By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s hard to find many positive things to say about a season when a team has lost all five games it’s played while also losing a host of players to injuries and COVID-19 opt-outs. The Vanderbilt Commodores knew it would be rough going facing an all-SEC schedule, and standing at 0-5 as they head to Lexington for a Saturday game against Kentucky, the odds on them pulling out at least one victory don’t look very good. The best thing that can be said is they are identifying some potential stars for the future, and…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans get a chance to stretch their AFC South lead Thursday night as the second place Indianapolis Colts come to town. The Colts are furious at 5-3 after losing at home 24-10 Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens. The Thursday game is the first of two clashes between the Titans and Colts sandwiched around a game against the Ravens. With that tough schedule in front of them, it makes Sunday’s 24-17 victory over the Chicago Bears that improved their season mark to 6-2 even more welcome. But it also highlighted some problems that…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Whitney Houston and Biggie Smalls AKA the Notorious B.I.G. were among six artists inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s during the Class of 2020 celebration. What is usually a star-studded, well-attended event this year was a virtual HBO special minus any performances. That was due to the impact of COVID-19. The event had originally been planned for May in Cleveland. There was also a very somber feel as Houston and Smalls, along with T. Rex’s Marc Bolan, were posthumous honorees. Houston was inducted by Alicia Keys. Keys credited Houston with helping…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — At 86, Charley Pride’s days as a major country hitmaker are behind him. But his groundbreaking achievements remain among the most historic and important in any field of music. Among many other firsts, Pride was the first Black artist to win the Country Music Association’s (CMA) Entertainer of the Year award. Now he has been honored by another Black artist who’s been able to benefit from the path that Pride forged. Darius Rucker. who served as co-host of this year’s CMA awards, formally presented Pride with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award on the…
By Ron Wynn Seldom has a 16-minute segment from a television show become as such a discussed factor on the national landscape as Dave Chappelle’s monologue on last weekend’s “Saturday Night Live.” It has totally overwhelmed mention of anything else on the broadcast, and has been the subject of commentaries, retrospectives and think pieces on websites ranging from entertainment to politics, mainstream, alternative and Black locales. Chappelle has been called everything from thoughtful and irreverent to scathing, offensive and knowledgeable for his wide-ranging comments that covered everything from the election to the virus, Trump and the reactions of those who…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Vocalist Alecia Nugent thrilled and delighted bluegrass fans with a trio of outstanding LPs on Rounder between 2004 and 2009. Hailed for her assertive, rangy voice and masterful way of storytelling and delivering lyrics, Nugent became a welcome addition to the Nashville music scene. She made some 71 appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, even once joining her father Jimmy Nugent, whose vintage bluegrass and country sound shaped her approach growing up in Hickory Grove, Louisiana. But after being on stage from her childhood days to 2009, Alecia Nugent made a life-altering decision. With…
Ordinarily, when a coach gets his first win it’s not that big a deal, but in the case of Mel Tucker at Michigan State, last Saturday’s 27-24 upset victory over arch-rival Michigan in Ann Arbor was huge. First, he became only the second MSU coach to beat Michigan in his first game against them. The only other Spartans’ coach to accomplish that feat was the great Nick Saban some 25 years ago, when his squad also pulled an upset. But the difference there is they were playing at home. Tucker’s squad was on the road, going against a team ranked…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Answers to the question what’s going to be the newest Shonda Rhimes production are about to be partially answered. This week the first trailer for Rhimes’ forthcoming Netflix venture is being released. The main question being explored is who is Lady Whistledown? That one of the issues at the core of the eight-episode drama “Bridgerton.” She’s the mysterious author of a gossip newsletter that has provided much entertainment during the recent years’ social seasons. But now she is naming names. The acclaimed actress Julie Andrews provides narration for “Bridgerton,” the first scripted series to…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of the finest pure singers in gospel or any other idiom passed over the weekend. The legendary Rance Allen died Saturday at 71. His cascading, magnificent voice turned such songs as “Ain’t No Need of Crying” and “I Belong To You” into crossover hits. He was a mentor, influence, and precursor to other gospel acts who attracted fans across genres like The Winans and Take 6. Allen’s wife, Ellen Allen, and manager Toby Jackson announced in a joint statement that he had died while recovering from a “medical procedure” at Heartland ProMedica in…
Kevin Warren has found himself in the spotlight much of 2020, and a lot of the time it hasn’t been a good thing. As the first and currently only Black man in charge of a Power 5 conference in his role as commissioner of the Big Ten, Warren got a huge amount of criticism throughout the summer when he announced that the conference would not be playing football this fall. There were protests internally from some coaches, demonstrations led by parents, and an outcry that stretched all the way to the White House. President Donald Trump made public appeals for…