Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika, a communications professor at Clemson, wrote an op-ed that respectfully disagreed with the football coach, particularly in his invocation of Dr. Martin Luther King. “Coach Swinney, I know that you are not racist and that you probably hate the Ku Klux Klan. I’m also not a fan. However, in the letter, Dr. King writes that he had come to feel that the Klan was not the greatest obstacle to the advancement of black people....

Swinney, however, said recently the state might not be quite as happy with that association as it was in years past, especially after his Tigers downed the Crimson Tide 44-16 in the 2019 College Football Playoff championship game. That’s especially true on the recruiting trail, where Swinney has dipped into the state on several occasions to pluck some of its best blue chip talent. MORE: Swinney shuts down possibility of return to Alabama...

Here’s everything you need to know about the Sugar Bowl matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide: MORE: Watch college football live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) What Sugar Bowl Where Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) When Monday, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. How to watch ESPN, live-stream at WatchESPN Betting line Alabama -1.5 Last meeting Clemson beat Alabama 35-31 on Jan. 1, 2018 in a rematch of the last year’s national championship game....

MORE: Memorable photos from Cleveland’s championship parade Not only did the Cavaliers recently defrost their city from a 52-year championship freeze, they also went down in history as the first team to ever rally back from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit — and win. Cleveland rejoiced. A new hope was born in the city. Therefore, Cleveland decided the Browns’ turn is next. It is football’s time to shine, and the Northeast Ohio city is already prepared....

The France international has only been behind the decks for a short while but says that trying to please all of the different nationalities and cultures in the dressing room has helped him broaden his horizons and improve as a performer. And while he admits he still has a way to go before he can call himself an expert, Clichy feels that his eagerness to please his team-mates in a musical sense can be crucial to getting that little extra edge over opponents – see the full interview in the video above!...

It is a personal and political triumph for Lott, 65, who was forced out as majority leader of the Senate in 2002 after remarks he made at an event marking South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday. Lott said that if Thurmond had been elected president in 1948, “we wouldn’t have had all these problems over the years …” Thurmond ran as a segregationist Dixiecrat, and Lott’s words were interpreted as racist....

The reason he’s working so hard on his wife’s behalf is that he sincerely believes she would make a good president, better than he was, if daughter Chelsea’s word is taken to heart. He’s also doing penance for how much he humiliated her when he was president, and even for some of his missteps in this campaign, mostly having to do with race. But perhaps most important, Clinton understands that if Barack Obama is elected, his presidency becomes an asterisk....

They are blazing all kinds of new trails. Traditionally, the Chinese have never considered sleeping in a tent and lugging around a heavy pack a holiday. But among China’s young, urban, white-collar workers, adventure travel is increasingly chic. These youth have grown up during China’s most prosperous times and–unlike their parents and grandparents–have no memory of the hardships wrought by Mao Zedong; for them the countryside is a place for leisure, not labor....

The video shows a man playing guitar and walking through the plane’s aisle while singing a Christian worship song on a crowded plane. Meanwhile, some passengers joined in, while others sat in silence. The video quickly divided the internet. Omar, one of three Muslims currently serving in Congress, weighed in on the video, attempting to draw a comparison to the way Muslims would be treated if they disrupted a flight to worship....

The reason? The "Los Angeles" logo on the front of Jordan's jersey was ripped off in a scrum under the bucket as he went up for a rebound. (via NBA)

Crawford entered the night needing two 3-pointers to overtake Ellis. He finished with a 5-of-8 mark on 3-pointers and parlayed his success from behind the arc into 21 points. He now has 1,723 3-pointers and will continue to climb the list. MORE: LeBron on Cavs: ‘I stink’ | Anthony Davis for MVP | Malice in the Palace “I was at a game when (Ellis) hit eight or nine threes in Seattle,” Crawford said, according to the team website....

But on Wednesday night, we discovered that he’s also a huge fan of Fergie. MORE: Nike’s Black History Month collection | Jeremy Lin, Nick Young have hilarious exchange | Swaggy P: Nothing like being a Laker When you put it all together, you get this: The Clippers hosted the Lakers, but you hardly care about that.

The most important sector within those groups, the players, were certain to face questions about whether they love for Sterling in advance of their Game 5 matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. MORE: Silver apologizes to Magic Johnson | Sterling thinks he has players’ support As they have throughout this ordeal, Clippers players tried not to become wrapped up in the Sterling saga. Their answers were not direct because they couldn't be, but they were succinct and honest, and they served as proof that there is no love lost for Sterling....

After a Rookie of the Year campaign in 2010-11, Griffin had the admiration of many but still left a few scratching their heads about his future. It took Griffin only one season to establish himself among the best in-game dunkers in the NBA. He also used his athleticism to bring in 12 rebounds per game and had a surprisingly good handle and decent passing ability. Still, his calling card came in the air....

After winning the first leg 3-1 in Toronto last week, the defending MLS Cup champions face Club America at the Azteca Stadium in Tuesday’s semifinal second leg. The Reds do have a two-goal advantage, but there’s plenty left to be decided with America heading home to one of the region’s most intimidating venues with an away goal from the first leg. The winner will face either the New York Red Bulls or Chivas in the CCL final....

Let’s talk about those in between teams as we look back on Round 9 of the tournament: Tijuana’s learning process complete There always was going to be an adjustment period for Tijuana between Miguel Herrera, whose America team visited the border Friday, and Eduardo Coudet. The managers have different styles of play, different ways of working and different ideas about how soccer should be played. Coudet also ended up with a squad largely depleted of its biggest stars from the previous tournament in which Herrera coached the team to the top of the Liga MX table after the regular season....

The platform will feature a variety of live and planned content for viewers spanning politics, food, culture, science, and sport. Newsweek has everything you need to know about CNN+ including its launch date, cost, content, and everything else you need to know. When is CNN+ Available and What Does It Cost? After almost one year of waiting, CNN+ launches on Tuesday, March 29. Back in July 2021, CNN announced the arrival of the streaming platform, describing it as “the evolution of video news and the start of a new era for the company....

During his show CNN Newsroom, Acosta said the hosts had been called out on their “betrayal” for their comments regarding the Capitol riots on January 6. This comes after January 6 committee vice-chair Liz Cheney read out text messages former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, received during the Capitol riots. On Monday, December 13, Cheney revealed that it was clear some members of the press had told Meadows to get then President Donald Trump involved to stop the rioting....

“Just please everyone, keep getting vaccinated so we can all pack the stands and boo against the Astros,” Tapper said Thursday morning at the beginning of The Lead on CNN. The Houston Astros played Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in New York. Yankee Stadium only had an announced crowd of 10,580, which is about 20 percent of a capacity-packed 54,251 fans. Despite a smaller crowd, Yankees fans were still vocal this week, and not just because it was an out-of-town team....

Bagley said Monday during an episode of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” he will “forgo his senior year” at Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, Calif., to enroll at Duke and play for the Blue Devils in 2017-18. His decision will lead some analysts to project the Blue Devils as the No. 1 college basketball team for 2017-18, as they were in 2016-17. Sporting News will not be one of them. We will stick with our initial pick, Arizona, and Duke will remain No....