Meet Odessa Jenkins. Co-founder of the WNFC (Woman’s National Football Conference)

credit: OJ Jenkins
credit: OJ Jenkins

Odessa started her journey in 2017 while working as an intern for the Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship. She quickly realized that her passion and knowledge of the game could empower women to play a professional sport that many would say is too physical for women to play. Soon after, she was invited to join the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff for an intern job with the running backs. Jenkins served as an intern there for 9 weeks. Jenkins has achieved a lot athletically accomplishing: two-time USA National Team gold-medalist (Women’s Football), a two-time Big West Conference basketball player of the year.
Jenkins praised Falcons coach Dan Quinn on just about everything she has learned, from an organization in the film room to building a franchise. With the knowledge she obtained, she followed her dreams and co-founded The Women’s National Football Conference. Jenkins is also co-owner and coach of a team. The WNFC features 20 teams, playing a 10-week Spring season, broadcasting nationally, and culminating with the IX Cup Championship game honoring women in sports.
Jenkins feels proud about her achievement, saying that having a female counterpart to the NFL will be the “final frontier” in breaking down the barrier between male and female athletes.
Jenkins stated that women have been playing organized tackle football for 60 years, but many people probably do not know that. The WNFC is a groundbreaking organization that provides women with an opportunity to play, coach, and participate in American Football at the highest level.
As a premier professional women’s tackle football league, WNFC plays 11-on-11 full padded American tackle football. Each team has an owner, general manager, and coaching staff. They also have sponsors such as Adidas and Wilson, to name a few. The WNFC has over 1,000 athletes and coaches across 17 states, which makes up 20 teams.
WNFC started operating in
2019 but due to COVID-19, the 2020 season was canceled. The league should be in good economic standings to have a 2021 season, working on a $500,000 budget annually.
Definitely excited about this!

Big 10 football is back Michigan Vs. Minnesota Week 1 preview

At one point in this crazy year, we didn’t think that this time would ever come. But it’s finally that time the big ten is back, baby! And there is no other way to kick off the 2020 season then having the Mazin Blue in prime time. The Michigan Wolverines take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 7:30 P.M. ( check your local listings for the game) In Minneapolis, where you see a new look with the Wolverines and the Golden Gophers.

Under the Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan, this is the first black quarterback starting under center for Jim and the first black quarterback in six years that Michigan has had since 2010-2014 with Devin Gardner. You may be asking who this kid that you speak of is? His name is Joe Milton, a junior out of Olympia, Florida, that has patiently waiting for his shot to take this football program to the next level. He sat behind Shea Patterson and Dylan McCaffrey last year. He is now number 5 is on the rise; with COVID-19 playing a considerable part in this years offseason, Milton will be without Michigan’s top receiver and security blanket in Nico Collins this year due to him opting out, the football season too because of the coronavirus and wanting to get ready for the upcoming NFL draft. But don’t worry, Wolverines fans, because all is not lost. Milton will still have weapons at his disposal; some are not battle-tested, and yet some are. For example, Chris Evans will be returning for his fifth year of eligibility after being dismissed from the team for academic reasons. Look for a lot of running off the ball to help Milton navigate the beginning part of the season to build his rhythm and confidence.

For the Minnesota Golden Gophers, they were coming for a terrific season last year. Finished second in the Big Ten West behind Wisconsin and looking to continue their newfound resurgence and success under head coach Pj Fleck. With Minnesota keeping their starting quarterback Tanner Morgan but losing key offensive players at wide receiver and on the defensive side at safety, the Golden gophers still plan on “Rowing the Boat” to another successful season and ultimately making it to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game in December this year. It will be interesting to see both teams come out and jump right into real gameplay and real game situations after being away for ten months!! I can honestly say that I’m excited for Big Ten Football to pick back up and start, are you? Sadly, for the Gophers, they lost to the Wolverines on Saturday, October 24th, with a score of 49-24.

October 17th, 2020-Delaware Women’s March Editorial

On a beautiful autumn day in a parking lot outside of the Delaware, Court Households, two Democratic candidates, Dr. Racheal Morocco, running for Ohio House District 67, and Alaina Shearer, running for Congress in Ohio’s 12th district, together with host a Women’s March in honor of the death of United States Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Now the Republican Senate majority in the United States Senate is rushing to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court just days before the general election Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020, as many voters are already casting their votes. Amy Coney Barrett’s views are that she is against women’s reproductive rights, women’s healthcare, and equal pay for women.

The Women’s March kicks off with the two Democratic candidates, and they will explain why they are eager to run for office. Democratic candidate Dr. Racheal Morocco says, “She is a mom and a pediatrician. Before she decided to run for office, she was in the Ohio Statehouse when both Republicans and Democrats voted on the heartbeat bill. She notices that there are not enough women in government leadership that represents women across Ohio. It is what motivates her and makes her more enthusiastic about running for office.”

Next, Alaina Shearer speaks, and she discusses with the many activists, protesters and supports how far women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and people of color rights have come throughout history. She says, “I would not be able to speak in front of you all today. What I am doing now would have been illegal a hundred years ago. When I am elected, I will be the first woman ever from Ohio’s to represent the 12th Congressional District in Congress”, Shearer said.

After both Democratic candidates said their speeches, all the many activists, protesters, and supports gather around to come up with ideas to say for chants in downtown Delaware. Alaina Shearer starts the Women’s March off by chanting, “When do we want equality?” The protesters behind chant, “Now!” as they continue to chant. Many drivers drive by demonstrating their support by honking their horns in support of women’s rights. Alaina’s Shearer’s Congressional US bus drives by downtown Delaware County as it plays inspirational music such as” Fight Song” by Rachel Platten and “This girl is on Fire” by Alicia Keys. Once the march is over, Alaina Shearer gathers all the protesters and thanks them to show up and demonstrate their support.

2020 Elections: Apex 1 Radio GM casts ballot

Apart from being the General Manager of Apex 1 Radio and a fine broadcaster, Gracee Boycee is a proud citizen of the United States of America. Unlike other days, Thursday, October 22, 2020, was different in her life. For the first time, she had to add her voice to the those of millions of Americans to decision-making through the ballot box. Consequently, Gracee was spotted among thousands of voters who showed up this day at the Franklin County Board of Elections to cast their votes in what has been described as early voting.

“It was a wonderful experience, given that it is the first time I am casting my ballot in an election in the United States – that makes me really proud of myself,” Gracee told The New Americans Magazine upon stepping out of the ballot room. The GM further said: “I’d encourage voters to come out in their numbers and perform their civic duty these early days in the process, regardless of the long queues, it runs really fast, thanks to good organization.”

Prior to voting, the Apex 1 Radio GM had expresses anxiety and excitement to taking part in this year’s elections, described as particularly important in the life of the history of politics in the United States. Back stage, she supervises 2020 RACE, a radio show that focuses on the elections, created in November 2019. “This show waters my appetite to vote, I can’t wait for October when early voting would kick off,” she had always told the editorial team of the show.

Meantime, early voting began on October 6, 2020 and over 50 million Americans have cast their ballots. The rest of the country goes to the polls on November 3, 2020.

Baby Shower in the Liden Community

On October 17th, 2020, expected mothers and new moms attended the community baby shower in Liden from 12 pm to 2 pm at the Church of Christ at Genessee Avenue, 1889 Genessee Avenue. The event was co-sponsored by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Gamma Zeta Zeta Chapter, and Columbus. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther was in attendance and thanks all of the volunteers for their involvement in making today’s event an eventful one. Executive Director Maureen Stapleton, who took over the organization about a month ago, stated that “an event like this is a bi-partisan thing.” Today’s mission was to build a community relationship with all expected mothers by actively being involved throughout their pregnancy and provide the necessary resources after the child is born to help reduce infant mortality rates. “We are making sure new mothers are connected to the help they need, getting the education they need to ensure that their children are safely sleeping and not dying of preventive diseases,” Stapleton said. They are thousands of other organizations whose mission is to reduce infant mortality, and Celebrateone partners with them to continue that initiative.

For more information about this organization and how you can help, visit. https://www.columbus.gov/celebrate-one/

Another fairy tale season ends in heartbreak.

Reynoldsburg and Hilliard Bradley faced off with one another last night in a second-round play of the battle. The atmosphere of the night was just right for a Friday night football game under the lights. Both sides understood the importance of the game. They also did their best abilities due to the COVID -19 pandemic, but to tell you from someone who is an alumnus of the school and been around the city during a playoff game… man, it’s was a great feeling. Going into how significant a factor the crowd would have played in this game and ultimately sway the Raiders’ momentum. After a year off, the Raider’s family lost two former players, and this game would have carried a lot of weight in the community. But in the end, the Hilliard Bradley Jaguars were the victors.

Picking up in the second quarter, you start to see that both teams are getting past the stage of feeling each other out and seeing the game’s real seed. The Raider defense makes a great play at the red zone where they forced a fumble and created a 2nd & goal situation for Bradley, then the quarterback for Bradley threw an incomplete pass on 3rd down and caused them to kick a field goal to make the score (11-10). Hilliard kicked the ball off to Reynoldsburg, and once they got the ball, they took off running. The offense was clicking on the ground, pounding away at the Jaguar’s defense. When the Raiders would try to implement the passing game going with Dijon Jennings, the Bradley secondary defense was everywhere. It was hard for him to get in a rhythm with his receivers. In the end, the raiders keep it again on the ground and turn the result into a Reynoldsburg touchdown ( James Williams) made the score 17-10. After the kick-off, the ball landed at the 35-yard line of Bradley. The Jaguars offense was creating the momentum with a high tempo, a lot of QB out of the shotgun formation and rolling out of the pocket and draw plays up the middle, making the Raiders’ defense tired and looking burnt out.
With 4:23 left before halftime, Hilliard scores with a pass to tie up a 17-17 with ( 2:41) left in the second quarter. Hilliard
Kicked the ball off, the Raiders take over on their 26-yard line. The offense came out with three pass plays in a role all incomplete, and all three attempts looked like the quarterback and receiver connection was not there at all. After that, Reynoldsburg punts the ball away and gives it back to Hilliard Bradley. Bradley takes over on their 28-yard line. They complete a pass to get them to the 41-yard line, then Bradley immediately calls time to stop the clock to avoid any costly mistake on the next play that would jeopardize the game for them. After the time out, the Raiders’ defense gets a sack by Jabari Mitchel and causes the Jaguars to punt on 4th and 19 and ultimately end the half all tied up at 17-17.

As time goes off the clock for halftime, I notice around 1:54 of the halftime break I see the Quarterback of Reynoldsburg ( Dijon Jennings) gather up his reviving core and take them to the field so they all can work on routes and get that connection back before the start of the second half. As he saw and noticed the needed adjustment, I took note of making a great leader and quarterback. They kick off the second half with the Reynoldsburg Raiders getting the ball on the 42-yard line, and the first play they come out with is their bread and butter, a run play for Damiel Broomfield, then come back a passing game to Justin Barko to give the Raiders excellent field position. The crowd is going crazy; the energy is there. The momentum is swinging in Reynoldsburg favor. The Raiders cap of this drive with Williams’s 4-yard touchdown, making the score ( 24-17). The Raiders kick the ball off to Hilliard, and they take over at the 25-yard line. As I watched how Bradley conducts their offensive game plan, I was amazed. The run sets everything up; when I eluded to it earlier in the article how the Jaguars were getting all their chunk play, and scoring drives were all from QB role outs and play action, they were successful in the defense and focused on the run. With both teams coming back from halftime, the Raiders were ready for that type of playstyle. Hilliard’s first time out came as the field end in a three and out with Reynoldsburg getting the ball back with 7:41 left in the 3rd quarter. The Raiders get the ball on the 12-yard line. Reynoldsburg completes the pass for the Raiders 1st down; then, they come with another pass play that Justin Barko caught, but Hilliard stripped the ball! And the fumble was recovered by Hilliard Bradley. Major momentum killer for the Raiders is never false for Reynoldsburg to shoot themselves in the foot and stop them from breaking this game wide open. Hilliard Bradley Jaguars capitalize and score on a screen pass to the running back Deswyuan woods with that opportunity. Hilliard kicks the ball off, Reynoldsburg takes over on the 27-yard line, they get a couple of good productive plays, starting with a 20-yard run by Broomfield. They get down to 4th and one but decide to go for it, and the Raiders convert and keep the drive alive. By retaining the ball, the crowds and the players rejoice! Reynoldsburg keeps moving and gets into another 4th and three situations and decide to go for it with 1:20 left, but they get stopped. So, they have to punt the ball and give it back to Bradley to end the 3rd quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Bradley received the ball but was careless and pushed the ball away from themselves. Reynoldsburg starts their drive at their 22-yard line; the excellent production from their running backs and convert on 4th down with 7:10 left in the game; they come back with a pass play intercepted and kill the driving momentum once again. This interpretation was not the best-looking sight; it was terrible to see the quarterback run around in the backfield, looking for someone to receive the ball. But it doesn’t help when your quarterback throws a jump ball up in the air hoping and wishing his recovery will come down with it under pressure. You won’t get the best outcome. Hilliard Bradley turned that interception into a pick-six! As a result of the Raiders’ costly mistake, Hilliard capitalized on the opportunity to extend the lead, making the score (31-24) with 5:55 left in the game. The Bradley sideline exploded; it was Mayhem. The Raiders get the ball on the 30-yard line, the first play of the drive pass play to Alex Crump-Whitson that would have resulted in a touchdown for Reynoldsburg called back a holding penalty. Another drive and momentum killer, Raiders try to come back with another pass play but fell incomplete and resulted in a Reynoldsburg punt. Hilliard Bradley gets the ball and gets shut down; the Raiders defense does their job and gets the Jaguars off the field. Reynoldsburg receives the ball back on the 46-yard line due to a shanked punt; it’s due or dies time now, a little over 2 minutes left on the game clock. Jennings completes a pass Markez Gillam rush up to the line but gets a false start penalty to be moved back to the six-yard line with 1:08. Raiders call QB run play for Jennings gets them to the goal, then they called a pass play, and it’s caught in the back of the end zone by Markez Gillam off a quick slant making the score 30-31 with 16.5 seconds left in the game the Reynoldsburg raiders play for the win and go for it and try the 2pt conversion. Everyone is on their feet, both sideline in jeopardy of getting sideline warning penalties, but for both teams, which would make the play and advance to the next round. It came down to the Hilliard Bradley Jaguars, making a stand at the goal line and winning the game. The Reynoldsburg Raiders, a halfback dived up the middle with a full box stacked against them and denied poor play calling with the talent and team you have. You come up with that poor execution; you felt the disappointment from the players, the coaches, and the parents in the stands that it was another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs. As Bradley players and coaches run on to the field to celebrate, it was a bittersweet ending for Reynoldsburg football.

RB Bell released by the Jets

The Jets released Bell on Tuesday after a little over a year’s worth of time together in which Bell rushed 264 times for 863 yards — a paltry 3.27 yards per carry — and three scores. Once seen as the NFL’s best back, Bell became a nonfactor, bringing about questions of his usage.

Jets head coach Adam Gase told reporters,
“It’s irrelevant at this point,” he said. “It didn’t work out. It didn’t work out. We’re going to focus on this game right now.”

Bell’s release came just days after he took his displeasure to Twitter, going on a liking spree with tweets griping about Bell’s lack of worth while touches in 2020. This came after he saw a season-high 13 carries (gaining 60 yards) and caught his lone target for seven yards.

That simply isn’t the type of usage you anticipate when spending $52 million over four years on a star runner. Instead, it becomes a waste of salary and cap space.

One might chalk up Bell’s lack of production to a lack of availability, which is slightly true, but his employer did him no favors. An attempt to quickly revamp the offensive line blew up in the Jets’ faces last season, producing the league’s worst expected yards per carry mark at 3.8.

Simply, very few Jets have done anything of note in New York’s offense since Bell arrived.

That responsibility falls on the shoulders of Gase, who was hired with a lingering reputation as being an innovative offensive mind, and has since produced an ugly mess of a unit that has contributed to the NFL’s worst per-game scoring margin at -17.2 points per game.

“At the end of the day offensively, we haven’t really done a whole bunch to really impress anybody right now,” Gase said. “We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to get corrected. We’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to play better, and that really on the entire team.”

NFL Network’s Kim Jones reported Gase will not give up play-calling duties after briefly considering it and ultimately deciding against it.

Gase said the Jets will now turn to veteran Frank Gore and youngster La’Mical Perine to man the backfield moving forward. Whether that produces any noticeable improvement remains to be seen, and if the last few weeks are any proof, the Jets should probably be more focused on the health of their franchise quarterback than anything else (New York is 11-19 with Darnold and 0-7 without him since 2018). Sam Darnold (shoulder) won’t play Sunday, Gase said Wednesday, veteran Joe Flacco will start in his place.

Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has been named the Atlanta Falcons, interim head coach, the team announced Monday.

Morris replaces Dan Quinn, who was fired Sunday along with general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

Morris has coached on both sides of the ball in Atlanta. He was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, finishing with a 17-31 record. Now he takes over an 0-5 Falcons team.

“Raheem is a strong leade,r and a talented coach that has adapted to a variety of roles since joining the Falcons in 2015,” Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay said in a statement. “He has experience as a head coach and has worked on both sides of the ball. We felt that combined with his connection to the players and coaching staff, which will be an important factor as we move forward in 2020, he was the right person to give this responsibility to.”

Morris, who switched from coaching wide receivers last season to work with the defensive backs, was credited with helping the Falcons’ dramatic turnaround in 2019 following a 1-7 start. The team closed the season 6-2 to finish 7-9, essentially saving Quinn’s job for one more season.

Some viewed Morris, 44, as a potential head-coaching candidate this past offseason. One NFC team even inquired about bringing him in for an interview, although Morris never interviewed any other NFL teams.

Both Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Quinn gave Morris their blessing to pursue head-coaching opportunities, even after Morris was named the team’s defensive coordinator for 2020.

Quinn (Morristown NJ native) should not be unemployed for long as undisclosed teams have already been on the phone seeking info on the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

Gracein Gracee

The grace in Gracee

Outstandingly self-confident! Likeable! Not only one, two nor three next-on-the-line profilers of Gracee Boycee would have this description of this woman – everyone else who has known her would speak in unison. Gracee stems from a rare category of people whose passing around necessarily leaves an indelible mark and this has been  generally accepted to be so. You cannot take that away from her.

The first encounter in November 2013, between this writer and the now influential broadcaster, was revealing. It took the introductory lines of a conversation that was going to materialize, years later, in the most amazing collaboration, to identify in her, a trait most professionals who hunger for quality work would desire – do-it-to-success.

Coming from a legal studies background, Gracee’s aspiration, has always been to create several other backgrounds and she entertains no fears in venturing into the next big thing. That bold posture is what ferried the General Manager of Apex 1 Radio to embrace broadcasting which she now practises as a big hand, after more than five years in the noble world of radio. During this time, the amazing on-air personality has rolled out some of the most appealing radio concepts: MADAM DIASPORA (2015-2017), a radio panel discussion that put the records straight on African women abroad and their lifestyle and LIFE HAPPENS (current), a roundtable, offering multi-dimensional perceptions and perspectives on happenings in life.

Before starting what is today a brilliant career in broadcasting, the boss lady, as she would fondly be referred to, transitioned from Law, her roots, to Healthcare where she operated and still does, as a Nurse. “She only goes in for the noblest of the professions,” someone mentioned. But to this writer, Gracee jacks in everything and interestingly possesses of mastery of all.

Profession and career are not however the only armors around this great woman. Gracee’s life philosophy is so deeply rooted in positive mindedness. Her lens is fashioned to zoom on silver linings and her hurricanes take care of the dark clouds before they even show up. In her ceaseless ‘life must go on’ response to every situation, the chocolate complexioned CEO of Rhema Healthcare, believes that we absolutely need to move on than despairing over predicaments. “Falls happen because we can rise after they do – so don’t even waste a moment – rise and move on,” said the host of LIFE HAPPENS in one of her editions.

Perhaps, Gracee’s biggest identity, is her social interaction, described as superb. She is unarguably the leading l’amie de tout le monde (friend to all), not only in her community, but beyond boundaries. “Gracee is undoubtedly the biggest supplier of love and compassion in this community – everyone benefits from it, the young, the old, you name it,” one of bosom friends indicated at press time.

“I cannot go for a day without having at least, a phone conversation with Gracee. I get my regular doze of inspiration from just talking to her – she is such a sweet soul,” Atem, another confidant of the ever-jovial multitalented broadcaster told this writer.

Gracee’s unbeatable social interaction traits easily pave her way to event halls where event organizers long for her emceeing. “Her excellent sense of humor is a great ingredient to her presentations and we just love having her around to do our events,” one of them told this writer.

To the God-fearing Nigerian (proudly Calabar, Cross River State), also a US citizen, it takes simplicity, humility and being nice to the people you meet, to live a great life. By the mighty hand of God, she can consolidate these and largely the reason she is on her feet, smiling all the time and intrinsically admired by everybody.

Cleveland Night: Candidates, Union Reps, throw in Support for Biden

The campus of John Hay High School would typically not have been a campaign ground for any candidate at this year’s elections, was it not the venue for one of the presidential debates. Even Ohio House Representative Juanita Brent got there by the mere chance of it. Like any other ambitious electoral competitor, she welcomed this golden opportunity to discuss her hopes of reelection and plan for Ohio House District 12. She would gladly do, to any visitor to the Biden and Harris tent, including Journalists who had shown up in Cleveland for the much-awaited debacle.


This year, Brent’s campaign trail is different, determined to a more considerable extent by the COVID-19 pandemic. “My campaign has relied on phone banking and social media, and no-contact literature drop-off to reach out to her voters,” Representative Brent told Journalists.
“Once re-elected, I will make local businesses in the Cleveland area receive Personal Protection Equipment in a bid to protect workers from the Coronavirus, now known to be the stumbling block on our economy,” she promised.
According to the aspiring legislator, Joe Biden is the United States leader during such a crisis. “He has demonstrated honesty, integrity, and exceptional leadership tendencies, which are clear indications that he will pull the country out of COVID-19,” Brent said confidently.
Like Representative Brent, who sees Joe Biden as the means to the end of the current health scare, Amber Miller, a syndicate worker from the steel sector, believes the Democratic candidate is the right man for the country this time. Miller, who was in Cleveland support Biden, under the banner of Steelworkers, a labor union organization from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, said she was in total support of the latter’s plan to ensure that all workers have access to Personal Protective Equipment.
“Our Union had asked Joe Biden and Donald Trump to complete and return their endorsements forms and return to us, but only Biden did,” she revealed. According to Miller, it is an added reason why they think the Democratic candidate is much more severe than his opponent.
As with other political activism outfits, this year’s activities have been different due to the COVID-19. “We have had to work with phones and written material which we drop off at a place to reach out to supporters,” Miller said further: “Our Union has demonstrated its support for the Democratic list by projecting Biden-Harris logos on buildings.”
Many other Biden campaign volunteers thronged the John Hay High School campus and could be seen serving free yard signs and T-shirts.