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Monthly Archives: February 2018

From first place to last, black athletes were a presence at Winter Olympics

26 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 Winter Olympics, Jamaica Bobsled Team, Nigerian bobsled team

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA – The most diverse Winter Olympics in history ended with black athletes on the medal stand and at the bottom of standings of their particular sport here in PyeongChang.

The cliche that “a picture is worth a thousand words” was apropos following the women’s two-person bobsled competition Wednesday night when four black women from three countries posed on the medal stand with Olympic gold, silver, and bronze around their necks.

The German team of pilot Mariama Jamanka, the daughter of a Gambian father, and brakeman Lisa Buckwitz won the gold medal; U.S. pilot Elana Meyers Taylor and brakeman Lauren Gibbs captured the silver medal; and the Canadian duo of  Kaillie Humphries and Phylicia George, who ran the 100-meter hurdles at the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, captured the bronze.

Mariama Jamanka, right, and Lisa Buckwitz, won the gold medal in the women’s two-person bobsled event at the 2018 Winter Olympics (Photo/IBSF / Eugen Eslage).

The U.S. bobsled with pilot Elana Meyers Taylor, left, and brakeman Lauren Gibbs captured the silver medal (Photo/IBSF / Eugen Eslage).

Canada’s bobsled with brakewoman Phylicia George, right, and Kaillie Humphries took home a bronze medal (Photo/IBSF / Eugen Eslage)

Meyers Taylor, who won her third Olympic medal in two Winter Games, took note of the moment.

“It shows the growth of our sport. The more eyeballs there are on the sport, it will get more diverse,” said said. “I want to represent my color and ethnicity. To be proud of our heritage is really cool. I’m proud of changing the landscape in our sport.”

Much was made these games about the presence of the first women’s bobsled teams from Jamaica and Nigeria, along with the first-time skeleton athletes from those countries and Ghana.

Lamin Dean was one of six black bobsledders on Great Britain’s team.

They didn’t fare well in competition. The Jamaican team of pilot  Jazmine Fenlator- Victorian and brakeman Carrie Russell finished 18th in the two-person bobsled event and Nigerian pilot Andigun Seun and brakeman Ngozi Onwumere finished 19th.

Nigerian skeleton athlete Simidele Adeagbo finished 20th – last – in the women’s event. On the men’s side, Anthony Watson of Jamaica was 29th and Ghana’s Akwasi Frimpong finished dead last in 30th place.

Jamaica and Nigeria being at the 2018 Winter Games generated a lot of press. But it also obscured the fact that even so-called traditional winter sports countries had a significant black presence on their teams.

The U.S. men’s hockey team failed to make it to the medal round and the Canadian women’s hockey team won a disappointing silver medal.

But U.S. forward Jordan Greenway, a Boston University junior forward and the first African-American to play for a U.S. Olympic hockey team, received good reviews for his play in PyeongChang. He scored a goal in five games.

Team Canada’s Sarah Nurse also had a goal in five Winter Olympic contests. The Hockey Hall of Fame requested and received the former University of Wisconsin forward’s white Team Canada jersey to put on display at the Toronto hockey museum.

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Half of Great Britain’s 12-person bobsled team in PyeongChang was black. France had two black brakemen –  Vincent Castell and Dorian Hauterville –  on its five-man bobsled team.

French figure skater Mae-Berenice Meite competed in her second Winter Games – 2014 in Sochi, Russia was her first – finishing 19th in the ladies’ single free skate program. Still, she dazzled the crowd in PyeongChang with a costume change in the middle of one of her routines.

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The parade of warm weather countries at the 2018 Winter Games included Sabrina Simader, a Kenyan Alpine skier who finished 38th in her event; Mathilde-Amivi Petitjean, a Togolese cross country skier who finished 83rd in the women’s 10-kilometer free ski competition.

Then there were the boys from Brazil -bobsledders Edson Bindilatte, Edson Ricardo Martins,, Rafael da Silva Souza, and Ordilei Pessoni. They finished 27th in the four-man event.

All this infusion of color at Winter Games prompted the BBC to write a story asking if black athletes from African countries were competing for the love of the sport or for their 15 minutes of fame, noting that several of the athletes don’t live or weren’t born in the countries they represented here.

“Africans live elsewhere in the world, not only in Africa, and they have the right to represent their country even if they don’t live in their mother country,” said Pettjean, who was born in Togo but raised in the French Alps, where she learned to ski.

Embed from Getty Images

Nigeria’s Seun, who lives in Houston, Texas, said participating in the Winter Olympics is all about growing her sport, not about seeking personal glory.

“We already have things in place now to get people interested in the process,” she said. “So we are excited to see how the sport of bobsled comes around in the continent of African.”

Germany’s Jamanka said she’s “proud that Africans start here for the African nations” but added that she won’t be switching over to the Gambian bobsled team, if they ever get one.

“I’m feeling German, and that’s why I will start for Germany for as long as possible,” she said.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

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Griffin’s Korea ‘garbage goal’ Olympic puck enters Hockey Hall of Fame

23 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 Winter Olympics, Harvard University, Hockey Hall of Fame, Korean unified team, Phil Pritchard, Randi Griffin

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA – Randi Griffin still can’t believe that someone picked up her “garbage.”

That’s what she calls the goal she scored for the unified Korean women’s hockey team against Japan at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The shot was a weak wrister that bounced on the ice and managed to dribble five-hole past the Japanese goaltender.

Korean-American Randi Griffin scored Korea’s first-ever Olympic ice hockey goal.

“It was a pretty crappy shot that took a couple of bounces and happened to go into the net,” the forward said after the game. “I got lucky.”

But Griffin quickly learned that one person’s garbage goal is another person’s history. Her goal was the first-ever Korean tally in Winter Olympics history, and someone had the smarts to quickly retrieve the puck from the ice.

It’s now in Toronto getting prepped to be showcased at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I still can’t believe my name will appear in the Hockey Hall of Fame because of a garbage goal, but it’s pretty cool,” she told me. “I also still can’t believe I just played hockey in the Olympics, so I guess it’s the perfect crazy unexpected ending to a crazy unexpected experience.”

The puck that forward Randi Griffin shot into the net for Korea’s first-ever Olympic ice hockey goal (Photo/Phil Pritchard/Hockey Hall of Fame).

Korea unified women’s Olympic hockey team forward Randi Griffin said her goal against Japan wasn’t much of a shot. The Hockey Hall of Fame disagrees (Photo/Phil Pritchard/Hockey Hall of Fame).

Phil Pritchard,  the Hall’s curator, and keeper of the Stanley Cup, told me that the puck will be featured in the shrine’s World of Hockey display then take up permanent residence in the Olympic history display.

“Got the puck here…it is taped details of the goal etc. It’s not signed,” Pritchard told me in an email. “Once I get the artifacts back to the Hockey Hall of Fame, we will preserve, conserve and write up the proper paperwork and get captions made up.”

Embed from Getty Images

Griffin, a North Carolinian and former Harvard University player, is still pinching herself.

“I was honestly really surprised,” she told me.

The daughter of a South Korean mother and white father, Griffin was initially recruited by the Korea Ice Hockey Association in 2014 via an email asking if she’d be interested in joining its Olympic effort.

Griffin, who hadn’t played serious hockey since her senior season at Harvard in 2009-10, thought the email was a hoax and didn’t respond for months.

Once she determined it was real, she flew to South Korea for a mini-camp then joined the country’s national women’s team that would play at the Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Her crazy journey got even crazier when it was announced that 12 players from North Korea’s women’s hockey team would be added to the South Korean roster, creating a unified team.

It was the first time that players from the North and South Korean athletes played together on a single in the Winter Olympics. Initially, there was concern about how the players would bond given the tense political relationship between the two countries.

But the players apparently managed to form some bonds, despite the North Korean skaters sleeping in separate quarters and riding separate buses from the South Korean teammates.

Embed from Getty Images

Griffin, 29, recalled that she spotted some of the North Korean players getting McDonald’s Oreo McFlurries for breakfast in the dining hall at the Olympic Village.

“We all laughed about that and had McFlurries together for breakfast,” Griffin told reporters earlier this week.

The unified team struggled mightily on the ice, getting blown out by Switzerland and Sweden by 8-0 scores. They didn’t win any of its Olympic tournament games and they were outscored by opponents 2 goals to 20.

So when Griffin scored her seeing-eye goal, she knew it was Korea’s first Olympic goal, but she didn’t fully grasp what a big deal it was.

“I knew the goal would mean a lot to Korean supporters who wanted something to cheer for since we were losing games, and it certainly meant a lot to our team, but I didn’t thing anyone outside Korea would care.”

Griffin had designs for the puck – as a keepsake.

“I wanted the puck as a souvenir,” she said. “But obviously now that I know why they took it, I’m happy to let them have it.”

The Korean unified team member expects to have a reunion with the vulcanized rubber biscuit that made Olympic history when she returns to North America.

“I definitely will visit it!” Griffin said.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ex-Capitals Mike Marson and Bill Riley feel Smith-Pelly’s pain on racist taunts

22 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Chicago Blackhawks, Devante Smith-Pelly, Mike Marson, Washington Capitals, Willie O'Ree

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA Mike Marson can relate to what Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly endured when four Chicago Blackhawks “fans” racially taunted him as he sat in the press box at the United Center last Saturday.

Mike Marson was drafted by the Washington Capitals at age 18 in 1974.

“One can only imagine what it must have felt like when a certain 18 year old was all by himself against such bad form on and off the ice,” Marson told me.

Marson doesn’t have to imagine it. He lived it his rookie year with the expansion Capitals in 1974-75. He was the National Hockey League’s second black player, entering the league 16 years after Willie O’Ree broke in with the Boston Bruins.

Marson expressed disgust that black players are being targeted with racial slurs and disdain for the fans – and sometimes players – who utter them.

“It’s a shame that pro hockey in all its greatness still has these low points,” he told me.

Bill Riley echoed Marson’s sentiment. Riley, a forward, joined the Capitals shortly after Marson. They say misery loves company, but Riley said he wouldn’t wish the racial vitriol that he and Marson endured on anyone.

“They referred to Mike Marson and I as round ball players in Detroit in the mid seventies and wasn’t (just) the fans,” Riley told me. “Hard to believe that garbage still exists 40 plus years later.”

The “fans” who were removed and subsequently banned from Blackhawks home games showered Smith-Pelly with a chorus of “basketball, basketball, basketball,” a not-too-thinly veiled message that he should be a power forward in the National Basketball Association, not the NHL.

Bill Riley and Mike Marson were teammates on the Washington Capitals in the mid-1970s. They experienced the same racists taunts that Capitals forward Devente Smith-Pelly endured in Chicago. Photos/Washngton Capitals).

“It’s pretty obvious what that means,” Smith-Pelly said of the taunts. “Whether it’s that word or any other word, I got the idea. And I’m sure they got the idea, too. Just one word, and that’s really all it takes.”

Marson and Riley didn’t go public about what they went through when they were playing.

Neither wanted to be viewed as complainers or malcontents because they thought it would be a sure way to get a one-way ticket to the minor leagues and hockey obscurity.

So they suffered in silence. Riley praises Smith-Pelly and other black players in the NHL for stepping up and speaking out against racist behavior on the ice and in the stands.

Pretty embarrassing that this still happens. Doesn't shock me though which is the saddest part of all. Those ppl should be banned from every rink in the NHL #ignorance @NHL @NHLBlackhawks

— Wayne Simmonds (@Simmonds17) February 19, 2018

Hockey is for everyone. If you think black athletes should only play basketball, than you clearly don’t know much about sports. There’s no room for racism in the rink or anywhere.

— Jt brownov (@JTBrown23) February 18, 2018

“Kudos to Smith-Pelly,” Riley said.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Racist taunts toward Smith-Pelly by ‘fans’ ignores the history of their favorite team

18 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Chicago Blackhawks, Devante Smith-Pelly, Dustin Byfuglien, Johnny Oduya, Ray Emery, Washington Capitals

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA I just want to drop a few names on the Chicago Blackhawks “fans” who had their butts not-so-surgically removed from their United Center seats Saturday for allegedly hurling racist taunts at Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly.

Dirk Graham, Johnny Oduya, Dustin Byfuglien, Ray Emery, Jamal Mayers, and Trevor Daley.

These are black players or players of African descent who skated for the team that you root for – or rooted for before Blackhawks management ejected you from fairly high-priced seats for supposedly directing racial remarks toward Smith-Pelly.

Black players helped make the Blackhawks winners and hoist Stanley Cups.

Oduya was a mainstay on defense on the ‘Hawks 2012-13 and 2014-15 championship teams. Emery was the solid backup goaltender for the 2012-13 Cup winner. Mayers, a forward, added defensive toughness to that team for 19 regular season games that season.

And Byfuglien was a disruptive power forward that the Philadelphia Flyers struggled to control in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Final.

Former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery.

Graham was a gritty heat-and-soul captain of a Blackhawks teams that were competitive. He even scored a hat trick in Game 4 in the 1992 Stanley Cup Final won by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

These are all men of color who played for your team. For. Your. Team.

Imagine if Oduya, Byfuglien, and Emery adhered to the taunts aimed at Smith-Pelly and they played for, say, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks instead of the NHL’s Blackhawks?

The idea that you could be shocked and appalled in this day and age at the sight of a black guy being on the ice or in the penalty box at a hockey game means you either don’t know your own team or that Smith-Pelly’s skin simply got under yours.

Devante Smith-Pelly on the incident last night in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/Oz9qfFWMQH

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 18, 2018

Either way, it wasn’t a good look. I wonder what recently-acquired Blackhawks forward Anthony Duclair must be thinking after watching those home “fans” giving an opposing minority player the business by using race as a weapon.

Former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya.

Kudos to the management of the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals and National Hockey League for taking swift action on this ugly incident.

Captials Head Coach Barry Trotz was right when he said “There is absolutely no place in the game of hockey or our country for racism.”

“It just shows ignorance,” he added.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

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Sarah Nurse goal powers Canada to 2-1 Winter Olympics win over the U.S.

15 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Kia Nurse, Sarah Nurse, University of Connecticut, University of Wisconsin

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA Sarah Nurse went top shelf and her father went over the moon.

Forward Sarah Nurse scored her first Winter Olympics goal Thursday (Photo/Hockey Canada).

Nurse, a forward for the Canadian women’s hockey team, fired a wrist shot that bounced off United States goaltender Maddie Rooney’s right shoulder and found a small hole on the short side of the net. It proved to be the difference-maker in a 2-1 contest against the two best teams at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Nurse’s goal at 14:56 of the second period gave Canada a 2-0 lead. U.S. forward Kendall Coyne scored early in the  third period but Canadian goaltender Genevieve Lacasse withstood an onslaught of U.S. shots –  stopping 44 – to preserve the win.

“We played a full 60 minutes and I think we have some things to improve on, but we’re definitely confident in where we’re at and where we’re going,” Nurse told reporters after the game.

Nurse’s tally was her first Olympic goal. She was named to the Canadian team after she completed a collegiate career at the NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin where she tallied 76 goals and 61 assists in 150 games.

Embed from Getty Images

She’s the Badgers’ eighth all-time leading scorer, keeping company with the likes of U.S. stars Brianna Decker and Hilary Knight, who are also playing in PyeongChang seeking Olympic gold.

Her father was feeling somewhat anxious before Canada’s match against its arch-rival for international women’s hockey supremacy. He felt exalted when his daughter’s shot went in the net.

“I’m still trying to come down,” he told me between periods following the goal.

Michelle and Roger Nurse cheered on their daughter, Canadian women’s Olympic hockey player Sarah Nurse, at the Canada-U.S. game Thursday. Sarah Nurse scored her first Olympic goal in that contest (Photo/William Douglas/Color of Hockey).

For Roger and his wife, Michelle Nurse, watching their daughter represent Canada in Pyeongchang triggered memories of how it all began.

“We did a lot of long car rides (to tournaments), me and Sarah. At one point, we’re driving all over North America,” Roger Nurse told me. “For me and Sarah in the car, we laugh, tell a lot of jokes, trying to make the ride shorter. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing since she was 7 years old.”

Sarah reflected on her hockey journey, too. She posted a tweet prior to the Olympic hockey tournament thanking her dad for doing the things that enabled her to play the game.

Thank you for giving me every opportunity to reach me dreams. For driving all over North America & for working nonstop to put every penny into my hockey career.
To the one who put me on those double blades at 3 and never let me look back.. Dad, thank you ❤️#WeAllPlayForCanada pic.twitter.com/hVxWm1NaXx

— Sarah Nurse (@nursey16) February 10, 2018

But for all her success, Sarah and her parents never fully knew where she stood with Hockey Canada. Last year was Sarah’s first centralizaton – or tryout – camp with Canada’s national team from which the Olympic squad was picked.

“There are some kids who just smooth through – they’re the best player, they go to every camp, every event, every Four Nations (tournament), every worlds tournament,” Roger Nurse told me. “For Sarah, it was kind of a fight. No matter how good you thought she was, no matter how well you thought she was doing, it was a fight.”

“And, you, know, she’s still standing, and that’s a great testament to her ability to fight through it,” he added.

Part of that resilience comes from being part of a highly-competitive family. Sarah’s cousins are Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse and University of Connecticut women’s basketball point guard Kia Nurse, who played hoops for Canada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Sarah’s younger brothers are hockey players: Issac Nurse  plays right wing for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League.  Elijah Nurse is a left wing for the Dundas Blues of Canada’s Provincial Junior Hockey League.

Sarah Nurse’s brother, Isaac Nurse, plays for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Her father was a renowned Canadian lacrosse player. Her uncle Richard Nurse – Darnell and Kia’s father – was a wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Former National Football League quarterback Donovan McNabb is an uncle.

Sarah Nurse told CBC Sports that she’s proud of her family’s athletic roots stressed that “I’m here to create my own path.”

It’s something that Roger Nurse’s children occasionally have to remind him of when he’s dispensing hockey advice.

“I’d say something to her about a game she’d play at Wisconsin, she’d look at me and say ‘Dad, you never played a game of NCAA hockey,'” Roger Nurse said. “And Issac would say to me ‘Dad, you never played one game in the Ontario Hockey League.’ Point taken.”

These days, Roger Nurse keeps his advice simple.

“‘Go have fun, step up, and do what you have to do,'” he tells them.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

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Randi Griffin scores Korea’s first-ever Winter Olympics ice hockey goal

14 Wednesday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 Winter Olympics, Harvard Uniersity, Randi Griffin

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA Randi Griffin, a North Carolinian, scored the first Korean ice hockey goal in Winter Olympics history Wednesday.

Randi Griffin of Korea’s unified women’s Olympic hockey tea (Photo/Korean Ice Hockey Association).

Griffin, a forward for the Korean women’s unified hockey team scored in the second period, but it wasn’t enough as Japan defeated its Asian arch-rival 4-1 in a preliminary round match at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

“I’m definitely not a hero. It was a pretty crappy shot that took a couple of bounces and happened to go into the net,” Griffin told reporters after the game. “I got lucky.”

That said, Griffin added that the goal was a relief for a unified team that lost its first two games to Switzerland and Sweden by identical 8-0 scores.

“We don’t want to leave the Olympics not having scored a goal,”she said. “It feels great to have one under our belt.”

Embed from Getty Images

The daughter of a Korean mother and white father, Griffin was recruited by the Korea Ice Hockey Association shortly after the country was awarded the Winter Games.

Not an international hockey power, South Korea scoured U.S. and Canadian college rosters looking for players with Korean names to help build its roster.

Griffin played for Harvard University from 2006-07 to 2009-10. She tallied 21 goals and 18 assists in 124 games.

Ironically, Korean officials initially didn’t know about Griffin because of her last name. They learned about her from the parent of a Korean-Canadian player they were scouting.

Once they found about Griffin, 29, they immediately sent her an email inviting her to join their Olympic effort. But she thought the email was a scam and didn’t respond for months.

It wasn’t until KIHA officials contacted Griffin’s father, Thomas Griffin, that she responded. Both Griffin and the KIHA association are now glad that she did.

Randi Griffin was measuring monkey skulls for a doctorate at Duke in 2014 when she received an oddly-worded email from S. Korea’s Ice Hockey Association: Would she be interested in lacing up again? In ten minutes, she takes the ice to take on Japan.@hj257 https://t.co/Oial0l4nKX

— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) February 14, 2018

She’s become a key part of a team made of 23 South Korean and 12 North Korean players – the first time athletes from the two countries have played on the same team in the Winter Games.

The merger was done only weeks before the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games in hopes of fostering unification talks between the two Koreas, or at least de-escalate tensions heightened by North Korea Leader Kim Jong-uns pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Griffin, a Duke University anthropology department graduate student, said Wednesday’s game was perhaps the most meaningful to the unified team.

“I would say the games against Japan more than anything else have been something that have brought North and South Koreans together because everyone is saying, ‘We really need to win this game,'” she said.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

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Historic Korea-Swiss Olympic hockey game a family affair for Randi Griffin

10 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 Winter Olympics, North Korea, Randi Griffin, South Korea

Randi Griffin of Korea’s unified women’s Olympic hockey tea (Photo/Korean Ice Hockey Association).

PYEONGCHANG – Presidents don’t usually pay visits to losing teams.

But there was South Korean President Moon Jae-in meeting with the players and coaches of the Korean unified hockey team at their bench after they got routed 8-0 by Switzerland in their opening game at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Moon, accompanied by Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, chatted and posed for pictures with the team.

Despite the final score, the game was historic – the first time athletes from North and South Korea played on a single team at the Winter Olympics.

The game symbolized the aspirations of many for one Korea – or at least a peaceful coexistence between the North and South.

Thomas Griffin, right, his wife, Elizabeth, and her parents journeyed to Pyeongchang to root for Korean unified women’s team forward Randi Griffin (Photo/Samara Fox).

Randi Griffin bought her family hockey jerseys with her number to wear at the historic game between the Korean unified women’s Olympic hockey team and Switzerland (Photo/Samara Fox).

 

The game was meaningful for the parents of unified team forward Randi Griffin. Thomas and Elizabeth Griffin made the journey from Apex, North Carolina, to watch her play for her mother’s home country.

So did Griffin’s elderly grandparents, who made the trek from Chicago.

Griffin, who played four years at NCAA Division I Harvard University, was recruited by South Korea to play shortly after the country was awarded the 2018 Winter Games.

Embed from Getty Images

South Korean hockey officials sent her an email in 2014 asking if she’d be interested in playing for their Olympic hockey team. She ignored the email for three months, thinking it was a hoax.

Other than their daughter, the Griffins had little to cheer about Saturday night. Swiss forward Alina Muller was a one-woman wrecking crew against the unified squad, scoring four goals.

But that didn’t seem to matter to the partisan crowd of more than 3,000 inside Kwandong Hockey Centre.

Embed from Getty Images

They cheered almost every time the unified team handled or shot the puck.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s hand-picked cheerleaders kept things lively with chants and dances throughout the game.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

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Carter went from ‘ha-ha’ to ‘hey, now’ on Chance the Rapper’s SNL hockey skit

08 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 Winter Olympics, Anson Carter, Chance the Rapper, Saturday Night Live

PYEONGCHANG – Anson Carter’s response was “Ha, ha, that’s funny” when he first saw Chance the Rapper play a clueless New York Knicks basketball sideline reporter trying to analyze a NewYork Rangers hockey game in an NBC “Saturday Night Live” skit.

Former NHLer Anson Carter will be part of NBC’s Olympic TV crew.

But his reaction quickly shifted to “Hey, now, wait a minute” upon further review.

“I loved it, I thought it was funny, you need to laugh at yourself,” Carter, a retired National Hockey League forward/turned hockey analyst for NBC Sports Network and host of “The MSG Hockey Show.” “But at the same time, there are enough black people out there who know the game of hockey that you’re like ‘Can we actually move past that point?”

“I liked it because it brought attention to the sport, but you can’t keep using those same old stereotypes because there are actually knowledgeable black fans out there that you’re saying ‘You guys have no clue on what’s going on,’ he added. “I think that was the easy way out making fun of hockey, of all sports. There’s a lot more black fans out there than we get credit for. From that standpoint, I didn’t like it, but you’ve got to laugh at yourself.”

Carter is busy these days preparing to impart hockey knowledge on television viewers as part of the NBC team that will cover the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Feb. 9-25. He’ll serve as an in-studio host from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Connecticut.

He says he’s mindful that the Winter Games might be the first time that a casual viewer might see a black person talking about ice hockey on TV.

Winter Olympics features diversity in broadcast booth too #WinterOlympics @williamgdouglas: https://t.co/4IeQ5qfJww

— David Lightman (@LightmanDavid) February 6, 2018

“Sometimes you’re changing the channel, and you might not watch the whole game, but you might want to see what’s happening between periods, and you see a black face on TV talking about the game, giving some insightful analysis on what’s going on,” Carter said.

“I always keep in mind, too, that I have to make sure that I’m prepared at all times,” he added. “I want to make sure I’m bringing my ‘A’ game to the table because it is all about diversity. You can’t talk about being diverse on the ice, but then off the ice you don’t have that diversity as well when you have people capable of doing the job.”

Embed from Getty Images

Carter did the job when he was a player. He tallied 202 goals and 219 assists in 674 games over 11 seasons with the Capitals, Boston Bruins,Edmonton Oilers, VancouverCanucks, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and CarolinaHurricanes.

And he did it while wearingdreads.

These days, he’s is part of a growing group of black hockey analysts/broadcasters.  Kevin Weekes, a former NHL goaltender, mans the analyst’s desk at the NHL Network. David Amberco-hosts the late Saturday game on “Hockey Night in Canada,” the “Monday NightFootball” of the Great White North.

Tarik El Bashir  provides analysis during Washington Capitals broadcasts on NBCSports Washington, where he’s sometimes joined by Carter. Everett Fitzhugh is the voice of the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Last month, Fitzhugh was part of a television team chosen to call the CCM-ECHL All-StarGame that aired on NHL Network.

All these guys, to paraphrase Chance the Rapper, are doing that hockey.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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Black athletes competing at 2018 Winter Olympics makes it ‘Must-See TV’

03 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2018 Winter Olympics, Jamaica Bobsled Team, Jordan Greenway

SEOUL I’m old enough to remember when it was a big deal when a black person appeared on national television.

The phone in my family’s Philadelphia home would ring off the hook with relatives or friends calling to alert us that Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross & The Supremes, or Flip Wilson were going to be on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Hollywood Palace,” or “The Andy Williams Show” that night.

Erin Jackson, U.S. long track speedskater (Photo/US Speedskating/Alienfrogg).

It was Must-See-TV in the era black and white sets, new-fangled remote controls, rabbit ears antennae, and frozen TV dinners.

New Must-See-TV moments begin Friday night with the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The 242-member U.S. team that will march into South Korea’s PyeongChang Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony will be the most diverse American team in Winter Olympic history.

The U.S. team features a record 10 African-American athletes competing in bobsled, speedskating and ice hockey.

“The fact that you’re seeing black athletes competing at the highest levels, it gives promise to kids, not just the kids, but parents, too,” said Anson Carter, a black retired NationalHockey League forward who’s working the Winter Games as an in-studio analyst for NBC. “So when you turn the TV on and see these stories on NBC about these black athletes competing in the Olympics, and competing at a very high level, that will more likely open some eyes.”

Seventy-five percent of the four-member U.S. women’s bobsled team is black. Led by Elana Meyers Taylor, the team is looking to improve upon the silver and bronze medals medals they won at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

The U.S. men’s bobsled team features Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, a former football star at the University of Virginia College at Wise, and Chris Kinney, a former GeorgetownUniversity track athlete.

Best of luck to Chris Kinney -my fellow Hoya! He is representing the USA and Georgetown on the 2018 Bobsled team! #hoyasaxa pic.twitter.com/8XOOQdrymG

— Patrick Ewing (@CoachEwing33) January 22, 2018

Speedskating legend Shani Davis returns for his fourth Winter Olympics. He’s joined by Erin Jackson, the first African-American female U.S. long track speedskating Olympian, and 18-year-old Maame Biney, the first black female U.S. short track Olympic contestant.

Jordan Greenway, a massive and massively-talented forward from Boston University, makes history as the first African-American to play for a U.S. Olympic ice hockey team. Carter is expecting big things from the 6-foot-5, 238-pound junior from Canton, New York.

“You don’t find too many players like him that are big and strong and fast,” Carter told me recently. “I don’t think it’s a token ‘Here, kid, come on to the team, we’re going to give you a chance. We’re going to try to get our black quota of players up just so we can put the story out there.’ That’s not how hockey works.”

“If you’re a black hockey player you have to be really good to play at the next level,” Carter added. “For a guy like Jordan to come and play on that team, that says a lot about his ability, that says a lot about his talent, that says a lot about how much respect he’s getting in the hockey community as a player who could be an impact player at the National Hockey League level.”

Embed from Getty Images

And the diversity in PyeongChang extends beyond the U.S. team. Jamaica is back with a bobsled team – the Caribbean island nation’s first women’s squad. They’ll be joined by the country’s first skeleton athlete.

Nigeria is in the house with its first Winter Olympics participants – a women’s bobsled team and a female skeleton athlete.

Final race before the Olympics! You can watch it LIVE at 9:15 am EST https://t.co/skENdsBHJ6 pic.twitter.com/fAQBw5C3Re

— Jamaica Bobsled Team (@Jambobsled) January 20, 2018

Not only are Seun Adigun, Akuoma Omeoga, and Ngozi Onwumere the first Olympic bobsled athletes for an African country, but they're also the first people to ever represent Nigeria at the Winter Olympics. https://t.co/Q82EbMFgEY

— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) January 26, 2018

Ghana also has an Olympian in skeleton, a sport where athletes zoom face-down on a twisting, frozen concrete track.

Ghana's @FrimpongAkwasi & Nigeria's @SimiSleighs make #WinterOlympics history by becoming Africa's first male and female skeleton sports athletes. They will be competing in February 2018 at #PyeongchangWinterOlympics in #South Korea. pic.twitter.com/iRDzzOHCBo

— F9 Sports 🇳🇬 (@F9SportsNG) January 25, 2018

I’m in South Korea this month covering the 2018 Winter Olympics for McClatchy Newspapers. In addition, you’ll be able to catch me occasionally on NPR. I’ll be talking Winter Olympics with host Michel Martin this Sunday on NPR’s “All ThingsConsidered” weekend edition.

Winter Olympics won’t be #OlympicsSoWhite #Olympics @williamgdouglas:https://t.co/hK2zUhza9H

— David Lightman (@LightmanDavid) February 3, 2018

So give a read and a listen. In the meantime, here are some of the folks who are adding a splash of color to the Winter Olympics.

Just 18 years old, Maame Biney is the United States’ first black female Olympic short track speedskater.

Erin Jackson skated into the history books when she became the first African-American woman to qualify for the Winter Olympics in long track speedskating (Photo/US Speedskating John Kleba).

The U.S. Women’s Bobsled National Team. Left to Right, Kehri Jones, Brittany Reinbolt, Aja Evans, Lauren Gibbs, Elana Meyers Taylor, Jamie Greubel Poser, Lolo Jones, and Briauna Jones. Evans, Gibbs, Meyers Taylor, and Greubel Poser will operate two U.S. bobsleds at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Briauna Jones will be a backup in PyeongChang (Photo/Molly Choma/USA Bobsled & Skeleton).

North Carolina’s Kimani Griffin will make his Olympic debut in long track speedskating (Photo/US Speedskating/John Kleba).

Shani Davis is competing in his fourth Winter Olympics. He’s won two gold and two silver medals in his Olympic career. (Photo/Harry E. Walker).

Introducing #TeamCunningham #qualified ✔️ #TeamUSA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/1pXQHpOGH8

— USA Bobsled Skeleton (@USBSF) January 17, 2018

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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