The struggles that Black coaches have endured at Power 5 Conference schools are well publicized, whether it be Kevin Sumlin’s current troubles at Texas A&M, Charlie Strong’s issues at Texas, or the problems Tyrone Willingham encountered first at Notre Dame, then later at the University of Washington. But not every African-American who gets promoted to the head spot at a high profile school finds the going rough. Indeed David Shaw at Stanford has compiled one of the most glittering records of any coach over the past seven years, though you wouldn’t know it unless you took the time to research…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn Despite their awful second half performance against Pittsburgh last Thursday, the Titans’ chances for their first playoff berth since 2008 look good. With six games remaining they stand at 6-4. Even though a game behind Jacksonville’s 7-3 (assuming that the Jaguars dispatched the winless Cleveland Browns), the Titans have already easily handled the Jaguars in Jacksonvillle. The key to the playoffs will be how the Titans navigate the remaining AFC South games. They still have a road game left against the Colts Sunday, and upcoming home games with the Texans and Jaguars. Win all three and they…
If all any college football fan in this state followed during 2017 was Southeastern Conference football, it has been a horrendous season. No one thought Tennessee was going to win the SEC or make the College Football playoffs, but they were expected to contend for an Eastern Division title. Instead they went through a nightmare season that has resulted in the firing of head coach Butch Jones, a slew of injuries, and seven straight SEC losses. There will be no bowl game for the Vols this season, indeed not even a winning year. Had Derick Mason not gotten an extension…
The college basketball season has barely begun, but the news has been mostly bad. First, the sport was rocked by allegations of corruption and scandal weeks before preseason practice even began. Reports surfaced that the FBI had been investigating all types of things from under the table payments to high school players to phony names on shoe contracts. Five assistant coaches were initially arrested, but the biggest name bounced thus far is Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. He was canned by Louisville despite his admonitions that he was totally unaware of anything illegal going on, and that he should remain…
After last season’s dramatic turnaround that included a victory over Tennessee and a bowl trip, it seemed Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason had finally dispelled the doubters who felt he was the wrong person to replace James Franklin in that role. While Franklin was glib and congenial, Mason is a straight shooter with little use for either clever clichés or lofty phrases. Franklin was an offensive guy, Mason a defensive one. Franklin twice was able to get Vanderbilt to nine win seasons and once even had them in the Top 25. Thus far, no Mason team has been able to…
By Ron Wynn The Tennessee State University Tigers season took another hit Saturday as a late rally against Tennessee Tech fell short. TSU lost its fourth game in five tries 30-26 against the Golden Eagles in Cookeville. Tennessee Tech entered the game winless in both Ohio Valley Conference contests and overall, but they jumped on top of the Tigers quickly 10-0, built a lead, then held on at the end. Some familiar problems resurfaced for the Tigers. Despite a spectacular game from wide receiver Patrick Smith (three touchdown receptions) the Tigers passing game failed in the most critical moments. Tigers…
MLB has long had a problem connecting with Black Americans, but it hasn’t often conceded it also has difficulty in getting all its other various constituencies to get along with each other. However that problem was brought front and center last week through an ugly gesture made in the dugout during the ongoing World Series between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers. Astros’ first baseman Yuli Gurriel made a slant-eyed gesture towards Dodgers’ pitcher Yu Darvish. He also uttered the word “chinito,” which is a Spanish derisive term that roughly translates into “little Chinese guy.” An almost immediate furor…
By Ron Wynn It was anything but an artistic triumph, and the Titans couldn’t even score an offensive or defensive touchdown, but somehow they found a way to edge the winless Cleveland Browns 12-9 Sunday in overtime on the road. That victory improved their record to 4-3, and left them in a tie with the Jacksonville Jaguars for first place in the AFC South. It also enabled them to go into the bye week with a two-game winning streak, and avoid being Cleveland’s first victim this season. However, it was far from easy. Their best weapon was kicker Ryan Succop,…
The path for Blacks in sports management and coaching remains a hard one, and the treatment of veteran manager Dusty Baker last week only offered an ugly reminder of that. Baker’s lengthy managerial career most likely is now over after he was dumped by the Washington Nationals despite leading them to consecutive National League East Division championships. Baker’s fatal mistake: in both his years the Nationals lost in the NLDS, and thus were unable to break their track record of never having won a playoff series. This time the Nationals had made a dramatic comeback to win Game 4 against…
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…