“Having played in Houston in the mid-80’s with the Houston Gamblers, then having a chance to work with June Jones as the assistant general manager with the 2020 Houston Roughnecks, I can’t wait to get back to H-Town and take care of business,” said Will Lewis, general manager of the Houston Roughnecks. “I look forward to working alongside Head Coach CJ Johnson to build a competitive roster that our passionate Houston fan base can be excited about!”

Lewis, who most recently worked as the Director of Player Personnel with the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas in 2023, got his start in the front office with the Green Bay Packers, serving as a scout for the 1997 season. He went on to serve multiple roles with the Seattle Seahawks from 1999-2012, including Vice President of Football Operations from 2010-12. He then worked as the Director of Pro Scouting from 2013-17 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Quakertown, Pa. native also served as the General Manager of the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football in 2019 and was the Assistant Director of Pro Personnel with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2020, before joining the Brahmas.

“Will’s deep understanding of spring football and previous NFL experience will undoubtedly help develop these players, prepare them for the next level of their career, and position the Roughnecks for a competitive edge this season,” said Houston Roughnecks Head Coach CJ Johnson.

Lewis, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 1980 by the Seahawks, had a playing career that spanned across nine seasons and included stops in the National Football League, United States Football League and Canadian Football League. He also served as a Defensive Assistant with the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World Football League in 1992, and Defensive Secondary Coach with the University of Maine in 1994 and Defensive Assistant Coach with the Atlanta Falcons from 1994-95.

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Black Sports Insiders by Kyle T. Mosley (@KTMOZE). BSI will deliver an insiders view on the business of Black Collegiate and Professional Sports.

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How did Texas Southern's defense smothers FAMU for the Win? Who were the key players? What's next?
@TSUMensHoops | @hbculegends

READ: https://www.si.com/college/hbcu/basketball/texas-southern-defense-smothers-florida-am

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Texas Southern leaves Tallahassee with a 62-57 road victory over Florida A&M. Troy Hupstead led all scorers with 24 points. @hbculegends @TSUMensHoops

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12h

SWAC Titans Clashed! Alabama A&M Defeated Southern For 10th-Straight Victory! @hbculegends @DivaCoachAAMU @aamuwbb

READ: https://www.si.com/college/hbcu/basketball/swac-titans-clash-as-alabama-am-defeats-southern

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13h

State Of the MEAC w/ Ray Rogers | E5: The Mecca (Howard University) featuring @CoachDavisHU, @cmansfield27, @iamtedwhite

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Stroud, the 20th Good Guy Award winner, is the first member of the Texans franchise to win the award.

Other finalists for the Good Guy Award were Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio, Buffalo Bills tackle Dion Dawkins, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

The Good Guy Award is given to an NFL player for his qualities and professional style in helping pro football writers do their jobs. The award has been presented annually by the PFWA since 2005.

Stroud, the second overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft by Houston, made an immediate impact on the field with his play, in the locker room with reporters covering the Texans daily and in the greater Houston community.

“Stroud is the Good Guy Award winner because of his professionalism and openness with both the national and local media. He is always available during the week and after games, win or lose. He understands the media has a job to do and answers each question thoroughly,” said PFWA Houston chapter co-vice president Jonathan Alexander, who covers the Texans for the Houston Chronicle. “He is also active in the Houston community without seeking attention, recently volunteering to remove trees and clean up debris from yards in underserved communities after a storm left many residents without power for several days.”

“First and foremost, I want to give all glory and praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s a blessing to be recognized as the PFWA Good Guy Award winner, and it stands out to me because it’s more of an award that embodies someone’s character rather than the stats they compile on the field, Stroud said. “I appreciate the job the media has and thank them for choosing me as someone who is deserving of this honor. A special shoutout to the other very deserving players who were nominated and those that won before me.”

The 2023 PFWA NFL Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud started all 15 games he appeared in, and he finished the regular season completing 319 of 499 passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions while posting a passer rating of 100.8. The 4,108 yards were third most by a rookie quarterback in NFL history, and his TD-interception ratio of 4.6 led the league – the youngest player to pace the league in that category. Stroud also started the season with 191 consecutive passes without an interception – an NFL mark to start a career.

Stroud was the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month twice in September and November, the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November, and he was selected as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice (Weeks 9 and 18).

ABOUT THE PFWA: In its 61st season in 2024, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams daily. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News is the PFWA president for the 2023-24 seasons and the organization’s 31st president. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post is the PFWA’s first vice-president, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic is the second vice-president, Lindsay Jones of The Ringer is the advisor to the president and Mike Sando of The Athletic is the secretary-treasurer. At-large board members include Mike Jones of The Athletic, ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold, Joe Reedy of the Associated Press and ProFootballTalk.com’s Charean Williams. Follow the PFWA at ProFootballWriters.org and on Twitter at @PFWAwriters.

GOOD GUY AWARD WINNERS (To a NFL player for his qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job) Year indicates when award was presented for previous season: 2005 – Jerome Bettis (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2006 – Tiki Barber (New York Giants); 2007 – LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers); 2008 – Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers); 2009 – Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals); 2010 – Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints); 2011 – Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers); 2012 – Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos); 2013 – Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons); 2014 – Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks); 2015 – Richard Sherman (Seattle Seahawks); 2016 – Thomas Davis (Carolina Panthers); 2017 – Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals); 2018 – Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles); 2019 – Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles); 2020 – Eli Manning (New York Giants); 2021 – Philip Rivers (Indianapolis Colts); 2022 – Cameron Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2023 – Jason Kelce (Philadelphia Eagles); 2024 – C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)

NFL Network’s coverage is highlighted by “Schedule Release ’24 Presented by Verizon” at 8 p.m. ET which breaks down the 2024 NFL regular season schedule, division by division, analyzing the top matchups and primetime games. Rich Eisen and Colleen Wolfe host the three-hour show, joined by Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Robinson and Cynthia Frelund.

Featured guests on “Schedule Release ’24” include:

·       NBC “Sunday Night Football” play-by-play broadcaster Mike Tirico
·       CBS play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz
·       ESPN “Monday Night Football” play-by-play broadcaster Joe Buck
·       Prime Video “Thursday Night Football” play-by-play broadcaster Al Michaels
·       Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson
·       NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North

NFL.com and the NFL app will provide complete team-by-team and weekly schedules of all regular season games, listing opponents, sites and times.

Earlier today, it was announced the NFL Kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 5 will feature a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game when the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens on NBC and Peacock, and available on mobile devices with NFL+.

A special two-hour Schedule Release edition of “Good Morning Football” airs on Wednesday beginning at 7 a.m. ET on NFL Network, with hosts Jason McCourty, Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt and Sherree Burruss. The 2024 International Games will be revealed during the show ahead of the full schedule announcement Wednesday evening. The Emmy Award-winning “Good Morning Football” returns to its weekly Monday-Friday schedule this summer, with further details to follow.

Additional coverage is provided by “NFL GameDay View: Schedule Release” at 10 p.m. ET on the NFL Channel and YouTube, a one-hour show hosted by Patrick Claybon, Cynthia Frelund and Gregg Rosenthal analyzing the 2024 NFL schedule. The NFL Channel is available on the NFL App on mobile and connected TV, FAST streaming platforms such as Peacock, Roku, PlutoTV, Vizio WatchFree, Tubi, LG, Xumo Play, TCL and Plex, and at NFL.com/nflchannel. “NFL GameDay View: Schedule Release” will also air at 11 p.m. ET on NFL Network.

NFL+ will offer fans exclusive content with “Secrets of the Schedule,” which features key decisionmakers from around the league sharing insights into creating this year’s schedule. Fans will also get exclusive insights into their respective teams’ win/loss record with “Projected Team Win Totals presented by Courtyard by Marriott” featuring Cynthia Frelund, who shares her projected win total for each NFL team.

ESPN will also have a two-hour primetime special highlighting the release of the 2024 regular season schedule on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+. Host Kevin Negandhi along with Dan Orlovsky, Marcus Spears, Mina Kimes and Adam Schefter anchor the coverage, with multiple guests expected.

Individual game tickets will go on sale immediately through Ticketmaster, the Official Ticketing Partner of the NFL, once each game is announced. Tickets will also go on sale through SeatGeek and Sports Illustrated Tickets, members of the NFL Ticket Network. For more information, visit NFL.com/tickets.

The NFL uses the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its schedule-making process. There are approximately a quadrillion possible schedule combinations each NFL season and over 26,000 factors to take into consideration such as stadium availability, travel requirements, primetime games, competitive fairness and division rivalries. The NFL uses AWS to run high performance computing workloads to find the best possible schedule each year. For more information, click here.

Courtyard by Marriott is also helping fans traveling to games find accommodations in close proximity to each respective NFL stadium with a new hotel booking button on the NFL.com schedule page. The button will direct fans to recommendations for nearby Courtyard by Marriott hotels, or other hotels within the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, during the specific game weekend they are attending.

For additional information regarding the release of the 2024 NFL schedule, click here.

Houston’s Kelvin Sampson was selected as the NABC Division I Coach of the Year presented by the Marines, while Purdue’s Zach Edey was voted as both the NABC Division I Player of the Year and the NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year.

Edey won both awards last season as well. He becomes the first repeat NABC Division I Player of the Year since Duke’s Jason Williams in 2001 and 2002, and the first repeat NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year selection since Iowa’s Luka Garza in 2020 and 2021.

Houston’s Jamal Shead was named the NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard was chosen as the NABC Freshman of the Year presented by Adidas.

Sampson led Houston to a 32-5 record this season, including a 15-3 Big 12 mark. The Cougars won the outright Big 12 regular season title, and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Edey leads the nation in scoring at 24.6 points per game and ranks second in rebounding average at 12.1 for the Final Four-bound Boilermakers.

Shead averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals, anchoring a Houston defense that leads the nation in scoring defense by allowing just 57.6 points per game.

Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game this season, helping lead Kentucky to a 23-10 overall record and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

NABC Division I Coach of the Year presented by the Marines: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

NABC Division I Player of the Year: Zach Edey, Purdue

NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year: Zach Edey, Purdue

NABC Defensive Player of the Year: Jamal Shead, Houston

NABC Freshman of the Year presented by adidas: Reed Sheppard, Kentucky

This spring, students across four HBCUs — Norfolk State University, Hampton University, Jackson State University and Morgan State University — will have a shot at more than $333,000 in scholarships and prizes, including a chance to secure an NIL deal traditionally reserved for student-athletes, giving a student a first-of-its-kind opportunity to become one of the new faces of STARRY.   The winner will get an all-expenses paid trip to Kia NBA Tip-Off later this year. And like a true star with an NIL deal, their name, image and likeness will be featured on promotional materials for STARRY FIZZ FEST 2.0.  

No stranger to holding his own in an arena, Lil Durk is showing students how any fan can have the skills to win and will be making a surprise campus appearance to check out the competition.

“Being competitive doesn’t just apply to sport, life itself is about hunger, drive and teamwork.  This initiative is about rewarding students for their grind on and off the court, showing love and supporting our people while chasing their dreams,” Lil Durk said.   For the stars off the court, STARRY is also partnering with the PepsiCo Foundation to unlock $80,000 in scholarships across the four universities.   The PepsiCo Foundation will award $20,000 to one student at each university to go towards their education to help foster their long-term educational and professional growth.  Eligible students can apply online.

“Our mission with STARRY FIZZ FEST is to bring the excitement to basketball fans that the brand is known for while rewarding HBCU students for their passion, amplifying their talent, and offering opportunities that positively impact these universities, their students and their communities,” Kent Montgomery, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations and Multicultural Development, PepsiCo said.

STARRY FIZZ FEST will tip off at Norfolk State University on March 29, followed by Hampton University on April 1, Jackson State University on April 20 and Morgan State University on April 26. Participating students will get the chance to play S-T-A-R-R-Y (a spin on the popular game of H-O-R-S-E), 3PT Knockout (a three-point shootout contest reflective of the STARRY NBA All-Star and HBCU Classic tailgate footprint), and Shaky Shot (inspired by the classic arcade game, with a moving backboard) to claim prizes like STARRY merch and gift cards. For the game of S-T-A-R-R-Y, students will have three minutes to earn six letters by successfully scoring specified shots around the court until a participant spells out S-T-A-R-R-Y where the fastest time on campus wins. One winner from each school will represent their campus at a final competition to showcase their skills and earn major bragging rights.