By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — While the NHL has its own minor league system, more teams are supplementing it with draftees and acquisitions who’ve previously played in college. The Predators’ newest member compiled an impressive record during his college days, and the hope is that this will translate to the pro ranks. Patrick Harper, a former Boston University forward, signed a two-year entry level deal Friday. Harper also has international experience, having played for the American team at the World Junior Championships twice. The 2017 team won the gold medal, while the 2018 edition won the bronze. He was…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Even though its their offseason, the NFL continues to dominate the news, and the Titans are proving no exception as roster changes are reshaping the identity of a team that reached last year’s AFC title game. Nothing has shocked fans more than the departure of defensive line stalwart Jurrell Casey. He was unceremoniously traded last week to the Denver Broncos for a seventh-round draft choice. It was without question a strict salary dump, with the Titans saving reportedly $13 million on the salary cap. Having franchised Derrick Henry, the thinking in some circles is…
The sporting world came to almost a total halt last week, as multiple leagues began cancelling, postponing or suspending seasons, tournaments and events. Suddenly a machine that includes numerous networks, various broadcast and cable outlets, print media publications and websites, found itself with virtually nothing to cover other than announcements of who was shutting down what next, and speculative analysis and stories about when competition might resume. One thing that’s always been taken for granted except in times of lockouts and strikes was there would be SOME kind of competition happening somewhere. But the coronavirus and COVID-19 has proven a…
By Ron Wynn The Tennessee State Tigers improved in several areas this season, and a big reason for that was the play of Carlos Marshall. Last week that was recognized as Marshall, a redshirt sophomore, was named to the Ohio Valley Conference’s All-OVC and All-Newcomer teams, the first Tiger to accomplish that double since Kenny Moore in 2010-11. He was a second-team All-OVC selection. Marshall posted averages of 11. 8 ppg, 4.3 rpg and hit almost 42 percent (41.3) from the floor in his first season as a starter. He also had 63 assists and 20 steals. His averages improved…
By Ron Wynn Less than 48 hours after announcing that the much anticipated annual Big Ears Festival in Knoxville would proceed in two weeks, the festival organizers announced Wednesday they were indeed going to cancel it. They joined South by Southwest and Coachella among recent events that have now been cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus and COVID-19. “Just 48 hours ago, we were optimistic that there was a path forward; but with events surrounding COVID-19 developing rapidly along with the obvious need for urgent steps to contain its spread, we simply cannot move forward with the festival as…
By Ron Wynn The Tennessee State Tigers will be part of March Madness after all. They will participate in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, and there’s a historic aspect to their inclusion. For the first time since they joined Division 1, the John McClendon Classic will serve as a site for one of the opening rounds beginning Tuesday. The Tigers finished 18-15 this season, and reached the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament. It’s the sixth time they’ve won at least 18 games,m and they also tied the school record this season for most home wins with an 11-3 mark. In addition, this…
Soccer, or what the rest of the globe calls football, is easily the world’s most popular sport. Only the Summer Olympics rivals The World Cup as a global sporting competition. In most nations premier athletes are identified and steered to soccer at increasingly young ages, just like football and basketball prospects in America. But the USA, at least when it comes to men’s competition, has always lagged behind the rest of the world in terms of soccer, both from a playing and popularity standpoint. But now Major League Soccer (MLS) feels it is changing things. The league celebrated the start…
There are so few Black head coaches at bigtime football schools that the handful who hold those positions are always under extremely close scrutiny. The pressure to succeed, while high for coaches at any major institution, doubles for Black coaches, whose record will be used as a measuring stick that can either help or hurt peers seeking similar jobs. That is grossly unfair. It is also reality. But new Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker faces more challenges than usual. First, he left behind ruffled feathers among media members in Colorado, where he’d only coached one season. His 5-7 mark wasn’t…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — An otherwise encouraging Canadian road trip took a downturn Saturday, as the Nashville Predators failed to hold a two-goal lead and dropped a 3-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers. They had already won the two previous games, and another victory would have vaulted the Predators into the second wild card spot. Things started well. Craig Smith opened the scoring at the midpoint of the opening period. Then Nick Bonino continued his season-long standout play, scoring his 17th in the second period. The Predators seemed to be in good shape ahead 2-0. But that didn’t…
By Ron Wynn For the second time in three years, a former pro athlete has won an Oscar, though this time he comes from the world of football Former NFL wide receiver Matthew Cherry won the Oscar for best animated short film Sunday night, and took time to remember the late Kobe Bryant, who won an Oscar two years ago. Cherry also wrote the story about a Black father who’s trying to do his daughter’s hair for the very first time. The film is seven minutes long, and was financed through a Kickstarter campaign. “’Hair Love’ was done because we…