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…
Author: Ron Wynn
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…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Tim Ghianni has been a Nashville and journalistic treasure since he began a nearly five decade stint as an editor, reporter, photographer and columnist for a host of Middle Tennessee publications. Over the course of that award-winning career, while he also covered many other areas from crime to city politics, sports and state government, Ghianni cultivated numerous friendships with both top Music City and national artists. His latest book “Pilgrims, Pickers and Honky-Tonk Heroes: My Personal Time with Music City Friends and Legends in Rock ‘n’ Roll, R&B, and a Whole Lot of Country…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of the music world’s greatest losses came a couple of years ago with the news that the great Sonny Rollins was no longer going to be playing. Rollins, jazz’s finest living soloist, had finally reached the point he no longer would be giving those remarkable powerhouse concerts featuring one of the music’s most immediately identifiable, soulful sounds on tenor and (periodically) soprano saxophone. Fortunately, almost all his great music remains in print. Plus outstanding new reissues are coming as well. The latest is a superb three-disc set “Go West: The Contemporary Records Albums”…
It’s rare when widespread attention is focused on a team that went 1-11 last season, and even stranger when that same team gets its season opener on national television. But that is precisely what is happening at the University of Colorado, which has been a news magnet for months. That’s because this is the place Deion Sanders landed in his first Power 5 coaching job. Sanders has been the talk of the college football world, pro and con, since he let Jackson State to take the Buffaloes head job. It’s been quite an eventful six months for Sanders, whose Colorado…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The eyes of the nation, or at least those watching on NBC, will be able to catch the Tennessee State Tigers on the road as they open the 2023 season at the University of Notre Dame. It’s the first visit to South Bend for the Tigers and the Irish’s inaugural contest against an HBCU. While Notre Dame will be heavily favored, it’s an opportunity for the Tigers to get some exposure and also prepare for the regular season and Big South- Ohio Valley Conference race. That game will be on September 2 at 2:30…
NASHVILLE, TN — Gospel music’s biggest awards night now has its own showcase and network. The 2023 Stellar Gospel Music Awards debuted Sunday on the newly launched Stellar Network. It will air on BET this Sunday and Bounce TV in September. The top winner was Pastor Mike, Jr. He won eight awards for his album “Winning,” and opened the show in tandem with Kierra Sheard Kelly. They performed “Miracles” and “Impossible.” DOE, who entered the industry with her family as a member of the group Forever Jones, received three awards for her album “Clarity.” Zacardi Cortez also won three statues…
NASHVILLE, TN — There’s not much positive news happening at the moment regarding any television or film production, but there are a few things occurring that don’t fall within the purview of the SAG/AFTRA and writers’ strikes. One of them involves auditions for one of the nation’s longtime musical competition shows “American Idol,” Auditions began this past Wednesday for the 22nd season of the program, even though it won’t make its formal appearance on ABC until the spring of 2024. But the network also announced that there would not be any changes in either the judging panel or host. The…