Go With the Flo
Actor Bill Cosby was spotted in Manhattan on April 14. This is the first time the disgraced comedian has been seen in public since he was released from prison on June 30, 2021, according to the Daily Mail. The 85-year-old star of “The Cosby Show” walked with a cane along with an aide as they entered an office building in midtown Manhattan…..
“Act Your Age “ will return to Bounce on June 3 with two all-new episodes back-to-back starting at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT. The premieres kick off the second half of the 16-episode first season of “Act Your Age,” running weekly on Saturday nights through the summer. Kym Whitley, Tisha Campbell, along with special guest Yvette Nicole Brown star in the comedy about three vibrant, successful Washington D.C./Northern Virginia-area women in their 50s who are each at a personal crossroads and who decide the best way forward in life is together…
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens tied the knot at the 1910 Harris County Courthouse in Houston, Texas on April 21, multiple outlets report. “I do,” the Olympic great wrote on Instagram April 22, next to photos of the bride and groom at the small wedding ceremony. Owens commented, “Wifey got a great ring to it. First day of forever.” Biles was clad in a white, ruffled, halter gown. The Houston Texans NFL player sported a beige suit. Following this legal ceremony, the newlyweds were expected to head to the islands for a destination wedding….
Black Women Film Network (BWFN), celebrating 26 years of preserving the voices of Black women in film and television, announced the official selections for the annual BWFN Short Film Festival on May 6 at MODEX Studio in Atlanta, Georgia. The selections include “Unexpected,” which is produced by Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph; “Look Back At It,” “Summer,” “Welcome To Afro tree,” “Brief Exchanges” and more…
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Figure Skating in Harlem celebrates another successful year
A sellout crowd met and mingled with skating luminaries at “Celebrating Excellence & Sisterhood,” this year’s Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH) gala, held at Gotham Hall. Celebrities of the skating world at the event included the likes of Olympic Champions Scott Hamilton and Nathan Chen, along with other well-known skaters, current FSH participants and alumnae, and this year’s honorees.
Honorees were fashion icon Michael Kors; Crystal Barnes, senior vice president, social responsibility and environmental social and governance at Paramount; and FSH alumna Flo Ngala, a rising star in photography. FSH founder/CEO Sharon Cohen was not only thrilled with Ngala’s success, but impressed by how she ties it back her experiences with the organization.
Ngala became emotional in her speech, recalling how her mother and late father helped foster her love of skating and the importance of the nurturing she received from everyone at FSH.
“I stand before you filled with emotion and gratitude for an organization that literally means the world to me,” said Ngala, who earlier this year was named to the 30 Under 30 list by Forbes magazine. “While some see my career today as intriguing, I kind of joke about how it feels like a second life of sorts, simply due to immersive and empowering experience I received at FSH during my 12 years [in figure skating]. It’s a memory of the past that follows me everywhere I go.”
High school senior India Freeman joined FSH in her freshman year of high school, introduced to it by her cousins, who had been in the program since elementary school. “All of these doors opened up,” said Freeman, who is a Posse Scholar and will attend Franklin & Marshall College in the fall. “At first, I joined simply because I wanted to do the sport. Then, I found out about the community and the sisterhood. It’s everything in one program and it blew my mind completely.”
Halle Cespedes, now an 11th grader, joined FSH in sixth grade, missed two years during the pandemic, and rejoined this year. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I came back and I was immersed in all the programming and seeing the girls again,” she said. “Sisterhood is one of the big things.”
Eighth grader Aschah Jones loved the opportunities of career week.
Starr Andrews, who this year became the first Black female singles skater to medal at the U.S. Championships in 35 years, was on hand for the festivities. Andrews has been involved with FSH for several years, including performing a tribute to the late Mabel Fairbanks at one of FSH’s virtual galas during the pandemic.
RELATED: Figure Skating in Harlem marks 25 years
“I love coming here and meeting up with the girls and visiting with them,” said Andrews. “It’s always so much fun and they’re all so sweet. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes me so happy.”
Again this year, there were two tables of program alumnae.
The gala was hosted by Vladimir Duthiers of CBS News. It opened and closed with FSH alumna Mariama Diop, an actress/singer who performed in “The Lion King” on Broadway, singing while video of FSH was shown.
Just before the gala, it was announced that FSH was selected as a recipient of a $75,000 grant from Dick’s Sporting Good’s 75for75 program, launched in honor of the retailer’s 75th anniversary.
The evening concluded with a quote from the late Nelson Mandela about how sport inspires people and can change the world. This summer, 11 current FSH participants (present at the gala) will journey to Mandela’s homeland, South Africa, along with Cohen; Bernice Deabreu, dean of students emerita; and two staff members, Ila Epperson and Raquea Hemingway. For the FSH participants, who were selected through an application process, this will be the trip of a lifetime.
“We learned that the [FSH] model held up in Detroit (Figure Skating in Detroit was launched in 2017), and we believe that taking skating peer-to-peer to a country where maybe girls haven’t been exposed to figure skating before is enormously powerful for both sides,” said Cohen. “That’s the way FSH can make a difference to many other communities.”
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Knicks exert their will and force over Cavaliers in their playoff series
Donovan Mitchell had hope. That’s what the Cleveland Cavaliers’ four-time NBA All-Star and his teammates held onto when they went into Game 5 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series last night (Wednesday) in their home arena, the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, looking to avert playoff elimination.
The Knicks, the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 postseason seed, had imposed their will and force on the No. 4 seed Cavaliers for a 3–1 lead and the prospect of reaching the conference semifinals for the first time since 2012-2013 season, when the loss to the Indiana Pacers 4–2.
“If you need any more motivation than this, then I don’t think you’re playing the right sport or should be playing sports,” asserted Mitchell on Tuesday. “If this elimination game doesn’t fire you up to protect home court on your own floor, then I don’t know what else could get you going.”
The Westchester County, New York, native made the decisive comment after an uncharacteristically meager performance in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden this past Sunday. Mitchell’s shot was off-target as he missed 13 of 18 attempts, including going 0-4 on 3-pointers for 11 points as the Knicks continued to impose their force and will on the Cavaliers in a 102–93 victory.
“It’s a no-brainer for me to own that,” Mitchell said in acknowledging his well-below-standard showing. “It’s ot to be there at that moment, and I wasn’t…I’ve just got to find a way to be there in Game 5 and win the game.”
The glaring distinction between the Knicks and Cavaliers in the four games before last night was the former’s physical dominance and boundless intensity that the latter failed to match. It was no more telling than in the rebound disparity. The Knicks held a 179–158 advantage overall and 58–42 margin on the offensive glass with center Mitchell Robinson as the fulcrum. The 7-foot fourth-year pro had 18 total offensive boards leading into Game 5.
“We just play hard, you know. They’ve got two seven-footers out there, so we just take what we can, put in more effort, and we got the job done,” said Robinson after Game 4.
“The rebounding has been huge and I think that it’s been critical for us and one of our strengths all year long,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. “We have to continue to do that—it’s a big part of winning. Keeping our turnovers down—we need to do better with that. The defensive rebounding is huge.”
“We keep talking about it, we keep talking about it, we keep talking about it,” repeated Cavaliers head coach Bernie Bickerstaff Jr. regarding his team’s rebounding troubles. “You learn when it will hurt the most. We’ve been talking about our success, going as quickly as we learn from our mistakes. In these three games, we haven’t learned quickly enough, and they made us pay.”
Defensively, the Knicks have been relentless in guarding the Cavaliers with an exceeding amount of force, with the exception of a 107–90 Game 2 defeat. They have been able to sustain pressure on the Cavs in halfcourt sets, in large part due to their bench superiority. Thibodeau has adeptly activated and employed his reserves, spearheaded by forward Josh Hart, while Cavaliers Bickertaff has limited resources and is essentially going to battle with a seven-man rotation, which has caused his starters to carry heavy workloads.
As Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson had his way with the Cavaliers in Game 3, posting a 24.3 scoring average in Games 1 through 4, All-Star forward Julius Randle—the team’s regular season leader in points per game (25.1) and rebounding (10.0)—is noticeably still not fully recovered from an ankle sprain that happened on March 29 at the Garden in a game versus the Miami Heat. He sat out the Knicks’ final regular season contest and did not return until April 15, Game 1 of the playoffs.
Randle’s numbers reflect his physical obstacles. He was putting up 14.8 points on 21–65 shooting (32.3%) and 8–31 (25.8%) from behind the 3-point line and only seven rebounds per outing over four games.
After having little positive offensive impact in Games 1 and 2, shooting 6–25 and 1–8 on 3-pointers, forward RJ Barrett experienced a resurrection. He came back with 19 points on 8–12 attempts in Game 3 and 26 points in Game 4.
“Super-aggressive, you know, going downhill, getting to the line,” said Thibodeau of Barrett’s work on Sunday.
“I think a lot of the time, they were doubling Jalen, so I was able to get the ball and make some plays,” Barrett assessed. “ I was able to get into some sets, and it was a total team effort.”
If necessary, Game 6 will be at the Garden tomorrow night and Game 7 in Cleveland.
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The NBA playoffs begin to shape as injuries become prominent
As dramatically as Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard reestablished himself as one of the best basketball players in the world with 38- and 31-point outputs in Games 1 and 2, respectively, in his team’s first round Western Conference playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, his future on the court was placed in doubt with another knee injury.
After the No. 5 seed Clippers took Game 1 by 115-110 and lost Game 2 123-10 against the No. 4 seed Suns, they headed back to Los Angeles for Game 3 last Thursday confident in their chances to earn a series win versus the favored Suns. But early in the day the
Clippers announced the 31-year-old Leonard, a two-time NBA Finals most valuable player, would be out with a sprained right knee—the same injury that had kept eight-time All-Star Paul George out of the lineup since March 21.
RELATED: Knicks return to Garden to resume playoff battle with Cavs
Without Leonard, the Suns went on to capture Games 3, 4 and 5, ending the series 4-1 on Tuesday night at home with a 136-130. Then, yesterday, after some in the media and on social media had, without evidence, questioned the severity of Leonard’s injury suggesting he should have attempted to play through the injury, it was reported his issues were much more serious as he has a torn meniscus.
Now the Suns are set to face the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets in a semifinal matchup starting this Sunday. Like the Suns, the Nuggets defeated the No. 8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in a gentleman’s sweep, finishing them off 4-1 by winning a hard-fought Game 5 on Tuesday at home, 112-109. The other West semifinal pairing has yet to be decided.
The No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies were at home last night trying to fight off being ousted by the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers, who led 3-1 following a 117-111 over Memphis in L.A. on Monday as LeBron James scored 22 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. The No. 3 seed Sacramento Kings hosted the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors last night (Wednesday) with the series even at 2-2.
In the East, the Knicks were in Cleveland yesterday evening up 3-1 and vying for their first series win in the last 10 years. On Tuesday, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young’s remarkable effort, registering 38 points and 13 assists on the road, including a go-ahead 30-foot 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left, lifted the No. 7 Hawks to a 119-110 victory over the No. 2 Boston Celtics and pushing the 3-2 series back to Atlanta for Game 6 tonight. The Philadelphia 76ers swept the Brooklyn Nets 4-0 and await the winner of Celtics-Hawks.
Undoubtedly the most shocking series is between the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks and the No. 8 seed Miami Heat. The Bucks are on the edge of one of the biggest upsets in recent NBA history. Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, plausibly the best player in the world, suffered a back contusion in Game 1 after falling to the court and only played 11 minutes in the Bucks 130-111 loss.
He sat out Games 2 and 3, and returned Monday in Milwaukee with the Bucks trailing 2-1 displaying his usual preeminence, scoring 26 points with 13 assists and 10 rebounds. But Heat forward Jimmy Butler had a game for the ages, scoring a franchise playoff record 56 and pulling his teammates along with him as the Heat overcame a 14-point fourth quarter deficit for a 119-114 victory. Game 5 in Miami is tomorrow night.
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Extended eyelashes and long nails banned as indecent under new college code
“Indecent dressing” is hereby banned for students and staff under a strict new code at the prestigious Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu State, Nigeria, among other schools.
The vice chancellor, Rev. Fr. Christian Anieke, announced the details to students returning from holiday breaks. Henceforth, all students are to be dressed in their faculty uniforms with appropriate ties and shoes. “No student is expected to wear slippers, shorts, rugged jeans, long fingernails, face caps, or artificial eye lashes,” he directed.
Only black and brown hair will be allowed on campus for either men or women. Staff and students were given one month to adjust to the new rules or else face disciplinary action.
The pronouncement follows similar restrictions at Rivers State University, which banned students from wearing miniskirts, ankle chains, and extended lashes.
Sagging trousers by either male or female students are prohibited at Rivers State, as is the wearing of earrings by male students and nose rings by female students. The school management also banned students from having tattoos and dressing in a certain way considered “indecent” on campus.
Anieke expressed regret that most students and staff were wearing t-shirts with unauthorized inscriptions, contrary to the dress code of the institution. For the future, he continued, men were to be in suits with University ties to match. Further, male students must comb their hair well or shave their heads.
Additionally, final-year students were warned against plagiarism, stressing that the University librarian had been directed to carry out plagiarism tests on all research works by the students and staff of the institutions.
The vice chancellor revealed that the management of the University had introduced qualitative assessments of all the teaching and non-teaching staff of the University. “Principal officers of the institutions will henceforth visit the lecture halls to assess the lectures by the academic staff while the non-teaching staff will submit their roll calls at the beginning and closing of each day’s activities.
“Students who fail to attend lectures will not be allowed to sit for examinations,” Anieke warned.
The clergyman made it clear that none of the female matriculants would be allowed to wear any shoe that was more than four centimeters high, and students must wear decent dresses.
Finally, in a related development, the Anambra State Government placed a ban on the wearing of mini-length uniforms in schools across the state in September, according to SaharaReporters.
The state’s education commissioner, Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, made this known during an interactive meeting with education secretaries of public and mission schools held in Awka.
The commissioner did not hide her displeasure at what she saw as “the growing trend of putting on mini-length uniforms [skirts and gowns] in schools.” According to her, “it goes against the acceptable dress code for schools in the state.”
Feedback from female students on social media included the following comments:
“Every adult should have the freedom of expression. Fashion expresses a person. It is not okay to take away that right,” wrote a user named Jessica.
“Then stay at home And [sic] express your right..No one care [sic],” replied another user named Jenny.
“There are many schools where students wear miniskirts and let’s also talk about sports uniforms! Why not focus more on the enrichment of education which all universities in Nigeria lack?” wrote a user named Tabytha.
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