By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Podcasts have become the latest world for former President Barack Obama to conquer, and towards that end he’s teaming with rock superstar Bruce Springsteen. President Obama and Springsteen began a series of podcast conversations this week that will air exclusively on Spotify. It’s the newest entry in the company’s expanding slate of audio programming. The series is titled “Renegades: Born in the USA” is an eight-episode podcast. President Obama and Springsteen have been friends for over a decade. According to a Spotify press release they will engage “in deep and revealing conversation” on a…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans had a wonderful regular season and very disappointing, short-lived playoff run. The personnel decisions that are made between now and training camp will be critical in determining whether they can take the next step and make it to the Super Bowl. Defensive improvement is paramount for a club that finished near the bottom in every significant category and in particular had a feeble pass rush which in turn contributed to their inability to stop teams from converting third downs and extending drives, A major factor in improving the pass rush could…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of the main stars from Netflix’s latest hit will now be featured on a broadcast TV staple. “Bridgerton” star Rege-Jane Page is making his debut this weekend on “Saturday Night Live,” with musical guest Bad Bunny, who is also appearing for the first time on the NBC network’s (locally WSMV-4) long-running show. Page is enjoying rave reviews and big audiences in his current “Bridgerton” role as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. The series, based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels of the same name has been brought to television as ace producer Shonda Rhimes’…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Nielah Burnett and her partner/husband Trey Roberts have ambitious plans they hope will both revolutionize an industry and change attitudes and viewpoints regarding the importance of health and fitness in Black communities, both locally and nationally. What’s otherwise known as the wellness industry has become a major force in many cities, and is particularly growing in major urban areas like Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Charlotte. But Burnett wants to see the same appreciation for the importance of wellness and a holistic approach to life in Nashville’s Black community. Towards that end she and Roberts…
As is so often the case, the mainstream media saw Sunday night’s 31-9 Super Bowl victory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers almost solely as the result of Tom Brady going from the Patriots to a new team and winning yet another title. While there’s no question that Brady’s performance was impressive, and his track record of now being on seven Super Bowl winning teams is unmatched, there were many other arguably more important stories that were either overlooked or underplayed in the wake of Brady getting another MVP award and Super Bowl title. The first was the presence of Black…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — There will be something new for Tennessee State University football this year. While the pandemic wiped out their fall year, the Tigers are going to play a seven-game Ohio Valley Conference slate in the winter and spring, beginning with Jacksonville State Feb. 23. All the games will be on Sundays and four are set for Hale Stadium. Unlike most seasons, these games are not practice, but actual competitive contests that will count in the standings. That’s not the only good news coming from the TSU campus. The athletic department also announced last week that…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though she no longer resides in Music City, Dr. Regina Vincent-Williams has a lengthy Nashville background. She’s been a prolific author and poet over the years, as well as formerly being part of the Tennessee State University family and also one of the original contributors to the WFSK-FM radio show “Freestyle.” She now lives in Fremont, OH, and combines being a motivational speaker with serving as an educational consultant and involvement in multiple local social and political activities. But her newest venture is an updated version of her very first book titled Surviving Life…
Another NFL coaching cycle has come and gone, and the numbers in terms of Black head coaches don’t get much better. The league has publicly pronounced diversity as a major goal. They expanded the Rooney Rule to make it mandatory for teams to interview at least two minority candidates for every coaching/management vacancy. Any team that does hire a minority head coach receives for two years two additional third round picks, Yet there was only one new Black head coach hired and one Arab American/Muslim out of seven openings. The case of Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy continues to…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans decided to make internal promotions rather than bring in new faces to their coaching staff. So the group that will lead the team into the 2021 season won’t be much different from the 2020 year except there will be old faces in new, key positions, most notably offensive and defensive coordinators. The biggest news is the Titans WILL officially have a defensive coordinator next season. Among the several announced changes last Friday, Shane Bowen moves over from the outside linebacker coaching role to formally take over as defensive coordinator. Bowen was…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s been a busy awards season for Spike Lee, and he’s set to get another one shortly. It was announced this week that Lee and long-time collaborator trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard would receive the Spirit of Collaboration Award from the Society of Composers & Lyricists. They will receive it at the second annual awards ceremonies later this year. Lee and Blanchard have worked together on 15 films and three television projects.Their many joint ventures have included “Jungle Fever,” “Malcolm X,” “25th Hour,” “Inside Man” and the Peabody award winning documentary “When The Levees Broke.” Lee…