Respected Black writer dies. Dorothy Sterling, known for her ability to engage young readers with her intriguing stories of African-American historical figures, died earlier this month at her home in Wellfleet, Mass. She was 95. Among her most well known books are “Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman,” which was published in 1954 and is still in print;  “Captain of the Planter: The Story of Robert Smalls” (1958), the first children’s biography of the slave who captured a Confederate gunboat during the Civil War; and “The Making of an Afro-American: Martin Robinson Delany” (1971), which helped stir interest in the little-known abolitionist, Harvard-educated physician and early proponent of Black nationalism. Read more about Sterling here.

Brother of hate-crime victim seeks help. As the New York Police Department’s hate crime task force looks for suspects in the attack of a Ecuadorean immigrant who was beaten to death on Dec. 5, the victim’s brother is asking his neighbors to help find the murderers.  Diego Sucuzhanay’s 31-year-old brother, Jose, was jumped on a Brooklyn street by men who yelled racial and anti-gay slurs at him, police said. Jose Sucuzhanay was attacked by three men who smashed a beer bottle over his head, hit him in the head with an aluminum baseball bat and kicked him, police said. “It shows how far we must still come to address the devastating problem of hate crimes in our communities. Only by exposing these crimes and working together will we be able to make a difference,” Sucuzhanay said at a news conference outside the hospital where his brother died. He said a $27,000 reward was being offered for information that could solve the crime.

Bolt, Powell, Gay to compete in 100. World record-holding Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt faces off with sprinters Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay tonight at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels, Belgium. Powell recently matched the second-fastest 100 sprint time ever, while Gay is a world champion in the event. The race, which will be Bolt’s last of the season, airs at 11 p.m. on the ESPN Classic network and again Sunday on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. “I’m definitely going out there to compete at my best,” Bolt says. The three runners are regarded as the fastest men of all time, with the 10 fastest times in the 100 on their collective resume. “This has never happened before,” meet organizer Wilfried Meert says of the race. Gay, however, says it’s possible that he’ll skip the race, depending on the state of his lingering hamstring injury.

Browns’ Braylon Edwards offers help to homeless youths. Cleveland Browns star wide receiver Braylon Edwards plans to score big, both on and off the field, for 4,000 homeless students in the community. Beginning at Sunday’s first Browns’ game of the season, the player says he’ll give $1,000 per each touchdown reception he scores to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Project’s ACT (Action for Children and Youth in Transition) program. “All children deserve to receive a quality education,” says Edwards. “It’s vitally important that we, as adults and community leaders, recognize the need to support those who are hindered by circumstances of basic survival when they leave class each day.” A Pro Bowl receiver, Edwards caught 80 passes last season alone.

Actress denies pregnancy rumors. NBA All-star Tony Parker may be Eva Longoria Parker’s husband, but he’s not her babydaddy. The actress denies that her recent change in appearance has anything to do with a little Tony or Toni. “I’m not pregnant. I’m just fat,” she says. “I gained five pounds over the summer, so instead of a size zero, I’m a size one.” Hopefully, Longoria Parker will come clean whenever it’s time to start calling her favorite point guard “papa.”

Fighter’s dream of medal cut short by dehydration. A bantamweight Olympics boxer won’t compete after he collapsed from apparent dehydration while still training. Gary Russell Jr. is said to have struggled to make the 119-pound weight limit to compete for a gold medal, but was found unconscious this past weekend in China after taking a long run. The two-time national champ was found in his room at the Olympics athlete’s village, but he was revived without hospitalization. “We became alarmed a couple of days ago when we saw he wasn’t sweating like he should,” says boxing coach Dan Campbell. “When these kids try to make weight, sometimes they cut corners. What we believe is he did not increase his fluid intake after we told him to.” Russell was a favorite to win the U.S. boxing team a top Olympics prize

NBA stars drop China 101-70 in Olympics. All-star NBA players Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming met on Asian turf with Ming representing his homeland of China in an Olympics game that saw the U.S. win 101-70. Still, Ming enjoyed a hero’s welcome Sunday among the natives, an estimated 300 million of whom play basketball. Wade scored 19 points, LeBron James hit 18 and Bryant matched Ming’s total with 13. The game in Beijing was the first time that any of the NBA stars played against Yao since March when he underwent season-ending foot surgery. Read more at Playa Hater.

Tyson Gay “pretty confident” about Olympics. Sprinter Tyson Gay says he’s “injury-free” after working out in Beijing Sunday, having previously hurt his hamstring. The 100-meter and 200-meter world champ had injured the muscle during last month’s American Olympics trials. Gay had already qualified to compete in the 100 at Beijing, but suffered the hamstring mishap during the 200 trials. The runner says he’s “pretty confident” about his performance expectations for the 100-meter race for a gold medal.

Sprinter sets a new mark in the 100-meter race. Tyson Gay is the new U.S. 100-meter sprint record holder after flying through an Olympics trial race this past weekend in Oregon. Gay’s 9.68 in the 100 meters was the fastest ever, but it was wind-aided. “It tells me I’m in pretty good shape,” Gay says. “We’ve got two more rounds left.” Gay’s 9.77 time was just .05 seconds slower than Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s recent world record. Gay finished second to Bolt in the New York race. The trials in Oregon will qualify athletes to represent America in the Beijing Olympics. Get the latest details at Playa Hater.http://blogs.bet.com/news/playahater/?p=694