By Ron Wynn Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, widely regarded as the greatest sprinter in history due to his domination in both the Olympics and World Championships, didn’t end his final races in the accustomed manner last week. First, Bolt lost his final 100-meter solo race in stunning fashion, finishing third while longtime rival Justin Gatlin finally defeated his nemesis in a championship final. Then last Saturday Bolt suffered an injury while running the anchor leg for his Jamaican team in the 4 X100 meter relay. He was trying to make up ground when he just suddenly stumbled, somersaulted onto the track…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn Teresa Phillips has already been a trailblazer as both an athlete and administrator. Now she can add to her impressive resume Hall of Famer. Phillips was among 10 people named last week who comprise this year’s inductees into the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame. While Phillips is well known today for her role as one of the rare women to lead an athletic department, prior to coming to Tennessee State, she earned national acclaim and recognition as a Vanderbilt athlete Phillips was the first Black woman athlete in Vanderbilt history. She finished her career as a three-year basketball…
By Ron Wynn The Nashville Predators will need a new captain for a second straight year as last week Mike Fisher did what many thought he would: he retired after a distinguished 17-year career. Fisher, who had been named captain in 2016, helped lead the Predators to their first Western Conference title and Stanley Cup Final berth. But at 37, he had been battling injuries and wasn’t at 100 percent during much of the playoffs. Still, Predators’ management wanted him back, and had been holding out hope he would return. He had 18 goals and 24 assists in his final…
Just when it seemed that the ongoing Colin Kapernick story couldn’t get any stranger, it took a more bizarre turn last week in Baltimore. First it seemed that the Ravens were going to be the team the finally broke the embargo against signing him. The Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh had said some positive things about Kaepernick, and also indicated that he’d had conversations with him throughout the summer. He added that he’d gotten good reports from his brother Jim, who coached Kaepernick in San Francisco, and that he thought it might be a good thing, especially in light of…
By Ron Wynn The Nashville Predators solved the biggest piece of their off-season puzzle last Friday, signing center Ryan Johansen to an eight-year, $64 million dollar contract. They had obtained him in January of 2016 from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade for defensemen Seth Jones, hoping he could finally give them the number one center they had been seeking most of their existence. Off his performance this past season, and up until his injury in the playoffs that prevented him from appearing in the Stanley Cup Final, he had given them exactly what they wanted. In fact the…
The National Football League may soon find itself in another ugly public relations situation, and this time ownership may be at odds with the Commissioner’s office. That’s because the investigation into whether star running back Ezekiel Elliott has finished, but the results are such that, depending on whom you choose to believe, one can either claim he is guilty and deserving of an extensive suspension, or innocent and being railroaded. Making matters potentially worse is the fact that the woman who initially made the accusations is threatening to take her case far more public, and even file a possible civil…
By Ron Wynn The Stanley Cup runner-up Nashville Predators made several announcements last week, signing both players and coaches even though training camp is still several weeks away. They rewarded one of the main stars responsible for their unprecedented playoff push, while also hiring a replacement coach in a key position, and promoting another coach up the ladder. Viktor Arvidsson had a spectacular and unexpected season in 2016-17, jumping up from an occasional contributor to a premier first line member and major scoring threat. Though he did go to arbitration, Arvidsson and the Predators reached an agreement before the judge…
By Ron Wynn Football season won’t be here for another month and a half. Preseason practices don’t even start for NFL teams until later this month, while the colleges don’t kick off until late August. But expectations couldn’t be higher for both the Tennessee State Tigers and Nashville’s NFL entry the Titans, especially after two prestigious publications gave both teams high marks before their respective seasons begin. Street & Smith, long one of the premier college and pro football and basketball publications, had two Ohio Valley Conference teams highly ranked in their preseason issue that is now available on newsstands.…
There aren’t that many Black coaches at high profile programs, but the ones who are there find themselves facing the same high-octane pressures and often unrealistic fan expectations as their white predecessors and co-horts. That is certainly the case at four high profile programs across the country with Black coaches, all of whom have experienced a degree of success either at their current or past locale, but will still be under great pressure to keep things going in their new jobs. The first and the one facing the greatest amount of heat is Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin. Earlier this year…
By Ron Wynn “Nashville Baseball History: From Sulphur Dell To The Sounds” by Bill Traughber Nashville journalist and sports historian Bill Traughber has enjoyed a prolific and distinguished career that extends nearly two decades. In addition to having won multiple awards for feature writing, he has the added distinction of being the oldest former Brentwood High football player, having played on three of the earliest squads led by legendary coach Carlton Flatt. Traughber has interviewed many famous people in sports and politics while doing numerous stories and articles on the Nashville Sounds, Tennessee Titans and Vanderbilt sports among other subjects. His fifth book “Nashville Baseball…