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It"s that time of year again! College students flock back to campuses, youngsters prep for the first day of school and the Flushing Meadow section of Queens, New York becomes a temporary home to thousands from around the country and world.
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park becomes filled with even more locals enjoying the last days of summer with a BBQ, youngsters play friendly games of soccer while visitors soak in the site of the third major world"s fair.
For two weeks nearing the end of summer in the United States, the US Open Tennis Championships acts as a connector of not only tennis players and fans of the game, but also a conduit for change and story telling. Over the two weeks of this year"s final Grand Slam tournament, the $ 150 million retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium will make its debut.
Tennis was forever changed the moment Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. won the US Open almost 50 years ago. While ending a 12-year drought for American men in the nation"s premier tennis tournament, Ashe, more significantly, became the first black man to win a Grand Slam event. He proved to the world that tennis was "open" and access could yield accomplishment.
Arthur Ashe, Jr. with his father, during the 1968 US Open Tennis Championship ceremony. Photo by Russ Adams
"Through the years, many people have honored Arthur and his work," Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Ashe"s widow, said at the 1997 USTA news conference announcing the stadium was being named for her late husband. "All of the honors have been very flattering and much appreciated. But I think Arthur would be extremely proud of this honor because he was very committed to the USTA and to helping it create opportunities for those who need them most."
"I am grateful that with Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center, there is now a memorial for Arthur here in New York City."
It is in New York that Ashe is a member of the New York Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. A 1963 Upsilon initiate at the University of California at Los Angeles, UCLA, "Arthur Ashe was just plain better than most of us," former New York City Mayor David Dinkins is recorded saying.
A Laurel Wreath Award holder, the highest award bestowed on a member of the fraternity, Ashe is especially connected to one of the frat"s principal founders, Elder Watson Diggs. Known as "The Dreamer", Watson Diggs is the fraternity"s first Polemarch and the cousin of one Lucy Diggs Slowe.
Perhaps an inspiration to Ashe, Diggs Slowe was the first African-American woman to win a major American sports title, capturing the American Tennis Association"s first national championship in 1917. Held in a hotbed for African-American tennis at the time, Baltimore, Diggs Slowe taught English at Douglass High School after earning her undergraduate degree from Howard University. While enrolled in "the capstone of Negro education," Diggs Slowe was one of the original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated in 1908, serving as the chapter"s first president.
"By Culture and By Merit," is the motto that guided the nine founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Lucy Diggs Slowe"s achievements are worthy enough to make her a household name. Photo courtesy of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
A fearless advocate and organizer, Diggs Slowe founded both the National Association of College Women, leading it for years as its first president, and the Association of Advisors to Women in Colored Schools. The first female Dean at Howard University, Diggs Slowe transitioned in 1937. Her passing was six years before Ashe was born, 10 years after fellow soror Althea Gibson made her way into the world.
A Beta Alpha Chapter initiate, Gibson achieved feats in many respects made possible by Diggs Slowe. Appearing as the first African-American tennis player to compete at the in the U.S. National Championships in 1950, Gibson followed suit the following year at Wimbledon. Perhaps inspired by the oral history of Diggs Slowe.
Thirty years after Diggs Stowe made history with her American Tennis Association victory, Gibson would begin a run of winning 10 straight championships that concluded in 1956. The next year, the Florida A&M University graduate became the first African-American women"s singles and doubles champion at Wimbledon, earning her the honor of being Sports Illustrated"s first African-American on the coveted magazine cover. Gibson stamped her name harder on American history by winning the U.S. Open in 1958. In the spirit of culture and merit, she was the first African-American to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1960, a fact the organization neglects to include in its chronological history highlights.
In 1957, Althea Gibson was the first African-American to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
The connections between three of America"s greatest tennis players is nothing short of divine convergence through athletics, academics and achievement. Connected to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HBCUs, Diggs Slowe and Gibson are sources of pride for today"s and tomorrow"s HBCU student-athletes. Through their life"s work, they upheld the tenets of their sorority"s mission, being a "Service to All Mankind."
Like Diggs Slowe"s cousin, Watson Diggs, Ashe"s achievements in his endeavors earned him Kappa Alpha Psi"s Laurel Wreath. Using his superior serve and volley skills, Ashe would go on to be a conscience leader, humanitarian and educator of influence, largely due to his athletic merits.
Elder Watson Diggs served with the 368th Infantry in Europe, after which he became a captain in the Reserve Officers" Training Corps. File photo
The eventual 2016 US Open men"s and women"s singles winners will be presented $ 3.5 million checks, in Arthur Ashe Stadium, by the USTA"s first African-American President, Katrina Adams. Like Diggs Slowe, Venus Williams, who is working closely with UNESCO on promoting gender equality, advocated for equal pay and what is now the most prize money ever in the sport"s history.
With a realistic chance to bring home the historical purse, and continue to break historical records, Venus" sister, Serena, has previously acknowledged her connection to history. In 1999, Serena became the first African-American woman since Gibson to win the US Open. The next year, Venus Williams became the first African-American woman since Gibson to win Wimbledon.
In a 2007 Washington Post article, Howard Fendrich quotes a conscious Serena as saying, "I know every time I step out on the court, I play for me and I play for all the other little African-American kids out there who have a dream and who might not have the means, like myself and my sisters didn"t growing up."
Serena (R) and Venus (L) Williams won their 14th Grand Slam doubles titles at this year"s Wimbledon Championships. File photo
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Sports - The Huffington Post
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#Between, #Connections, #Curious, #Firsts, #Tennis - #Trending
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Curious Connections Between Tennis" Firsts
Mets Acquire Fernando Salas
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The Mets announced that they have acquired right-handed reliever Fernando Salas from the Angels in exchange for minor league right-hander Erik Manoah. Justin Ruggiano has been moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Salas on the 40-man roster.
Salas, 31, has pitched to a 4.47 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate in 56 1/3 innings of relief for the Angels this season. A free agent at season’s end, he represents a pure rental for the Mets, but a fairly affordable one, as he’s earning $ 2.4MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility. Salas has $ 419K of that sum remaining on his salary through season’s end. While his numbers certainly aren’t eye-catching, it’s worth noting that Salas has largely righted the ship after a dreadful month of June and has pitched quite well since early July. While the endpoint here is highly arbitrary in nature, Salas has a 2.60 ERA with an 18-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 48 percent ground-ball rate in his past 17 1/3 innings out of manager Mike Scisoscia’s bullpen.
With the Mets, Salas figures to work primarily in the seventh inning, as the eighth inning is typically the property of resurgent setup man Addison Reed, while the Mets boast one of baseball’s best closers in the form of right-hander Jeurys Familia. By acquiring Salas tonight, the Mets have ensured that he can be a part of the club’s roster in the event that they make it to the postseason. The deadline for newly acquired players to receive postseason eligibility is midnight EST.
Manoah, 20, was the Mets’ 13th-round pick in the 2014 draft. The Miami-area prep product hasn’t performed particularly well in his pro career to date, pitching to an ERA north of 5.00 in both 2015 and 2016. However, he has shown a penchant for missing bats, racking up 63 strikeouts in 62 innings out of the rotation for the Mets’ short-season Class-A affiliate this year, and he also keeps the ball on the ground quite well, as evidenced by a 50 percent ground-ball rate.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
MLB Trade Rumors
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#Acquire, #Fernando, #Mets, #Salas - #Baseball
Teddy Bridgewater Replacement: 10 Best QB Options For Vikings To Consider
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Teddy Bridgewater’s 2016 season ended before it ever began Tuesday, as the 23-year-old quarterback suffered a dislocated knee and a torn ACL during a non-contact drill at practice. The Vikings now must decide whether to roll with veteran backup Shaun Hill or consider other options to run their offense.
Hill is 36 years old and has been used sparingly in recent seasons. He was with Minnesota last season, so there is some familiarity, but the Vikings might be better off looking outside the organization for Bridgewater’s replacement if they want to keep pace in the NFC North.
The problem is the lack of appealing options. Sure, there are some viable QBs available, either via trade or free agency, but Bridgewater seemed capable of taking a step forward in his third year at the helm.
Click for 10 QB options to replace Bridgewater >>
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
Photo above via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
Filed under: NFL, Photo Gallery, Ricky Doyle, Top Stories
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#Best, #Bridgewater, #Consider, #Options, #Replacement, #Teddy, #Vikings - #Football
Matthew Dellavedova: ‘Main Target’ for the Bucks is the Playoffs
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Milwaukee inked free agent guard Matthew Dellavedova to a three-year, $ 39 million pact this summer, and the 25-year-old has designs on leading the Bucks back into the postseason.
Dellavedova is eager to learn from Bucks head coach Jason Kidd.
Dellavedova says leaving the defending NBA champion Cavs was tough, but he’s looking forward to stepping into a leadership role.
Per ESPN:
“Leaving Cleveland was tough because I had a great three years there and they gave me my first opportunity,” Dellavedova said.
“Winning the title is going to give you a bond with those guys for life, and the way the city embraced me made leaving even harder. […] But I’m excited about the opportunity in Milwaukee, especially to step into a bit more of a leadership role. Obviously at Cleveland we had Kyrie [Irving] being the point guard which puts a ceiling on what you can achieve.”
“We definitely want to get into the playoffs, that’s our main target,” Dellavedova said. “They made the playoffs two years ago and looked really good in the first round against Chicago. It was a bit of a down year for them last year with injuries, but the development of their young players is really exciting for the future.”
The post Matthew Dellavedova: ‘Main Target’ for the Bucks is the Playoffs appeared first on SLAMonline.
SLAMonline
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#Bucks, #Dellavedova, #Main, #Matthew, #Playoffs, #Target - #Basketball
Jim White’s Definitive Guide To Deadline Day
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GettyIf there’s one thing that lets you know that it’s transfer deadline day, it’s the appearance of Jim White and his yellow tie.
The Scot has became synonymous with the final day of the transfer window over the years, as he brings the latest developments as clubs scramble to get new players signed before time runs out.
Almost every football fan will be tuning into Sky Sports News tonight, and White will be his usual excitable self as he breaks the latest news.
PA ImagesSpeaking to Digital Spy, White talked about his army of fans:
I always know when the day is nigh, because everybody tells me in the street. Taxi drivers, van drivers hanging out of windows and shouting ‘Are you getting ready with the yellow tie?’
I will get dozens upon dozens of pictures with guys wearing yellow ties in their office telling me they’re taking part. People should get it off as a national holiday, but if they can’t, the next best thing is to wear a yellow tie to work.
TwitterWhile people settle down at their desks and open up their spreadsheets, they’ll likely have their phones sat next to them, with Twitter loaded up ready to catch any news of latest happenings.
And White knows of the power of the Twittersphere:
With the development of social media, everybody seems to play a part in transfer deadline day! Twitter goes through the roof.
I can’t believe it now, I was a bit reluctant to go on Twitter, I thought ‘No one’s gonna follow me’, and now I have about 270,000 people or so.
I’ll have my phone right beside me looking for personal text messages from chairmen or players or agents, and I’ll also be looking on Twitter.
TwitterWhen he does see the news on social media, White is now one of the go-to men for players and club officials, so they can inform fans that they’re signing a new player as quickly as possible.
Speaking about getting the news himself, White said:
I’ll be making a whole bundle of calls during breaks just to see who’s doing what.
I went on a couple of times ago, we heard Danny Welbeck was having a medical at Arsenal. And then we were told ‘Go cool on that’ because it might not have been as certain as we thought.
So the first break I got, I phoned someone at Arsenal and found out he was getting a medical at Arsenal. So that’s all I need, I just need confirmations, and knowing who to phone and when to phone them.
It’s quite a stressful day, I have absolutely no doubt that at 59, I’m getting close to being carried out of here on a stretcher. That will happen one day.
It’s stress but great stress. The fascination is that everyone is involved with it all over the country. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Football – UNILAD
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#Deadline, #Definitive, #Guide, #WhiteS - #Soccer
Red Sox strongly considering Yoan Moncada callup
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Top prospect Yoan Moncada may soon make his debut for the Boston Red Sox.
Manager John Farrell strongly hinted on Wednesday that Moncada would join the team in September and may play third base.
“We’ve talked about Yoan, and not just as a pinch-runner,” Farrell said, via Rob Bradford of WEEI. “It’s an exciting young player. Extremely talented guy. There’s all positive reviews and evaluations of him. When that major league experience is going to initiate, time with tell that. But in terms of playing the position of third base, yes, that conversation has been had.”
Farrell even went as far as to compare the boost Moncada could bring to the one brought by Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury when they were first called up by the team.
“The one thing for those who have been around this team for a number of years, teams that have had success have always had an injection of young players late in the season that have helped carry the team to the postseason,” Farrell said. “I think Yoan would be in a similar category for when Pedey [Dustin Pedroia] and Jake [Jacoby Ellsbury] came to the big leagues. When Bogey [Xander Bogaerts] came to the big leagues. And [Andrew] Benintendi is obviously already here. I wouldn’t separate him out from that comparison at all. In fact, he’s a direct comparison.”
Farrell sounds extremely bullish on Moncada’s impact. We’ve already seen the impact that fellow rookie Benintendi had on the team, and Moncada would have a similar impact as the Red Sox try to clinch a playoff spot.
Baseball – Larry Brown Sports
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#Strongly, #Callup, #Considering, #Moncada, #Yoan - #Baseball
Mike Trout uninjured in car crash after Angels game
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Mike Trout was involved in a car crash after Wednesday’s Angels game but was uninjured.
There was a collision on the 55 freeway in Tustin, Calif. just before 9:00 pm that was bad enough where one of the women involved had to be cut out of her car. Trout apparently tried to brake as he approached the cars involved and hit one.
#breakingnews Angels OF Mike Trout reportedly involved in crash in Tustin. 1 serious injury. Trout was not hurt. pic.twitter.com/Ejkgw6diSg
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) September 1, 2016
Witness: Mike Trout was trying to avoid earlier crash on 55 Fwy when he hit car https://t.co/A87x7Y7DsR pic.twitter.com/AiBr243fa0
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) September 1, 2016
The OC Register has a photo of Trout’s damaged Mercedes.
Angels GM Billy Eppler said in a statement that Trout told him he was “fine.” Trout will travel to Seattle with his team on Thursday.
Baseball – Larry Brown Sports
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#After, #Angels, #Crash, #Game, #Mike, #Trout, #Uninjured - #Baseball
Jets – Giants Preseason Game & 53 Man Roster Prediciton
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On this week’s episode Joe will be joined by JetNation.com writer Glenn Naughton and we have a ton of topics to talk about!
What did we learn from the Jets vs Giants preseason game? Were there any surprises from the 75 man roster trim down?
We will also be giving our 53 man roster predictions position by position! These topics and many more will be covered on tonight’s episode of JetNation Radio.
Find us on Twitter- Joe- @joerb31 and Glenn @Acefan23
JetNation.com
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#Game, #Giants, #Jets, #Prediciton, #Preseason, #Roster - #Football
Rob Gronkowski has funny message for grammar police
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You can correct the grammar Rob Gronkowski uses on social media, just know that he won’t respect you much.
The New England Patriots tight end posted a funny note to his Twitter account Wednesday that was aimed at the so-called “grammar police.” You know who those people are — the ones who will tell you you used the wrong version of “there” or “effect” in a social media posting.
Here’s his message to those people:
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) August 31, 2016
That’s Gronk’s way of saying he’d give you a wedgie just for being a nerd and pointing out that you’re smarter than he is. You know why? Because he’s stronger and cooler and he makes funny cracks like this one.
Football – Larry Brown Sports
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#Funny, #Grammar, #Gronkowski, #Message, #Police - #Football
Fred Taylor vents about ‘shady’ NFL doctors
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Former Pro Bowl running back Fred Taylor went on a rare Twitter crusade Wednesday all in the name of exposing some shadiness involving NFL doctors.
Taylor only played 16 games twice during his 13-year NFL career, but there is little doubt how good he was. With 11,695 yards, Taylor is 16th on the all-time career rushing leaders list. But injuries kept him out of many games, and he only recently learned just how badly beat up he was during his playing days.
Take a look at the story he shared on Twitter:
Visited Chicago last week for full Ortho exam. Took 11 MRIs and 12 X-rays. Got results yesterday. Somehow I played career with fractured->
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
clavicle, 2 partially torn labrum, one in each shoulder. I"m Appalled! I was never told this as a player. Oversight? Or BS!
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
I"ve always gotten a sensation n my shoulders but I though it was fatigue. All these years have passd and now I discover my shoulders jackd
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
Taylor then complained about being denied benefits by the NFL.
Even through all the injuries and the lingering injuries, somehow The league still manage to deny my "Line of Duty" benefit 3 times.
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
Seems the "neutral doctors" we are referred to by the league overlooked the injuries and issues I currently deal with. Nice job guys
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
Taylor called what the NFL does “shady practices.”
I never complain as a player or now. This is enlightening people like u to what we deal with. The shady practices https://t.co/fUKsCToKHw
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
This isn"t a pity party. Just sharing part of the business with you all. I"ve always been a TOUGH mutha*** you play hard injuries happen
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
They gave me this stupid nickname "fragile Freddy" after I had TORN my groin off the bone. Somehow it 2 was diagnosed as a minor strain
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
I didn"t complain or make an excuse to the media. I kept smiling, kept my cool, fought back and finished Top 15th rusher all-time.
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
In the case of my shoulders it was all in-house. The benefits referrals r chosen by the league yet called "neutral" https://t.co/kPDezxpgVZ
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) August 31, 2016
Taylor isn’t the first nor will he be the last player to accuse the NFL of being shady in this manner. Back in March we told you about a former player who is suing the league over denied benefits.
Football – Larry Brown Sports
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#Shady, #About, #Doctors, #Fred, #Taylor, #Vents - #Football