SPORTS WRAP By William Hathaway, Jr.
It’s Essex County Tournament time, and a lot of teams took to the court this past week. In girls’ action, Newark Tech defeated the Orange Lady Tornadoes 52-28. Makiyay Williams led her Tech with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Also, the Irvington Lady Knights lost to Livingston 38-19, and the Caldwell Chiefs beat North Star Academy.
In boys’ action, Payne Tech beat West Market Street rival Science Park 46-31. Also Montclair and Nutley were winners, while West Caldwell slipped by Cedar Grove 49-47. In a South Ward rivalry game, the Shabazz Bulldogs took the win over Weequahic 73-70. Jamaal Ndiayle had 18 points 19 rebounds.
The Orange boys basketball team beat Montclair Kimberley 65-59, thanks to 8 points and 15 rebounds from Paul Metelos, Jayden Livingston’s 16 points, and Gregory Burton’s five 3 pointers and 21 points.
In NFL news, the Super Bowl is set as the Cincinnati Bengals will play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI. For the second straight year, the game will be played in the home stadium of one of the participants, as SoFi Stadium is home to the Rams.
Also, legendary quarterback Tom Brady has decided to call it a career, retiring after 22 seasons, 7 Super Bowl wins, multiple MVPs, and owning virtually every QB record. He will miss out on playing the Commanders, the new name for the Washington Football Team.
Finally, former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL for its hiring practices. As of press time, the league only has one African American head coach, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
