By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Predators go into the NHL All-Star break with plenty of momentum, as they wrapped their final two home games of the first half with victories. Following a 2-1 win earlier in the week over Winnipeg, they completed a season’s sweep of the New Jersey Devils with a 6-4 victory on Thursday. Matt Duchene had a goaland an assist, while both Colton Sissons and Juuso Parssinen had two assists. The Predators had 11 different players contributing in one way or another in the scoring. They also got 35 saves from Juuse Saros, who…
Author: Ron Wynn
For every step forward that the NFL takes, it also seems to take two backward. On the general manager front, the recent hiring of Ran Carthon by the Tennessee Titans increased the number of Black general managers in the league to eight, with six of them having been hired within the past year. But just as the league was taking bows for making progress in that area, the Carolina Panthers reminded everyone that when it comes to head coaching jobs, there still remains an unwillingness on the part of ownership to give deserving Black candidates a fair shake. Steve Wilks…
NASHVILLE, TN — Hip-Hop, pop and new Jack Swing stars were recognized last week with the newest set of inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Gloria Estefan, Snoop Dogg, Teddy Riley, Sade Adu, Liz Rose, Glen Ballard and Jeff Lynne will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 15 during the organization’s 52nd annual induction and awards gala in New York City. Hall Chairman Nile Rodgers shared a statement expressing the importance of songwriters and how, without them, there would be no recorded music, concerts or merch.“It all starts with the song and the songwriter,” he…
The Tennessee Titans made history last week, even though no one really wanted to overplay the news. But the hiring of former college and pro football player as well as scout and team executive Ran Carthon was major news. He is the eighth Black GM in the NFL, and the sixth hired over the last two years. It also is a first for the Titans. But rather than race, the word that was emphasized most often during his introductory press conference was collaboration. It was the same word being constantly used in the offseason by both head coach Mike Vrabel…
Part 3 of a 3 Part Series By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — 1. What are you feelings in regards to contemporary country radio and its treatment of your music? Frankie Station: “I was in a re-write class and our teacher, Jason Blume, said in the top 50 songs on Billboard Magazine, two were by women. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. Now younger women are cutting through like Kelsey Ballerini, Carley Pearce, Ashley McBride. That is why YOUR support is so IMPORTANT. It’s a numbers game, and we are in an emerging market, and every download counts. So when the…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — As the Predators move into the second half othe 2022-23 season, their erratic year contues. After getting off to a strong start on the recent road trip with three victories, they duffered two straight one-goal losses. They returned home to begin a three-game stand, but Saturday’s opener didn’t go as hoped. They fell behind twice, battled back from a two-goal deficit, then faded in the third period as the Buffalo Sabres took a 5-3 victory. In many ways it mirrored what’s happened a lot to the Predators in the first half, They would get…
The NFL playoffs are now in motion, and the Super Bowl is on the horizon. But the NFL continues to has an image problem that just seems to never go away: its lack of Black head coaches despite the fact that the on the field workforce is at 70 percent. After Houston canned Lovie Smith following one season that ended with a 3-13-1 mark, the NFL goes into 2023 with a total of only TWO Black head coaches. One, Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is in his first year with that franchise and got them into the playoffs…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though it is only the first month of the year, there’s no doubt that one of the biggest comedy tours that will be in arenas throughout 2023 is getting underway next week. That’s the third tour for the duo of Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. It kicks off Jan. 20 in Oklahoma City. They will play five dates in cities across Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina. Their last joint tour came last year, when they appeared in San Diego, San Francisco and Phoenix. They also toured the U.K. in September of that same…
Part 2 of a 3 Part Series By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — We continue our roundtable with outstanding Black women country artists Frankie Staton, Rissi Palmer and Miko Marks. In this second part we find out about influences, as well as some particular individual questions for each artist. 6. Who would you consider influences and/or favorite artists? Frankie Staton: “Just too many to mention, so I will stick to Country. Hank, Sr., Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Leona Williams, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Alabama, Lady A,…
Fisk University has made history in many ways, notably through the activities of an array of great civic and political leaders, activists, and scholars, as well as the magnificent Fisk Jubilee Singers. But last week Fisk made history in a different sphere: that of athletic competition. When Fisk University’s gymnastics team took the mat, it was the first time in major college competition that an HBCU team appeared in a gymnastics meet.They were matched against North Carolina, Southern Utah and Washington. It was the Super 16 event in Las Vegas. It has been only 14 months since the sport was…