Branson Wright
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Filmmaker. Producer of HBO's Women of Troy, King of the Block on Prime and Apple TV and the upcoming series Finding The Underdog.
Articles by Branson Wright
From Senegal to Cleveland, Khalifa Diop living his basketball dream
CLEVELAND — A 14-year-old Khalifa Diop gripped the armrests of his airplane seat as the jet lifted off the runway in his native Senegal. Somewhere beyond the clouds was Spain, a country far from everything he knew, where a new life awaited. “I was scared,” Diop remembered. “The [flight attendant] gave me food, but I couldn’t eat. That plane ride wasn’t easy for me.” It was Diop’s first plane ride and his first trip away from his family of 12.
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson is a modern baseball outlier
CLEVELAND — Call Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson a throwback. In a game obsessed with launch angles, exit velocity and home runs, Simpson is making his mark by putting the ball in play, hitting for average and using elite speed to create havoc on the basepaths. That style carried Simpson to the major leagues and through a regular season in which he hit .306, led the American League with 46 stolen bases and became a Gold Glove finalist.
Will Venable: the White Sox manager who used basketball tactics to transform a baseball loser
Will Venable played basketball at college before embarking on his MLB career. Photograph: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images The postgame celebration songs pounded through the Bluetooth speakers in the Chicago White Sox clubhouse on Monday night, minutes after the team’s playoff victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. The White Sox, who lost 121 games two seasons ago, have made a remarkable turnaround.
Will Venable: the White Sox manager who used basketball tactics to transform a baseball loser
The postgame celebration songs pounded through the Bluetooth speakers in the Chicago White Sox clubhouse on Monday night, minutes after the team’s playoff victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. The White Sox, who lost 121 games two seasons ago, have made a remarkable turnaround. A team who were once so abject that they stopped tweeting out their results are now just five wins from the World Series.
Cleveland Guardians outfielder Jo Adell finds himself on path less chosen
CLEVELAND — The rhythm of postgame music pierced the clubhouse doors at Progressive Field, setting the soundtrack for another Cleveland Guardians victory celebration Saturday. By the time the media entered, eye black was still visible on Jo Adell‘s face after he hit two doubles to lead the Guardians past the San Diego Padres. It was another productive night for a player settling into a new uniform and, finally, into himself. That journey has taken time.
NBA MVP award’s international dominance has made James Harden a trivia answer
CLEVELAND — Tell a random NBA executive or even a plugged-in fan that Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden is the last American to win the league’s MVP award, and the first response isn’t debate — it’s disbelief. “Are you serious?” “No way.” Then comes the pause. The mental recall. And the realization that, somehow, it’s true. “I guess I haven’t been paying much attention, because that’s shocking,” said Chet Mason, an assistant coach for USA Basketball junior national team since 2019.
Ohio State’s Arvell Reese arrives at NFL draft with a community behind him
CLEVELAND — Eight years ago, Maeko Walker was in her usual place on a fall Friday night: in the stands at a high school football game, ringing her cowbell and cheering on her son Alex. Then everything went dark. “I had a stroke,” Walker said. “Doctors told my family I wasn’t going to make it.” Her youngest son, Arvell Reese, was home when he got the call. By the time the eighth-grader got to the hospital to see his mom, the game he loved and dreamed about no longer mattered.
Ohio State’s Arvell Reese arrives at NFL draft with a community behind him
4 days ago Another week of United Football League action brought more news involving former members of the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Following Columbus Aviators head coach Ted Ginn Jr. being charged with driving while intoxicated, former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley stepped in as acting coach during Week …
Texas Western’s historic 1966 NCAA tournament title team still telling its story
For six decades, America has remembered Texas Western University’s men’s basketball victory over the University of Kentucky as a seminal racial moment in sports. What often gets lost is how badly the Miners were misread. Before the NCAA title game on March 19, 1966, some in the majority-white press reduced coach Don Haskins’ team to a stereotype. History, too, has often molded the Miners into a symbol.
Texas Western’s historic 1966 NCAA tournament title team still telling its story
Carolina Panthers’ newly signed center had a ‘big decision’ to make before the NFL He’s speaking in jest, right? He must be. And yet, just as Luke Fortner is about to conclude a story from his days playing the baritone in his middle …
Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau refuses to be defined by limitations
Michelle Cadeau sat outside the soundproof booth watching her 4-year-old son through the glass. An audiologist tested what a school nurse had flagged days earlier when she could not get a reading from Elliot’s right ear. Michelle hoped the specialist would reach a different finding. Inside the booth, the doctor asked Elliot to repeat a variety of words. Then the doctor covered his left ear. “I could hear her through the window,” Michelle recalls. “She says ‘football’ and he didn’t respond.
How NFL draft prospect Jordyn Tyson can make history with his brother in Cleveland
CLEVELAND — A series of injuries tried to derail wide receiver Jordyn Tyson’s football career. A devastating knee injury finished most of his 2023 season at the University of Colorado. A broken collarbone at Arizona State sidelined him late in 2024 and cost him the postseason. A hamstring issue cut into the latter part of last season. Each time, the setbacks piled up. Each time, Tyson came back.
‘This city shows up': Cleveland Heights celebrates Laila Edwards's historic Olympic gold
About 75 residents packed the Cleveland Heights Community Center on Thursday afternoon to watch the Winter Olympic women's ice hockey final. They crowded around a big screen with eyes locked on Team USA – and on one of their own, Cleveland Heights native Laila Edwards. For once, the tension in the room wasn't the familiar Cleveland sports dread. It was the kind that comes with watching a hometown kid play for something bigger.
‘This city shows up’: Cleveland Heights celebrates Laila Edwards’s historic Olympic gold
Laila Edwards was part of the US side that beat Canada in a thrilling Olympic final on Thursday. Photograph: Petr David Josek/AP About 75 residents packed the Cleveland Heights Community Center on Thursday afternoon to watch the Winter Olympic women’s ice hockey final. They crowded around a big screen with eyes locked on Team USA – and on one of their own, Cleveland Heights native Laila Edwards. For once, the tension in the room wasn’t the familiar Cleveland sports dread.
‘I'm battling Father Time': LeBron James reflective and tearful in possible Cleveland farewell
A 60-second tribute video honoring LeBron James has become routine over the past eight years whenever he returns to Cleveland, the city where his NBA journey began. But Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was different – and it felt that way long before James's Los Angeles Lakers fell, 129-99 to the Cavaliers in a nationally televised game. For the first time, James struggled to contain his emotions .
40 years on, did Proposition 48 protect US college sports - or punish Black athletes?
Tony Rice led Notre Dame to a national title but it was a long road. Photograph: Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images Tony Rice noticed the looks and smirks during his first week of freshman classes in the fall of 1986 at Notre Dame. He had accepted his fate a few months earlier when standardized test results led to the decision that he would not be eligible to participate in collegiate sports his freshman year. But nothing prepared him for this. “People were looking at me,” Rice says.
Black Sports Moms is equipping, empowering parents and athletes
Andrea Odom doesn’t hesitate when asked what sparked the idea she now hopes becomes a movement. The moment arrived just before the 2023 Major League Baseball draft, as agents began recruiting her son, Dylan Campbell of the University of Texas, and it came with a hard lesson her family didn’t expect to learn. “We had to fire an agent who didn’t deliver on what he promised,” said Odom, a mother of three, who manages public relations for The Odom Consulting Group in Houston.
30 years later, Central State remains the last HBCU to win a national title in football
During the spring of 2023, a group of former football players gathered on Central State University’s field to receive gleaming championship rings, a bittersweet culmination to a journey that began nearly three decades prior. “It was exhilarating seeing all of those guys,” David Henson, the team’s defensive leader, told Andscape. “Some of us hadn’t seen each other since ’95. It was one big reunion.
The NBA’s dress code was seen as policing Black culture. Instead it inspired a fashion revolution
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The NBA’s dress code was seen as policing Black culture. Instead it inspired a fashion revolution
Lonzo Ball’s froze in confusion. The question – “What do you think about the NBA dress code?” – hung in the air for a second before he cracked a sheepish grin. “There’s a dress code?” he said, smiling. Advertisement Twenty years after the introduction of a rule that once roiled the league and ignited a culture war over image and identity, one of the NBA’s current players didn’t even know it existed.
Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart has fallen in love with farming
Detroit Pistons power forward Isaiah Stewart’s sweat-soaked shirt glistens in the thick humidity and clings to his frame as he toils for hours — tilling, clearing and nurturing the brown dirt on his farm tucked among the rolling hills of Temecula, California. It’s a far cry from the polished hardwood floors of an NBA arena. Yet there’s nowhere the 6-foot-8 Stewart would rather be.
NFL bets big on Saudi Arabia with Tom Brady-led flag football showcase
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NFL bets big on Saudi Arabia with Tom Brady-led flag football showcase
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
NFL bets big on Saudi Arabia with Tom Brady-led flag football showcase
The National Football League is making a significant move to raise its global profile after years of struggling to expand beyond its domestic roots. The league announced last week that the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, headlined by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, will take place on 21 March 2026, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Lonzo Ball brings perseverance to Cleveland Cavaliers after years of injury
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ask Kenny Atkinson about what newly acquired point guard Lonzo Ball brings to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the team’s second-year head coach struggles to capture it fully — at least in English. “He has that je ne sais quoi,” Atkinson said, smiling. “He just has that feel. I’m excited that he could be the guy that pushes us to the next level.” For Ball, 27, this season represents a fresh start and an opportunity to reestablish himself as one of the NBA’s most dynamic guards.
ミゲル「シルキー・スムーズ」ゴンザレス──テレンス・クロフォードに最後に勝った男
RingMagazine.com |4時間前 オハイオ州クリーブランド──鈍い音を響かせながらサンドバッグを打つ革の音、リング上でスパーリングする選手たちの声。その頭上を突き抜けるように、指導の声がこだまする。その声は、ポスターがはがれかけた地下室の壁に反響する。そこはクリーブランド市街地から程近いオハイオ・シティ、トリニティ・ルーテル教会の地下にある「オールド・アングル・ジム」という質素なボクシングジムである。 ここは、ミゲル「シルキー・スムーズ」ゴンザレスが人生の大半を過ごしてきた場所である。父ソニーの厳しい眼差しのもとでボクシングを学び、全米有数のアマチュア選手へと成長し、さらに2019年のラストファイトまでに29戦25勝を挙げるプロキャリアを築いたのもこの場所であった。 現在もゴンザレスはこの地下ジムで日々を過ごし、次世代のクリーブランドの選手たちに自身の知識を伝えている。しかし、彼の過去には、どれだけ年月が経とうとも色褪せない物語がある。...
The last man to win a fight with Terence Crawford
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The instructions echo loud enough over the dull thud of leather on heavy bags and above the combatants sparing in the ring. Those same commands bounce off the poster-tattered basement walls of Old Angle Gym, a humble boxing space tucked beneath Trinity Lutheran Church in Ohio City, an ear shot from downtown Cleveland. This has been home for Miguel “Silky Smooth” Gonzalez for most of his life.
As Indiana Fever grapple with injuries, Kelsey Mitchell remains their go-to player
The Indiana Fever looked buried last Sunday against the Connecticut Sun, and defeat seemed inevitable. Down by 21 in the third quarter, losers of four of their last five games and reeling from yet another injury to one of their guards, they watched as one of the WNBA’s most prolific scorers struggled to get going. Then, like so many times before, Kelsey Mitchell happened.
Shedeur Sanders brings positivity to Cleveland community after tragedy
CLEVELAND – With little resistance, small children and young teens easily squeezed through the loose cluster of security and video crew members to snap quick selfies with Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Over the course of four hours on Wednesday evening, nearly 1,000 residents of the Garden Valley Apartments on the southeast side of Cleveland gathered for a family-friendly charitable event sponsored by Sanders.
Gresham Park comes alive as the sun sets over southeast Atlanta. Smoke rises from barbecue grills, Kendrick Lamar and SZA pulse through speakers, and the baseball fields are packed with Black youth chasing fly balls, hitting line drives and laughing under the lights. Scenes like this are almost mythical in most American cities, where Black children have all but vanished from baseball fields. But here in Atlanta, the game is not only alive, it’s thriving and vibrant. This didn’t happen by chance.
Welcome to Atlanta: MLB All-Star Weekend descends on hotbed of Black baseball talent
Gresham Park comes alive as the sun sets over southeast Atlanta. Smoke rises from barbecue grills, Kendrick Lamar and SZA pulse through speakers, and the baseball fields are packed with Black youth chasing fly balls, hitting line drives and laughing under the lights. Scenes like this are almost mythical in most American cities, where Black children have all but vanished from baseball fields. But here in Atlanta, the game is not only alive, it’s thriving and vibrant. This didn’t happen by chance.
Iga Swiatek reaches first Wimbledon semifinal in straight sets
Iga Swiatek, four of whose five Grand Slam titles have come on clay at Roland Garros, advanced to her first Wimbledon semifinal Wednesday by defeating 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 on No. 1 Court. The 24-year-old Swiatek, who won the girls' singles title at Wimbledon in 2018, becomes the fourth active women's player to reach the semifinals at all four majors, joining Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova.
Former top-10 player Fabio Fognini announces retirement
LONDON -- Former top-10 player Fabio Fognini announced his retirement from professional tennis on Wednesday at Wimbledon, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-setter on Day 1 of the tournament last week. The 38-year-old Italian pushed two-time defending champion Alcaraz for more than 4 1/2 hours before coming out on the wrong end of the 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 score in the fortnight's first match at Centre Court.
Taylor Fritz credits girlfriend amid run to Wimbledon semifinals
Morgan knows best, apparently. Taylor Fritz thought the motivational note he wrote to himself after losing at Wimbledon four years ago would stay private. His girlfriend, influencer Morgan Riddle, later shared it on social media. "That note was never supposed to be public," a smiling Fritz said after his 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) win over Karen Khachanov set up a semifinal meeting with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Carlos Alcaraz cruises past Cam Norrie, into Wimbledon semis
Carlos Alcaraz continued his march toward a third straight Wimbledon title, breezing past local hope Cameron Norrie in straight sets Tuesday to reach the semifinals at the All England Club. Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, earned his 23rd consecutive match win, extending the longest streak of his tour-level career. It's the longest tour-level win streak by any man age 22 or younger since Juan Martin del Potro's 23-match win in 2008 from Stuttgart to the US Open as a 19-year-old.
50 years later, Arthur Ashe’s historic Wimbledon victory still inspiring
On July 5, 1975, Wimbledon witnessed its first all-American singles final in nearly three decades, as defending champion Jimmy Connors faced Arthur Ashe. The match was also historic because Ashe became the first Black man to compete in a Wimbledon singles final — the world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament.
At 2025 NBA draft, Wisconsin forward John Tonje can complete an unlikely journey
Wisconsin forward John Tonje easily smiles when he reflects on his unlikely journey as a mediocre-at-best high school freshman to a projected second-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Predicting Tonje’s current position back then would have been scoffed at. Now, Tonje is getting the last laugh. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round (53rd overall) Thursday.
‘It’s his time’: Hunter Greene joins special group as Black starting pitcher on MLB Opening Day
What started as a beautiful summer day in Los Angeles for Little League Baseball changed immediately when an older fan uttered a racial slur about an 8-year-old shortstop playing a position the fan assumed was reserved for his grandson. “He says, ‘Who’s the [N-word] at shortstop,’” recalled Russell Greene, whose son, Hunter, was the shortstop. “It was loud enough that everyone heard it, and no one said anything.
George Foreman changed his persona and made boxing history
The first iteration of George Edward Foreman was posed as the second-coming of the contemptuous former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Liston, a terror in boxing before losing his title to Muhammad Ali in 1964, was an ex-con and bouncer for the mob. And once Liston’s former trainer took on Foreman, he pushed the same menacing philosophy onto his new fighter.
Twenty years later, Virginia Union is still one of NCAA basketball’s unique stories
Before dropping the mic became a thing, Virginia Union senior point guard Luqman Jaaber had his moment during Midnight Madness inside Barco-Stevens Hall, the home court of the Panthers. It didn’t matter that the start of the 2004-05 season was weeks away. Jaaber grasped the microphone and confidently proclaimed the Panthers would win the Division II national title. His comments did not spark an overwhelming response from the crowd. “They were a little shocked by what I said,” said Jaaber, now 44.
Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers is writing her own story
CLEVELAND — Maryland senior guard Shyanne Sellers was only seconds away from celebrating a record-setting night before an injury scare darkened the moment. As she lay on the court in tears while holding her right knee already in a brace due to an earlier sprain, her father, former NBA player Brad Sellers, shared in his daughter’s grief as he watched helplessly from the stands.
Historic Black Ohio community launches patrols after chasing neo-Nazis out of town
Members of a predominantly-Black community outside of Cincinnati are carrying guns and patrolling their neighborhoods after they chased out a group of neo-Nazis a few days ago. Since the Friday incident, which made national news, residents of the Lincoln Heights community have been meeting to figure out next steps because, they say, law enforcement did not respond as assertively as they would have liked.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball, died before Frank Robinson became Major League Baseball’s first Black manager for the Cleveland Indians on April 8, 1975. Frank Robinson’s managerial debut was a historic moment in a city accustomed to Black achievement. On July 5, 1947, Larry Doby became the first Black player in the American League and the second Black player in Major League Baseball when he took the field for the Indians.
Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley figures out his basketball role
CLEVELAND – When Cleveland Cavaliers center/forward Evan Mobley was a child, his mother Nicole Mobley was in a semi tug-of-war with her elementary school-aged son as they hurried through a venue to his basketball tournament. No matter how important his game was, Evan’s focus shifted to kids participating in the venue’s Rubik’s Cube convention. He was especially mesmerized by how quickly the kids were solving the cube’s puzzle.
Penn State offensive lineman Nick Dawkins got inspiration to help others from father
Penn State offensive lineman Nick Dawkins still feels the joy and hears his own youthful laughter whenever he reflects on the vivid memory of his late father swinging him and his sister in a cozy throw blanket. “We were so tiny, and he was so huge,” Dawkins said of his father Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins, who was listed at 6-feet-11 and more than 250 pounds during his 14 years in the NBA.
Cleveland embraces Bronny James the same way it did LeBron James
CLEVELAND — The collective chants began late in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James did his best acting job to maintain a cool demeanor before a sold-out Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd. “It was insane, much more than I anticipated, for sure,” he said after the Lakers’ 134-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. “It was a nice moment. The chants really got me. I was straight-faced, but I felt it. It felt really good, especially coming from here.
Ali-Foreman at 50: Rumble in the Jungle still about ‘what it did for the people’
“You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait until I whup George Foreman’s behind.” — Muhammad Ali Many events throughout history have captivated sports, but none garnered such worldwide attention as the heavyweight boxing championship bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman 50 years ago in Kinshasa, Zaire. The spectacle on Oct. 30, 1974, oozed with symbolism and Black Power never seen before in sports.
NC State guard Aziaha James elevates her game with inspiration from her late brother
CLEVELAND — Latoya Jackson-James will immediately recognize a familiar difference in her daughter, NC State guard Aziaha James, as she rises to another level on the basketball court. Jackson-James knows her daughter’s inspiration: the memory of her older brother, Ashley “AJ” James, who died in an accidental shooting four years ago. “I can feel my son’s presence when she plays,” Jackson-James said, “and knowing that he’s watching over her from heaven and cheering her every step along the way.
Players from first all-Black All-American women’s basketball team reflect on making history in 1984
1984 was packed with many firsts in women’s basketball. It was a year with a glimpse into the future of the game’s evolution, a year filled with special recognition. West Virginia center Georgeann Wells became the first woman to dunk a basketball in a collegiate game, the year Bertha Teague, Margaret Wade and Senda Berenson Abbott became the first women inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The USA women’s Olympic team won its first gold medal.
Former NFL player Terry Killens returns to Super Bowl as a referee
Nigel Madaris sensed something different this time. Through any achievement or honor, his childhood friend Terry Killens always maintained an even keel. “For the first time in any of his accomplishments, I could hear the excitement in his voice,” Madaris said.
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