Martenzie Johnson

2 weeks ago | andscape.com | Martenzie Johnson

The best moment of Ariel Atkins’ seven-year run with the Washington Mystics is the most obvious one: Winning the 2019 WNBA championship. A season before that win, the Mystics had been swept in the 2018 Finals by the Seattle Storm. After that loss, while sitting in the locker room of George Mason University, the team told themselves that they now knew what it takes to win it all, and that it was now time to “run it back,” Atkins remembered them saying.

3 weeks ago | andscape.com | Martenzie Johnson

HOUSTON — It’s hot as hell outside. For Texans, a sunny 78-degree day in mid-March is as normal as jacked-up pickups and barbecue. But for someone with Midwestern sensibilities, this blazing heat is a precursor to an extinction-level event. Regardless, it’s high noon and Darrell Colbert Jr. is in this weather barking orders to his group of six quarterback clients. He’s on the outdoor football field of a training facility on the west side of town called the Warehouse.

2 months ago | andscape.com | Martenzie Johnson

EUGENE, Ore. — Deja Kelly was anxious. It was Nov. 4 and the fifth-year transfer was about to play in her first game for the Oregon women’s basketball team. Nerves are common in sports, so that wasn’t anything new for Kelly. She had spent the previous four years putting up buckets at North Carolina, one of the most popular brands in all of college basketball, so a non-conference game against a little-known school in California should not have had her that worried. The game was at 4 p.m. Pacific time.

2 months ago | andscape.com | Martenzie Johnson

INDIANAPOLIS — Ashton Jeanty was the textbook definition of a running back last season. The former Boise State back ripped off big run after big run last season to the tune of 2,601 yards, just 28 yards shy of the NCAA single-season record. Even still, the 21-year-old knows that in the NFL his skill set hasn’t been as valued as it was over a decade ago. Well, that was until last season.

2 months ago | andscape.com | Martenzie Johnson

Star Black quarterbacks are no longer the exception – they’re the rule. Throughout the football season, this series will explore the prominence and impact of Black QBs from the grassroots level to the NFL. INDIANAPOLIS — Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A Texas-born Alabama quarterback who is a stronger runner than passer will likely be drafted outside of the first round of the NFL draft. The quarterback went undefeated in the SEC as a first-year starter.