“Mean Joe” Greene, Willis Reed to speak at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff jersey retirement event

Jerseys of James “Red” Allen, L.C. Greenwood to be retired

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- Football legend “Mean Joe” Greene and Basketball great Willis Reed will headline as special guests for the Ultimate Honor Jersey Retirement that will honor the late James “Red” Allen and the late L.C. Greenwood. The semi-formal affair will be held Friday, February 24 in the William Grant Still Ballroom of the Robinson Center. Festivities will begin with a VIP reception at 6 p.m. followed by a dinner and program at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person for dinner only, and $150 per person for the VIP reception and dinner.

A former member of the Pittsburg Steelers, Greene played in 181 out of a possible 190 games and recorded 78.5 sacks in his 13-year career with the Steelers, leaving a legacy that is still marveled at today.

Reed helped lead the New York Knicks to a franchise-best 60 wins during the 1969-70 season as the Knicks set a single-season NBA record with an 18-game win streak. He became the first player in NBA history to be named the NBA All-Star Game MVP, NBA regular-season MVP and the NBA Finals MVP in the same season.

The retirement of jerseys is considered one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a former student-athlete. This highly-acclaimed recognition is given to stellar past performers who meet high standards such as having achieved national or international acclaim while at the University by becoming an NCAA (or NAIA) record-holder, national champion or national category leader, or membership on a medal-winning Olympic team. Now in its second year, the first two jerseys retired were those of former basketball stars Harold Blevins and Jessie Mason in 2016. This year, two honorees will be recognized posthumously: the jersey of football great L.C. Greenwood and basketball great James “Red” Allen. Proceeds from this event will go to benefit the University’s athletics scholarship fund.

One of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s most prolific basketball players of all time, James “Red”Allen possessed an exceptional shooting skill and was a natural defender. That combination that made him one of the finest players to ever come out of the state of Florida. A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, Allen led UAPB (then Arkansas AM&N) in scoring four straight seasons (1960-1964). He was a four-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection who also earned NAIA Division I All-America honors. Allen finished his career at UAPB scoring 2,837 career points and is the school’s all-time leading scorer. Allen was also selected to play on the United States All-Star team that performed against the Russian All-Star team, where he led the American All-Stars in scoring. After he graduated from Arkansas AM&N, Allen toured five years with the Harlem Clowns. He made five commercials for Nike which were featured in the Soul of the Game by John Huet. Allen was a 1999 inductee into the Palm Beach (Florida) County Sports Hall of Fame and a 2006 inductee into the SWAC Hall of Fame.

L.C. Henderson Greenwood was a four-year letter winner in football at Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) from 1965 to 1969. He was a four-year starter on the Golden Lions’ defensive line and was a 1968 Ebony All-American and an All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection. Greenwood was selected in the 10th of round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his 13-year career with the Steelers, he was a member of the team’s famed “Steel Curtain” defense and a member of four Super Bowl championship teams (IX, X XII, XIV). In the 1971 season with the Steelers, Greenwood led the team in quarterback sacks with 8.5. He finished his career in Pittsburgh with 73.5 career sacks and is only the second player in franchise history to accomplish such a feat. A native of Canton, Miss., Greenwood has been enshrined and honored on several occasions. In 2006, his high school, Canton High School, honored him by retiring his number 71 jersey and inducting him into their Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the SWAC of Fame in 2004, the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2015, the MEAC/SWAC Legends Hall of Fame; the Mississippi Hall of Fame in 1996; the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Arkansas AM&N/UAPB Hall of Fame in 2000.

Tickets may be purchased at www.uapb.edu/ultimatehonor or in the Development Office, located in Childress Hall at UAPB, or by phone at 575-8701 or 575-8703.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF MEDIA RELATIONS

Honda Battle of the Bands has been celebrating HBCU marching bands for 15 years

ATLANTA, Georgia -- For Shomari Willis and his fellow Benedict College band mates, their Honda Battle of the Bands performance doesn’t begin when they take the field at the Georgia Dome. It begins the minute they arrive in Atlanta and step off the bus.

“You never know who will be watching,” he says.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to visit the Georgia Dome to watch as marching bands from historically black colleges and universities put their showmanship on display.




The Honda Battle of the Bands is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year with the theme “Celebrate the History, Create the Future.”

Eight bands will prance onto the field with the hopes of entertaining and inspiring on Jan. 28. R&B singer NeYo will perform during the showcase.

Bethune-Cookman University’s Marching Wildcats have been a part of that history for over a decade.

“In sports you have Super Bowls for football, the National Championship for Basketball and March Madness for College Basketball. For HBCU bands that’s what Honda is to us,” Donovan V. Wells, band director, said.

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Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hold Tryout in Jackson for Fourth Year

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Coming to Jackson in late January is becoming a tradition for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Canadian Football League franchise has held a tryout in the capital city for the last three years.

Scouts for the Blue Bombers trekked to Jackson on the Saturday of the Senior Bowl (Jan. 27) after spending the week there scouting players. Winnipeg spends a week in Mobile, Ala., looking for talent that the NFL might not take in its spring draft.

The Blue Bombers also hold free agent tryouts across the country for talent that has slipped through the cracks. Winnipeg has held a tryout for the last three years at Smith-Wills Stadium.

The team is returning to Smith-Wills for a fourth year on Saturday, Jan. 27, for another free agent tryout. This marks the second year in a row the tryout will take place at night under the lights of the stadium.

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SU Lenard Tillery, GSU Chad Williams and N.C. A&T's Tarik Cohen try to make impression at NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

HOUSTON, Texas -- Once he was invited to play at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, the first thing Lenard Tillery did was hit the internet.

Tillery had never heard of the showcase game, but it seemed like a big deal once everyone started to congratulate him.

It was an illuminating experience.



“I didn’t realize the magnitude the game had,” Tillery said. “After a while with everyone saying, ‘Congratulations, congratulations,’ I had to look the game up and I was like, ‘Wow, this is an opportunity. This is a big deal.’

“I was happy, but more than anything I was stressed. I had to make sure I was right back on it, making sure I get my workouts in and everything.”



For players like Tillery or former Grambling wide receiver Chad Williams, who will also play in Saturday’s game, the annual showcase, now in its sixth year, highlights some of the top and second-tier NFL draft-eligible players for a week of practice and interviews in Los Angeles.

Tillery and Williams will line up for the National team, led by former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz.

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Gold Rush survive SUNO, earn third consecutive victory

NEW ORLEANS — The winner was the team with the final run.

That was Xavier University of Louisiana, whose 17-2 spurt during the last eight minutes clinched a 61-53 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball decision against SUNO at the Convocation Center.

The Gold Rush (6-11, 2-0) have won a season-high three in a row. A familiar theme in the streak: XULA allowed fewer than 60 points in regulation in every game.

"Our guys are buying in on defense," XULA coach Alfred Williams said. "It's been the key to our success."

XULA's final defensive stand brought it back from a 47-42 deficit. Season scoring leader Jalen David produced three steals during the rally, and there were six additional SUNO turnovers during that time.

The Gold Rush went ahead to stay with 5:12 remaining when David passed to freshman Mike Williams for a basket. Williams finished with 16 points and became the first this season to lead XULA in scoring in back-to-back games. He had four assists for the second straight game to equal his career best.

SUNO opened the game with an 8-1 run. XULA answered with a 30-5 run and led 31-16 at halftime. But the Knights (4-11, 1-2) regained the lead with a 21-3 run.

In addition to Williams, XULA's other three season scoring leaders reached double figures. Seth Jackson scored 13, Leland Alexander had 11, and David had 10. Alexander grabbed a career-high-tying 11 rebounds in his team-leading third double-double this season and second in the last three games. David's four assists were a career best.

"This was a really good team win for us," Alfred Williams said.

Marcel Daniels scored 19 points and had six steals for SUNO, and Dominique Suggs scored 12. Daniels is a younger brother of XULA student assistant RJ Daniels, a four-year Gold Rush letterman from 2012-16.

XULA outshot the Knights 43.5 to 35.4 percent from the floor — 47.6 to 17.9 in the first half — and outrebounded them 34-29. It was the fifth consecutive game that the Gold Rush won the boards.

Next for XULA will be a GCAC matchup at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center against Edward Waters. The Tigers are 3-1 in conference and won their last three, including a 90-75 home victory Monday against Talladega, the GCAC regular-season champion the past two years.

NOTES: For just the second time in its last seven home attempts, XULA swept a doubleheader against SUNO. The Gold Nuggets won 73-60 . . . Alexander grabbed nine first-half rebounds . . . Jackson is 10-of-14 from the floor the last two games, 3-of-3 on 3-pointers . . . SUNO coach Dale Valdery, who led the Gold Rush from 1990-2002, is 5-14 against his alma mater in nine seasons with the Knights.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Former President Barack Obama’s Final Speech Before Departing Joint Base Andrews 1/20/17

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Maryland -- Former President Barack Obama addresses a crowd at Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, Maryland, bidding them farewell before heading to California for vacation 1/20/17.



First and second families, former and new, posed for a photo on the U.S. Capitol steps before the Obamas and Bidens departed on 1/20/17.

Talladega College Marching Band at 2017 Inauguration Parade

Talladega College Marching Band at 45th President Donald Trump's Inaugural Parade 1/20/2017.