By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans playoff hopes ended prematurely as the Cincinnati Bengals destroyed any hopes of the AFC Championship game being in Nashville. But while the pain of that loss remains for many fans, the team did get one significant postseason honor last week. Head coach Mike Vrabel was selected Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America. It’s his second such award, as previously the 101 Awards also gave him that award. Vrabel is now the favorite to get a third such honor, the AP NFL Coach of the Year, which…
Author: Ron Wynn
The NFL has gotten heat and deservedly so for its pathetic record in terms of Black head coaches. As the league’s postseason playoffs continued and the Super Bowl matchup of the LA Rams playing the Cincinnati Bengals in Los Angeles was decided, the NFL still had only Black head coach. In fact more Black head coaches had been fired after the season (two) than the number retained. But there is one area where the league is making progress. That’s among the ranks of general manager, a position on most teams that’s second only to the team owner in terms of…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s taken several years and the subject matter is quite unusual, but a Lee Daniels project based on a true and highly unusual event is coming to Netflix. It’s a film about an exorcism involving a woman named Latoya Ammons. Daniels had sought a home for it, and last weekend there was a bidding auction when Netflix reportedly won for $65 million. The project dates back to 2011, when Ammons, based in Gary, Indiana, claimed her children were being attacked and possessed by demons. Deadline reported on the project in 2014. Production will finally…
Sometimes an athlete can make an enormous contribution to a sport despite having a limited playing career. One great example of that is Willlie O’Ree, a man who’s become a hockey legend despite playing only 45 games in two seasons for the Boston Bruins in 1958, and then again in 1960-61. O’Ree was the first Black player in NHL history, and he reached the league despite having been blinded in one eye by an errant puck. But O’Ree didn’t let anything stop his quest, overcoming both physical disability and racist treatment from fans and players, including physical attacks from opponents.…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Vanderbilt Commodores continued the second leg of their current SEC road trip Wednesday seeking a victory at South Carolina. They also hoped to correct problems that have caused them to lose four of their first six SEC games (10-8 overall). Against Tennessee at home Jan. 18 they rallied to trim a 14-point deficit to two, but then key fouls and missed shots led to a 68-60 loss. Saturday they had one of the season’s most dismal performances to date, losing at Florida 61-42. Vanderbilt won’t win many games when their leading scorer and…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — For months the popular game show “Jeopardy” was in hosting flux following the death of Alex Trebek, who’d hosted the program for more than three decades. Trebek’s personal choice for a replacement was CNN anchor, author and Sirius XM radio host Laura Coates. But she didn’t appear during the period when various guest hosts were auditioning before the duo of actress Mayim Bialik and previous champion Ken Jennings were announced as the hosts of season 38’s remaining episodes. Sony later announced there would be no plans to select a permanent host before season 39.…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of Music City’s finest pianists and bandleaders, as well as beloved personalities, passed Sunday. Bobbe “Beegie” Long Adair, 84 died at her home in Franklin. A wonderful melodic stylist, Adair was also extremely versatile. While jazz was her favorite music, she operated easily in multiple idioms and her list of collaborations and associations was extensive. Adair also worked as an educator and session musician. Her formal musical training occurred at Western Kentucky, where she earned a B.S. in Music Education. She was already playing in jazz bands before and after graduation, and was…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN —The Tennessee State Tigers got two victories at home Saturday, as both the men and women won their OVC games against Southeast Missouri State (SEMO). The TSU Lady Tigers got things started with an 83-64 victory that extended their OVC winning streak to four and their overall streak to six. Saniah Parker finished with a season-best 18 points, while Tatyana Davis also had 18 points and Sierra McCullough contributed nine points and seven rebounds, hitting nine of 10 free throws in 26 minutes. The Lady Tigers controlled the boards 34-29 and blew the game open…
Last Friday current Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich interviewed for the head coaching job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It marked a return of sorts for Leftwich, who spent his first four years as the QB of the Jaguars during his playing career. He led them to a 24-20 mark and one playoff appearance. Those aren’t gaudy stats, but they’re great compared to what the team’s been doing for much of the last decade. If Leftwich is hired, he would become the fourth Black NFL head coach in a 32-team league whose playing rosters are approximately 70 percent African…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Fox series “9-1-1” starring Angela Bassett has become one of that network’s prime hits. It’s spawned a spin-off and now fans who may have missed the earlier episodes can catch them on cable. USA Network has nabbed the rights to the show following an agreement between NBCUniversal Television and Streaming and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. USA hopes that this show can do for them what the various Dick Wolf shows have for such networks as ION and Sundance. Under this new deal, USA will air all previous four seasons of 9-1-1 as…