It has been well over a year now since Colin Kaepernick went from being an NFL free agent to a pariah. Over that time, he’s been the lightning rod for a protest campaign that has electrified many and angered others, while also triggering reaction from owners that’s ranged from bemused comments to threats about firings, and then the possibility being floated of insisting players stand for the anthem (which didn’t happen). Finally there’s been kind of an uneasy peace. The NFL owners did craft a conciliatory agreement with a select players’ committee pledging various amounts to charities, but even that…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn The Lady Vols made history in Knoxville Sunday, but not in a fashion they want to remember. Oregon State, a number six seed, stunned the number three seed Lady Vols 66-59, knocking them out of the NCAA Women’s Tournament in the second round. It was both the first time the Lady Vols have lost an NCAA Tournament game on their home floor, and failed to advance beyond the second round for two straight seasons. Oregon State survived a dismal opening quarter that saw them commit six turnovers and only score nine points. Things weren’t much better in…
Sports View by Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Memphis Grizzlies, who relocated to the Bluff City from Vancouver after the 2000-01 season, once took pride in being one of the NBA’s blue collar teams. They weren’t fancy or flamboyant, just steady and consistent. They once reached the Western Conference Finals despite lacking a first team All-NBA player, and Fed Ex Forum got the nickname “The Grindhouse,” a reflection of the type of hard nosed team, players and game that the Grizzlies represented. But as the league’s style and focus shifted towards perimeter play and three-point shooting, increasingly it seemed…
By Ron Wynn When the college basketball season began, Middle Tennessee State University was regarded as the local team with the best shot at making the NCAA Tournament, followed by Belmont. But Sunday when the selections were announced, neither of them were part of the field. Instead, Tennessee, picked to finish 13th in the SEC during preseason, and Lipscomb, a team that had never made it to the NCAA Tournament since becoming a top tier program, were in and both MTSU and Belmont were out. Tennessee won a share of its first SEC regular season title since 2008, and despite…
Sports View Given all the headlines this season regarding allegations about illegal payoffs and coaching improprities, the last thing the NCAA needs right now are more bad stories. They would rather the focus remain on all the conference tournaments, Selection Sunday, March Madness, etc. But instead, situations in Memphis, Tennessee and Storrs, Connecticut, have refocused attention on the ugly side of college basketball. That is the win or else mentality that permeates the sport, despite the myths about student athletes, amateurism, and the value of education. At the University of Memphis, a famed coach is no doubt on his way…
By Ron Wynn A Tennessee team picked in preseason polls to finish 13th wrapped a stunning surprise season Saturday in Knoxville, clinching a share of the Southeastern Conference Championship with a 66-61 comeback victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. It was their first time atop the league in any capacity since 2008, and the 10th time in their history they’ve either been champions or co-champions. Admiral Schofield had 23 points and Grant Williams 22, but the winning free throws came from Jordan Bowden, while Lamonte Turner had a trio of key second half three pointers. The Volunteers completed a 13-5 league…
For many decades there was an ugly, unwritten rule in the National Football League: Blacks couldn’t be quarterbacks. It didn’t matter how great they were in college, or how gaudy their statistics, once they were drafted they would be shifted to other positions, and not even get a chance to play QB. The rare ones who were able to break through like Eldridge Dickey and Marlin Briscoe were either frustrated by their team’s reluctance to offer them the chance to show their skills on a fulltime basis, or converted to other positions (Briscoe became a Pro Bowl caliber receiver). Some…
Until Sunday, no Black driver had raced in either a top tier NASCAR event or the Daytona 500 since 1971. That was the final year for pioneering Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR regular driver, whose best finish at Daytona was 13th in 1966. But Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. not only changed all that, he made history by finishing second in NASCAR’s biggest event. This followed a week where Wallace was the talk of Daytona. He finished third in a qualifying race Thursday. Plus NASCAR had named him earlier as one of the new racers they would be touting during…
Usually when there’s a story about a guy who is six feet, six inches and 238 pounds, chances are pretty good he’s a basketball or football player, possibly a baseball player. But Jordan Greenway not only doesn’t play any of those sports, he’s something even more rare. He is a Black American hockey player, the very first African American to play on the United States Olympic hockey team. Greenway already made a name for himself in the 2017 World championships. He played for the United States Junior team that ended up winning the gold medal. He finished as the number…
Dynasties used to be regular occurrences in professional sports. Whether it was the Boston Celtics in the NBA, Montreal Canadiens in the NHL, New York Yankees in MLB, or at various times the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, there would regularly be at least one team that stood head and shoulders over others in their era and would string together impressive and lengthy runs of championships. But over the last few years, only one team has consistently proven itself worthy of being called a dynasty. Like or loathe them, that team was and…