If anyone has any doubts that major college football is first and foremost a big money enterprise driven by television dollars, they should be forever convinced by what the college football playoff committee did this past Sunday. For the first time in the history of the playoff system, an unbeaten Power 5 conference champion got excluded. Florida State, the ACC champion, was excluded despite posting a 13-0 record. Their sin was having their number one QB Jordan Travis injured and out for the season with two games remaining. Florida State still won those games, but the offense struggled to score.…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Alice Walker’s novel “The Color Purple” has previously been released as a film and also in a theatrical version. But there’s a new, updated film adaptation coming to theaters for Christmas. This week viewers can get an inside look into the making of the film courtesy of The Oprah Winfrey Network. It will present an hour-long special “OWN Celebrates The New Color Purple” Friday at 9 p.m. Central. Winfrey, who also executive produced the new adaptation, hosts the behind-the-scenes special. She will conduct interviews with the film’s cast and offer an intimate look at…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Concert films are proving a big draw this season as theatrical releases. Over the weekend the biggest high profile and most successful film released was “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” It was the followup to “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” though it opened in over 1,000 fewer theaters than “Eras” did. “Renaissance” opened in 2,539 theaters on Friday, the movie brought in an estimated $21 million to lead the weekend. Audiences gave it an “A+” on CinemaScore, same as “The Eras Tour.” “Renaissance” made another $6.4 million overseas for a global opening of $27.4…
With Sunday’s 119-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Memphis Grizzlies early season record fell to 3-13. They have yet to win a game at home in the new season. Their roster is so depleted the league recently granted them two hardship exemptions to sign players. Their situation shows just how quickly a team’s status can change, and how the combination of injuries and personnel issues can torpedo a team many once thought was on the edge of being a great one. Last year it seemed the Grizzlies had arrived. They finished the regular season with the second best record…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One way to tell if a film has been successful is when there’s talk about a sequel. That’s the case with the horror film “The Blackening,” which was made on a shoestring budget. It did so well that MRC and Lionsgate are developing a sequel. The production, which neatly blended gore, comedy and pop culture references, was created by the duo of Dewayne Perkins and Tracy Oliver. It had a sparse budget of five million dollars. Thus far it has earned more than than $18 million at the box office. So it’s not a…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — What once looked like it might be a special season ended in disappointing fashion Saturday for the Tennessee State University Tigers. On Senior Day the Tigers delivered their worse performance since the opener at Notre Dame. They fell behind by 14 in the first five minutes and things went downhill from there. The final result was a 35-0 defeat to Tennessee Tech. The loss was the first at Nissan Stadium for the Tigers. They ended the season 6-5, their first winning mark since 2017 and first under Eddie George. But they closed the year…
It’s been nearly a decade now since James Franklin left Vanderbilt to become head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. As the first Black head football coach in Vanderbilt history, Franklin had an impressive record in a short period. His teams were 24-15 over that three-year run. That included appearances in the Liberty Bowl, Music City Bowl, and the BBVA Compass Bowl. There were even appearances in the Top 25 and a pair of nine win seasons. That success earned him plenty of national attention and was responsible for his being hired at Penn State. Not everyone was thrilled…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s been a busy year for comedian, actor, producer and podcaster Kevin Hart. But Hart’s latest honor represents his greatest achievement. It was announced last week that he’s been chosen to receive the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in American humor. This award represents a career highlight, and it spans the three decades that’s seen Hart move from doing open mic nights in Philadelphia to become one of his generation’s top performers. Now 44, he began as a teen performing at venues such as The Laff House in his hometown under…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN —Thanksgiving week is proving more special than usual for Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Not only are they starring in “Good Burger 2,” which is streaming this week on Paramount +, but they will be riding in the Burgermobile at Macy’s famous Thanksgiving Day Parade. It will be airing on NBC (locally WSMV-4) at 7:30 a.m. CT and also streamed on Peacock. This will be the 97th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Though it had previously been announced that the Bugermobile would be part of the Parade, Thompson and Mitchell’s participation wasn’t announced until last…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans set a record Sunday, though it’s not one of distinction. Their 20-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was their eighth straight road defeat. They have not won a road game since defeating the Green Bay Packers last November. This one also featured all the problems that have plagued them the entire season as they fell to 3-6. Once again they were unable to score touchdowns, even in the red zone. They had to settle twice for field goals, first after what had looked like an impressive first quarter drive, the…