Tag: dawn staley

  • can you name these three Black Sports Superwomen?

    can you name these three Black Sports Superwomen?


    Hint: first names (l. to r.) A’ja, Serena, Coach

    (thanks to Pretty for Twitter image)

    WNBA Gamecock superstar A’ja Wilson at statue unveiling

    (in front of Colonial Life Arena on MLK Day in 2021)

    Coach Dawn Staley statue unveiling 02-24-24 downtown Columbia

    (Gamecock women’s basketball coach won third national championship in 2024)

    Tennis GOAT Serena Williams at US Open Tournament in 2013

    Occasionally Pretty sends me an unforgettable image from her Twitter Scrolls – this one made my visual week highlights – three of my favorite Black women in sports.

    Good start to Celebration Sunday with National Championship Parade this afternoon! Go, Gamecocks!

  • Celebrate Good Times!


    What do weddings have in common with the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament championships?

    Ding, ding, ding – and the answer is The Daily Double or, in the case of the 2017 Lady Gamecocks, The Annual Triple. That’s right, Sports Fans. This year’s Lady Gs are the gifts that keep on giving – over the weekend they won their third straight SEC Tournament Championship much to the delight of 8,000 fans who drove 100 miles north from Columbia to Greenville, South Carolina which was the site of this year’s tournament.

    (By the way, my new best friend ESPN analyst Nell Fortner was in the stands for the final game Sunday afternoon and finally “came out” as a Gamecock fan after the game when she donned an official baseball cap for the SEC Champions. Nell, Yes!)

    A’ja Wilson and Kaela Davis made the All-tournament team and A’ja was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the week to add to her laurels as SEC Player of the Year for the regular season. You know what I love about her? Everything. She plays with grit and gusto, a never-say-quit spirit that inspires her teammates to focus and finish.

    As for the rest of the Lady Gamecocks, you know what I love about them? Everything.

    As for Coach Dawn Staley? How do I love thee – let me count the ways…

    Which brings me to the weddings. Saturday afternoon I skipped the semi-finals of the basketball tournament to attend another event that made my heart sing. Two young lesbians were married in a gorgeous ceremony attended by their biggest “fans,” the family and friends who promised to stand with them as they began their life together.

    The setting was a pastoral one outdoors on a lovely farm at sunset. As the colors in the sky changed from blue to shades of pink and red, the two brides exchanged their personal vows mixed with humor, promises to be faithful and most of all, to love. The smiles on their faces as they turned to walk down the aisle between the rows of white chairs and benches for the guests were, I’m sorry I can’t think of another word, radiant.

    The party afterwards was perfect with tons of food, drinks and be merry to the tune of live music in the farm’s version of a barn which was way too fancy for anything with four hooves. For sure everyone there had two feet – and most of them were dancing. One of my favorite moments was the first dances with the brides and their fathers…

    A wedding and a 3-peat SEC Championship – a beginning and a finish – both the best of times and causes for celebrations.

    Life is good.