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…
Author: Ron Wynn
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…
The NBA was a very different place in 1950. Not only wasn’t it viewed as one of the nation’s premier sporting attractions, but it was largely confined to the East Coast and completely white. There was no NBA TV, very little national radio or TV coverage, no chartered flights or NBA players union, and neither any Black or foreign players. Chuck Cooper helped change all that. Cooper was a second-round pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1950 draft from Duquesne University. He’d already been a pioneer during his time there as well as being an All-American. Cooper was the…
By Ron Wynn When vocalist and songwriter Beth White moved to Nashville from her Wisconsin hometown of Lancaster back in 2011, she had the identical goal many performers have upon arriving in Music City: success in the ever-changing pop music world. But White was wise enough to not put all her eggs in one basket. She earned a nursing degree at Belmont, taking guitar, songwriting and commercial voice as folk music electives. While currently working full-time at Vanderbilt hospital she still finds time to pursue a musical career that’s starting to blossom. White last week released the video for the…
By Ron Wynn Serena Williams’ bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title fell short Saturday, as she was defeated by 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu 6-3, 7-5 in the U.S.Open`s Women’s Finals. It was the first Grand Slam title for Andreescu, who just last year wasnt even ranked in the top 200. It is also the first Grand Slam title for a Canadian player. Williams, approaching her 38th birthday, had played six largely outstanding matches. But she had 33 unforced errors alongside 33 winners, and three critical double faults on break points. Andreescu had only 17 unforced errors and 18…
By Ron Wynn It was the Tennessee Titans rather than the heavily hyped Cleveland Browns who had an offensive explosion Sunday, with Tennessee scoring an impressive 43-13 opening road win. They blew the game open by scoring 28 consecutive points, including 21 in the fourth quarter. It was the biggest Titans victory since 1991, one where they were vastly superior in every area to a Browns team many observers pegged as an early Super Bowl contender. It was also the first three-touchdown pass game of Marcus Mariota’s five-year career. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 248 yards, with no…
The TSU Tigers won the annual John Merritt Classic Saturday at Nissan Stadium, defeating Mississippi Valley 26-20. Photo by Earl Flippen, Jr. Though it was a bit closer than they probably wanted and things were often sloppy as well, the Tennessee State Tigers opened the 2019 season in good fashion Saturday, defeating Mississippi Valley State 26-20 in the 21st John Merritt Classic at Nissan Stadium. The game also served as the opening salvo in Chris Rowland’s campaign for national honors, and increased attention from NFL scouts. Rowland had 11 receptions for a career-high 173 yards, plus another 61 on seven…