Army’s football players learn during turbulent year there is always more awareness to discover

By TOM SHANAHAN “Awareness, awareness, awareness,” was how TV analyst Frank Broyles, a College Football Hall of Fame coach, described players with instincts. Another kind of awareness, racial, was an additional quality that Army West Point’s players gained as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The players relied on virtual group phone calls to remain connected upon West Point closing nine months ago at the start of COVID-19 pandemic. At first, they were casual conversations from hometowns…

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Duke freshmen seizes moment before his first game

PHOTO: Henry Coleman III By TOM SHANAHAN Henry Coleman III is a Duke basketball freshmen just a few days into his first year of classwork and months from his college debut, but a campus rally confronting racial injustice and systemic racism wasn’t too big for his world awareness. He was among those who addressed the crowd that gathered near Cameron Indoor Stadium designed to also spur voter registration. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant Nolan Smith organized the…

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Duke makes statement with helmets

By TOM SHANAHAN Duke football opened the season with anything but a dink-and-dunk approach to addressing Black Lives Matters and social justice. Teams warming up in T-shirts sends a message, but as a statement it’s basically a dump-off pass. The Blue Devils took the field Saturday at Notre Dame with a powerful running play into the middle of the issue that riles some fans unwilling to accept systemic racism or social injustice. The players’ helmets featured a Black…

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