Sports

When you visit the campus of Brandeis University these days, you feel the tension among current students when discussing the school’s basketball programs.

According to a 2020 survey by Running USA, only about 9% of runners are Black or African American. Among the ranks of long-distance runners, that number falls to just 3%. One local Boston group wants to increase those numbers by welcoming Black runners from all over the world with open arms.

Last week’s draft marked a historic moment in the National Football League. Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels — both winners of the coveted Heisman Trophy — became the first Black quarterbacks to be selected as the top two picks in pro football history.

When legal gambling on sports began to explode in the U.S., some critics said it was just a matter of time before athletes themselves were caught up in the billion-dollar business of wagering on contests.

More than three decades have passed since Tony Richards Sr. created a youth program to motivate urban athletes to new heights of scholastic achievement.

Friday’s Boston Celtics win over the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden was a sweet victory for the team, and a big moment of celebration for another group of basketball players, too.

As Dartmouth’s men’s basketball players take steps to become the nation’s first unionized college athletes, observers are weighing the potential impact on the decades-long movement to classify collegiate-level athletes as employees.

The 128th edition of the Boston Marathon played to the script as male and female runners of color continued the current trend of dominant performances in this event. Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia took the lead from the start of the race and completed his surprising wire-to-wire victory in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds.

This year marks the 128th running of the Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual long-distance race. For many Black running clubs and individual runners, this event is a culmination of months of training, sacrifice and community.

My history with the Boston Marathon dates to my freshman year at Boston University. I remember the newspaper and television reports leading up to the event. Out of pure curiosity, I got a firsthand look at the proceedings.

As the final seconds ticked down on the NCAA Division One Women’s Basketball Championship game, my overwhelming thought for the teams was, “Relief!” When the final buzzer sounded with South Carolina 87 and Iowa 75, I felt delighted for coach Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks team.

The start of the Major League Baseball season is always a good time to reflect on the beauty of the “Grand Old Game.”