A journey that spanned more than two decades reached a joyful moment last month with the release of the film “Sweetwater,” which tells the story of Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the second African American player to sign an NBA contract. The film, written and directed by Martin Guigui, covers Clifton’s journey from a star with the Harlem Globetrotters to his historic career with the New York Knicks.

In the mid-1990s, Guigui, an acclaimed musician, composer, and producer, was in his car, listening to a Knicks game on the radio. “The idea just hit me,” he said. “I love stories I’ve never heard about before. I asked myself, ‘Who was the Jackie Robinson of basketball?’”

His research took him to libraries, particularly at Columbia University, which Guigui was told had extensive historical archives related to New York City. On a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, he discovered the 1989 NBA Encyclopedia, which referred to three players: Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Clifton. 

“I met with journalist Pete Hamill, who shared a plethora of information related to this story and it kept pointing at the NBA and the team owners battling in the late 1940s to break the color line,” Guigui said. “It also pointed to Joe Lapchick (coach of the Knicks, 1947–56). I did more research and I was able to track down Dr. Richard Lapchick, Joe’s son, and he shared incredible stories. I was a sponge.”

Clifton died in 1990, but Guigui spoke to Lloyd about that time in the early 1950s. Cooper’s widow and son also provided information, as did Clifton’s daughter. “As soon as I had enough material, I felt it was more of a cultural story than a basketball story. That’s when I decided this is meant for cinema,” Guigui said. 

He wrote a preliminary treatment in 1996 and the first draft of the script in the early 2000s. The final script went through 62 drafts as the project garnered interest over the past two decades, but it took until 2022 for it to actually be filmed. 

Actor Everett Osbourne plays Clifton. In his initial audition tape, he dressed and moved like Clifton. He subsequently proved his acting chops and connection to the role. 

“We received hundreds of submissions, including NBA players, former NBA players, and wonderful actors,” Guigui said. “I felt it had to be a physical and a spiritual connection. It had to either be an athlete who had acting chops or a talented actor who could really play basketball. I didn’t want a stand-in or a stunt double…Everett was meant to be.”

The post Sweetwater chronicles pivotal time in basketball history appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

The Mets’ 5-3 victory over their National League East rival Atlanta Braves on Monday night was just their third win in the previous eight games. They began a three-game series on the road on Tuesday night versus the Detroit Tigers with a record of 16-13. The second-place Mets were three games behind the 19-10 first-place Braves in the NL East. They dropped the opener of Monday’s day-night against Atlanta  9-8. 

Due to heavy rain this past weekend, the Mets’ scheduled games against the Braves on Saturday and Sunday were canceled. Their current struggles are the result of underwhelming starting pitching and inadequate production from players such as outfielders Mark Canha and Starling Marte. Meanwhile, the Mets’ highly touted rookies, Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez, are trying to find their way in the big leagues. 

In Monday’s loss, Denyi Reyes started Game 1 for the Mets and pitched only one inning after giving up five earned runs—three on a home run by Braves catcher Sean Murphy. The Mets’ bullpen tried to keep the team in the game but in the top of the seventh, reliever Jeff Brigham gave up Murphy’s second three-run homer, which extended the Braves lead 9-5. The Mets went on to win the nightcap as starter Tylor Megill did just enough, allowing four hits and three earned runs in 5.2 innings.

After the game, good news came when it was announced that 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander will make his Mets debut tonight versus the Tigers, the team with which he broke into Major League Baseball in 2005 after being drafted by the Tigers with the second overall pick in 2004. Starter Max Scherzer was scheduled to return last night after serving a 10-game suspension for having what was deemed an illegal substance on his glove in his last start on April 19. 

The Mets will come back to Citi Field this weekend to host the Colorado Rockies for three games and travel to Cincinnati to face the Reds next Tuesday through Thursday.

The Yankees lost three out of four games against the Texas Rangers on the road last Thursday through Sunday, where they were outscored 24-8, the most lopsided coming on Sunday afternoon as starter Nestor Cortes delivered his worst start of his Yankee career. The 2022 All-Star went 4.2 innings, surrendering seven runs, including three home runs in a 15-2 bashing.

The Yankees began a three-game series Monday in the Bronx, playing the Cleveland Guardians with a 3-2 defeat—their fourth in a row. Righty Domingo German was stellar, pitching an 8.1 inning gem, holding the Guardians to one run on two hits. But reliever Clay Holmes couldn’t hold the 2-0 advantage and Cleveland scored three runs in the top of the ninth. 

On the same day, as if being in last place in the AL East wasn’t bad enough, the Yankees placed last year’s American League MVP Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list due to a hip strain. Conversely, the team activated outfielder Harrison Bader. The 28-year-old Bronxville (Westchester County) native injured his left oblique in spring training on March 8 and had been recovering since. 

The Yankees went into Tuesday night’s game with a record of 15-15.

The post Mets and Yankees find wins hard to secure appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Back when the now 38-year-old LeBron James was younger, he attended one of Stephen Curry’s games while the future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer was playing for Davidson College. James, forever the historian and visionary, knew then that Curry was different. Their mutual respect and admiration began to take shape. James was already a superstar, averaging 30 points per game at only 23 during the 2007–08 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Curry was a deadly marksman who put Davidson on the map during the 2008 NCAA Tournament, carrying them to the Elite Eight as a 10th seed.

“Wasn’t some kid to me!” James tweeted in December 2019, recalling the day. “I knew he was SPECIAL that’s why I went to see it up close and personal.”

Today, 15 years later, the approbation continues. “He puts in the work,” James said of Curry this past Monday, one day before his No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers were set to play the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal at the Chase Center in San Francisco. “And when you put in the work, nine times out of 10, you’re going to see results. And he’s done that through his entire career.”

James said he has “nothing but the utmost respect” for Curry and “everything he’s been able to accomplish, not only on the floor, but also off the floor, too—it’s great to have people like that in this league, setting an example for the generation to come.”

This is the sixth time James and Curry have met in the postseason. They have battled four times  in the NBA Finals when James was a Cavalier and once in the 2021 Play-in Tournament. Overall, Curry holds a 15-8 edge over James in postseason play after the Lakers’ dramatic 117-112 victory to open this postseason series, led by forward Anthony Davis’s 30 points and 23 rebounds.

Curry topped the Warriors with 27 but shot just 10-24 and James had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Given the familiarity James has with Golden State, the Lakers stealing Game 1 on the road was unsurprising. “One of the first things I learned about LeBron the first time we played him in the [2015] Finals was just how smart he was,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr earlier this week. “Coming out of timeouts, he knew what we were doing.”

The series has the makings of being a classic as well as nostalgic, and is filled with irony.  James and Curry were both born  at Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio; James in 1984 and the 35-year-old Curry in 1988. Warriors guard Klay Thompson is going up against his father’s (Mychal Thompson) old team. James and Warriors forward Draymond Green are not only close friends, but business partners.

On the surface, there’s no bad blood. However, that could change as the series unfolds.

The post Lakers vs. Warriors Part 6 gets off to dramatic start appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

The Jets and Giants are clutching Super Bowl aspirations. Both teams took major steps forward last season. The Jets fielded one of the league’s best defenses and although they finished last in the competitive AFC East with a record of 7-10, they were, by most close observers of the NFL, simply missing a capable quarterback to be a serious championship threat.

They filled that need by acquiring four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers last Monday, three days ahead of the annual draft. Then on draft night, the Jets improved an already formidable defense by selecting edge rusher Will McDonald IV from Iowa State with the 15th pick.
“This is a surreal day for me. After spending 18 years in the same city, it’s been a lot of introductions today and meeting a lot of people, but there’s a lot of excitement,” said Rodgers at his inaugural Jets press conference last Wednesday at the team’s facilities in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“I’m here because I believe in this team, I believe in [head] coach [Robert] Saleh, I believe in the direction of [general manager] Joe Douglas. Obviously, he’s drafted well in recent years, having the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.”
Rodgers, who will turn 40 in December, somewhat quipped, “I’m an old guy, so I want to be part of a team that can win it all, and I believe that this is a place we can get that done.”
The Giants made the playoffs for the first time since 2016 last season. They were 9-7-1, third in the NFC East and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in a wildcard game before losing 38-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round. They addressed three areas of need in the draft by taking University of Maryland defensive back Deonte Banks with the 24th pick in the first round, offensive lineman Michael Schmitz in the second round (No. 57) and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt from the University of Tennessee in Round 3 (No. 73).
“I feel like I’ve got a mentality just for me to try to be better at every play,” said 6-foot-1-inch, 197-pound Banks about his style of playing cornerback. “I try to be aggressive, and I try to use my superpower, which is my physicality.”
The Jets and Giants will meet in the 2023 regular season at their shared home, MetLife Stadium, at a date that will be revealed when the full NFL schedule is released later this month.  

The post The Jets and Giants build on Super Bowl aspirations appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here