University of Florida: A Track & Field Powerhouse

By: Jimbo Brown

Dedric Dukes bringing home a 1st place finish

University of Florida is considered one of the best schools to attend in the world. Being one of the top-ranked public schools, UF has one of the biggest fan bases. This wonderful institution has excelled both academically and athletically. The Warrington Business School just won 1st place at the national case competition and the girl’s gymnastics team took home a National Championship in 2014. The track program has had the most consistency since Coach Mike Holloway took over about a decade ago.  The Gators are coming off of a successful weekend at Florida Relays track meet. The men and women teams finished with 20 individual personal records and 17 top-five finishes.

Coach Holloway aka “Mouse” a UF graduate is the nucleus that makes the machine produce greatness and consistency. He was an assistant coach on the 2012 USA Olympic team. Through his 8-year career with the Gators he has develop 12 individual national champions. The men’s and women’s programs has won multiple of indoor and outdoor SEC conference championships. If the teams didn't win out right, they either tied with another powerhouse or finished in the top-three. The men’s program has had more success overall bringing 5 team national championships; 3 indoor and 2 outdoor. The program wouldn't be as successful if it wasn't for the talent coach Holloway is able to recruit throughout the year.

Holloway is a mastermind when it comes to recruiting. He has always been able to get the most talented runners in the nation. Both teams are stacked with runners, jumpers and throwers from across the nation. Even though the Gators can have any student-athlete in the country, Holloway focuses on the talent in the state of Florida. Ebony Eutsey and Robin Reynolds two of the most decorated Florida High School athletes. They have contributed to the success of the women program, along with many others. On behalf of the men programs, the athletes that have come through have went on to represent the university and the country all over the world. Will Claye, Tony McQuay, Christian Taylor and Jeff Demps have contributed to our countries Olympic success. Coach Holloway has modeled many athletes to NCAA legends. The track & field program has produced 47 All-Americans and 141 All-American Honors. To have a great program at any level of competition you have to have a great leader.

This past indoor season yielded great results for the University of Florida Men’s program, with them winning the SEC championship this year. Najee Glass posted the second fastest 400m time in the nation this year and the 8^th fastest time in school history. With this early success, he will do nothing but progress. Coach Holloway is one of the best coaches in the nation and has built a program that will continuously  grow.

Norland Men’s Basketball:4 State Champions in a Row

By: Candy Man 

In high school sports, they call it boys’ basketball. But at Norland, they’re men amongst boys on the basketball team. They just made history in the state & Dade County, becoming the 1^st basketball team in the county to win 4 straight state championships after beating Gainesville to a score of 53-46 in the Class 6A final. They also become only the 6^th school ever in the whole state to win 4 straight. Head coach, Lawton Williams III, has kept the success going since his first state title with the school in 2006.  With that, they join Miami High as one of the most successful programs in Dade County.

Junior center & All-American, Dewan Huell, was the key for the Vikings this season. He carried his team in the final, scoring 18 points along with 8 boards & 6 blocks. Other key contributors are David Jean-Baptiste & Tyrik Waite. There’s a good chance Norland could be right back in the mix next year as they only have one senior on the team. Huell is one of the best players in the nation and will be the main factor in deciding if they can make it five straight. They were doubted before the beginning of this season. Critics said they were too young & inexperienced after they lost so many of their players from last years’ state title team. Coach Williams still worked his magic with a team full of underclassmen. Pretty much the whole team is returning next year. With more depth & experience, Norland should be able to make it 5 straight titles.   

Also, shout out to Browad’s Blanche Ely basketball team and head coach Melvin Randall. They finished the season undefeated (28-0) and won their 3^rd state title in the past 4 seasons, beating Kissimmee Osceola in the Class 7A final.

Best Point Guard in the NBA?

By: Candy Man 

Russell Westbrook is making his case as the best point guard in the league. He’s had to carry his team with Kevin Durant in & out of the lineup and he has been very productive doing so. People are wondering whether Westbrook might be more valuable to his team than Durant. There are also questions if he could possibly have more success if he was the leading man on his own squad. Just take a look at his numbers from this month alone & you can see why Westbrook’s name has been gaining momentum around the league…he’s been averaging about 30 points, 10 assists & 8 rebounds and has been putting up monster stats with Durant out of the lineup. The most explosive playmaker in the NBA, he’s also been more efficient, posting those numbers while only playing under 30 minutes on some nights. I’m calling it now that Westbrook will win an MVP trophy in the next few seasons.

Other names that are brought up in the best point guard conversation are Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving & John Wall. Paul has been considered the best point guard because he is the prototypical guard with a pass-first, shoot-second mentality. He puts up high assist numbers and gets his teammates involved in the game, while being one of the most efficient players in the league. The only knock against Paul is that he hasn’t gotten deep into the playoffs. His teams have been disappointing in the playoffs, coming in with high expectations but consistently getting knocked out in the first & second rounds. He has cost the Clippers late in games with dumb mistakes & turnovers and he should be more aggressive in scoring as I feel he could score more than 20 a night if he really wanted to. Steph Curry, the best 3-point shooter in the game today, probably has taken the best PG title from Paul this season. He’s elevated his game and improved on much criticized areas such as defense & passing. Curry is the most exciting player in the NBA to watch and is deadly from anywhere on the court. From pulling up for the 3 to swerving through traffic down the lane with his fancy ball handling, he can get any shot he wants and hit it with pinpoint accuracy. John Wall is one of the best finishers in the league and is having a career season. He leads the NBA in assists with over 10 a game and he’s been the key piece to the Wizards getting back into the playoffs. Kyrie Irving is another point guard with a shoot first mentality. He’s not much of a facilitator, isn’t impressive on defense but is a lethal scorer and probably has the best handles out of anybody. With LeBron James & a better supporting cast, he has the potential to be a more all-around guard in the next couple years.

The talent at the point guard position is probably the deepest it has ever been. In addition to the first five, you also have Damian Lillard, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Goran Dragic, Tony Parker, Kemba Walker, Brandon Knight, & Eric Bledsoe. In my opinion, Lillard has the potential to be the biggest star out of all those I just named. He’s still young (3^rd year in the league) and is far from reaching his prime. If this was a list of the top 5 offensive point guards, he would definitely be in there without a question. He’s one of the most clutch players in the NBA, hitting big shots for the Trailblazers late in games. The man hit one of the best buzzer-beaters I’ve ever seen when he sent Houston home last year in the 1^st round of the playoffs. This season, he’s averaging over 21 points, 6 assists & 4 rebounds a game.

The way Stephen Curry & Russell Westbrook are playing, they’ll be considered for the MVP trophy at the end of the season. Steph most likely is going down as the best 3 point shooter ever along with Ray Allen & Reggie Miller. It seems like Westbrook has gotten even better & more explosive since his torn meniscus injury in the 2013 playoffs and arthroscopic surgery last year. I feel like Westbrook is the player Derrick Rose was supposed to be before his knee injuries. With Steph & Westbrook in my top 2, the rest of my top 5 in no order would be Paul, Kyrie & Wall with Dame not too far behind them at 6th.

#AthleteTalk Recaps National Signing Day

By: Candy Man

National Signing Day came & went and Dade County sent athletes to schools all over the country. Two of the biggest football programs in Miami, Booker T. & Central, had about 30 players altogether sign with schools yesterday. Both schools are coming off three straight state championships & have sent big time athletes to college & the NFL over the years. Booker T. had 2 players sign with Miami, running back Mark Walton & linebacker James King, joining Chad Thomas & Demetrius Jackson from last year’s class. Devonaire Clarington & Davante Davis, a Homestead transfer, both signed with Texas. The 3 other Homestead transfers that played big roles for the T last season committed to FIU (Maurice Alexander), Florida (Antonio Calloway), and FAU (Ocie Rose). Two other key players that had productive seasons, Terry Jefferson signed with FAMU & Vaquan Smalls signed with Samford. Central already have 2 of their best players from this class attending Florida State, receiver Da’Vante Phillips & defensive back Calvin Brewton, continuing the Central to FSU pipeline. Fermin Silva & Anthony Jones both enrolled early at FIU. Marshall University, where former Rockets Rakeem Cato & Tommy Shuler have broken multiple records, is getting Marquis Couch & Jason Jean. Keivonnis Davis will be joining the Gators & Dade County’s leading rusher signed with Jacksonville State. I’ve seen Miller play in person & I’m surprised because he has the talent to play for a major D1 team & should’ve got more offers. 

Some of the best high school football is played in South Florida & that is illustrated on National Signing Day every year, with high schools all over Dade & Broward sending athletes to college on football scholarships.

·      NORLAND…Carlton Davis – Auburn, Rayshad Jackson – Florida, D’Andre Smart – Kent State, William Gordon – Alcorn State

·      KILLIAN…Jaquan Johnson, Sheldrick Redwine – Miami, James Bowe – Massachusetts

·      NORTHWESTERN…DeAndre Baker – Georgia, Khalid McGee – South Florida, Samuel Dervil – South Carolina State, David Vincent – Mississippi Valley State, Xavier Bailey – Florida A&M

·      CAROL CITY…Rashad Fenton – South Carolina

·      EDISON…Robert Knowles – Miami

·      GULLIVER PREP…Dominic Sheppard – Virginia, George Grimwade – Samford, Antonyo Sotolongo – Bowling Green, Jowan Watson - Georgetown

·      ST. THOMAS AQUINAS…Jordan Scarlett, Richerd Desir-Jones – Miami, Damon Arnette – Ohio State, Colin Byrne, Samuel Clausman – Syracuse, Chris Hart, Tyson Cisrow – Utah, Devante Peete – Louisville, Brandon Boyce – Duke, Rashard Causey – Central Florida, Wyatt Ray – Boston College, Jawaun Harris - Rutgers

·      MIRAMAR…Tyrek Cole, Jovon Durante – West Virginia, Kahlil Lewis – Cincinnati, Leeward Brown – Tulane, Jeffrey Hill – Northern Illinois

·      AMERICAN HERITAGE…Torrance Gibson – Ohio State, Tarvarus McFadden – Florida State, Christian Irving – Wyoming, Anthony Flory – Appalachian State, Janarvis Pough – Bowling Green

·      MONARCH…Calvin Ridley, Shawn Burgess-Becker – Alabama, Ronnie Hoggins – South Florida

·      HALLANDALE…Sh’mar Kilby-Lane – Florida State, Juwan Taylor – Georgia, Taj McGowan – Central Florida, Malik Henderson – Pittsburgh, Dana Levine – Temple, Richie Cooper – Akron

Alabama, Florida State, USC, Clemson & Tennessee all finished with top 5 recruiting classes according to Rivals & ESPN, with Alab

ama having the #1 class in the ESPN rankings & USC with the #1 class in the Rivals rankings. Florida State, by far, ended up with the best class in the state. They signed 5 5* athletes that should be able to come in & contribute right away. Florida had a horrible class a month ago but new head coach Jm McElwain & his coaching staff had a great National Signing Day & finished with a top 25 recruiting class. Headlined by Martez Ivey & Cece Jefferson, they also stole a few recruits from Miami including Jordan Scarlett, Jordan Cronkite & Antonio Callaway. Miami had a good class and ended up finishing a few spots behind Florida in the rankings. Mark Walton, Jaquan Johnson, Bar Milo & Scott Patchan are some of the key players they signed but UM also lost a lot of potential players with about 15 decommitments.

Things I learn during the 2014-2015 season

By: Jimbo Brown

Tom Brady is the best ever

• After winning his 4th Super Bowl, Tom Brady, has cemented his spot as one of the all-time greats. Tom is the poster child for the NFL since the start of his career. First, he was a 6th round pick who was the 2nd a string quarterback behind the legendary Drew Bledsoe. Once throw into the starting he began to show levels of greatness by winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. While losing twice to Eli Manning in the big game, Tom still lead his team to the first undefeated regular season since the 72 dolphins. He had his down points during his career with the knee injury and recent deflate gate scandal. When the clock reached zero this past Sunday and the New England Patriots was world champions again, Tom had put the exclamation mark on his profound career. 

2014 Wide Receiver Class on track to the best ever

• The 2014 draft class was deep with receivers. There was so many receivers that talent like Allen Hurns went undrafted after setting records at the University of Miami. Rookie receivers has shined all over the NFL. Odell Beckham Jr, Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins and Brandon Cooks all high draft picks had good start to their careers. Even the overlooked guys have contributed to the success: Allen Hurns, Jon Brown and Chris Matthews late Super Bowl efforts. I can’t wait to see how do these guys careers pan out. If they stay hungry and work hard everyday, we will see many great moments. 

Running Backs = Super Bowl

• The road to the Super Bowl is hard and difficult for even the best teams in the league. Those two teams this year was preseason favorites: New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Even thought they have two different cultures, they are built on some of the same principles. Both teams came into the playoffs at full stride. The teams are highlighted by their defensive powers. Richard Sherman and Darrell Revis are arguably the two  best cornerbacks in the NFL. With talent at each level of the defense these two teams are offensive coordinators nightmare. Both teams had a strong running game. Seattle put the offensive success in the hands of Marshawn #BeastMode Lynch. On the other hand, the Patriots put their running in the hands of a cast of running backs. Legarette Blount become the main gut once things didn’t work out in Pittsburgh and he went back to his former team. 

Athletes & Their Business Endeavors

By: Candy Man

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and also a talented businessman. It is said that his net worth is more than a billion dollars and he acquired that after decades of a Hall of Fame NBA career and a variety of business deals. He’s had sponsorships with Nike, Gatorade, McDonalds, Hanes, 2K Sports, Upper Deck & a host of other corporations. Those sponsorships included shoe deals, commercial appearances, being a spokesperson, & cover athlete of NBA 2K for a couple of years. He also has multiple business investments. He owns restaurants, car dealerships and is also the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He has earned millions on the court and even more millions off of it from his endorsement deals and business interests. More than anything, he made most of his earnings from Jordan Brand & his partnership with Nike. He makes more than $60 million a year from his contract with Nike. Jordan sneaker sales are still growing after all these years and generate more than $2 billion every year. Due to the massive popularity and influence his shoes have had, Jordan Brand owns more of the basketball shoe market in America than Nike itself.

MJ is the most influential example of athletes turning their career success into a profitable business of their own. There are so many NBA players today with their own shoe deals including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose & Dwayne Wade. Damian Lillard & John Wall recently joined the competition with sneakers of their own. Outside the NBA, some of the most popular athlete endorsement deals are George Foreman and his grills, and Tiger Wood’s partnership with Nike. While the highest paid athlete contracts come from baseball, some of the wealthiest athletes in terms of endorsements come from tennis, golf and soccer; Roger Federer, Phil Mickelson, Maria Sharapova, David Beckham, Rafael Nadal, Rory McIlroy, Serena & Venus Williams.

Besides endorsements, another popular option for athletes to increase their net worth is through franchising. Many athletes partner with corporations to own & operate their retail stores. Peyton Manning owns multiple Papa John’s stores in Colorado. Former NBA player, Jamal Mashburn, owns many stores across a variety of businesses including Papa John’s, Outback Steakhouse, Dunkin Donuts & a Toyota dealership in Kentucky. Junior Bridgeman, who spent most of his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, owns about 160 Wendy’s & Chili’s restaurant franchises around the country. Many professional athletes are also franchisees in Wingstop restaurants. Wingstop has become more popular due to Rick Ross rapping about their lemon pepper wings and all that good stuff. He and his sister, Tawanda Roberts, opened 6 new stores across the South and Rozay heavily promotes their chicken wings in his music.

If you’ve seen the ESPN 30 for 30 “Broke” documentaries, you know how fast athletes can make money and how fast they can lose it all. Athletes like MJ realized their power and influence and took advantage of it. With so many athletes going bankrupt and blowing their money away on gambling, splurging, or domestic issues, Jordan is a role model in the business world for developing the knowledge and network to turn his name into a billion dollar company. Many of today’s athletes are following his lead and creating their own brands. I just highlighted a few athletes but there are many more that are successfully building their own companies after retirement.

               

         

Miramar Patriots Football: Is it the End?

By: Candy Man 

The 2014 Miramar football team was the #1 team in the preseason Class 8A polls & one of the most talented teams in Florida. They were projected to win the Class 8A state championship but soon got off to a disappointing 2-2 start to the season, losing leads late in the game to Plantation-American Heritage & St. Thomas, and another lead later in the year to Flanagan. They finished the year with 8 wins & 3 losses. They also lost their head coach, Matthew Strout, who resigned midway through the season for personal reasons. However, after his resignation, he claimed that several players were academically ineligible to play and others were paid to transfer to Miramar & for their play on the field. 

To provide a little background on the situation, the 2013 Patriots finished the regular season undefeated before losing in a surprising upset to Palm Beach Gardens in the regional finals. Damon Cogdell, the head coach that built Miramar into a powerhouse and won the 2009 Class 6A state championship, left the school to become the linebackers coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Strout who was an offensive line coach, got promoted to head coach. This past summer, Miramar received several transfers including highly-recruited prospect, Jovon Durante from Norland. The Patriots got off to a 5-3 start before Strout was forced to resign. Soon after, allegations of ineligible players and impermissible benefits surfaced. Along with his other claims, Strout also claimed that he gave “sports gear, airfare to summer camps, presents for players’ girlfriends, cash incentives for grades, and tickets to USF football games to two teachers,” according to the Sun-Sentinel. Strout also lied about his educational background and job history. 

I don’t know if Miramar football has a history of academic misconduct & giving illegal benefits to athletes under Coach Cogdell or if this all started when Matthew Strout was named the head coach but it’s unfortunate that the football team had to lose their whole season and a shot at the state championship because of a few bad people in the program. It is said that more than 20 student-athletes were implicated and some ineligible athletes even had their grades fixed so that they can continue playing. Others were paid for making big plays on the field. After the team learned that it would lose its spot in the playoffs, athletes, parents, & coaches protested in front of the Broward County School Board building but the school board was firm & steady in their decision. Hopefully, Miramar will find a coach that can clean up the program, be a leader to the young men and help the team bounce back from this controversy in 2015.

Rams Silent Protest

By: Candy Man

This past Sunday during the St. Louis Rams & Oakland Raiders game, five Rams players (Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt, Jared Cook & Chris Givens) walked out the tunnel during pregame introductions with their hands up in support of Michael Brown. People all over the nation have protested with the phrase “hands up, don’t shoot” after witnesses claimed Michael Brown had his hands up when he was shot & killed. Despite that, the cop that murdered Brown wasn’t indicted by a grand jury. The decision not to indict him led to more protests around the nation & riots in Ferguson.

Not only did the Rams players show their support, fans of the team have also been vocal. There was another protest during a Monday Night game against the 49ers where fans protested with chants & signs and their hands up. The five players made a silent but major statement through a simple gesture. African-American athletes in general have been criticized for not taking a stand and speaking up on certain events that have affected the Black community so this was encouraging and shows that they are actually paying attention. Athletes are subject to harsh criticism, fines, suspensions and threats to their brand & image if they say or do the wrong things under the eyes of the media. I respect them for taking a stand and a sacrifice that other athletes won’t take. There are many instances in sports where athletes took a stand on issues in our society such as the Miami Heat posing in hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin, the black power salute in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics when Tommie Smith & John Carlos raised their fists in a silent protest against racism in America, and Muhammad Ali’s refusal to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War in the 1960’s.

Despite their courageous act, there have been organizations that opposed the Rams protest and want the NFL to punish the players such as the St. Louis Police Officers Association and a local bar that decided to boycott the NFL and are no longer serving happy hour during Rams games. The NFL recently came out publicly with a statement saying the Rams players won’t be fined. The country is divided on the grand jury decision and there are many people and organizations that are still pushing for an indictment of the officer and felt that that the grand jury process was unfair.

I applaud Bailey, Austin, Cook, Britt & Givens for their demonstration and hope to see more athletes be more vocal about issues that affect them and their communities. As role models and popular public figures, they have the influence and spotlight to have an impact and enforce change with their actions and opinions.