Grambling State University's former quarterback and Super bowl XXII's MVP, Doug Williams and the University of Texas' first African American quarterback (1977) Donnie Little discusses the intricacies of being role-models that just happens to be athletes and "Black" quarterbacks during a period of our American history that thrusted the two of them into two very different but similar situations.

When the two words; "Black" and "Quarterback" weren't designed nor were they popular to be mentioned, nor exist in the same sentence.

Doug address his many challenges; threatening and unflattering mail, verbal assaults, disparaging "fan" comments, and an unexhaustive list of lunacy that incessantly reared its head daily.

Donnie speaks of the emphatic influence and impression that Doug made on his life as it assisted him in his preparation to perfect his craft at the quarterback position thus becoming the University of Texas' first African American quarterback that was recruited as a quarterback.

Donnie went on to shine as the University of Texas' quarterback and lead them at one period to the number one ranked team in the country while having to endure
the "N" words from his own "fans", attacks by local sports columnist and others.
[Submitted by MELVIN LARS]

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https://youtu.be/VztfFZ8l-D8

Tabraiz Shamsi headed an incredible bowling performance by the Proteas by bagging a career-best five-for as they claimed a crushing 90-run victory over England in the third T20 International at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Sunday.

The result ensured South Africa claimed the series in the process with a 2-1 overall triumph.

And they were full value for the win, the margin of which was their biggest over the home side in T20Is.

Spinner Shamsi was the undoubted star with the ball, finishing with supreme figures of five for 24 to help bundle out the hosts for a poor 101 in pursuit of 192.

His return, which beat the previous best figures of four for 25 against Pakistan in Lahore, was one of an overall brilliant display by the Proteas in the field where the bowlers were at their best and the fielding electrifying.

Earlier in the day the in-form Reeza Hendricks, named Player of the Series afterwards, and Aiden Markram starred with the bat by propelling the tourists to 191 for five after they lost the toss and were put in to bat.

It was Hendricks' third successive half century after scores of 57 and 53 in matches one and two. Here he went even better by blasting 70 off 50 balls (9 fours) as the South Africans recovered from losing Quinton de Kock for a third-ball duck to reach 55 for one in the seventh over.

That was when Rilee Rossouw departed for 31, before Markram (51 not out off 36 balls, 5 fours) and Hendricks added 87 for the third wicket to give their side a fine platform for the finish.

The former completed his 10th career 50 in the process and the latter his seventh, with captain David Miller celebrating his 100th cap for South Africa by helping to add the finishing touches with 22 off nine balls.

England made a strong enough start to the reply with 28 coming inside the first four overs, before Keshav Maharaj (2/21) removed Jos Buttler (14).

But things then unraveled quickly thanks to the brilliance of the South Africans in the field.

The out-of-sorts Jason Roy (17) edged Anrich Nortje (1/12) behind to Quinton de Kock, with Dawid Malan (7), Moeen Ali (3) and Liam Livingstone (3) all falling during a spell of more than seven overs when there were no boundaries struck.

Moeen's dismissal off Markram (1/5) came on account of a brilliant one-handed diving catch by Tristan Stubbs, which tipified the excellence of the Proteas.

Andile Phehlukwayo (1/23) was the other wicket-taker for his side and then Player of the Match Shamsi mopped up the tail leaving England all out in 16.4 overs.

Proteas T20I squad against England
David Miller (captain, Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Gerald Coetzee (ITEC Knights), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Gbets Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (North West Dragons), Rilee Rossouw (ITEC Knights), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Tristan Stubbs (Gbets Warriors), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions).

South Africa T20I Tour to England Itinerary

Wednesday, 27 July - 18:30
England beat South Africa by 41 runs – Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol

Thursday, 28 July - 18:30
England lost to South Africa by 58 runs – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Sunday, 31 July - 14:30
England lost to South Africa by 90 runs – Ageas Bowl, Hampshire


[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

The Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series returns to Jozi in September and in celebration event organizer, Stillwater Sports, is excited to launch the Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K Ambassador Search Campaign. “We are looking for the runner that brings the gees. Someone that enjoys being outdoors, lives life to the fullest, loves the sport of road running and the Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports, and founder of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series. Seen here: Mbali Mashaba and Ntokozo Ngcobo joined the #RYCStrideTribe in July as the winners of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K Ambassador Search Campaign.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

The Springbok Sevens team won the gold medal at the Rugby Sevens event of the Commonwealth Games when they produced a brilliant performance to defeat Fiji 31-7 in a pulsating Final on Sunday evening in Birmingham, where New Zealand claimed bronze.

The SA Women’s Sevens team comfortably beat Sri Lanka by 52-0 to conclude the tournament on a high, finishing in seventh position, which is one spot better than in 2018 in Australia and made Paul Delport (coach) smile as he knew his inexperienced squad were facing a massive task in England.

Meanwhile, the Blitzboks played the final without the dynamic playmaker Ronald Brown, who was injured in the semi-final win over Australia earlier in the day, while regular skipper Siviwe Soyizwapi was also out injured and didn’t play at all on Sunday.

Zain Davids, who took over the captaincy, said: “I have a little bit of mixed emotions at the moment, but mostly I’m happy as we came out here and gave our all, and I think we can be very happy with our performance against a great team like Fiji.

“When ‘Shakes’ got injured, I had to take over the captaincy and I was happy to do that, because I know the guys support me, but I also knew that in this team you don’t really have to be a captain as you have a bunch of guys behind you that’s helping and supporting you.”

The South African men’s side made a great start to the final and scored three well-worked tries in the opening half while keeping the dangerous Fijian runners in check with excellent tackling and great counter-attacking play.

They deservingly led 17-0 at the break in the Coventry Stadium, while in the second half they combined their heroic defensive effort with equally great finishing performances. Muller du Plessis opened the scoring from a pinpoint Selvyn Davids cross-kick, an early sign of things to come.

JC Pretorius scored the second in the same corner after a sustained passage of attacking play, with South Africa looking well after the ball in contact. That put them 12-0 ahead.

Shaun Williams scored the third try as the menacing Pretorius stole another crucial turnover to put the little speedster away, the try handing South Africa a 17-0 half-time advantage.

After the break, Du Plessis then ran in for his second off an excellent cut-out pass from Selvyn Davids. Williams nailed the angled conversion to stretch the lead to 24-0 and left Fiji with a mountain to climb.

Fiji eventually got on the scoreboard when Nacuqu went over for converted try to reduce the deficit to 27-7.

But the Blitzboks were not to be denied. Mfundo Ndhlovu scored the final try with seconds remaining to seal a brilliant gold medal performance, denying Fiji the remaining major title that have escaped them at previous Commonwealth Games.

South Africa also won the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games staged in Glasgow.

Scorers:

South Africa 31 (17) – Tries: Muller du Plessis (2), JC Pretorius, Shaun Williams, Mfundo Ndhlovu. Conversion: Shaun Williams (2), Dewald Human.

Fiji 7 (0) – Try: Waisea Nacuqu. Conversion: Nacuqu.

The Springbok Sevens team qualified for the gold medal match by defeating Australia 24-12 on Sunday afternoon, with Angelo Davids scoring his third hat-trick of the Commonwealth Games as the South Africans recovered from an early 5-0 deficit to gain a comfortable victory.

The two teams went into the lead locked even at 12-12 after an entertaining first half but South Africa pulled away in the second half to book their spot in the grand finale.

Australia drew first blood when Mark Nawaqanitawase powered through to put the Aussies 5-0 ahead, but Angelo Davids then continued his prolific try-scoring form in Birmingham with his eighth try following a clever grubber from playmaker Selvyn Davids, with Ronald Brown’s conversion putting SA 7-5 ahead.

But the Aussies hit back immediately with a clever attack which saw Matthew Gonzalez go in under the posts to regain the lead at 12-7. However, there was just enough time before halftime for Angeloa Davids to score his second of the half, from a lineout set play, to draw the teams level at the break.

After the restart, Selvyn Davids charged down a kick and collected the loose ball to score in the corner, with a brilliant conversion edging SA ahead by 19-12.

Angelo Davids bagged his third try when the flyer scored out wide from a well-worked move. SA was now in control at 24-12 and all they needed to do was to manage out time until the final whistle.

Scorers:

South Africa 24 (12) – Tries: Angelo Davids (3), Selvyn Davids. Conversions: Ronald Brown, Selvyn Davids.

Australia 12 (12) – Tries: Mark Nawaqanitawase, Matthew Gonzales. Conversion: Dietrich Roache.




[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

Choose the convenience of smaller payments

for a USPA Lifetime Membership!

Get yours today for just $174

USL Championship,at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, CT, PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS defeat HARTFORD ATHLETIC 2-1'
#28 Conor McGlynn scored for Hartford Athletic
#10 Russell Cicerone and #3 Shane Wiedt for Pittsburgh
[Submitted by Daniel Ferrari]

Members of the 2023 Family will have access to an exclusive pre-sale window of 24 hours from Tuesday, 13 September at 18:00 CEST before general public sales open at 18:00 CEST on Thursday, 15 September.

Demand is expected to be high for this exciting sales phase, which will take place exclusively on the official ticketing platform at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com, on a first come, first served basis.

Ticket prices will be announced on 8 September, to mark “One Year to Go” before the kick-off of Rugby World Cup 2023. With record demand for Rugby World Cup 2023 tickets, fans are being urged to only purchase tickets from official sources to avoid disappointment.

When purchasing tickets, fans will once again have the opportunity to make a donation to Rugby au Cœur, Rugby World Cup 2023’s Official Charity, which works to support meaningful projects using rugby for social development with a focus on education, equal opportunities and working with people with disabilities. More information is available at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com/donation.

KEY DATES
Thursday 8 September 2022: individual match ticket prices announced
Tuesday 13 September 2022 – 12:00 CEST: Deadline for 2023 Family registrations
Tuesday 13 September 2022 – 18:00 CEST: Launch of the 2023 Family pre-sale
Thursday 15 September 2022 – 18:00 CEST: Launch of the general public sale
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

The full 40-team line-up for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 has now been confirmed, following an enthralling weekend of action in Bucharest.

The remaining eight tickets to Cape Town – four men’s and four women’s – were decided at the RWC Sevens 2022 Europe Qualifier, which took place at Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf on Saturday and Sunday.

A pool stage whittled down the 24 hopeful teams that had arrived in Romania to eight men’s and as many women’s sides, who competed in a round of one-off play-off matches.

The winners of those ties secured their place at the showpiece tournament in Cape Town, which is scheduled to be staged between 9-11 September this year.

Spain, England, Poland and Ireland claimed their places in the women’s tournament at RWC Sevens 2022, while Wales, Germany, Portugal and Ireland made sure of their entry into the men’s draw.


With qualification now complete and the full 40-team line-up for RWC Sevens 2022 confirmed, teams will now focus on fine tuning their preparations ahead of the highly anticipated event, which kicks-off in less than two months’ time.

The 24 teams to qualify for the men’s tournament are South Africa, Argentina, England, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Scotland, USA, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, Samoa, Tonga, Chile, Uruguay, Canada, Jamaica, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Wales.

Following the weekend’s action in Bucharest, the 16 teams that will compete in the women’s tournament are South Africa, Australia, France, New Zealand, USA, Madagascar, Japan, China, Fiji, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, England, Ireland, Poland and Spain.

For further information visit www.rwcsevens.com



[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

DURHAM: Stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj says the Proteas will be aiming to improve on their recent One-Day International (ODI) form when they take on England in their series-opener at the Riverside in Durham on Tuesday.

South Africa face the world champions in three 50-over matches as they get the business end of their two-month long tour to the United Kingdom under way.

The tourists mixed an impressive 3-0 series win over India over the past 12 months with defeats to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh either side, but they have also introduced several new players to their squad in that period as they build towards the World Cup in India next year.

“We haven’t done relatively well in the ODI format, but we’ve tried various formats and combinations, so hopefully we’ve found that rhythm to our game now when we can start off on a positive note come this England series,” Maharaj told the media on Monday.

“Obviously England have come off quite a bit of cricket and they’re pretty much a more settled team. But having put in the hard work over the past 12 months, I think it’s about time we see some good results come this series and moving forward.”

South Africa last played an ODI in March when they faced Bangladesh in Centurion. Maharaj, who is leading the Proteas in the absence of injured captain Temba Bavuma, says they are looking ahead to ODI cricket again.

“The boys are really excited, it’s been a while since we’ve played our last ODI game and it’s been a substantial and lengthy build-up to the game, so the boys are ready to get onto the park, so come tomorrow and hit the ball running,” he said.

“Results haven’t really gone our way, but it’s a nice way to build that confidence and filter in towards ODI cricket up until the World Cup next year.”

South Africa enjoyed two productive warm-up games against England Lions ahead of the series, while the home side were beaten by India in their three-match ODI sequence against India.

The Proteas have also not historically done very well in limited-overs cricket in England and Maharaj is hopeful of changing that.

“It does present an opportunity to do something special,” he explained. “We’ve come a long way as a team and as a unit. So it is an opportunity to create history, but we’ll take it one ball at a time and hopefully achieve something really big as the ODI unit.”

Looking ahead to the clash against an England side that has become famous for its attacking brand of batting, the skipper added: “It’s all about doing the basics correctly and following our own game plan.

“We just need to make sure we execute our plans right, adapt to conditions on the day and hopefully the rest will take care of itself. It’s one thing we have been good at and hopefully we can replicate much of that in this series and going forward.”

Quinton de Kock, who missed the warm-up matches as an injury precaution, is fit and available for the game.

Proteas ODI squad against England
Keshav Maharaj (captain, Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Janneman Malan (GbetsRocks), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (North West Dragons), Anrich Nortje (Gbets Warriors), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kyle Verreynne (Six Gun Grill Western Province).

South Africa ODI Tour to England Itinerary

Warm-up matches
Tuesday, 12 July
England Lions beat South Africa by 6 wickets – Coopers Associates County Ground, Taunton

Thursday, 14 July
England Lions lost to South Africa by 107 runs – New Road, Worcester

ODIs
Tuesday, 19 July
England vs South Africa – The Riverside, Durham

Friday, 22 July
England vs South Africa – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester

Sunday, 24 July
England vs South Africa – Headingley Stadium, Leeds

[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

Third place at FCP EURO NORTHEAST GRAND PRIX July 15-16 #14 GTDPRO J. Hawksworth / B. Barnicoat /Team VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3
[Submitted by Daniel Ferrari]