Jul 5, 2022 4 min read

Sharks hire NHL’s first Black GM

The San Jose Sharks’ three-month search for a general manager ended with a barrier-breaking hire as the team made longtime NHL forward Mike Grier the first Black GM in league history.

“It means a lot to me,” Grier said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “It’s not something I take lightly. I realize there’s a responsibility that comes with the territory. But I’m up for it. How I carry myself and how this organization carries himself, I think we’ll do well and hopefully we’ll leave a footprint and open some doors for people to follow.”

Grier fills the spot that opened when Doug Wilson stepped away for health reasons on April 7. Wilson had taken a leave of absence in November with Joe Will serving in the interim role since then.

Team President Jonathan Becher said Grier emerged from a pool of dozens of candidates because of his experience as a player, scout, coach and executive over the last few decades and his commitment to building a winning culture in San Jose.

But he acknowledged the history-making nature of the hire as well.

“I hope you do serve as an inspiration to lots of people and that I hope you’re the first and certainly not the last,” Becher told Grier.

Grier spent three of his 14 seasons in the NHL with the Sharks from 2006-09. He retired in 2011 after playing 1,060 career games, and has spent time as a scout in Chicago, an assistant coach in New Jersey and most recently the hockey operations advisor for the New York Rangers, where he was given many of the responsibilities of an assistant general manager.

In the NFL

The Dallas Cowboys sparked criticism on social media Tuesday after announcing a marketing agreement with a gun-themed coffee company with blends that include “AK-47 Espresso,” “Silencer Smooth” and “Murdered Out.”

The partnership with the Black Rifle Coffee Co. was revealed on Twitter the day after more than a half-dozen people died in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago.

It also comes a little more than a month since the Cowboys announced their role in a $400,000 donation to support victims and survivors of the school shooting in Uvalde in South Texas, where 19 students and two teachers died.

The tweet announcing the agreement between “America’s Team” and “America’s Coffee” drew about 200 comments in the first few hours, most of them critical and suggesting the timing of the announcement was poor.

In the majors

Bryce Harper has three pins in his left thumb, a cast on his left hand and an unyielding belief that he will return from injury this season to try and lead the Phillies to their first playoff appearance in 11 years.

“I’ll be back,” Harper said.

With those three words, Harper injected genuine expectations in the franchise and the fan base that the reigning NL MVP will play again at some point this season – and with a hope the Phillies are still in the wild-card hunt when he returns.

Harper declined to put a timetable on when he could he return to the lineup as the feared designated hitter in the middle of the order that led the team on a summer surge and put Philadelphia in the thick of a real pennant race.

• Logan Gilbert earned his 10th win to tie for the major league lead, Sam Haggerty hit his first home run in over two months and the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 on Tuesday.

The Mariners, who have won 12 of their last 15 games, swept the two-game set to win their fifth consecutive series. Seattle (41-42) moved within one game of .500 for the first time since May 4.