Congratulations to former Vashon High basketball star Jimmy McKinney, who was introduced as the new boys’ basketball coach at Kirkwood High last week.
In last week’s column about the novel coronavirus’ impact on sports, I wrote that the global pandemic was “traveling across the globe at light speed.” At the time, the NCAA had announced that the NCAA Tournament would be held in nearly empty arenas. The NBA had announced it was considering p…
Update: Wednesday night, the NBA announced that it has suspended operations indefinitely after Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus.
The Democratic Party’s primary process has, at times, been a knock-down, drag-out affair. However, at a time when it seemed that both the country and the Democratic Party could not be more polarized, an interesting thing occurred. Progressives, moderates and Democratic socialists came togeth…
“Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.” – Jay-Z
To call Tyson Fury a confounding individual would be a bit of an understatement. At 6-foot-9 and north of 250 pounds, Fury is one of the biggest heavyweight champions in history. His name – Tyson Fury – is the perfect name for a heavyweight fighter. It’s a name I might have chosen for the cr…
Disbelief is an understatement. My jaw dropped wide open, like a cartoon character, when I learned that John Burroughs decided to remove Lutheran North from its football schedule. As a graduate of Lutheran North, the decision just didn’t make sense.
Last season, NBA All-Star Weekend seemed like a glimpse of the future for STL basketball fans. St. Louis natives Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum both had impactful performances during the weekend’s events.
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Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest players to ever set foot on a basketball court. That much is indisputable. Basketball fans, historians and journalists can, and will, forever debate how high he belongs on the NBA hierarchy.
Zion Williamson was the most-heralded and highly-anticipated rookie to enter the NBA since LeBron James in 2003. His highlight reel dunks, exploding shoes and physics-defying athleticism positioned Williamson to be an instant star.
A sad secret of the WNBA is that many of the league’s players spend the offseason playing for professional teams across Europe because their WNBA salaries are just a tiny fraction of their male counterparts.
Depending on whom you ask, you are likely to get widely differing views on the importance of social media. To some, social media is one of the greatest and most important inventions in the history of the world. It gives us immediate, global access to breaking news, information, family, frien…
The Michael Porter Jr. era has officially begun in Denver. The former Mizzou standout made his first NBA start Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings. The rookie forward (Porter sat out the entire 2018-19 season due to injury) looked impressive as he racked up 19 points (on 8-of-10 shooti…
Christmas season is here. Chances are, you’ve already opened your gifts, stuffed your belly, gone through the Temptations Christmas album at least nine times and spread plenty of holly, jolly Christmas cheer. I intended to send a heartfelt, thoughtful, drip-infused gift to each and every rea…
The press is often referred to as the Fourth Estate. Though the news media is not technically a part of the political system of governance, it wields the power to hold politicians to account. Therefore, when I received a call from Andre Holman of STL TV inviting me to play in the 1st Annual …
One of my favorite songs from the late, great Nipsey Hussle is “Dedication.” The track, featuring Kendrick Lamar, is woke, energetic, intelligent, lyrical and dynamic – oh and the beat knocks. Still, with all the amazing choices made in regards to lyrics, cadence, production, etc., there is …
The sweet science is filled with upsets. St. Louis’ very own Leon Spinks shocked the world in 1978 with a surprising victory over Muhammad Ali. Hasim Rahman was a 20-1 underdog when he knocked out Lennox Lewis to become the undisputed heavyweight champ in 2001. In one of the biggest upsets i…
Saturday night, Deontay Wilder resembled a cat playing with its food. Though he was seeking to defend his WBC heavyweight title for the tenth consecutive time, it was clear that Wilder was in no rush. For seven rounds, Wilder allowed Luis Ortiz to dictate the pace of the fight.
Just weeks ago, it seemed like Carmelo Anthony’s NBA career was over. Anthony hadn’t played a game since Nov. 8, 2018. It seemed that the modern NBA had passed him by. Not many people doubted that Anthony could still get buckets. The question was always whether his liabilities and attitude o…
It has been nearly three years since Colin Kaepernick played in a professional football game. The story of how Kaepernick was blackballed out of the NFL is well known. The then-San Francisco 49ers QB took a knee during the “Star Spangled Banner” to raise awareness for the critical fight for …
The NBA has gone through numerous eras in its 73 years of existence. There was the Bill Russell Era, an era that saw Russell’s Boston Celtics won 11 championships in a 13-year stretch. There was also an extended Big Man Era, in which big men such as Russell, George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, M…
After years of fighting tooth and nail against allowing college athletes to earn any type of meaningful income, the NCAA is calling an audible. The NCAA Board of Governors announced that it will soon allow college athletes to earn a little lunch money.
After a whirlwind summer that saw several stars switch area codes, the 2019-20 NBA season is finally upon us. The season kicked off Tuesday night with a double header.
Kelly Bryant rode into Columbia as a beacon of hope for Mizzou. After Drew Lock was drafted in the second round by the Denver Broncos, Mizzou found itself without the extraordinary QB who had called the shots for the past four seasons. Instead of crossing their fingers and hoping one of the …
There was a classic recurring skit on The Chappelle Show (the co-GOAT TV show alongside The Boondocks) called “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.” The premise was simple. A black person, usually played by Dave Chappelle, suffered some minute form of disrespect. The character faced a choice bet…
Professional boxing is a sport filled with titlists and champions. What’s the difference? A titlist holds a world title from one of the 8,364 major sanctioning bodies. Due to the sport’s reputation for shady promoters, greased wheels and backroom deals, a fighter who holds a world title is n…
Ever since Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao ventured into the welterweight division in the mid-to-late 2000s, the 147-pound division has been the center of the boxing universe. One could argue that the welterweights have ruled the roost since the 1999 “Fight of the Millennium” between…
The writing was on the wall. As NBA stars lost interest in the FIBA World Cup, it was evident that Team USA’s chances for bringing home the gold were questionable at best.
With the announcement that St. Louis will soon be home to an expansion team in the MLS, a raging debate has emerged among St. Louis sports fans. Is St. Louis a baseball town or a soccer town? Let’s not forget the St. Louis Blues drew an estimated 500k fans to celebrate the team’s first Stanl…
Ezekiel Elliott raised eyebrows when he decided not to return to the Dallas Cowboys without a new contract. There was little doubt that the star running back’s on-the-field talent warranted being one of the top players at his position. However, his penchant for problematic behavior off-the-f…
Mizzou has been relatively blessed in recent years at the quarterback position. Brad Smith, Chase Daniel, Blaine Gabbert and Drew Lock have all vaulted from signal-caller in Columbia to NFL rosters. High draft picks Lock and Gabbert went the traditional route. Smith was selected as a WR/KR. …
The sole connection that many black Americans have with golf, especially those under 40, can be summarized in two words: Tiger Woods. If Woods is in contention in a major tournament, black folks will tune in, turn into golf experts and turn all the way up if he pulls out a victory.
On Aug. 7, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and social justice warrior Colin Kaepernick posted a video to Twitter. The opening frame was a blacked out screen with a white scoreboard that read “Denied Work for 889 Days.” The video went on to show Kaepernick hitting the weight room for a…
Old heads, it’s time to raise your glasses of Geritol. An NBA legend is vowing to make Metamucil great again. Vince Carter, the NBA’s gracefully-aging graybeard will roam the courts again.
Longtime readers of In the Clutch surely know that, at times, I have been a critic of LeBron James. LeBron stans may even venture to say that I’ve tiptoed and tap danced across the border of criticism into the land of hating a time or two. However, as a fan of the man, an appreciator of his …
When Manny Pacquiao agreed to face WBA welterweight champion Keith “One-Time” Thurman, some believed “Pac Man” might be entering the ring one time too many. Though Pacquiao is a surefire future hall of famer, it’s just a matter of time before Father Time puts paws on the 40-year-old fighter …
The 2019 NBA free agency period started off with a bang. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving got the party started early by taking their basketballs and bolting to Brooklyn. That move set the tone for what became one of the wildest, craziest weeks in free agency since Tom Chambers became the first…
In last week’s column, “Big Baller banned,” I opined about the infamous interaction between LaVar Ball and Molly Qerim that resulted in Ball getting banned from ESPN. Due to the nature of the topic, I expected that some readers would experience ruffled feathers.
LaVar Ball is no stranger to making waves in the media. The most well-known NBA dad shot onto the scene by saying outlandish things in front of every camera and microphone in his vicinity. No matter the time or day, Ball always has something slick to say.
Shout out to the Toronto Raptors for earning the franchise’s first NBA Championship. Powered by Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors knocked off the Golden State Warriors in six games. Yes, I picked the Warriors in five. Who knew Kevin Durant would only play 12 minutes in the series, Klay Thompson wou…
Game 5 of the NBA Finals was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, an Oscar-worthy motion picture, an Emmy-earning TV show and a Tony Award-winning performance all wrapped into one.
In most professional sports, championships are determined by some type of tournament. Usually, a league’s best teams/competitors engage in a series of matchups until the top two faceoff for all the glory.
In February of 2003, I recall hopping in the whip for a road trip down I-55S to Memphis, Tenn. It was my second trip to Memphis in an eight-month span, alongside Mike Dickson, my good friend and former co-host of Boxing Addictz and In the Clench YouTube boxing shows. Both trips were to get a…
The 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, aka the Zion Williamson sweepstakes, was the first since the NBA Board of Governors switched up the odds to discourage teams from tanking. Previously, the team with the worst record received a 25 percent chance at the top pick. The second-worst team received a 19.…
Barring a blockbuster discovery that Zion Williamson is Communist Russian Al-Qaeda operative, the Duke superstar is a lock to be the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. That means there is currently more anticipation for the NBA’s draft lottery, than the draft itself.
While much of the basketball world is debating whether Kevin Durant has finally surpassed LeBron James as the best all-around player in the NBA, one thing remains indisputable. James Harden is the most talented offensive player on the planet. Though he may not possess the height of the nearl…
For years Damian Lillard has been overshadowed by an overabundance of talented point guards in the Western Conference. Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and James Harden (who plays both guard positions) have racked up MVPs, scoring titles and become some of the most well-known athletes in the w…
When four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins signed with the Golden State Warriors, many basketball fans declared the 2018-19 season a mere formality. Cousins brought an embarrassment of riches to Warriors, a team that has won three championships in the past four seasons.
Magic Johnson shocked the basketball world Tuesday night by announcing his resignation as the Los Angeles Lakers’ president of basketball operations.
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