By Kyle Hightower and Rob MaaddiAP Sports Writers FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jerod Mayo spent his entire professional football career learning from Bill Belichick, first as a player and then as an assistant. He’ll now have the weighty task of succeeding the future Hall of Famer and leading a New England Patriots team as its […]
Category: Sports
Posted in!Front Page Sports
Black leadership at head coach, QB to be more visible than ever during NFL playoffs
By Cliff Brunt AP Sports Writer This year’s NFL playoffs will feature a record number of Black men who have thrived in leadership positions they rarely had the opportunity to hold in previous generations. Three Black head coaches have reached the playoffs — Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans. Miami coach […]
Posted inD.C Sports
FAMU takes 2023 Celebration Bowl title
Southwestern Athletic Conference emerges victorious By Mekhi Abbott Special to the AFROmabbott@afro.com The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Rattlers defeated the Howard Bison in the Cricket Football Celebration Bowl on Dec. 16. Delivering a final score of 30-26, the Rattlers left Atlanta with their first ever Celebration Bowl victory. The Bowl, also known as the […]
Posted inD.C Sports
Wizards, Capitals would move to Virginia in proposed deal, Mystics would stay in D.C.
By Sarah Rankin and Matthew BarakatAssociated Press Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA)has reached a tentative agreement with the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to move those teams from the District of Columbia to what he called a new “visionary sports and entertainment venue” in northern Virginia. The proposal, which […]
Posted in!Front Page
Analysis: Falling short in the playoffs won’t cut it for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens
By Rob Maddi The Associated Press Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens played their best football in the biggest games of the regular season. Now, they’ve got to do it in the playoffs. Jackson has been one of the NFL’s top players for several years, but the Ravens are just 1-3 in the playoffs with […]
Posted inSports
Lamar Jackson’s perfect passer rating helps Ravens rout Dolphins 56-19 to clinch top seed in AFC
By Noah Trister AP Sports Writer BALTIMORE (AP) — In what may have been his final bid for the MVP award, Lamar Jackson threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns, finishing with a perfect passer rating and helping the Baltimore Ravens clinch the top seed in the AFC with a 56-19 rout of the Miami […]
Posted inSports
Top Sports Moments of 2023
From the gym to the track: Top 10 sports moments of 2023 As 2023 comes to a close, the AFRO takes a look at the Black athletes who gave it their all on the basketball court, the football field, in the gym, on the track and beyond. The Georgia State Bulldogs crushed the TCU Horned […]
Posted inSports
Ravens v. Dolphins Dec. 31 matchup: huge playoff implications in battle for the No. 1 seed
By AFRO Staff Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8), left, and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) will lead their respective teams in a clash that will determine the AFC’s No. 1 seed on Dec. 31 in Baltimore. (AP Photos) The Miami Dolphins (11-4) and Baltimore Ravens (12-3) will duel New Year’s Eve in Baltimore […]
Posted in!Front Page Sports
The NBA’s annual Christmas slate awaits. Teams insist it’s special to be picked
By Tim ReynoldsAP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Erik Spoelstra was part of 12 Christmas games as a staff member, assistant coach or head coach in his first 20 seasons with the Miami Heat. And in the eight seasons that followed, the Heat played on Christmas only once. Here’s what he realized: For an NBA […]
Posted inNational Sports
Gymnastics star Simone Biles named AP Female Athlete of the Year a third time after dazzling return
By Will GravesAP National Writer There were jitters, of course. Considering all that happened, how could there not be? When Simone Biles walked onto the floor at a suburban Chicago arena in late July for her first gymnastics competition in two years, she knew plenty of people were wondering how it was going to go. […]
Posted inHBCU
LSU Tigers take down Coppin Eagles as Angel Reese returns home to sold-out crowd
By Lake MarionSpecial to the AFRO Angel Reese, the Randallstown, Md., native and St. Frances graduate, came home and handled business as she and the Louisiana State University Tigers defeated the Coppin State University Eagles 80-48 on Dec. 20. Almost two years ago, Reese was playing for the University of Maryland Terrapins when she last […]
Posted inSports Columnists
Sports player contracts are a bigger deal thanks to Curt Flood
By Ralph E. Moore Jr The latest sports news is that baseball pitcher and hitter, Shohei Ohtani, recently signed a $700,000,000 contract for ten years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wow, that’s a big one! Ohtani became a free agent on Nov. 2 of this year. Just for the record, a free agent in professional […]
