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…
Author: Ron Wynn
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…
By Ron Wynn Long before the exploits of Arthur Ashe or the Williams sisters, Althea Gibson was achieving historic results in the previously all-white world of professional tennis. The 1957-58 AP Female Athlete of the Year, Gibson, a Florida A&M graduate, won the 1956 French Open, and both the U.S. Nationals (now the Open) and Wimbledon in 1957-58. She was the first Black player (either man or woman) to win a major title, and she won more than 50 singles and doubles titles before retiring from tennis in 1958 while still holding the number one ranking. Gibson subsequently became a…
There’s only a few weeks until the 2019 NFL season begins, but the league last week discovered that a problem they thought wouldn’t reappear this season hasn’t been resolved. Instead the question of what exactly happened to former QB Colin Kaepernick, and how he was treated by the NFL, is once more in the news despite the settlement that was reached between the league, Kaepernick, and Eric Reed back in February. At that time, it was announced that the collusion case had been settled, and a nondisclosure agreement was in place. All the owners’ depositions and discovery evidence was also…
Ordinarily when a head coach decides to fire a position coach, and the offensive line coach at that, it might be a one or two day story in the sports press. But it’s hardly that big a deal, except in the case of new Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. That’s because Flores is under much more scrutiny than usual for a rookie head coach for two reasons. First, he was the only new Black head coach named last year during the NFL’s annual search for coaching candidates. Second, he’s the latest of the Belichek staffers to try their hands…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Those who missed their opportunity to see Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ definitive documentary on noted author Toni Morrison get a second chance over the next few days. The Belcourt announced this week there would be an encore engagement for “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am.” It will run for a five-day period starting Friday. The two-hour work covers every phase of her life, chronicles her influence in notable ways as a writer, commentator and editor and combines biographical reflection with historical analysis and insight. It includes a visit to her childhood home Lorain, Ohio, and also…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason knows he’s got some tough games ahead, and having to go into the season with an untested QB doesn’t make it even easier. But whatever the case, Vanderbilt will open its season on August 31 facing defending SEC Eastern Division champion Georgia here in Nashville. The Bulldogs are one of two teams that are given a chance to knock off perennial SEC champion Alabama, so that’s hardly the easiest opener that one could draw, either overall or in terms of the conference. The Commodores then go on the road…