HOME SKILLETS!! I’m so pumped as I write this. The NBA All-Star game was this past Sunday, March 7th. I was NOT expecting the NBA league to dedicate this game format in honor of HBCUs! The Team Lebron vs. Team Durant competed to raise money for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and United Negro College Fund. Team Lebron beat Team Durant 170-150, which I was trying to understand why they named the team “Durant” because he did not even play. Well, it was rumored that he caught the “Rona,” and due to “health restrictions,” he was not going to play, but in my Ms. Benita Butrell voice, “I ain’t the one to gossip, so you ain’t heard it from me. But I hope it is not valid. I wouldn’t want my worse enemy to have the Coronavirus; it’s still causing people to die. 

The All-Star game took place in Atlanta, GA, “HOTLANTA,” and you would think with the Coronavirus lurking, people would not be outside partying, going to the clubs, or turning it up. However, people could not contain their excitement, especially when something was exciting happening in their hometown. The All-Star game, but I renamed it the NBA, finally acknowledged the Historical Black Colleges and Universities game, a historical event. I could not contain my excitement!

I give a shout-out to everyone that participated in coordinating this historical event because the NBA has NEVER, I mean never showcased a historical event such as this. I mean from the Battle of the Bands via a screen when introducing the NBA players in the background from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and my alumni rivalry Grambling State University (GSU). Top athletes and referees that graduated from HBCUs were showcased, and black artwork was displayed on the basketball court. HBCU students watched history unfold in the comforts of their homes. I mean, it was great, from the beginning to the end. I could not help but reminisce about my days on campus at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA, a skinny kid from the D enrolling as a Freshman in the Fall of 1992. 

I am a proud HBCU graduate, and when you hear that a person attended or graduated from an HBCU, just know that it is black excellence. Educated black people founded black colleges and universities. Some of the greatest sororities and fraternities were founded at HBCU’s by educated black people; some of the most outstanding athletes attended an HBCU, as well as inventors, teachers, and doctors. Even the first Madame, excuse me, let me get it right, 1st African American and Asian Woman Madame Vice President.

And for you PWI’s (private white institutions) graduates, do not hate, just know that our marching bands are way better than yours will ever be. And speaking of PWI’s, Michigan State University beat the University of Michigan, and March Madness is just around the corner! Home skillets, do you think Juwan Howard can take U of M all the way, or do you think Mr. IZZO to the IZZY show Youngin Howard how it’s done? Well, speaking of done, Blake Griffin is no longer a Detroit Piston, signed to the Brooklyn Nets, and his “double-cross” show is set to air next week. That is so fitting, isn’t it?

– Klassy K’s Sports Korner: A contributor writer for http://www.aheartfullofconversations.com