Willie Taggart found out Sunday the harsh reality of major college football in the 21st century. No longer will schools give coaches time to build programs, at least not those who inherit jobs where their predecessors routinely challenged for national titles. Taggart had a good reputation as a recruiter and bench coach prior to coming to Florida State, but he was following Jimbo Fisher, whose eight seasons were mostly marked by victories, and either winning titles or being in contention. By comparison Taggart was only 9-12 in his less than two years at Florida State. Saturday they were embarrassed 27-10…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Despite controversy over casting and content, Kasi Lemmons’ “Harriet” did much better than expected in its first weekend. The film which stars Cynthia Erivo as freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, grossed $12.2 million and finished in fourth place for the weekend. It was projected to get at minimum $7.5 million and at most $9 million. But it was helped by almost universal audience appreciation, as it got an A+ from Cinema Score and a 98 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly it started off better than Spike Lee’s “BlackkKlansman, which opened with $10.8 million…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Before departing Nashville to become an acclaimed filmmaker, Rel Dowdell was an accomplished scholar at Fisk University. He grew up in Philadelphia, and at Fisk earned a Bachelor’s degree in English with Magna Cum Laude honors. Later he earned a master’s degree in Film and Screenwriting with highest distinction from Boston University. Dowdell’s made three successful, highly praised films, and is returning to Nashville Friday to screen and discuss the documentary “Where’s Daddy?” This is part of Fisk’s Homecoming Week activities, and also part of events around the school’s new Social Justice Institute Celebration.…
By Ron Wynn There’s been a lot of controversy regarding the casting of British actress Cynthia Erivo as the lead in the upcoming film “Harriet,” the first biopic dedicated to the great freedom fighter. But according to director Kasi Lemmons, a lot more attention should be paid to the production’s zeal for accuracy. The film will incorporate images and present a portrait of Tubman that’s been crafted from comprehensive study of everything not only everything that’s ever been written or shown, but also photographed. Lemmons is highly critical of some past Tubman biographies, and last week told the New York…
They’ve been consistent headliners and enormously popular since the mid-70s, but while many of their contemporaries have faded or disappeared from the scene, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly are still heavily in demand. Indeed longtime lead singer Beverly says things couldn’t be going better these days. “It’s unbelievable to me,” Beverly said last week during a phone interview. “We’re busier now than ever. I’m grateful and I’m thankful. If you had ever told me way back when we started that after all this time we’d still be touring and doing festivals and making appearances all over the country and the world…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Multiple idiomatic references are the hallmark of vocalist Brian Owens’ distinctive style. He’s comfortable singing blues, soul or country, and there’s also echoes of gospel that infuse his approach. Sunday night he’ll be showcasing his dynamic hybrid style when he makes his “Sunday Night Soul” debut at the 5 Spot. “Jason (vocalist/bandleader Jason Eskridge, organizer and creator of Sunday Night Soul) and I have been talking for a couple of years about me appearing there,” Owens said during a Tuesday morning phone conversation.”I’m really looking forward to playing Nashville again. I have a lot…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Longtime Tennessee State University Athletics Director (AD) Teresa Phillips, one of a select handful of women serving in that position at a major college, announced her retirement Thursday, effective June 2020. She’s been the Tigers’ athletic director since 2002, following her time as a head basketball coach at both Fisk and Tennessee State. She’s also a pioneer as a coach, becoming the first woman to coach a Division 1 men’s game in 2003. That resulted from her replacing interim head coach Hosea Lewis for one game. He’d been suspended due to a fight that…
It was 65 years ago that a new publication devoted to a different type of sports journalism debuted. Sports Illustrated was created to offer readers something beyond just basic wins and losses recaps. It sought to show the human side of sports, to discuss and examine issues and personalities, and offer a perspective that was usually more restricted to discussions of politics or other aspects of society. Over the years some of the finest writers in any genre were featured in SI. It blended the visual excellence of a publication like Life with the literary quality of The New Yorker. …
No sport could use some playoff excitement more than Major League Baseball, whose postseason begins this week. Baseball is setting a lot of records, but many are viewed as there will be four 100 win and four 100 loss teams. The AL Central has two 100 loss teams in its ranks (Kansas City, Detroit). It’s hard to believe any team could be worse than the Baltimore Orioles, set to lose 100 games once again, but the Tigers have surpassed them. There was a time during the era of Frank and Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell, Paul Blair and Jim Palmer, with…
There remain very few Black head coaches in the NFL and even fewer general managers. Therefore anything that these select individuals do comes under intense scrutiny. While there aren’t many willing to just come out and say it in this fashion. the very controversial strategy it seems that the Miami Dolphins are adopting could have a negative domino effect on the future prospects of Black coaches and general managers, even though the strategy, if indeed it is a plan, ultimately had to be approved by the team’s owner Steve Ross. Brian Flores is the new Dolphins head coach, the latest…