expect Harden to rain treys and cook dudes’ legs into spaghetti, of course. But to bang on Green, probably the best all-around defender in the league? On Green’s home court? Then beat the Warriors for their first home playoff loss since Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, and tie the series 2-2? The momentous aftershocks of Harden’s and-1 (he actually got fouled twice: once by Stephen Curry on the reach-in and again by Green at the rim) included Green short-arming a wide-open dunk and the Dubs flinging brick after brick in the pivotal fourth quarter.
If the Rockets can use their home-court advantage over the rest of the series to dethrone Golden State, Harden’s dunk will be remembered among these other legendary bang-outs that shook us harder because of the playoff implications:
MJ ON THE WHOLE KNICKS SQUAD
Back in 1991, Michael Jordan was still a high-scoring guard who had never won a championship. The future revealed itself in a first-round series against the New York Knicks. Y’all know the legend: MJ evaded a double team from Kiki Vandeweghe and John Starks, shook another double from Starks and Charles Oakley, spun baseline, elevated over the 7-foot Patrick Ewing — and cemented the destiny of two franchises with the and-1.
SHAQ (FROM KOBE) OVER PORTLAND
Like Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had never won a championship when they faced Portland in the 2000 Western Conference finals. After blowing a 3-1 lead, down 15 in the fourth quarter of Game 7, the Los Angeles Lakers mounted a comeback. With 44 seconds left, Bryant dusted Scottie Pippen with an effortless crossover, knifed into the lane and lobbed a big piece of barbecue chicken up for the big fella. Lakers up 6. Three straight ’chips came next.
LEBRON OVER DETROIT
In 2007, a ringless LeBron James was down 0-2 against the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. With the score tied deep in the fourth quarter, James blew past two defenders and destroyed Rasheed Wallace, plus the foul. That set the stage for James’ 32 points, a series-swinging win, his first Finals appearance — and too many more playoff posters to count.
2018 NBA Playoffs
Shooting Rockets at the throne: on the eve of Houston’s most important game of the season
Does Houston want to have a problem — or do they want to be the problem?
10:54 AMThere’s a Jay-Z lyric for any and every situation in life. For the Houston Rockets, their current 2-1 Western Conference finals plight is no different. More on that shortly. After elimination by the Golden State Warriors in 2015 and 2016, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey all but confirmed the Bay Area fetish. “It’s the only thing we think about,” he told ESPN last December. “I think I’m not supposed to say that, but we’re obsessed with ‘How do we beat the Warriors?’ ”
He went on to say, “It’s like 90 percent … if we’re gonna win a title, we’ve obviously gotta beat the Warriors at some point. So we’re extremely focused on that. A lot of our signings and what we do during the year is based on that.”
This year’s Houston Rockets are an all-time great offensive juggernaut. The franchise broke its own record for 3-pointers made in a season this year. But here’s the thing — beating the defending champions in regular-season matchups, as they did two out of three times, is a completely different animal from trying to beat them four times in less than two weeks.
As currently constructed, the Warriors represent the love child of the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams and 2001 Miami Hurricanes — only the child decided CTE, the lack of guaranteed contracts and football’s stance on social issues were too much to ignore. Golden State is the most overwhelmingly dominant team ever assembled, with four presumptive future Hall of Fame candidates all still very much at their physical apexes. And Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant could very well end up as top-10 players of all time.
Now Houston has to beat that same team at home. That same team that hasn’t lost in Oakland since LeBron James’ block and Kyrie Irving’s shot punctuated the greatest Finals comeback in NBA history nearly two years ago. A loss that, by the Warriors’ own admission, delivered them Durant. Oracle Arena hasn’t felt the agony of playoff defeat in 703 days and counting. That’s 16 games in a row — the longest such streak in league history. This is the task sitting on Houston’s shoulders ahead of tonight’s game.
Do not bark up that tree, Jay-Z warned his foes on the seminal 2001 diss record “Takeover.” That tree will fall on you / I don’t know why your advisers ain’t forewarn you. The best record in the league, with a team specifically designed for this exact moment, only to sit on the edge of self-destruction. That lyric will haunt the Rockets if they lose tonight.
Head coach Mike D’Antoni called his team soft after Sunday’s baptism. D’Antoni understands the magnitude, even if he is saying Golden State has “all the pressure” of tonight’s game. D’Antoni is the forefather of the space-and-pace offense: His mid-2000s Phoenix Suns were the kings of it. Now he’s a mad scientist watching his creation turn against him, as the Warriors are a faster, defensively superior and just more crippling version of those Suns. Chris Paul waited his entire career to advance to the NBA’s final four, and it’ll likely end in five if the Rockets put on a repeat performance of their Game 3 curb-stomping.
James Harden, the leading MVP candidate (although another James continues to make a case), has had his great season come down to one game. These moments define careers. Big-time players, as Santana Moss once poetically put it, make big-time plays in big-time games. And if Harden wants to continue to live under the label of “superstar” without reproach, this is the type of game that notarizes the stamp. Game 4 on the road? In an all-time hostile environment? With a chance to completely rewrite the narrative of both the series and your postseason career? These are dreams that money, not even Harden’s mammoth contract, can’t buy.
Houston called out Golden State like Martin called out Tommy Hearns in the classic 1994 Martin episode “Guard Your Grill.” And, as it stands right now, the Rockets are a two piece and another Steph Curry biscuit away from looking like Martin after the fight. It’s the “s— or get off the pot” moment for these Houston Rockets. Go back to Houston tied 2-2 and it’s a best-of-three series with potentially two games at home — and the reality that they don’t have to win in Golden State again. Go back to Houston down 3-1 and not even the courtside five of Beyoncé, Bun B, Scarface, Travis Scott and Deshaun Watson would prevent the inevitable. Does Houston want to have a problem or does Houston want to be the problem? Do not bark up that tree. It won’t take long to find out either way.
