Harris-Stowe State University finished fifth in the Black College Nines website’s final ranking of HBCU small school baseball teams released on Tuesday. The Hornets closed the season at 30-19, marking the second time the program reached 30 wins in 75 years. HSSU also won 30 games in 2005 (34-27).
Winston-Salem finished No. 1 and was followed by Talladega College, Edward Waters College, Miles College, HSSU, Benedict College, Jarvis Christian, Paine College, Voorhees College and Stillman College.
Harris-Stowed entered the American Midwest Conference Tournament as the fourth seed, but the Hornets’ pitching faltered. They were dispatched from the double-elimination tournament in Henderson, Tenn., after a 16-1 loss to William Woods and 11-4 setback to Missouri Baptist.
Coach C.J. Bilbrey’s team was an HBCU powerhouse when it came to offense. It led the AMC with a .337 team batting average, and tied for the conference lead in slugging percentage at .476.
The Hornets were also successful in the classroom with Jake Angelo, Greg Carter, David Flores, Ty Haston, Christian Mitchell, Tony Montano, Victor Perez, Leobardo Saldivar, Jr., Tyler Schatz, Kendal Sheler, Sam Simon, Stephen Wells and Dylan Yankle carrying a 3.0 GPA or above to earn recognition on the 2017 AMC All-Academic Team.
Perez was also named the Harris-Stowe representative on the AMC Champions of Character Team.
Bethune-Cookman claimed the Large School national championship with a 33-23 record and the MEAC champion won an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I post-season regional. Regional pairings will be announced this week.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Jackson State University, Alabama State University, North Carolina A&T, Texas Southern University, Norfolk State University, Florida A&M, Delaware State University, North Carolina Central and Grambling State University.
What do Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Cassel, Chase Daniel, Matt Schaub, Ryan Mallett, Mike Glennon and Brian Hoyer have in common?
All have been signed as back-up quarterbacks by respective NFL teams during the offseason.
Colin Kaepernick remains unemployed, even though he had a respectable career in San Francisco, led his team to the Super Bowl and was a missed defensive holding call away from winning it.
I figured some teams would blackball him – but not the entire NFL. I wrote here months ago that if I were a GM I’d have my concerns. Bur surely, some GM would want to sign him, but the owner would say no. Some owners would approve of the move, but their GM or another executive would talk them out of the signing.
Summer is quickly approaching and Kaepernick’s career is on hold because he refused to stand for the national anthem before games last season.
Really? In America?
Coach of the Seattle Seahawks hinted last week that Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III were being considered to backup Russell Wilson. My guess is that Kaepernick gets the job – he might have it by today.
Washington is a blue state that recently legalized recreational use of marijuana. While many Seahawks fans would balk at Kaepernick’s arrival, the majority have moved on.
But there is a dark horse in the Kaepernick sweepstakes. The Dallas Cowboys.
Dak Prescott’s backup at quarterback is the diminutive Kellen Moore, who missed the 2016 season with a broken ankle. The Cowboys could have this unproven candidate of Kaepernick in case of an emergency.
Texas is amongst the reddest of red states. The backlash against Kaepernick would be considerable.
But Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Gil Lebreton, a Vietnam veteran and true son of Texas, has called out the Cowboys and other NFL teams for being hypocritical in this matter.
“As we approach Memorial Day weekend, count me as one Army veteran who bears no animosity towards Colin Kaepernick. He has more than walked his talk and helped to open a valuable dialogue,” he wrote.
“I still wince at demonstrations that involve the flag or the anthem. I spent two years of my life specifically defending those things.
“But people of my generation, the Vietnam generation, burned flags and stormed campus buildings and really did move to Canada. Kaepernick was simply using the platform that he had.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has signed NFL bad guys Greg Hardy, Josh Brent, Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones and fans have cheered them on, Lebreton explained.
“Are NFL owners that spineless, that they don’t want to associate themselves with a player whose conscience and politics might alienate some ticket buyers?” he asks.
My answer is that most are – but Jones is not. Neither is Seahawks owner Paul Allen.
Dexter Does Dairy
The St. Louis Cardinals topped the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on May 13 and a Dexter Fowler Children’s Growth Chart was the day’s promotional item.
Sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association and Missouri Farmers Care, the annual promotion features a Cardinal with a milk moustache as Fowler sports on the chart.
Fowler has found some recent success at the plate and had six home runs, 18 RBI and 23 runs scored entering Tuesday’s game at Los Angeles. His current .220 batting average, though, would be the lowest by far in his nine full MLB seasons.
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows, including Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box” on KFNS. His Twitter handle is #aareid1Â
