Stardom and greatness has been predicted for Jerod Mayo dating back to his college days, when he was a star linebacker at the University of Tennessee. He became part of history last Friday as the New England Patriots named him their 15th head coach. His tenure with the team dates back to 2008, when the Patriots drafted him 10th overall. Mayo spent his entire NFL career with New England. He was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and in 2010 a first team All-Pro choice. He was also on the 2014 Super Bowl winning…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — After winning three awards Sunday at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards, the latest version of “The Color Purple” is now available for home viewing. Such digital platforms as Apple TV and Prime Video made the film available for either rent or purchase on Tuesday. It will be released to the DVD market on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and conventional DVD March 12. Those releases will have several bonus features according to Variety. These include three different features with the director Blitz Bazawule, as well as other filmmakers and cast members. There will also be behind…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Both a trailer and photos have been released online this week in advance of the upcoming Netflix biopic on the life and career of pioneering legislator Shirley Chisholm. The film titled “Shirley” was written and directed by John Ridley, and stars award-winning actress and director Regina King in the title role. The film is co-produced by both King and her sister Regina King, along with Ridley, Anikah McLaren, and Elizabeth Haggard. Ridley, Jeff Skoll and Ted Gidlow are executive producers. The film spotlights Chisholm’s landmark 1972 presidential campaign. But it will also cover her…
The National Football League’s track record with regards to advancement for Blacks in every area other than on the field has always been a mixed one, and particularly in terms of hiring head coaches. But as the playoffs begin this coming weekend, Black head coaches have acquitted themselves well in terms of getting their teams into post-season competition. Perhaps the most impressive performance was turned in by first-year head coach of the Houston Texans DeMeco Ryans. The former defensive co-ordinator of the San Francisco 49ers took over a team that had previously been at the bottom of the AFC and…
By Ron Wynn Jazz pianist, vocalist and bandleader Les McCann enjoyed a visibility and popularity within the popular music world that few in his field ever receive. McCann, who passed away at the end of 2023 at 88, got that notoriety due to being sampled by numerous hip-hop performers as well as for the crossover success of an LP he made with saxophonist Eddie Harris at the Montreaux Jazz Festival. While “Swiss Movement,” released in 1969, hasn’t sold in the quantities of “Kind of Blue” or enjoyed the critical praise and reverence of “A Love Supreme,” it was beloved not…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Keke Palmer has made news before in various acting roles, but last week she did it in a very different capacity: as a host. She became the the first woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Host For A Game Show in 15 years, and the first Black woman to be both nominated and win. She received her second overall Emmy award Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmys for her role as host of NBC’s “Password.” According to Deadline, it’s the first time this category has been part of the Primetime Emmys since moving…
The Denver Broncos squeezed out a narrow 16-9 victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. But that outcome, as well as the game itself, took a back seat to a simmering controversy involving QB Russell Wilson and head coach Sean Payton. Payton announced last week that Wilson would be benched for the final two games of the season, despite the fact that under Wilson this season Denver had rebounded from a slow start to get into playoff contention. Payton said the move was made strictly for football reasons. But Wilson claimed it was…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The NBC show “Found” has taken the premise of searching for missing people in a very different direction. The weekly show starring Shanola Hampton features her leading a team searching for missing people of color. It pivots off a 2016 study showing that missing Black children were drastically underrepresented in news broadcasts. The website Black and Missing was created to address this issue. The show also spotlights the fact that as of 2022 recent studies showed nearly 40 percent of the 546-to-568 people reported missing were people of color. Hampton portrays Gabi Mosely, leader…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Christmas Day launch of the latest version of “The Color Purple” was a huge hit, and as the holiday week extended into the New Year, the film remains in the Top 5 for audience impact and sales. But there’s also a surprise guest in this new version. Almost 40 years ago Whoopi Goldberg starred in the first film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel. She played Celie, an abused and uneducated Southern Black woman whose journey to liberation is at the center of Walker’s tale. The film, directed by Steven Spielberg, marked Goldberg’s big…
Fans who savor and appreciate long-form sports journalism and investigative reporting were saddened last week with the demise of HBO’s “Real Sports.” After 29 years, 37 Sports Emmys and a Peabody Award, the Bryant Gumbel-hosted program ended with a poignant 90-minute special. Gumbel, the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year, told the Washington Post he felt the show enjoyed a special place within the sports universe. “I think the show is going to be remembered as a show that tried to do sports journalism the right way and tried to treat fans, athletes, and sports with a…