MOVIE REVIEW By Ron Wynn The Belcourt Theatre will be the only place in Nashville cinephiles can see the new Quentin Tarantino production “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” in 35 mm, the most visually spectacular and dazzling manner. The long-awaited work which offers Tarantino’s vision of late ‘60s Holllywood and the impact of the Manson family and its horros, debuts Thursday. Only a select number of theaters across the nation are getting the opportunity to present “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” in the manner that Tarantino envisions it, and both the Thursday at 7:20 p.m. and Friday night…
Author: Ron Wynn
There was a time when baseball dominated the summer headlines, especially around the Fourth of July. That was traditionally the time when teams would look around and either consider themselves contenders or figure that it was time to think about making deals and looking to the future. July was also the time when the two leagues chose their All-Star teams, and that was considered a prime period as well. But a funny thing has happened to MLB, although it’s doubtful the league office finds it very humorous. The first week of July has been dominated by two things: the NBA…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though it wasn’t a straight player-for-player trade, the main result of the P.K. Subban trade wasn’t the two prospects or two draft choices that the Predators received at the time. No, the principal reason for Subban’s departure was to clear cap space that would allow general manager David Poile to finally get the additional scoring center he had craved for at least the past two seasons. Last Monday that happened as Poile signed Matt Duchene to a seven-year, $56 million dollar deal. It was the first day that free agents could sign with anyone,…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The greatest baseball season in Vanderbilt University history was given more honors and notoriety last week as both the American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball named Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin their national Coach of the Year. Vanderbilt won its second national title last Wednesday with an 8-2 victory over Michigan in the College World Series. Making it even more impressive is the fact the Commodores dropped the opening game of the best-of-three series, and had to win back-to-back contests. But they did so in impressive fashion, completing a record-breaking season in many ways. Their…
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,…
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…