NEW YORK (AP) — In basketball terms, “The Last Dance” had a strong fourth quarter. The last two episodes of the 10-part Michael Jordan documentary, strung out over the last five Sunday nights, averaged 5.9 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. It was simulcast on ESPN and ESPN2. That’s easily the highest-rated documentary project ever […]
Fred “Curly” Neal, the dribbling wizard who entertained millions with the Harlem Globetrotters for parts of three decades, has died. He was 77. The Globetrotters said Neal died in his home outside of Houston on Thursday morning. “We have lost one of the most genuine human beings the world has ever known,” Globetrotters general manager […]
CHICAGO (AP) — It has become one of the NBA’s most revered traditions: On the morning of the NBA All-Star Game, the league pays tribute to retired players with what is called the Legends Brunch. It brings together about 3,000 guests, and every year a recent retiree with ties to the game’s host city is […]
CHICAGO (AP) — Jennifer Hudson is coming to the All-Star Game to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant with her voice. The NBA has released a list of entertainers headed to All-Star weekend, the group headlined by Hudson — the two-time Grammy winner and Oscar winner — who, just before Sunday night’s player introductions, will perform […]
As we remember Kobe Bryant in the days following his tragic death, we’re revisiting the art that the basketball legend left behind. The short film “Dear Basketball,” which earned Bryant an Oscar in 2018, is based on a poem that Bryant wrote where he announced his retirement from the game that he deeply cherished. Narrated […]
ROME (AP) — For a city already familiar with losing a basketball hero, Kobe Bryant’s death made a particularly strong impact in the Italian town of Rieti. Nicknamed “the center of Italy” for its geographic location amid the Appenine Mountains, Rieti was the first stop on Bryant’s seven-year childhood tour of the country. It’s […]
STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Next stop Tokyo for Simone Biles. With Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps both retired since the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. gymnast will be the face of the games for much of the world. In gymnastics, no one else comes close. Biles won five of the six gold […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ernie Andrews looks out to the grounds of Washington’s historic Langston Golf Course and shrugs at the fact that fewer young black golfers are coming out to play these days. As a black man and longtime pro at a place that was once one of the few courses in the U.S. where […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers general manager Marty Hurney is “cautiously optimistic” Cam Newton will be ready for the Sept. 8 regular season opener against the Los Angeles Rams after the quarterback suffered a left mid-foot sprain in a preseason game. Newton injured his foot in Carolina’s 10-3 loss Thursday night at New England on […]
By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL and Jay-Z’s entertainment and sports representation company are teaming up for events and social activism. The league not only will use Jay-Z’s Roc Nation to consult on its entertainment presentations, including the Super Bowl halftime show, but will work with the rapper […]