By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville vocalist Brauninger McDaniel’s distinctive mix of jazz, blues, and soul influences has already won her many fans throughout the Middle Tennessee area, but now she’s added a new title to her resume – award-winning vocalist. McDaniel recently won the International Singer-Songwriter Association’s (ISSA) 2020 Gold Female Vocalist of the Year award. This follows her triumph last year as their Female Songwriter of the Year. “It’s quite an honor and very rewarding,” McDaniel told the Tribune. “It’s a realization that the hard work is playing off.” McDaniel’s vocal talents come quite naturally. Her uncle…
Author: Ron Wynn
Many players are good. A select bunch are great. But there are even fewer who are special, and Gale Sayers was one of them. Sayers, who died last Wednesday at 77, was an artist on the football field. He brought a grace and flair to the running back position that remain unequaled many decades after his retirement. Even though his career was short due to injury, it was so amazing in its entirety that Sayers was eventually voted into the Hall of Fame as the youngest player ever at 34. He was nicknamed “The Kansas Comet,” and he blazed into…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The ratings may have been lackluster, but Sunday night’s Emmy Awards were special in one regard – the number of Black actors and/or projects featuring people of color that were winners. A record 10 of the 19 performer category awards went to Black actors. Leading the way was Regina King, who earned her fourth Emmy for “Watchmen,” while Zendaya, the star of “Euphoria,” shocked everyone by becoming both the youngest person to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama series and the second Black actress to win the award. Other winners included “Mrs. America’s”…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Coming one year after the best season in school history, the Austin Peay Governors are no doubt thrilled that the fall portion of their current football season is over. Whenever the OVC resumes play, the Governors will begin with an 0-3 mark following a disastrous road game at 14th-ranked Cincinnati. The Bearcats gained nearly 500 yards of total offense and controlled things from start to finish on the way to a 55-20 win in what was Cincinnati’s home opener. The Bearcats QB Desmond Rider completed 13 of 19 passes for 196 yards and two…
Despite the fact it’s 2020 and women have occupied prominent roles in sports journalism now for decades, there remain fossils within the sports world always ready to demean and criticize them. This past week ESPN’s Maria Taylor, a rising star who’s a prominent part of both the network’s NBA and NFL, as well as college football coverage, twice found herself the subject of cheap, sexist commentary that absolutely never would have been aimed at a man. First, a longtime Chicago radio host eventually was fired after he tweeted that what Taylor was wearing in her inaugural appearance as a sideline…
There were many people who didn’t anticipate or expect football to happen this fall at either the college or pro levels. The global COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly harsh in America, with more than 191,000 deaths at press time, and no vaccine expected to be ready for general use until at best early 2021 according to most medical sources. But sports has bounced back in altered form. The NBA and NHL are having playoffs in “bubble” situations, while MLB is also planning to have its playoffs and World Series in a similar manner starting in October. However football remains the…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The best thing that can be said about the Titans’ season opening game against the Denver Broncos was they won it 16-14. But it’s a sure thing they’ll be looking for improved offensive production when they entertain Jacksonville Sunday in the home opener. The main reason they’ll be facing the Jaguars, who upset the Colts in their first game, with an identical 1-0 record is because their defense played exceptionally well. It also helps that Denver head coach Vic Fangio’s clock management baffled everyone as he allowed the Titans to whittle down the time…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Theatrical, film and television star Audra McDonald isn’t pleased about what she sees as Broadway’s silence on police misconduct and brutality. She wants prominent voices in the theatrical world to speak out on the issue and publicly said that last week. “The theater community comes together to raise awareness for lots of issues–LGBTQ issues, issues with immigration, things like that,” McDonald said to Gayle King on CBS This Morning, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “But when the George Floyd murder happened, it just felt a little too silent from the theater community. It absolutely…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though they aren’t necessarily predictors for the Emmys, the Television Critics Awards (TCA) do reflect what those who are paid to critique the broadcast, cable and streaming worlds think constitute quality, and this year Regina King and HBO’s “Watchmen” were big winners at the TCA’s 36th annual awards. They were presented for the first time without a ceremony, a continuation of changes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic also negated the usual summer in-person tour for critics regarding new shows and productions. King received the Outstanding Achievement in Drama award for her starring…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant was the NBA’s best rookie from the opening day of the season, and that was officially recognized last Wednesday when Morant was voted Rookie of the Year. He came within one vote of being a unanimous selection, getting 99 of 100 first place votes. He’s the Grizzlies first winner of that award since Pau Gasol in 2001-02. Three different months he was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month on the way to averaging 17.8 points and 7.3 assists. The Grizzlies, picked to be in the NBA lottery, instead…