NAPOLEON KINGCADE

    The Philadelphia Phillies had a disaster season which led to a disaster finish. In their last 10 games, the Phillies got swept in a five-game series to the Washington Nationals as they dropped to fourth place in the National League East Division. And then in the last game of the season, the Phillies lost to the last place Miami Marlins 4-3 as the team finished the 2019 baseball season with a 81-81 record. It marked the 8th season in the row that the Phillies didn’t to make the National League playoffs.

    Even though Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has improved the team’s record in each of his first two seasons, Phillies owner John Middleton is still thinking about making a change at manager. It has been reported that Middleton has asked players for their input of Kapler. He wanted to do get their input before he makes a decision and before the start of Kapler’s third season as manager.    

    Before he came to the Phillies, Kapler was a highly respected managerial prospect of the defending National League champions Los Angeles Dodgers. But since Kapler has been the Phillies manager, his skills as manager have been very shaky in his first two seasons. Kapler has often been criticized for making wrong decisions in crucial games. In addition to that, Kapler has never kept a permanent line up with this team. He has changed his line up almost every day during the regular season. Many experts feel if the Phillies had a permanent starting lineup the team would have a chance to gel together into a playoff contender.

    So, right now, the Phillies ownership has to figure out if Kapler deserves to stay here for another year as the Phillies manager.            

Read More, Scoop USA Media, October 11, 2019, page 18

    There was 1-minute and 46 seconds left in this title fight, at this point, things didn’t look too good for (17-3-1) Patrick Day. Before the 27-year-old fighter could make his next move, the unexpected happened inside the ring. A devastating left hook nailed Patrick Day. He got rocked by a solid shot and the back of his head slammed onto the canvas. Referee Celestino Ruiz immediately stepped in and stopped the fight. His trainer and a bunch of medical personnel rushed to his side. They saw his eyes roll back as he began twitching. They saw he needed help. He was put on a stretcher and removed from the ring. He was taken to Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he suffered a seizure and shortly fell into a coma. Following emergency brain surgery his condition never got any better. He never regained consciousness. Patrick Day died last Wednesday, October 16, 2019.  He was surrounded by family, friends and  members of his boxing team.

    Today, Patrick Day is gone. He suffered a 10th round knockout loss to (11-0) Charles Conwell, a 2016 Olympian, in a U.S.B.A super welterweight title fight that took place,  on Saturday, October 12,  2019, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Day, a former New York Golden Gloves champion, was knocked down three times during the fight. He went down in the fourth round and eighth round. He got knocked unconscious by a left hook in the 10th round. But there was no indication that his life was in any kind of danger. However, he fell into a coma on the way to the hospital and was listed in extremely critical condition. Unfortunately, he was unable to regain consciousness. He died four days later after his title fight.

Read more, SCOOP USA Media, October 25, 2019, page 18

    None of us saw this coming. Instead of this being a good football game, this game almost turned into a horror movie. Last Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles were getting booed off the field. The booing got louder when the score was 17-0 in favor of those Washington Redskins. Then, the booing got more ugly when the score was 20-7 at halftime.

    This game was truly ugly. The Eagles didn’t have a good start. In dealing with a 17-point deficit, the Eagles have had to come back from a 17-point deficit only 16 times in franchise history. But now, we were talking about a 13-point deficit. Their track record said the Eagles were 11-127 when they trailed a game by 13 points or more. So on paper, their chances of making a comeback didn’t look good. By the reaction of many Eagles fans, this team was already left for dead.

    However, the Eagles’ brutal start turned out to be a fantastic finish. By the grace of God, the Eagles stormed back and won this football game, 32-27. What an amazing victory. In the second half, the Eagles finally began to put pressure on Redskins quarterback Case Keenum. Also, they started covering and tackling a lot better. They started making big plays on defense. In the second half, the Redskins ran three drives and made only 10 plays for 5 rushing yards. The Redskins couldn’t make a first down in the second half. For the second half, the Redskins only generated 70 yards of total offense.                 

Read More, Scoop USA Media, September 13, 2019

    For the second time this month, the Green Bay Packers will battle a NFC opponent on Thursday Night Football. The first time was three weeks ago in Chicago. On Thursday night, September 5, 2019,  the Green Bay Packers defeated the NFC arch rival Chicago Bears, 10-3.                                

      The game was a tough defensive battle that was marked by sloppy offense by both teams. Despite the hard hitting on the field, neither team could move the football because the referees were too busy calling a bunch of penalties on the players. In the second quarter, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers got lucky. The two-time MVP quarterback was able to look down field and hit Jimmy Graham for the winning touchdown.

     So ladies and gentlemen, the stage is set for Green Bay to play another Thursday Night football game. This game is scheduled for Thursday night, September 26, against the Philadelphia Eagles.Yes folks, Aaron Rodgers will have chance to work his magic again. This time, he will do it against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field.

     This game marks the 45th meeting between these two football teams. In the history of this great rivalry, Green Bay has won 28 times while the Eagles have won 16 times over the Packers.  This rivalry started almost 86 years ago. That’s when the Green Packers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-9. That game was played back on October 29, 1933. Since then, this rivalry has always been an explosive and exciting one.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, September 27, 2019, page 18

The Philadelphia Soul are going to Arena Bowl 32. By beating the Washington Valor in a two-game, home-to-home playoff series, the Philadelphia Soul have punched their ticket and earned their third trip in the last four years to play in this year’s Arena Bowl title game.                                           After losing to the defending champions Washington Valor back on June 9, the Philadelphia Soul have gone on a rampage. They have won six of their last seven games. Last Sunday, the Soul were able to finish off the Washington Valor when they beat them at home, 48-41. The Philadelphia Soul were able to stop Washington quarterback Arnell Nelson who threw five interceptions while he got sacked seven times during the two-game playoff series against Philadelphia. Malik Forrester, the Philadelphia Soul’s newly required defensive lineman, was largely responsible for Nelson’s down fall. Forrester averaged 4.5 sacks during the two-game series which included 3 sacks in last Sunday’s game. To make things worse for Washington, the Valor attempted seven onside kicks which six of them got recovered by the Philadelphia Soul team.                                       

Throughout the entire game, the Washington Valor were playing under pressure because they knew they had to score a bunch of points and beat Philadelphia by 37 points. Washington was put in a bad position after Philadelphia ripped them apart 69-33 back in Washington, the week before.    

Fans at the Capital One Center couldn’t believe how their team played. They watched their team trail the game at halftime, 20-7. This didn’t sit well with Washington fans. They watched their team crumble. Washington trailed 41-20 at end of the third quarter. And then they watched the Philadelphia Soul score four more touchdowns. When the game was over, the Philadelphia Soul celebrated. They were happy to win their first playoff game in the two-game series. They destroyed the Washington Valor, 69-33. 

Read More Russell Robinson, ScoopUSA Media, August 9, 2019, page 12

This game was too scary to watch. It’s 4th Down and 2 with 10 seconds left in the game. The game is on the line. It’s do or die for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are holding on to a slim 16-15 lead. Their dream of repeating as Super Bowl champions was in danger of coming to an end. All Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey had to do is make a 43-yard field goal. The Eagles football season would be over and done. Everything came down to this field goal. 

But wait a minute. Eagles coach Doug Pederson looks at the referee and calls a timeout. Parkey’s first field goal attempt gets wiped from the books. Now, Parkey must take a couple of deep breaths and get himself ready to kick the football again. Parkey felt he could nail the field goal again. The Chicago Bears fans are standing up at their seats. 

The game of football hasn’t been the same ever since the day that Peyton Manning retired from the NFL. Manning stepped away from the game in 2016 after he earned his second Super Bowl ring with the Denver Broncos. He led the Denver Broncos to victory in Super Bowl 50. The Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers, 24-10. 39-year-old Peyton Manning became the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl game. He announced his retirement a month later in March 2016.          

Read more, Scoop USA Newspaper, January 18, 2019

There’s nothing worse than a fighter who keeps running his mouth about a fight he knows he didn’t win. Even after knowing they didn’t win the fight, a fighter will keep running his mouth telling people how he believes he beat his opponent. That’s the case of challenger Adrien Broner who battled Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao for the Welterweight World Championship in last Saturday’s fight. Last Saturday, Manny Pacquiao went to distance and defeated Adrien Broner in a 12-round unanimous decision to wrap up 61st victory in his pro boxing career. Pacquiao rocked Broner in the 7th and 9th round. Broner took hard shots to the body and upstairs. It’s a miracle that Broner was able to hang on in the fight. He was lucky he didn’t get knocked out. The boxing world watched Broner struggle against Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Read more, Scoop USA Newspaper, January 25, 2019

For the first time in Philadelphia history, a girl has stepped up to the plate and she’s playing baseball for a high school boys baseball team. What makes this more incredible, for the second year in a row, this female player has been named to the city’s All-Public boys baseball team. And to make things more shocking, not only is this girl playing for John Bartram High’s boys baseball team, she’s also the team’s starting shortstop. She has been the team’s shortstop since last season.                

  For the second time in five years, this city is happy to give honor to another female baseball player who can play as good as the boys. Her name is Janiya Victor and she’s a 16-year-old sophomore who has been playing baseball since the age of 5. Many people compare Janiya Victor to Mo’ne Davis. Mo’ne Davis became a national superstar in 2014 when she pitched a shutout in the Little League World Series. With the emergence of Janiya Victor, she’s a new girl in Philly who also plans to grab the national spotlight.     

Read More, Scoop USA Media, May 24, 2019

When members of Philadelphia City Council gathered for this month’s meeting at City Hall, they voted to pass a resolution of recognition for Janiya Victor who became the first female player to play for a high school baseball team in Philadelphia. Thanks to City Council woman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who introduced the resolution, last Thursday, on May 23. It took City Council less than an hour to pass the resolution in Janiya Victor’s honor.

 Before City Council members delivered their votes, sports reporter Napoleon Kingcade, who cracked the story about Janiya Victor, stepped up to the microphone and told his story about the talented 16-year-old Bartram shortstop.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, May 31, 2019

Ladies and gentlemen...You heard it first right here.                                  When the smoke clears in this year’s U.S. Open tournament, don’t be surprised if your new champion turns out to be 15-year-old superstar CoCo Gauff. By now, you might have knocked your plate of food all over the floor or you might have spilled coffee all over your shirt. You might say things don’t happen by accident. But guess what, folks… A lot of strange things do happen in the world of sports.

 Going into this week’s U.S. Open, CoCo Gauff looks strong. The 15-year-old sensation advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open after she defeated Anastasia Potapova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. It took CoCo two hours and two minutes to finish off Potapova who was huffing and puffing through out the rest of the match.  CoCo Gauff was able to receive a wild card spot into the U.S. Open after her great performance in last month’s Wimbledon tournament. She cruised to the fourth round at Wimbledon after she beat three nationally ranked players. Of course, nobody will ever forget her first round upset over Venus Williams. CoCo beat Venus Williams in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. CoCo Gauff was able to score points on 78 percent of her first serves. If that was not incredible enough, CoCo was even more powerful on her second serves. CoCo scored points on 73 percent of her second serves; and, she was 3-for-3 on break points. For the entire match, CoCo was able to dominate the match and beat Venus on 42 service points; compared to Venus’ 34 service points.

  That’s the one thing that has made CoCo Gauff a powerful player. Her serves are getting more powerful each and every game. Her serves have been clocked up to 117 miles per hour which is about the same speed of Serena Williams during her prime. After beating Venus Williams in the first round in Wimbledon and earning two more victories before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep, CoCo Gauff was able to persuade the U.S. Tennis Association to provide her with a wild card spot into the U.S. Open. She was able to earn that spot after she became a fan favorite through the tennis world. Fans have been screaming their support for the 15-year-old superstar. 

Read More Sports, ScoopUSA Media, August 30, 2019, page 14

by Kirk Jones

Camden, NJ- “If he the gets the right handlers, one day, he will become champion of the world!” That was the vision Jersey Joe’s father had for his son. As a young boy, Jersey Joe’s (born Arnold Cream) parents taught him to always give his best and pursue his dreams, no matter how daunting.  His father’s untimely death forced Jersey Joe to leave school to help his mother and older siblings provide for the family.  He began boxing in 1930. Twenty-one years later, on the night of July 18 1951, his father’s vision became reality.

Camden, NJ - Timber Creek boys basketball team has won 4 of their last 5 games and senior starting point guard Sean Miller has provided a huge spark to the Chargers post season plans. Miller, the son of retired Camden City police officer Darryl Miller and Woodrow Wilson track star Artrelia ‘Gwen’ Turner, has averaged more than 15 points per game for Timber Creek who is 10-7 in the season and 4-1 in conference play. In mid-January, Miller hit the game winning 3-point basket at the buzzer, with his mom and dad watching,, to defeat the Wilson Tigers 64-61.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, February 8, 2019

by Kirk Jones

“You want The High? You got The High!”  The crowd chanted, at a capacity filled Bill Smothers Gymnasium at Woodrow Wilson High School in East Camden, New Jersey on a crisp March 1, 2019 night, for the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 boys semi-final game between the Camden High School Panthers and Pleasantville Greyhounds.

The Panthers totally dominated the Greyhounds with balanced offensive attack led by 6’6” Jerome Brewer who scored 20 points, followed by 6’10” Lance Ware with 15 points, Ethan Tarte dropped 13 points, Nasir Lett 12 points and El Khana Hildago finished with 10 points.  The Panthers were deadly from behind the 3-point line and their ability to score close the basket helped the High cruise to victory 77-54.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, March 8, 2019

by Kirk Jones

Camden, NJ- The 2018-19 South Jersey high school basketball season has concluded and an abundance of young players made strong impression on the season, many of them leading their teams to championships on some level. Here is a look at the top five boys and girls players who made an impact on the season.

All South Jersey Boys Basketball Team

Baba Ajike, Camden Catholic, 6-6, Sr., F: Ajike propelled the Irish to their second South Jersey championship since 2010 this year, tallying 16.7 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. Ajike will be a player to be reckoned with in college.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, March 22, 2019

She stood there looking beautiful on a hot Kentucky night, her long blonde hair contrasting, her elegant black outfit. I was surprised to see Jodi there, I knew she was expecting any day now. We said our hellos and stood against the rail to watch the main. Her husband, Jake Johnson, was on an Indian for the first time that night.

The narrow groove that is 'The Red Mile' makes passing kinda sketchy. The race that night was good, but the battle that erupted between Baker and Wiles was epic. Not the usual scuffle, more like a bare-knuckled brawl. Those two bumped and banged their way around the track, as they fought for the final podium spot. After the race, Jodi and I walked over to greet her husband, who was glistening with sweat as he removed his helmet.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, March 22, 2019

I knew he was FBI but not much more. How did he get there?

Long before his flat track life, there was Bugs. There were two Roberts in the house. His grandmother always said he was as cute as a bug and it stuck.

The years have blurred by since he turned pro in 2002. He was the last generation to cut their teeth on single cylindered framers. He said back then you tried to build your best. These machines had purity of a purpose. They were true flat track racing machines. How did he feel about the switch to the motocrosser based bikes? Bugs said those bikes felt just plain ignorant, but you get used to them. I said I felt the twins were easier to ride to a point; he agreed, and said it is the weight that makes the difference.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, April 5, 2019

Hard to be a citizen once you  have given your life to racing. It all changes after the   final checkered flag drops. Are you ready for it?

By 24 years of age, Charlie quit racing.  He had his fill of frustrations and injuries. He started his new life  in the restaurant business but struggled with its  long monotonous hours.  There is little joy punching a clock once you have led the life of a journeymen rider,  racing for cash. But racers live to win.  The same drive he cultivated in racing helped him to be successful in business.  With restaurants, you're only as good as the last meal served.

Being consistent and dealing with pressure is tough.  Great customer service demands you be 'Up' at all times. Cocaine was a popular way of staying on your 'A' game back in the eighties. What started out as a little helper  turned into a habit.  Racers like to live their life full throttle. Success grew and while everything looked normal on the outside, his habit grew too. Things came crashing down  during an undercover sting. While waiting for sentencing, Charlie kicks his habit but still did a five-year run inside.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, May 3, 2019

​In top gear and ​foot down firmly.  The bright headlamps on the Ferrari are burning a hole through the black Belgium night. The howl of the engine is intoxicating. Trees, concrete walls, and guard rails whizz past at close to 180mph on this country lane that is the famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Half the race track is barely lit at best, yet in the darkness, he sees the yellow & red curbing ahead,  signaling him that the next corner is approaching. He flicks the Ferrari left, wide open throttle, using the curbing on the exit. He's a long way from Texas but knows he's got thirteen hours  to go until the champagne flows.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, May 24, 2019

Atlanta had been cruel to Jeremy in 2018, during an ugly crash at the start of his race, his head was run over by another competitor. He said his Arai helmet saved him that day for sure. Beaten and battered, he made his way thru the season, making the races he could afford. Jeremy Werner was another journeyman flat track racer chasing the dream, to step up to the twins, and be a paid, professional racer. Who wouldn't want to leave their day job behind?

He couldn't swing Daytona for 2019, so the next round at Atlanta would be his first American Flat Track race of the season. He had no hard feelings toward Atlanta from last year, just the excitement that comes with going racing.

Read More, Scoop USA Media, June 28, 2019