There were three huge things happening in sports over the weekend, and if you grew up with NBA basketball you would never have placed offseason league acquisitions in that trio. But as amazing as it may seem to anyone versed in pro basketball history, the NBA hot stove league now rivals that of the NFL, and arguably outdistances both MLB and the NHL. In the same time period MLB was having games in London involving the Red Sox and the Yankees, and the U.S. Women’s World Cup team was engaging in a huge match with France on their home turf,…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Vanderbilt Commodores completed a season-long quest Wednesday, defeating Michigan 8-2 to win their second College World Series championship. Vanderbilt came back to win two straight games after losing the opener, and they won for a second time in four overall CWS appearances. It was their first title since 2014, and first time back in the CWS since 2015. Mason Hickman and Jake Eder combined for 14 strikeouts, The Commodores knocked out Michigan ace Karl Kauffmann in the fourth inning. Meanwhile Hickman was striking out 10 in six innings, and surrendered only one hit…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s rare when two players from the same city or state wind up drafted by the identical team, but that’s exactly what happened in Thursday’s NBA draft. Darius Garland, whose Vanderbilt career was cut short by injury, and Dylan Windler, Belmont’s star and last year’s number two OVC player behind Murray State’s Jah Morant, were both picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Garland was among the nation’s most heralded signings when Vanderbilt landed him, but he played only five games before a torn meniscus ended his tenure there. Yet he’s the…
The prospects of Nashville getting its own Major League Baseball franchise seem to be improving by the day, despite the Commissioner’s recent decision to shelve expansion talk for now. But the good news is that Nashville is considered one of three top sites, the other two being Charlotte and Portland, for possible expansion teams. However another development now offers yet another possible means of Nashville getting a team sooner rather than later – relocation. The Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East are currently contending for the division title despite lacking the resources of top rivals defending champion Boston…
It was back in the early ‘90s that then NBA Commissioner David Stern was finally able to persuade NBA owners to allow their players into international and Olympic basketball. He wanted to prove first and foremost that NBA players were the best in the world, and he also wanted to expand the league brand overseas. When the Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors last week, ending their run of three titles and five straight NBA Finals appearances, it truly could be said Stern’s quest, and that of his successor Adam Silver, has been completed. The league has its first…
By Ron Wynn For most boxing fans, they remember Joe Frazier strictly as the establishment champion, the man that mainstream society backed against the people’s champ Muhammad Ali. They recall the three spectacular fights, two of them won by Ali. They also remember how Ali ridiculed and taunted Frazier, something that he later in his life publicly admitted he regretted doing and acknowledged he’d taken things too far and into the area of cruelty. But the Frazier story is also a very complex one, which outstanding writer Mark Kram Jr. examines in detail throughout a gripping and compelling new book…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Vanderbilt Commodores completed a season-long quest Sunday with an impressive 13-2 victory over Duke to win the Nashville Super Regional at Hawkins Field. The win put them back in the College World Series. It’s the fourth time in school history, but first since 2015. It also saw them overcome a Friday night blowout to post two straight wins over Duke. Kumar Rocker had a spectacular Saturday game, pitching a complete game no-hitter and striking out a record 19 hitters to lead Vanderbilt to a series-tying 3-0 victory. But there was very little suspense…
These are interesting times for the NBA. The Finals, which continue this week with games Wednesday and Friday, have proven far more compelling than many predicted at the start of the season. At that time there were lots of folks maintaining it was unfair the Golden State Warriors had added DeMarcus Cousins to their roster. They were a sure thing to waltz to their third straight title and fourth in five years was the party line. With Lebron James headed west, the only question regarding the season was which team would win the Eastern Conference. Well, a funny thing happened…
When former Michigan star and longtime NBA player Juwan Howard finally got his shot at a head coaching job last week, it wasn’t exactly what many anticipated. Howard played over 1200 NBA (1,208 to be exact) games and had been a member of two NBA title teams with the Miami Heat. After spending 19 years as a player, Howard worked six years as an assistant in the league, and interviewed for multiple openings. It was widely assumed he’d land at least one of them. Instead, Howard ended up accepting the job as new head coach of his alma mater Michigan.…
Until a few days ago it’s doubtful anyone except the most hardcore boxing fan had any idea who Deontay Wilder was, or that he has been the reigning WBC heavyweight champion for the past four years. Wilder has an impressive record, entered Saturday night’s title fight against Dominic Breazeale undefeated, and had ended a record drought for Americans to hold any heavyweight crown when he initially won his title in 2015. He stopped Breazeale in the first round with a pair of devastating right hands, the second of which knocked his challenger not just down, but literally out for several…