The Starting Five

(Rob Carr/ Getty Images)

Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West squad has advanced to the championship game of the Little League World Series.

The fantastic run of South Side Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League baseball team has taken them to the championship game of the 2014 Little League World Series. Today, the Jackie Robinson West All-Stars defeated the team from Las Vegas, Nevada 7-5 and will face South Korea in Sunday’s final.

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(DMVFollowers)

Robert Griffin III has to put a tumultuous 2013 behind him.

Make the Leap. Progress from run of the mill to remarkable. From uninspiring to unforgettable. From throwaway to thrust into the forefront. The 2014-2015 NFL Season will unveil the stars and excitement we  have come to expect from the autumn beginning of Professional Football. None the less, there are many questions that need to be answered. Here are three teams with legit chances at making the playoffs this year, based solely on roster moves in the off season and a solid year from their starting quarterback.

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Ashahed on left. Here pictured with our man NYOIL. 

In the second part of my conversation with Ashahed, we talk Hip Hop and specifically Jay Electronica…

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This image will be an iconic reminder of  how the people of Ferguson, MO, responded to Mike Brown’s cold blooded killing. 

A few things I think I know about the police violence and Black protest in Ferguson, MO. First, when Black people are the victims of police brutality and murder, it is the murderers who are humanized and the Blacks who are dehumanized. There is a strange equivocation where the same rhetoric is used to exonerate one group of people (the police), while denigrating another (Black people). You all know the rhetoric; on the one hand it speaks of “flawed individuals” in police departments everywhere – but especially in areas with a large Black demographic. Racist people who happen to be police officers and thus they are able to practice their personal prejudice and racism with power and impunity. Thankfully, so the rhetoric goes, these racist cops are in the minority, and thus not representative of the police force as a whole, which is full of “good” people who are simply trying to do their jobs.

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The NBA might have a public relations problem on its hands…

This week, the NBA came down quite hard on the Toronto Raptors. The league fined the team $25,000 for tampering allegations.

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Black Mamba and the King both have returns that will be much publicized.

NBA TV will televise 97 live games during the 2014-15 regular season with the league’s biggest stars and top teams in action including up to nine appearances by the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan, the Cleveland Cavaliers and four-time league MVP LeBron James, the Oklahoma City Thunder and 2014 NBA MVP award winner Kevin Durant, the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose, the Los Angeles Clippers and Chris Paul, the L.A. Lakers and 16-time NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant, the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade, the Houston Rockets and Dwight Howard and the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry.

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Leornard!

TNT to Feature Marquee Primetime Christmas & MLK Day Doubleheaders. Network’s 53-Game Regular Season Schedule to Showcase NBA’s Biggest Stars with Multiple Appearances by League’s Top Teams.

Turner Sports, entering its 31^st consecutive year of NBA coverage, will feature a 53-game schedule during the 2014-15 NBA regular season including 10 appearances on TNT by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, nine appearances by the Los Angeles Clippers, L.A. Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, seven appearances by the San Antonio Spurs and six appearances by the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.  TNT will televise 19 Thursday night NBA doubleheaders during the regular season.

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There are certain moments in life that you immediately know could alter the course of history (or in this case, NBA history). You’ll be able to recall where you were during these moments for a long time. The latest moment is the gruesome breaking of Indiana Pacers star Paul George’s leg last Friday during a Team USA scrimmage.

I was in Boston for the NABJ Convention when George’s injury occurred.  I had the game on while getting ready for the Sports Task Force Jam; a party thrown by sports media members. It was hard to bring myself to leave for the party, since it meant missing the rest of the game. Especially with Derrick Rose looking like he was back in his 2011 form. But, I eventually made my way out.

A little later, I was in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel with Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com and some other friends, and I waited for them to hit the ATM before we got in our cab. We look over at the TV that was showing the game, and all we saw was George lying on the baseline; then we saw the looks of awe and terror painted on the faces of his teammates; then we saw the stretcher come out.

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Win now or cry later?

I’ll speak on it in the comments.

(USAToday.com)

DeMarcus Cousins survived the first series of cuts for Team USA.

Before Paul George’s leg injury became the story of the Team USA/FIBA tryouts, word in the camp was Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins could be cut in favor of Brooklyn Nets center Mason Plumlee.

If Cousins fails to make the roster, the only ones to blame are those who continue to cast his rising star into utter darkness.

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The Los Angeles Lakers recently hired Byron Scott as their latest head coach. This comes after the Mike D’Antoni era in LA — that lasted a little under two seasons and ended with his resignation. This is Scott’s fourth head coaching position — following stops with the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to working the sidelines, Scott played 11 seasons with the Lakers and averaged 15 points. He made up half of the Showtime back court alongside Magic Johnson that won three championships in the mid and late ’80′s. VP of basketball operations Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak have done a good job hiring a guy who “knows what it means to be a Laker,” which seems to be important to them. They also succeeded in hiring a guy loved by long time Lakers fans, so this means everything will trend skyward as they recover from an out-of-character 27-win season, right? No. This pairing is not a sure thing, and Byron Scott will become the third straight non-interim Laker coach scooped off the scrap heap filled with other team’s throwaways.

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(Extratime.ul.com)

Despite landing a championship with the Phillies, Ryan Howard may be bidding Philadelphia farewell.

In ten seasons, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has done it all, winning Rookie of the Year in 2005 and National League MVP in 2006. Despite the lofty accolades, Howard’s greatest professional accomplishment came as the Phillies ended a 25-year championship drought by winning the 2008 World Series.

Howard is healthy again after two injury-plagued seasons, but with an aging roster and questionable personnel moves, the once elite slugger on a fast track to Cooperstown may be playing his final weeks in Phillies pinstripes

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(Stephan R. Sylvanie/USA Today)

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George is carted off the court at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center.

All Star forward Paul George seriously injured his right leg contesting a lay up by James Harden at the 9:33 mark of the fourth quarter in the first Team USA scrimmage at the Thomas and Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski immediately called and end to the scrimmage and addressed the stunned crowd after George was rushed to the hospital.

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Airs: July 26th, 2014 8:30 pm ET.

On the 42nd edition of The Starting Five Live, Michael Tillery talks with writer/director Cole Wiley about his movie After the Storm.

After the Storm is an important film.

It’s the story of a fateful journey of survival and follows a young boy who must overcome the loss of his home and family to the destructive wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

We also discuss his father, legendary sports writer Ralph Wiley and also Spike Lee.

Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the show.

Parts 1 & 2 after the jump.

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In part 1, I had an interesting conversation with the ESPN columnist and author that aired on RAPstation Radio 7/19/14.

Access it here for context.

Part 2 is below. Follow Howard on twitter. Thanks for listening. I enjoyed the entirety of this interview. Please comment. – Michael Tillery

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