There are many angles and ramifications in Michael Jordan’s decision to sell his majority ownership in the Charlotte Hornets. It was announced last Friday that Jordan was finalizing a deal to sell the majority share to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. From a strictly monetary aspect, the deal is a huge success for Jordan. If the reported sale price of $3 billion is accurate, it is more than twice the value of the team estimated by Forbes. It is also more than 20 times what Jordan paid former owner Robert Johnson when he purchased the then…
Author: Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — The NBA finally announced its decision on Memphis Grizzlies’ guard Ja Morant last Friday. Commissioner Adam Silver said Morant would be suspended 25 games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league. The suspension went into effect immediately, and comes on top of the indefinite suspension that the team had placed him on since May, when a second video of Morant flashing a gun was widely released. The first incident had gotten Morant only an eight game suspension, something several NBA writers and commentators felt was too light. A similar criticism has been leveled in some circles, …
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Vols’ offense and defense both faltered Tuesday night as they were eliminated 5-0 by LSU at the College World Series in Omaha. Tennessee had rallied Monday from a 4-0 deficit against Stanford and had gotten a 6-4 victory to extend their season. But there would be no late rally against LSU. The Tigers started Nate Ackenhausen, who had previously been exclusively a reliever. He gave LSU six shutout innings, while Riley Cooper finished off Tennessee. The Vols twice left two runners stranded and once left the bases loaded. Defensively, they gave up…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Jazz Workshop is continuing to expand its series of community outreach events. Their latest is a new concert series titled “Jazz In The Park.” This will be a monthly series featuring three events held at the Hadley Park Bandshell. The series begins Friday with celebrated trumpeter and photographer Rod McGaha. McGaha has been a fixture on the Nashville music scene for decades. He also has a long and distinguished list of credits and collaborations. Initially discovered at a festival by legendary trumpet icon Clark Terry, McGaha has played with legendary jazz drummer…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It made $6 million while appearing in 1,775 theaters nationwide. This is the latest film to offer a different, definitely African American spin on the horror genre. It takes a comedic approach and is co-written by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins, and produced by Story, Olivet and Sharle Sam. “The Blackening” is based on a 2018 short film of the same name created by the comedy troupe 3Peat. The original productuon, as well as the 2023 version, tells the story of seven friends on a holiday retreat who suddenly find themselves trapped in a…
The University of Missouri made history last week on the baseball front. They hired former MLB pitcher, scout and coach Kerrick Jackson as their new head baseball coach. He joins a select group. At the start of this past season only 12 Blacks were head coaches in Division 1 baseball. That was out of 299 head coaching positions. Jackson is the first Black head baseball coach in SEC history. The ACC has never had one, while the Big 10, Pac-12 and Big 12 have each only had one. This is a reflection of the lack of Black athletes playing college…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Training camp is still a month away and the various organized team activities (OTAs) are underway. While the Titans did take care of one big bit of off-season business when they signed star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons to a new multi-year extension, plenty of other questions remain unanswered. Titans management was noncommittal publicly about the possibility of signing free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has been in town recently for a visit, and it is generally agreed he would represent a huge upgrade on what’s now available in regards to receivers. The hope…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Award-winning politics. culture and sports journalist Jemele Hill responded recently to multiple reports that claimed her podcast “Unbothered” had been canceled by Spotify and that the reason was she had sought a $100 million dollar deal similar to the one negotiated by Joe Rogan. Hill said on Twitter that much of the reporting on her podcasts status was false, and that the $100 million dollar figure was “comical.” She added “Unbothered” has NOT been cancelled, and that fans could still hear and find it online. Hill started “Unbothered” in 2019. A Detroit native, she…
By Ron Wynn There will be several events held in the Nashville area this weekend to celebrate Juneteenth. The original celebration dates back to June 19, 1865 in Texas. President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Act in 2021, making it a federal holiday The first event is in Franklin on Friday, the Juneteenth Freedom Day Festival that runs from 6-10 pm at the Factory on 230 Franklin Road in Franklin. There are several events planned for Saturday, most-notably the Music City Freedom Festival at Hadley Park which will extend over two days starting on the 17th…
All indications now point to a stiff sentence coming down the line for star Memphis Grizzlies Guard Ja Morant. Given a chance before Game 1 of the NBA Finals to address the Morant situation last Thursday, Commissioner Adam Silver refused to give details about how he would rule, saying he would wait until after the Finals. But he added that the reason for that was the league now had obtained “additional information” that would be factored into the decision. Morant remains on team suspension from all basketball-related activities. But the league has made no ruling, and the consensus from Silvers…