The Department of Sports is the agency of the BlackState that
examines the role of sports and athletics in the black world. The role and influence sports has in the black world- politically, economically and socially is among the issues featured.
Previous Sports Features:
Boise State Fiesta Bowl Winner National Champion
Boise State 14-0 defeated TCU to win the Fiesta Bowl and in our view a share of the National Championship. As it will share its status as the remaining undefeated division I school along with the Texas Alabama winner. Boise State's record includes wins over Rose Bowl runner up and Pac 10 Champion Oregon and a record over the past few years any Division I program would envy.
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Sammy Sosa Before and After Skin Lightens
The web has been abuzz with before and after pictures of former baseball player Sammy Sosa. The former all star slugger skin appears to be much lighter than when he played. Is this much ado about nothing or does he want to be lighter in complexion?
In an interview with Univision Sosa stated that he was shocked at the attention he is receiving and denied having a skin condition similar to that of the late Michael Jackson. He stated that he uses a cream on his face because of damage to his skin due to the years of sun exposure in afternoon baseball games and that the flashes from the cameras made his skin look lighter. Sosa added, "I'm not a racist. I'm not like that. I'm just a happy person."
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The 2009 year of college football will lead to the ultimate demise of the Bowl Championship Series also known as the
BCS. Division one college football is strange and unique in that polls and statistics determine who meet up to
determine a national champion. Last season's BCS national champion the Florida Gators with one loss beat a one loss
Oklahoma team to become national champions. Meanwhile an undefeated Utah convincingly beat Alabama to be the only
division one team to finish undefeated. Before anyonhttp://blackstate.com/cgi-bin/util/fm/index.htmle writes and says Florida would have beaten Utah, how do they
know? Ole Miss beat Florida, and Alabama led Florida going into the fourth quarter in the SEC championship game.
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The National Basketball Association (NBA) has allot to be excited about. Just a few years ago critics were predicting the demise of the NBA,
with thugged out high schoolers going straight to the NBA, the media in constant search for the next Michael Jordan, and the boring yet sound
San Antonio Spurs winning championships. However, this year the NBA feels different, the NBA's Western Conference is so good top to bottom any
of the top six teams could make its case for the NBA title. In the east, the Boston Celtics with the additions of Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen along with Paul Pierce has made the Celtics a must see team like the Bulls of Jordan or the Shaq and Kobe show. Coupled with the fundamentally sound Detroit Pistons, the top two teams in the East may be better than all those top teams in the west.
Story lines abound in this years NBA. Kobe Bryant may win his first NBA MVP award with steady and when needed spectacular performances after a
difficult offseason where he was frustrated with the Lakers for going nowhere and making bad moves while in the prime of his career. CONTINUE
No One Should Watch Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds sucks. He could be the last great African American baseball player for a generation as many African American youth turn to basketball
and football as their sport of choice but he still sucks. The decline in African American interest in baseball varies but the interest in Barry Bonds is lacking primarily because of the steroids issue. This article takes a look at African American interest in the American pastime and a look at the most prominent African American player and the games most controversial player Barry Bonds.
The reasons why African Americans are not watching baseball vary. Barriers to play the game, the marketing of the game and socio-economic factors
have all played a role in the decline in interest. Unlike basketball for instance there are barriers to play baseball, costs of bats helmets,
uniforms places to play, while many cities have cut recreational park funding.
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A Historical First: Two African American Coaches in the Super Bowl by Matthew Lynch
In the 86-year history of the NFL, there has never been an African American head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl, well until now. Ironically, we will not only see a black coach in the Super Bowl, we will see two. Lovie Smith of the NFC Champion Bears and Tony Dungy of the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts.
Growing up, I can remember the NFL coaches club being lily white. It was not until 1989 when the NFL got its first African American Coach. I was proud and shocked to see Art Shell on the sidelines leading The LA Raiders to victory, proudly sporting a silver and white jacket. By the same token, it was 1988 before we saw a black quarterback start in and win a Super Bowl. Doug Williams, a former Grambling State University standout, led the Washington Redskins to victory in the 1987 Super Bowl. I was beguiled by his awe inspiring athletic skill and the fact that he played with incomparable equanimity. He was like poetry in motion and watching him enabled me to envision a day when deeper-seated stereotypes about the intelligence of African Americans would be refuted. To me it seemed as though African American football players were relegated to playing positions that required brute strength or speed/agility,
and only a few were given the chance to play quarterback. In my mind, all this only perpetuated the notion of white intellectual superiority.
Fast forward to 2007, and you will see that barriers are made to be demolished. This nation is moving closer to the blessed community that Martin Luther King envisioned in his “I Have a Dream Speech.” Both coaches are accomplished managers of the game of football and have labored arduously to attain their current level of success. They have been discriminated against, criticized, and tarred and feathered by the media; Dungy for not winning the big game and Smith for not yanking quarterback Rex Grossman when he was performing atrociously during the second half of the season.
CONTINUE Sports News Headlines:
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Sammy Sosa Before and After Skin Lightens
No One Should Watch Barry Bonds 
A Historical First: Two African American Coaches in the Super Bowl by Matthew Lynch