There are some situations in which everyone involved comes out looking bad, and that clearly seems the case regarding the controversy surrounding former college and pro football star Michael Oher. What was once considered the ultimate “feel-good” story about a family adopting a young man and helping him become a successful and productive adult has instead been called a lie and sham, and cited as another case of the exploitation of a gullible young Black athlete. When the film “The Blind Side” was released in 2009, the story of how Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, a Mississippi couple, took into…
Author: Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Most baby boomers have fond memories of the TV series “The Lone Ranger.” It featured a masked man and a Native American who were lawmen chasing and catching criminals in the Wild West. The only thing most folks did not know at the time was the series was based on a real person, and he was a Black man. Bass Reeves utilized disguises, wielded six-guns, had a Native American sidekick and arrested many bad guys during his lifetime. Now prolific television producer Taylor Sheridan is planning a Bass Reeves series. Sheridan has enjoyed lots of success with…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though well known for her comedic roles, over the last couple of years Tiffany Haddish has also been expanding her profile into other areas. Last Friday her first entry into science-fiction opened in theaters as she’s appearing in “Landscape With Invisible Hand.” Haddish acknowledged to Yahoo Entertainment that she had never taken any sci-fi roles, but joked that maybe she did have experience with aliens. “I do believe in aliens to a certain extent,” Haddish said last week. “I’m pretty sure I work with some. But I do believe in them. … They’re in…
It’s a safe bet that no other offensive coordinator is under more scrutiny this season than the Washington Commanders’ Eric Bieniemy. He left a Super Bowl championship team expected to contend for that title again to join a floundering team with new ownership and a head coach squarely in the crosshairs in Ron Rivera. In the third season of a five year deal, Rivera has amassed a subpar 22-27-1 record as a head coach. His QB Sam Howell has a minimal track record and last year’s offense was dreadful. Enter Eric Bieniemy, formerly the man in charge of an offense…
NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville SC will host the Leagues Cup championship game Saturday. They advanced to the final with a 2-0 victory Tuesday night at Geodis Park. Now they also get two bonuses from the win. The immediate one is they will face Inter Miami and the great Lionel Messi in the title match. Messi, acclaimed as both the world’s greatest soccer player and also arguably the best of all time,has been on fire since joining Inter Miami. He’s scored nine goals in six games, including one Monday night in leading his team to a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia Union.…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — There are several prime titles coming this month from Black authors as the summer winds down. They cover various subjects and range from memoirs to exposes and essay collections. One of the more poignant is Don’t Let Them Bury My Story. It’s a first person account of the horrendous 1921 Tulsa riot from 109-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher. The 60th anniversary of the March on Washington that brought over 250,000 people to the Capitol is August 28th. “I Have A Dream” is a new special edition volume of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s monumental speech.…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of the often overlooked or overshadowed heroes of the Civil Rights Movement was Bayard Rustin. Though he was a trusted advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was also an openly gay man in an era when oppression against gays was commonplace, and life was even tougher for a Black gay man. Despite playing a key role in many Civil Rights marches and strategy and playing a major role in The March on Washington, Rustin has not received his just due. The upcoming film “Rustin” hopes to correct that oversight. It will…
Anyone still clinging to the illusion that major College football was different from the NFL saw that myth utterly destroyed last Friday. That was the day when naked, unrestrained greed, the force that has been controlling it since the early 80s, once more revealed itself and the results were not pretty. Over the course of roughly one day the Pac-12, a conference with a track record of competition dating back over a century and one that had won more titles than any other, saw itself obliterated as eight of its 12 schools have now defected. USC and UCLA had already…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Volunteers will have to win big games on the road this season to equal or surpass last year’s exceptional 11-2 mark. There is plenty of optimism given the caliber of performance that returning QB Joe Milton showed late last year. They have also recruited well, getting two receivers reportedly faster than last year’s pair who are now both in the NFL. But the 2023 schedule has two of Tennessee’s three toughest games on the road. They open with Virginia in Nashville September 2, then Austin Peay in Knoxville the following week. Their…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans are preparing for their preseason opener Saturday in Chicago with lots of national folks doubting their worth. Preseason predictors in such places as Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, The Athletic and others rate the Titans at or near the bottom of the AFC South. Because both the Colts and Texans have big question marks regarding the starting QB, the Titans are expected to finish ahead of them. But few think the Titans are even serious contenders for a wild card spot, let alone challenging Jacksonville for the division title. Still, one plus…