By Ron Wynn Tennessee State tried to repeat its comeback formula from a year ago against Austin Peay, but this time the magic wasn’t there as they dropped a 21-17 homecoming game Saturday night at Nissan Stadium. It broke a six-game Austin Peay losing streak against TSU, and continued a turnaround season for a team that only last year had lost 24 games in a row when they met TSU. Now they are 3-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 4-3 overall. The Tigers are a disappointing 1-3 in OVC play, and 4-3 overall as well. They were hurt by…
Author: Ron Wynn
Many observers, including President Donald Trump, assumed that the National Hockey League’s demographics would insulate them from the anthem protests that have become the biggest sports story this year. When Trump met the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penquins at the White House he hailed them as “patriots,” and he referenced both the NHL and NASCAR in one of his rants against NFL players, proclaiming them to be examples of real patriotism and support for the military and the flag. Only it seems that Trump was wrong about that. Just last week the NHL had its first in season example of…
The toughest thing in any team sport isn’t necessarily winning a title. Rather it is trying to sustain success. The Nashville Predators are now finding out what life is like when you can’t sneak up on teams anymore. Last spring’s run to the Stanley Cup Final energized the city, turned a host of people who never even considered hockey worth watching into rabid fans, and put Nashville on the NHL map. The Predators reached the Final for the first time in history, but were defeated in six games by a veteran Pittsburgh Penquins team that became the first Stanley Cup…
By Ron Wynn Saturday was a bad day at the office for area college teams. Vanderbilt, Tennessee and and Middle Tennessee State University all suffered defeats in conference play, with a couple being rather ugly home losses. Vanderbilt, trying to recover from last week’s embarrassing 59-0 blowout defeat to Alabama, hung in for a half against number 21 ranked Florida in the Swamp. But the size and ability advantages in the line took their toll in the second half as the Gators rolled to a 38-24 victory, beating Vandy 21-7 over the final two quarters. Despite losing their starting QB…
By Ron Wynn Though she’s only a junior, it’s not overly optimistic to consider Lauren Artis as a possible future golf star. She’s been competing the past two years on the Hurricane tour, and last weekend competed in prestigious events held at Pebble Beach and Poppy Fields golf courses. Introduced to the sport by her father, Artis took to it naturally, and now enjoys it so much that she doesn’t even blink at the notion that practicing six days a week is a lot of time. She also is already as much into the cerebral aspects of the sport as…
Throughout the preseason and early portion of the NFL schedule, there has been plenty of debate regarding whether former 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick has been unfairly and possibly illegally barred from a chance to land on a new team. Kaepernick’s advocates have insisted that he isn’t on a roster solely due to NFL owners being leery of fan backlash if he were signed. That was particularly the case in Baltimore, where both the head coach and general manager were ready to sign him, only to have the owner express last minute reservations. But then the loose cannon that is Donald…
By Ron Wynn The Vanderbilt Commodores got a historic victory Saturday night in Nashville, defeating 18th ranked Kansas State 14-7. The game wasn’t secured until linebacker Oren Butler and safety LaDarius Wiley tackled Kansas State QB Jesse Ertz one yard short of a first down on fourth down inside Vanderbilt’s 20-yard line. It completed a series of defensive stands that held what had been a potent offense coming in to a lone touchdown. “I threw my hand up and said “Thank you Lord,” Vandy head coach Derek Mason told USA Today. Kyle Shurmur scored the go-ahead touchdown on a two-yard…
The world of sports broadcasting is no longer the totally white male enclave that it was throughout much of the 20th century. People of color and women, as well as members of the LGBTQ community are now standard fixtures on many telecasts on pretty much all team and individual sports. But while seeing a Black, Latino or Asian face on the sidelines, in the booth or even anchoring a newscast is nothing novel these days, the story of the late John Saunders rise to fame at ESPN still is far from the standard tale. For one thing, Saunders wasn’t born…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — On a night when their offense repeatedly misfired, the Tennessee State Tigers’ defense made a host of clutch plays and enabled them to grab a 17-15 Southern Heritage Classic victory over Jackson State before nearly 48,000 fans at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The Tigers got the win despite being dominated for long stretches, only getting 11 first downs and Jackson State having the ball for almost 34 (33:38) of the game’s 60 minutes. TSU QB Treon Harris had a dreadful passing game, completing just five of 17 passes for 78 yards. But he…
For 20 years Venus and Serena Williams have set the parameters and been the reigning queens of American tennis. It was back in 1997 that Venus won her first Grand Slam and Serena reached her first final. Over that time, Serena has established herself as the finest woman player in the history of the sport, while Venus has also shined as a champion and even more importantly as a fighter for pay equity for women players. But over the last couple of weeks, the future of American tennis, at least on the women’s side, has arrived. While Serena was out…