​It seemed improbable and were considered a long shot by many basketball analysts and watchers to go all the way and win an NBA Championship when the 2018/19 season started, but that is exactly what they the Toronto Raptor did against all odds.
 
They defeated the defending NBA Champion, the Golden State Warriors in game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals to win their first ever NBA Franchise title.
 
Trading Demar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs and picking up a stud of a player in Kawhi Leonard the Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri took a Gamble and today Thursday June 13th2019, everything came full circle for a Franchise that had been searching for a title and legitimacy as a contender, by winning against a resilient and seasoned NBA Championship Franchise in the Golden State Warriors with a final score of 114 – 110.

​Divine Oduduru representing the Red Raiders of Texas Tech University stamped his name in the annals of NCAA and Track and Field History on a steamy Friday evening in Austin Texas when he blew away the competition to take the Men’s Title in the 100 meters with a time of 9.86 seconds and a bit later on with a 19.73 seconds run in the 200 meters, lowering the Nigerian Record of 19.76 seconds which he had set a few weeks back when he broke the almost 20 years old 19.84 seconds record of Francis Obikwelu.

The 69th FIFA Congress convened today in Paris and, by acclamation, re-elected Gianni Infantino as the President of FIFA until 2023.
The ninth president in the history of the organisation was first elected at an Extraordinary Congress in February 2016 and now starts his first full four-year term of office after running unopposed and being elected by acclamation by FIFA’s 211 member associations.
“In just over three years, this organisation went from being toxic, almost criminal, to being what it should be: an institution that develops football,” said Infantino when addressing the Congress. “This new FIFA has a mission and a plan for it, which is why the next four years have, in fact, already started: we have laid solid building blocks for the future.”

The strategic partnership – the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East - brings together two leading players in their respective fields providing customers with powerful turnkey solutions

LONDON, United Kingdom, June 3, 2019/ -- Getty Images (www.GettyImages.com), a world leader in visual communications, and APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), a leading media relations consultancy and press release distribution service, have announced a wide-reaching collaboration to promote integrated text, photo and video solutions to organizations operating across Africa and the Middle East.

• Tournaments to serve as test events for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
• FIFA administration to recommend potential hosts of 2021 revamped edition at next Council meeting
• Amended regulations reinforce zero tolerance of racism and sexual abuse

In the lead-up to the 69th FIFA Congress and the opening of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, the members of the FIFA Council convened in Paris today for meeting no. 10 of the decision-making body.
Following the approval of a revamped FIFA Club World Cup with 24 teams, the pilot edition of which will be played in 2021, the FIFA Council decided to award Qatar the right to host the next two editions of the tournament in its existing format in 2019 and 2020.

​A Few Days to FIFA’s 69thCongress and days before the kick off of the women’s World Cup in France the membership of Football World’s Governing body’s Council met to address a number of key items and key amongst that was lifting of the suspension of the ban of Sierra Leone in International football due to violations of its policies against government and political interference of its functions. In a release dated June 3rd2019 it stated; 

France is gearing up to host a ground-breaking edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ with a starting list of teams which includes, among others, the current top ten of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking as well as four newcomers, Chile, Jamaica, Scotland and South Africa.
FIFA has gathered a select group of experts for its Technical Study Group (TSG), whose analysis of the 52 matches will comprise a detailed breakdown of the action on the pitch and the identification of potential trends for inclusion in the technical report that will be distributed to all FIFA member associations after the competition.

#TryAndStopUs campaign features 15 inspirational women and girls with ‘unstoppable’ qualities from around the globe
DUBLIN, Ireland, May, 2019/ --  World Rugby (www.World.Rugby) unveils new global identity, brand proposition and campaign for women’s rugby; #TryAndStopUs campaign features 15 inspirational women and girls with ‘unstoppable’ qualities from around the globe; Huge growth in women’s rugby to 2.7 million participants with a 28 per cent increase in registered players since 2017; Biggest ever representation of women on World Rugby Council with 17 female members in position; New www.Women.Rugby website launched to promote #WomenInRugby.

World Rugby (www.World.Rugby) has today launched a new ‘Women in Rugby’ brand identity (www.Women.Rugby) and landmark global campaign ‘Try and Stop Us’ aimed at driving increased participation and engagement among fans, audiences, players and investors in the women’s game.

The global campaign, developed with the support of national unions and regions, uses striking imagery and the inspiring stories of 15 women and girls involved in rugby at all levels of the game from around the world, who are ‘unstoppable’. They have challenged barriers to participation and demonstrated how rugby has empowered them to get where they are today, both on and off the pitch.

​Niger, considered a major migratory hub in West and Central Africa, is a country of origin, transit and destination for numerous vulnerable migrants
ZINDER, Niger, May, 2019/ -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) officially handed over last Friday (17 May) the Centre for the Prevention, Promotion and Protection of Children (CEPPP) in Matameye, department of Kantché, Zinder region, to representatives from the Ministry of Women Promotion and Child Protection (MPFPE) in Niger.

The centre was built and equipped through the project Assistance for Nigerien Returnees in Agadez and Zinder Regions (ANRAZ), funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) at the request of the MPFPE, to support local authorities in managing migration and protecting vulnerable persons, particularly children on the move.  

Record total of 457,861 applicants for the 40th race in April 2020
The Virgin Money London Marathon, the most popular marathon on the planet, set a new world record for a third successive year as an incredible 457,861 applicants registered for a ballot place in the 2020 event, which will be the 40th edition of the race. 
The new world record total represents an increase of 10.5 per cent on last year's previous world record of 414,168 applicants for the 2019 race.
373,736 of the applicants for 2020 were from the UK. This is 25,860 up from the previous UK applicant record of 347,876 for the 2019 event. A total of 84,125 people applied in the international ballot.
More than 56 per cent of the UK applications for 2020 were from people who have never run a marathon and just under 48 per cent of the total UK applicants were women.

USA’s Dwight Phillips has donated a pair of spikes to the IAAF Heritage Collection which is currently on public display in Qatar ahead of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Phillips, the 2004 Olympic and 4-time World long jump champion, has given the shoes which he wore when leaping to bronze at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
The spikes were symbolically handed over to the collection in Doha via the safe hands of Qatar’s best young long jumper, 18-year-old Rasheed Abdullah Al-Suwaidi who trains in Aspire under the guidance of coach Al Walid Abdullah.

Following her second title of 2019 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Karolina Pliskova jumps to No.2 on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard. The Czech sits less than 300 points behind her compatriot Petra Kvitova, who is the only other player to also capture two WTA singles titles this season.

Johanna Konta soars 25 spots on the Leaderboard after a runner-up finish in Rome to reach No.13, as semifinalists Kiki Bertens stays at No.4 and Maria Sakkari enters the Top 20 at No.18

Andre Morgan Ayew is expected be named the substantive Ghana captain of the Black Stars in a shake-up ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, 
Coach Kwesi Appiah will make the defining announcement latest by Wednesday when the Black Stars provisional squad for the tournament is named.
This comes after coach Appiah took the decision to strip Asamoah Gyan of the team's leadership role as he would only be a pit-part player at the tournament in Egypt.
Ayew aka Dede who commands big respect among the players in the Black Stars is expected to instill the needed discipline in the squad to help Ghana win the title

Ghana’s Black Muscles conquered in all Categories in the recent Arnold Classics in South Africa.
Here are the full results at the end of the competition- 
Derrick Marley *1st* in up to 75kg 
Godwin Frimpong *1st* in up to 85kg 
Joseph Ofoli Kwei *1st* in up to 90kg 
Adom Mobio *2nd* in up to 70kg 
Abraham Torkornu *4th* in up to 75kg
Kofi Salia aka Asaase *2nd* in up to 100kg

Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from the senior national team.
Ghana’s All-Time topscorer who is also called Baby Jet wrote on his Twitter handle  “As an active footballer yet to retire, I have been in the team since 2003 and have played with some members of the technical team who were my seniors. Through such periods, there were no times substantive captains were part of the team in a tournament and had to surrender their captaincy to other players and served in different capacities. Mr. Richard Kingston and Stephen Appiah would be in the best position to understand this. My team, my family and fans have had reasons to whisper the trend of reportage and articles either to substantiate my exclusion or inclusion and again rumoured roles I am to play at the AFCON in Egypt. In all my answers have been, ‘respect the decision of the coach because the records under year per game minutes and goals for all attackers are evidence to guide his decision”.

Lausanne, May 20, 2019  ​ An eight-person strong delegation, led by Interim President Dr. Mohamed Moustahsane met today with the IOC ad-hoc inquiry committee.  
During the meeting, a number of areas were discussed including AIBA’s significant progress in regards to finance, governance and refereeing and judging. AIBA provided the committee with insights into its complete transformation of the organisation, explaining the improvements made and assessment tools put in place that will ensure the continued positive work that has been done to rebuild all areas of the organisation. In addition, the AIBA team further responded to the last outstanding points raised by the committee. 

Veteran boxing ring official, Ataa Eddie Pappoe has adviced Isaac Dogboe, thge former WBO world super bantamweight champion not to lose hope after facing his second defeat in the hands of Mexican Emanuel Navarrete in the USA.
The president of Africa WBC ring officials told Yours Truly in an exclusive interview that Isaac Dogboe is very young and can come back to reign again.
He said many things happen in sports and boxing, so his two loses should not make him feel he has lost the world.
Ataa Eddie Pappoe who has inspired many boxers and officials in Ghana said boxing a sport, and one can win, lose or draw and losing must rather motivate ‘The Royal Storm’ to train better and harder to get back to the top.

Janet Nana Ama Egyir of Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies claimed her second Most Valuable Player (MVP) award against Mali at the WAFU Zone B competition.
Janet was rewarded with the individual accolade after regulation time against Mali at her side clinched an 8-7 triumph of the female Eagles of Mali.

Following the success of last year’s global event, IAAF Run 24-1 will return for its second edition on Saturday 2 June with a series of 24 one-mile runs staged around the world, to support the Global Running Day, the worldwide celebration that encourages everyone to get moving.
Beginning on the Pacific island of Fiji and ending 24 hours later in USA, the IAAF Run 24-1 initiative incorporates races held in 24 cities across 24 countries on six continents to create the largest continuous one-mile run to ever take place across multiple cities in 24 hours.
More than 12,000 runners participated in the inaugural IAAF Run 24-1 in 2018 and this year the participation is expected to increase across the 24 host cities.

Omy TV, a private television station which produces majority sports programmes and events has signed a deal to partner the Women In Sports Association (WISA).
Chief Executive Officer, Miss Joyce Aku Mensah of Omy TV and Madam Gloria Commodore, Executive Director of WISA signed the deal to promote women sporting activities in Ghana and beyond.
The 62 year old Gloria Commodore said she was aging and needed a vibrant young lady to support her, and Omy TV came with open hands to aid.

Women In Sports Association (WISA), an NGO that seeks to the welfare and motivates females doing sports has congratulated the Black Queens for winning the bronze medal at the recent WAFU Zone B Tournament that was held in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire.
Madam Gloria Commodore, the executive director of WISA said the Black Queens were never disgraced as they were not beaten in open play, but through penalties which any body can win.

The President of the Rugby Union Mauritius – RUM, Kevin Venkiah termed this agreement as historic

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, May, 2019/ -- A special delegation travelled with the national team to meet the Royal family and the economic authorities of Monaco.

A strategic partnership has been signed between the Rugby Union Mauritius (http://MauritiusRugby.org) and the Fédération of Monaco rugby as part of the game development and friendly exchanges between the two federations, including the Mauritius2024 Olympic program.

The International Cricket Council today announced that Uber, the world’s largest personal mobility company, would be an official sponsor of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.
 
The partnership will make Uber the first mobility and food delivery app to strike a sponsorship deal with the ICC for the Men’s Cricket World Cup, one of the most watched sporting events, which will be played in England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July with an estimated global viewing audience of 1.5 billion.
 
Uber’s campaign ‘This World Cup, Every Fan Wins’ aims to create a culture of togetherness and puts cricket lovers at the heart of the celebration, which includes the World Cup’s first and very own anthem - Way-O, Way-O. 

The Black Queens of Ghana beat their Malian counterparts 9-8 on penalties after a scoreless game to grab the bronze medal at the West Africa Football Union Zone B Tournament in Abidjan, Cote d Ivoire. 
Ghana, the defending champion lost to the eventual winners, Nigeria on penalties at the Semi Finals.
“We can still be proud of this amazing mix of new young talent and experience. The future really is an exciting one for us.” said coach of the team Mercy Tagoe Quarcoo.

Ghana’s leading telecommunications network, MTN Ghana, has presented a cheque of GHS 9,937,274.00 to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) at the Pension House in Accra as dividend for the year ended 2018.
This follows the approval of a final dividend of GHS 368,714,230.80 (GHS 0.03 per share) at the company’s maiden Annual General Meeting held at the Fantasy Dome, Trade Fair Site in Accra on Tuesday, May 14, 2019.  This will bring the total dividends payable for the year ended 31 December 2018 to GHS 614,523,718.00 (GHS 0.05 per share) to shareholders.   
Presenting the cheque to SSNIT on behalf of Scancom Plc, (MTN Ghana), Chief Finance Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr. Modupe Kadri, said, “The dividends for 2018 represents 81.14 percent of profit after tax and also a 14.4 percent increase over the dividends paid in 2017. SSNIT as the third largest shareholder, is entitled to a total dividend of GHS 9,937,274.00”.