Posts in category Sports

Chicago Blackhawks’ recent draft pick, defenceman Ty Henry, didn’t come to success through mere chance, but through faith in God, hard work and through the encouragement of those that came before him.Just shy of 18 years old, Henry always dreamed big and his father Pastor Andrew Henry says his being picked for the National Hockey League is exciting but not surprising. “I knew my son had the ‘it’ factor when, at a party, he raced one of his friends 10 times and on the 10th time he threw himself across the finish line to win the race. That moment,” his …

Nompumelelo Moyo (LJI) On the weekend of May 17-19, Montreal United will host its annual basketball tournament with various divisions for girls and boys. The tournament will be held at the Notre Dame College at 3791 Queen Mary Road, Montreal, H3V 1A8. This heart-warming event, formerly known as the Montreal United Invitational Basketball tournament, has been named the Lindsay A. Burnett tournament in honour of the late Lindsay Burnett, who passed away in 2021. Burnett, alongside Hugh Scarlett and Charles Boyce, started the tournaments and helped sponsor them. “A total of 40 teams from Toronto, USA and Montreal will be …

By Desirée Zagbai De’Nae Cassidy Reid, 14, feels excited whenever she arrives at the basketball court. She is able to play a sport she likes and does well academically because of the Red Rush Basketball program. “No matter where you come from, your background, your financial situation, or anything else, there’s always a way to work it out here, and there’s always a way to help you follow your dream that you want,” Reid said. The Red Rush Basketball Program in Montreal is a youth community organization that offers services to boys and girls ages 10 to 19. Over 300 …

By Desirée Zagbai It is a gloomy Tuesday evening, and the sound of laughter is echoing throughout the basketball court. The players at St. Raymond Community Centre are excitedly warming up for their weekly basketball practice. The St. Raymond Community Centre is part of the youth organization Comité Jeunesse in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The center offers activities for the youth, such as basketball, badminton, volleyball, and soccer. It also holds workshops such as cooking and team leadership. The team leadership program helps high school students and student athletics with their time management. Rahim Hutchinson is the animator of the S.O.I.R program at …

Dr. Alwin Spence Saturday, September 9, 2023. What’s up? U.S. Tennis Open, Final for women. Young ,gifted and Black 19 year old Coco Gauff versus the powerful, yelling, 25 year old Ayana Sabalenko. Figure out where my loyalty lies. For the next three days after this exciting match, every call I received was the same question, Did you watch the match? Of course I did. I was up early, did all my chores and by 4: 00 p.m. I was right in front of my T.V. waiting for the umpire to start the game. The power and maturity of Ayana …

This year Africa will be represented by Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Morocco at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 from November 20 to December 18. This will be the first time where each African team will be coached by coaches from their respective countries. Senegal’s Aliou Cisse is the famous coach who ushered the lions into their first continental cup this year at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. While over in Cameroon, former football legend Rigobert Song, will be coaching the team into what he hopes is a huge victory. Song was a part of the national …

Poor thing, Pierre Karl Subban was eventually bowed out of the game to which he dedicated his life. In a tweet released on September 20, he professed his love and lifelong commitment to hockey. Thanking the teams he represented, the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predator and the New Jersey Devils as well as the National Hockey League for the opportunities. Yes, it has been a good run for the Toronto native who has excelled at every stage of the game and brought a level of skills, intensity and excitement unmatched by most. Sadly, despite his achievements and his contributions to the …

  Felix Nadeau This July 4th marks a new milestone for the NHL and the San Jose Sharks, who recently hired NHL veteran Mike Grier as the first Black General Manager in the league’s history. Grier was originally a player for 15 seasons between 1996-2011 a was an important role player for four NHL teams, notably the Edmonton Oilers (the team for which he started his career) and the San Jose Sharks, who he played for from 2006-2009. Thirteen years after leaving the Sharks, he was hired as the GM, cementing him as the first of his kind. Before becoming …

Sandra Douglass Morgan becomes the first Black Woman full-time NFL General Manager. Hired for the new Las Vegas Raiders (historically known as the Los Angeles or Oakland Raiders) under the title of Team President (GM), Sandra becomes the latest employee in a recent string of diversity-friendly hirings. Over the last years, the NFL has put a few Black women in high management or coaching positions, including Jennifer King (first full-time coach in NFL history) and Collette Smith (first Black female coach in NFL history). In the middle of last year’s NFL season, Jon Gruden, the previous Team President of the …

Rosie Awori (LJI) Pro basketball is back in the city and the inaugural season is set to take place this year for the Montreal Alliance, the newest franchise in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL.) Not only are fans looking forward to seeing some of the best hoopers in Canada, but players and prospects are excited about the potential opportunities to be on the court amongst some of the best players in the world. They are all aware that the odds of becoming a professional basketball player are very as slim in Canada as it is globally and highly unlikely …