When the National Hockey League added the Nashville Predators 18 years ago, there were numerous skeptics who labeled it little more than a money grab by greedy owners. Granted, they did make millions in expansion fees, but the feeling was the NHL still had room for growth, and that the league could make it in non-traditional markets like Nashville, Phoenix, and states like Florida and North Carolina that had long been bastions of minor league clubs, but never exactly viewed as ripe for a big league team. It took a long time, but the Predators are now in the Western…
Author: Ron Wynn
The Nashville Predators made history Sunday at Bridgestone Arena with their 3-1 sixth game victory over the St. Louis Blues. It marked the first time that the Predators have advanced beyond the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their history. They are four victories away from the Finals and eight away from taking the Cup itself, something that was actually viewed as a possibility when the season began, but then seemed like a long-shot at best after a late season collapse saw them relegated to the second wild-card spot, and a first-round match against Cup favorite Chicago. But…
Seldom has a non-athlete gotten more exposure and been a subject of constant discussion than Lavar Ball, the father of potential NBA draft pick Lonzo with two more highly skilled sons following him in the pipeline. For much of the college basketball season, Ball’s flamboyant, often quite debatable statements were in the news. At one point he said his son was better than two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry already, even before he joined the league. Then when Charles Barkley took umbrage at his comments, he claimed that had Barkley thought like him he would have won a championship. He also…
By Ron Wynn The Tennessee State University Lady Tigers have a new head basketball coach. TSU Athletic Director Teresa Phillips announced Wednesday that Jessica Kern had been hired as the 11th head coach in the program’s history. “Jessica Kern is a high-energy and enthusiastic young coach who has successful experience in coaching, recruiting and playing basketball at an elite level,” commented Phillips on the TSU website. “The more I learned about her, the more convinced I became that she was the right fit for our university. She is committed to excellence in the classroom and on the court. A coach’s…
By Ron Wynn The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders took control of this game early and showed they are much better than a number 12 seed, beating Minnesota 71-62 in the NCAA tournament Thursday. The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders keep showing the nation that they are a very underrated basketball team. Thursday they scored their second straight NCAA tournament upset over a higher seeded team, defeating the fifth seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers 81-72. Last year as a 15 seed they knocked off number two Michigan State in the opening game. This time they were seeded a bit higher at…
By Ron Wynn The Vanderbilt Commodores overcame a 15-point second half deficit, but then suffered a crushing 68-66 loss Thursday to the Northwestern Wildcats in the NCAA tournament. The Vanderbilt Commodores made a rousing comeback Thursday afternoon against Northwestern only to suffer a crushing 68-66 loss in the NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt had been down by 15 points early in the second half, but then put together a 12-0 run to get back in the game. After missing a couple of chances to take the lead, Vanderbilt did indeed go ahead with only 18 seconds left by one point. Then came…
Belmont wins first round NIT game (web-only) By Ron Wynn The Belmont Bruins hit 14 three-pointers and rode a big second half lead to a 78-69 win over the Georgia Bulldogs Wednesday night at Athens in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion Belmont regained their three-point accuracy Wednesday night, making 14 of them while defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 78-69 in Athens to win their first round National Invitational Tournament game. Dylan Windler led the Bruins with 21 points. He made seven of 11 shots from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers. Evan…
Every major pro sports league in America recognizes they have a big problem when it comes to their All-Star games. While players recognize it is an honor to be voted onto an All-Star game, none of them want to risk jeopardizing their careers and earnings potential by approaching them like regular season contests, let alone playoff or championship games. The days when a Pete Rose would go barreling into Ray Fosse to win an All-Star contest, forever ending Fosse’s effectiveness as a topflight regular, are long over. The most recent example of this was the recent NBA All-Star Game, a…
The University of Tennessee’s losing streak continued Wednesday night in embarrassing fashion, as they were defeated 92-82 by Louisiana State University. It was LSU’s first SEC home win this year, and ended their 15-game consecutive conference losing streak. The Volunteers not only dropped their third straight, but sixth in the last eight games. A team that was once thought to be in contention for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid is now only 7-10 in the SEC, and is 15-15 overall. They need a win against Alabama Saturday to avoid having a losing regular season record going into the SEC Tournament in…
By Ron Wynn Filip Forsberg’s uncanny scoring streak continued Tuesday night as his efforts powered a Predators’ comeback and 5-4 victory in Buffalo. Over the past six games he’s scored 10 goals and added four assists. He’s also scored in five straight games. Forsberg scored the game winner at the 2:45 mark of overtime. Nashville overcame a 4-2 third period deficit to get their fourth straight win. “He’s the best player in the league right now, the way he’s playing,” Predators defenseman P.K. Subban told the Associated Press. “Whatever he’s doing, I don’t know what it is. Just continue doing it.” “He’s been outstanding,”…