‘It’s pretty cool’: Ryan Reaves talks about TV show based on his great-great-great-grandfather
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
It was around two years ago when Toronto Maple Leafs winger Ryan Reaves said he received a phone call from someone about the idea of creating a TV show about his great-great-great-grandfather Bass Reeves, who was one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals.
Now it has become a reality. Paramount+ has aired the first three of the eight-episode series “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” starring David Oyelowo in the title role. The show, whose executive producer is “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, also stars Dennis Quaid.
“It’s pretty cool. Obviously, this guy was one of a kind in his field at a time when Black people weren’t necessarily respected in that field or in the community at all,” Reaves said. “For him to be in that position and have the career that he did. He was famous for [pursuing] a lot of people. … He got into multiple shootouts by himself.”
(Reaves’ name is spelled differently because his grandfather replaced one of the E’s with an A.)
Reaves first learned about his connection to Reeves more than two years ago after his father, Willard, researched their family history. Bass Reeves was born into slavery and eventually escaped north into territory where Indigenous tribes such as the Cherokee, Creek and Seminole resided, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Reeves’ knowledge of the territory allowed him to serve as a guide for the Marshals whenever they had to enter that territory in an attempt to find fugitives. He was eventually named a deputy U.S. Marshal, a role he held for more than 30 years.
A story from the Chickasaw Enterprise in 1901 claimed Reeves arrested more than 3,000 people, while the Muskogee Times Democrat also reported that Reeves often single-handedly arrested criminals who had been charged with everything ranging from bootlegging to murder.
Author Art Burton wrote in his book “Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves” that Reeves never sustained a single gunshot wound throughout his career. Burton also presented the hypothesis that Reeves may have been the inspiration for the fictional character the Lone Ranger.
Reaves, who is known for being one of the NHL’s most physical players over his 800-plus-game career, said learning about his connection to his great-great-great-grandfather led to him going down what he described as “a rabbit hole” when it came to Reeves and Black history as a whole.
“It’s cool learning about stuff like that, people like that in history — people who have been through some pretty serious trials and tribulations,” Reaves said. “Especially people who’ve been through it when the odds were stacked against them — being a Black man in a white man’s world back then. It’s fascinating stuff and I’m sure once this show comes out, I know I am going to watch it and I am going to be a little more intrigued with it and do a little more research.”
While the show is a western that is expected to have some fictionalized elements, just the fact that it’s being released is a point of pride for Reaves because of what it means within the context of Black history.
“It’s just a pretty cool story to learn that this is a distant relative,” Reaves said. “Especially with the problems and the challenges that he had being a Black man.”
In 2022, Quinnipiac University revealed its findings from a national poll that showed only 27% of Americans believed what they learned in school “reflected a full and accurate account of the role African Americans played in the United States.”
An article from the National Council for the Social Studies in 2017 cited a survey of more than 500 U.S. elementary, middle and high school social studies teachers, which revealed less than 10% of total class time in those classrooms is devoted to Black history.
Education Weekly reported that since January 2021, 44 states have introduced bills or have taken other additional measures that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism or sexism.
In addition, there are the personal challenges many Black people have faced trying to learn about their family history because many slaves were not allowed to read, write, attend school or legally marry, among other restrictions.
Even Oyelowo, who is an executive producer on the show, told Vanity Fair in August that he “had no idea who [Reeves] was” and that a cursory Google search was “the beginning of the obsession with trying to get [the show] made.”
Reaves said he feels a show like “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” could not only help educate people, but could also provide more insight into the importance of preserving Black history.
“Not everybody is opening up a book and thinking about Black history,” Reaves said. “A lot of people like to go and watch TV. They like to see it and they like to see it dramatized. Obviously, because it’s a show on TV, there are going to be some things that aren’t necessarily fiction but the facts have been extended a little bit. Some scenes are obviously dramatized. You don’t have the exact script of what people are saying back then. But it opens up your eyes to what was going on back then. I think that’s the way culture is. It’s no longer just looking at books and reading encyclopedias. It is getting everything visually now.”
Although nobody with the show has recently reached out to Reaves, he said that he’d be open to having a cameo role because of the personal connection and what it means to him and his family.
“I’ve done a little acting in my day, so why not?” Reaves said with a laugh, in reference to a series of commercials in which he was the spokesperson for the Southern Nevada Water Authority from his time with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Reaves is also excited because he’s a big fan of Sheridan and the work he did with making “Yellowstone” among the most popular shows on TV. Reaves said that he and his wife, Alanna, typically don’t like watching shows when they first come out and would rather wait until the season is over so they can binge watch them.
That’s what they did with “Yellowstone,” but Reaves said their viewing habits will be different now that there is a story that is a bit more personal for them.
“With a producer like that who has made some pretty big hits — because ‘Yellowstone’ I know is very popular and it was one of the most talked about shows when it came out,” Reaves said. “To have him doing a show about somebody in your family, you know it’s going to be a hit and you know people are going to tune in. It’s going to be a good show, but it’s also going to tell a story that’s about one of my relatives.”
On New Year’s Eve, Penn State became the first team to lock up a spot in a College Football Playoff semifinal when it beat Boise State 31-14 in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Texas needed double overtime to escape a gritty Arizona State team 39-31 on New Year’s Day and advance to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, where it will face Ohio State on Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Penn State, which has yet to trail in a CFP game, will face the winner of Notre Dame–Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl was postponed until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday after a deadly truck attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 and injured dozens more.
While Penn State awaits its opponent, here’s an early look at the semifinal matchup between Texas and Ohio State. — Heather Dinich
When: Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the quarterfinals: Texas has gone through quite an identity crisis over the past six weeks on offense. The Longhorns went from rushing domination in their final two regular-season games, to not being able to run in the SEC championship, back to rushing domination in the first round against Clemson, back to struggling on the ground against Arizona State. So which Texas rushing attack will show up against Ohio State? There is no doubt that Texas will need a bigger rushing effort to beat the Buckeyes. Perhaps offensive tackle Cameron Williams will be healthy enough to play and will help make a difference. Either way, we learned that Texas still has work to do to put together a complete offensive performance.
X factor: TE Gunnar Helm. Texas likes to utilize its tight ends in the offense Steve Sarkisian runs, and Helm came up huge in the win over Arizona State, with three catches for 56 yards — and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Helm was big in the opening-round win over Clemson, too, with six catches for 77 yards and a score. Sarkisian praised him leading into the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, saying, “The multiplicity of the things that the tight end has to do in our systems make him extremely valuable. When you have a good one, I think that that makes our lives a lot easier from a playcaller perspective.”
How Texas wins: Texas has been ranked the No. 1 defense in the country for the bulk of the season for a reason, and we saw that for large swaths of its win over Arizona State. The Longhorns will have to continue to set the tone up front and get after Will Howard to make him uncomfortable. Michigan provided the blueprint for winning in November, when it dominated the Buckeyes on both lines of scrimmage. Texas certainly has the potential to do that with its defensive and offensive fronts. But the Longhorns will have to absolutely be better on their offensive line to have any shot to win. They were overwhelmed at times by a smaller Arizona State defensive front. — Andrea Adelson
What we learned in the quarterfinals: No one can stop Jeremiah Smith, and by extension, the Ohio State offense. Against an Oregon team that defeated them in October, the Buckeyes came out of the gates at the Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential ready to prove the Ducks didn’t have their number. Thanks to Smith, who caught five balls for 161 yards and had two touchdown receptions of 40-plus yards in the first half alone (he finished with 187 yards), Ohio State looked to be playing at a different speed, as Oregon seemed helpless on both sides of the ball. The freshman wide receiver was a blur, speeding past the Ducks’ secondary with ease while making his case for being not just the best freshman in the country — or the best wide receiver — but one of the best players in the sport. It helped that nearly every Ohio State skill player who touched the ball found gold — running back TreVeyon Henderson averaged double-digit yards per carry while adding two touchdowns, and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka added his own tremendous play in a 42-yard touchdown grab in the first half. It was all a reminder that the best version of this Buckeyes team might just be unstoppable.
X factor: RB TreVeyon Henderson. Texas’ defense might have no choice but to sell out to stop Smith, and though Smith might still get his, it will certainly open things up for other wideouts on the Buckeyes’ offense in addition to Henderson. The senior has not been particularly splashy this season, but he has been consistent. In Pasadena, however, he looked as good as ever, recording his first 100-yard game of the season. There’s no question that Ohio State’s air game is its strength, but if it can pair it with more consistent running from Henderson, the Longhorns will have a tough time on defense.
How Ohio State wins: Short of doing exactly what they did to dominate Oregon in Pasadena, the Buckeyes have a clear recipe for success now. The confidence they inherited from avenging their loss to the Ducks should be enough proof that they have the talent and execution to beat any team remaining, especially Texas. A healthy dose of Smith will be essential, and the stout defense that has had more sacks than any other playoff team so far will need to pressure Quinn Ewers, but a lot will certainly fall on Will Howard‘s shoulders. In the Rose Bowl, Howard looked as comfortable as he has looked all season long. He had no crucial mistakes, threw three touchdown passes and found Smith over and over again to much success. He’ll have to do more of the same in the Cotton Bowl. — Paolo Uggetti
OTTAWA, Ontario — Danny Nelson scored the eventual game-winner in the third period and Trey Augustine made 38 saves, leading the United States to a 4-1 win over Canada on Tuesday night and into the top spot in Group A at the world junior hockey championship.
Cole Hutson and Cole Eiserman each had a goal and an assist for the Americans. Ryan Leonard scored into an empty-net.
Bradly Nadeau scored for Canada, which allowed three goals on seven American power plays. Carter George stopped 24 shots.
Canada finished third in the pool and will face Czechia in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Americans face Switzerland.
“We’re not here to beat Canada tonight,” Augustine said. “We’re here to win a gold medal.”
The other matchups will have Group B winner Sweden take on Latvia, and Finland square off with Slovakia.
Canada and the U.S. played in the same building exactly 16 years to the day at the 2009 event, when John Tavares scored a memorable hat trick in Canada’s 7-4 comeback victory on New Year’s Eve. The Canadians went on to win a fifth straight gold.
“That’s something that’s storybook-like,” Eiserman said of beating Canada on home soil in the tournament’s marquee round-robin matchup. “Something that you’ve dreamt of.”
The teams met on New Year’s Eve for the first time since Dec. 31, 2016, when Canada picked up a 3-1 victory in Toronto. The U.S. got revenge less than a week later with a 5-4 shootout win in the title game in Montreal.
The Americans opened this under-20 tournament with a 10-4 win over Germany followed by a 5-1 victory over Latvia before losing to Finland 4-3 in overtime. Canada started with a 4-0 defeat of Finland before falling to Latvia 3-2 in a shootout and then rebounding to beat Germany 3-0.
The Canadians had a power play to start the third period while trailing 1-0 after Leonard took a roughing call at the end of the second. Nadeau blasted a one-timer for his first goal of the tournament off a feed from Brayden Yager at 1:58.
Nelson restored the U.S. lead at 4:22, taking a pass from Huston and beating George with his third goal.
The U.S. scored its third power-play goal of the game at 13:21 when Eiserman scored his second and put the game out of reach at 3-1 after a boarding penalty by Canada’s Easton Cowan.
Leonard scored into the empty net with 1:52 left in regulation to spark chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
George, who entered with consecutive shutouts that bookended the Latvia loss, saw his streak end at 133:02 on Tuesday’s first power play to silence the beer-chugging crowd at Canadian Tire Centre.
In the first period, Hutson took advantage of a failed Canadian clearing attempt on a U.S. power play and scored his second goal of the tournament.
Tempers flared later in the period when Canada’s Luca Pinelli and Zeev Buium of the U.S. went off for roughing and then jawed at each other in the penalty box.
Leonard hit another post for the Americans and Carson Rehkopf fired an effort that Augustine, who entered with an .879 save percentage in two starts, got enough of with his glove at the other end before tempers again boiled over at the buzzer.
In another Group A game, Finland beat Latvia 3-0 and finished second in the group. In Group B, Switzerland beat Kazakhstan 3-1 to secure a spot in the quarterfinal round. Also, Sweden completed a sweep of its four preliminary round games, beating Czechia 4-2 in another Group B game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
New York Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, an NHL source told ESPN on Tuesday.
The Rangers recalled NHL veteran Louis Domingue from the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack. Shesterkin’s backup, Jonathan Quick, is 5-4-0 in 12 games this season with a .907 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average.
Shesterkin stopped 21 of 25 shots in the Rangers’ 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday night. During that game, Panthers forward Sam Bennett was checked into Shesterkin’s upper body by Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Shesterkin was down on the ice briefly but didn’t leave the game.
Shesterkin, 29, is 11-15-1 in 27 games this season with a .906 save percentage and a 3.10 goals-against average. While the Rangers are 20th in goals against per game this season, Shesterkin is second among all goalies with 13 goals saved above replacement, according to Stathletes.
It has been an eventful month for Shesterkin. He signed a contract extension with the Rangers on Dec. 6 that makes him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history: an eight-year, $92 million deal that starts in the 2025-26 season. The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner is in the final year of a four-year deal with an average annual value of $5.66 million.
The injury to Shesterkin is the latest bit of adversity for the Rangers this season. They are 16-19-1 after 36 games, having lost four in a row and going 2-8-0 in their past 10. The Rangers were seven points out of a playoff spot entering Tuesday night.
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