Alvin A. Reid

With the World Cup nearing its June kickoff, the United States still lacks a strong Black presence on high school and college soccer teams. In a sport dominated by Black and brown players internationally, America’s Olympic and World Cup teams remain overwhelmingly white. I am hesitant to call American soccer “elitist,” but the nation’s best […]

Had St. Louis landed an NBA franchise during his lifetime, Ray Hartmann, who died in a car accident last week, would have covered the team like a blanket. As he did with the Riverfront Times in the late 1970s, Hartmann likely would have created his own publication. He would have been its reporter, columnist, statistician […]

I find it difficult to celebrate the statistics I’m about to share with you. But Major League Baseball seems ready to throw a party. According to MLB’s breakdown, 6.8% of players on Opening Day rosters were Black. That’s less than two players per team on average, and it includes players on the injured list. On […]

May means everything in the world of IndyCar racing, with the Indianapolis 500 capping a month of testing and preparation. The month is critical for INDY NXT drivers as well, including 25-year-old Black driver Myles Rowe. Rowe had an up-and-down performance during the two Grand Prix of Indianapolis races last weekend at the historic track. […]

It is a bit earlier than Memorial Day, the date I first judge the St. Louis Cardinals or any Major League Baseball team on outlook for the season, but let’s give it a shot. The Cardinals are legitimate. As of Monday, the team was eight games over .500 and trailed the first-place Chicago Cubs by […]

Sports, from youth leagues, to recreational, to college, to pro are ways to escape the political and social turmoil that grips our nation. Team A against Team B should have a path clear of Black against white, red against blue, them against us. But the rules governing this game have changed. The national NAACP, with […]

If New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart didn’t realize introducing President Donald Trump during a Republican candidates’ political rally on May 22, 2026, would elicit a sour reaction from some teammates, he is truly naïve. After being immediately called out on social media by Giants linebacker Abdul Carter, Dart tried to distance himself from his […]

“Every church, every Saturday, every community.” With that mission statement, the Grill to Glory movement initiated by the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and several churches six years ago has grown to more than 350 churches. “We have gone from 12 churches to 22, to 65, to 112, to over 250 last year. This […]

Myles Rowe shifted shattering disappointment into historic success during his weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. While he posted the fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s Indy NXT Firestone race late Saturday afternoon, he missed a track steward’s order to slow his pace and leave the course after two laps. “It was a […]

Lewis Hamilton won his first Formula One race and a drivers’ championship with McLaren before moving to Mercedes and becoming the sport’s most dominant driver for more than a decade. When Hamilton joined Ferrari two seasons ago, many expected him to add another championship to his résumé. Immediate success proved elusive, with a bewildered Hamilton […]