A once promising season ended prematurely Wednesday night for Tennessee State University, as the Tigers blew a six-point halftime lead and were edged 78-75 in overtime by Southeast Missouri in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Municipal Auditorium. Tahj Eddy hit a dramatic game-winning three-pointer with less than three seconds remaining (2.2) to give SEMO ;the win. That negated the tying three-pointer hit by Ken’Darrius Hamilton with 7.2 seconds and ended any hopes the Tigers had of continuing their season and maybe even getting a third shot at regular season champion Belmont. The Tigers were led by Wayne Martin…
Author: Ron Wynn
The Vanderbilt Commodores were on the verge of a tremendous upset that could have solidified their chances for an NCAA Tournament bid, but proved unable to hold on to a second half double-digit lead, losing 73-67 to the ninth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. The loss ended a four-game Vanderbilt win streak, but that wasn’t nearly the most bitter thing about the outcome. Vanderbilt got off to a hot start, and at one point in the first half were up by 19. They still had a double-digit lead late in the second half. But with about 10 minutes…
Tiger Woods is still making news these days, but most of the time it isn’t for what he does on the goal course. Instead, it is usually for appearances, business deals or potential comebacks. The most recent example was when he and Justin Timberlake, partners in the Nexus Luxury Corportation, announced last week they were purchasing a stake in the Hurricane Junior Golf Course. It provided a wealth of publicity and attention to a tour that seldom gets even a fourth of the attention given men or women’s professional golf. “The success of junior golf is an important element in…
By Ron Wynn The Tennessee State Tigers combined clutch free throw shooting with some key steals and defense to hold on for an 68-66 win over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels Saturday night at the Gentry Center. It was Senior night, and seniors Tahjere McCall, Jordan Reed and Wayne Martin all played key roles in the victory that improved their record to 8-7 in the OVC, and 17-11 overall. McCall set a school record for steals, ending with 72 up to this point. He also made two key layups in the final minutes. The Tigers made six free throws in the…
Few folks thought much would result from last Wednesday’s NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers. Aside from the fact the Clippers are reportedly one of three teams contacted regarding the possibility of a trade for Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony, no one look for any fireworks at the Garden. Instead, not only a capacity crowd of over 19,000 but a national TV audience as well got to see an ugly and quite unfortunate incident unfold. It was the specter of former Knick Charles Oakley being confronted by a host of security people, pushing back against…
Hall of Fame voting is a very secretive, selective process. There are no clear cut rules or stipulations, because what to one person constitutes excellence to another might just be the reflection of durability. There are always folks who downplay individual achievement in a team sport, and others who insist that changes in rules and improvements in technology, nutrition and medicine also should be factored in the equation when evaluating career performance. But one thing that should always, but sometimes doesn’t, count for a lot concerns individuals who achieve goals and marks that set records or put them ahead of…
By Ron Wynn The Williams sisters first faced each other in a Grand Slam event back in 1998, and it was at the Australian Open. So it was only fitting that Saturday that would be the place where Serena Williams won her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, and against her sister. Venus Williams had been the surprise story of the open until that match, making her way through the draw and reaching her first final in nearly nine years. But Saturday, while she gave her sister Serena a very competitive match, in the end it was Serena winning 6-4, 6-4.…
When President Trump signed an executive order Friday that temporarily bans refugees of several nations from entering the United States, as well as his overall immigration policies, it’s doubtful he even considered the impact that this ruling might have on the sports world. But now the NBA, which has players from numerous nations including several on the list, have asked for clarification from the President. Over the weekend they directly appealed to the State Department to get more understanding regarding the suspension of immigration and visas for citizens from designated countries and how it may affect travel for some NBA…
In most families anyone who has already won seven major titles would be the most famous member. When you add being a pioneer for both Black tennis players and women seeking pay equity in sports, it would seem impossible that anyone with those credentials could ever be eclipsed or overlooked. But even when Venus Williams was beginning her career, her proud father Richard was telling the tennis world he had another daughter he considered an even better prospect for stardom. The rest became history, as Serena Williams has emerged as arguably the greatest woman player (some would argue best period)…
For most people who reached the finals in three of Four Grand Slam events, and the semifinals in the other, 2016 would be viewed as a great year. But for Serena Williams, whose standards are far higher, that wasn’t the case, even though she did win her 22nd major title at Wimbledon and tied Steffie Graf for second place among women on the all time title list and only two away from Margaret Court’s total record. “For me, it wasn’t a great season,” Williams told USA Today last week. “I think for other people it would have been wonderful. It…