Nashville's Frank Omiyale, NFL Chicago Bear

This is a sneak preview of a feature about the Bears' Frank Omiyale, who went to Whites Creek High School in Nashville and then Tennessee Tech. He is now in his 5th year in the NFL and starts for the Bears.

Omiyale in training camp.

Frank's high school coach Richard Coure, a legendary Nashville coach who is now in his 38th year as a coach and teacher (25 years at Whites Creek) spoke with CSN and told us about Frank's journey to the NFL. (His last name is pronounced "Oh-mee-yale"). Coure is now an assistance coach and program director at Whites Creek.

More on this soon....please see pics below.

Omiyale signs with the Bears.

More NFL Game Images from Week One

The Titans-Raiders game kicked off the 2010 NFL Regular Season in Nashville. (All images: CSN/Jim Harwell)

Nashville's John Henderson speaks to fellow
All-Pro Richard Seymour during the game.

Kenny Britt waves to the crowd after the game.

A young fan celebrates getting a souvenir from Bo Scaife.

Golden Gloves Boxing in Nashville

       For Adie Procter and Eddie Sellers and their buddies, sports were and are the bond that unites them. The two Nashvillians were both Golden Gloves boxers back in the Golden Era, a bygone time when the love of sports reigned.
       "Some of my greatest memories are of Golden Gloves boxing at the Hippodrome," said Procter, now 76 and still in great shape, referring to the famed, multi-purpose Hippodrome Arena in Nashville. "Nashville produced a lot of good boxers from those times.
       "The newspapers covered our boxing a lot, and it was a big deal," he added. "They would run sometimes two or three pages and big headlines."
       Procter and his buddies were from Kalb Hollow, the nickname for North Nashville, and attended North High School.
       Eddie Sellers came from an athletic family and is still involved in fitness/athletics. He is the longtime owner of the popular Hermitage Fitness Center on Lebanon Road in the Hermitage/Donelson area, just blocks from the Hermitage itself.
       He and his three brothers Billy, Ronny and Danny were all Golden Gloves boxers. You can imagine the sibling stories they have. 
       Procter, Sellers and their buddies still get together often, keeping those bonds of friendship together formed back in the golden days of sports......
       More on this story soon.       
      

CSN Images: NFL Season Kicks Off in Nashville

A sold-out and packed LP Field was the place to be today. Images of the day are below (photos: CSN/Jim Harwell):

Big John and the Raiders in Nashville Against the Titans

       Nashville's Big John Henderson and the Oakland Raiders played in Nashville today. One of Nashville's greatest athletes ever, Henderson likes being back in his hometown.
       "It's always good to be back," said Hen after the game, a Titans win. "I've played here a lot through the years, and it's always a good feeling to be back home and play in front of people I know."

During warm-ups, John reacts with happiness when
a Pearl-Cohn father yells support of a fellow P-C Firebird.

       Henderson had about 40 friends and family in the stands and many more of course watching on TV.
       He and his family of six like northern California.
       "It's good being a part of the Raiders organization, which has so much tradition. My family is adjusting to the move also, and they're doing well."
       John played a good game today, as he always does. He finished with five tackles, four of them solo tackles.
       Commentators remarked that Henderson fills the gaps and gets off blocks very well. After many years in the NFL, Henderson is still a force on defense. Please see photo below.

John (79) and the D-Line meet before the game.
Lamarr Houston is a DE (Texas); Jay Alford is a DT
from Penn State.

McLean Among NFL Legends

Nashville's Lindsy McLean is in some pretty good NFL company- to say the least. The retired San Francisco 49ers Head Athletic Trainer has five Super Bowl rings. Only one person has more rings. Former Broncos' General Manager Neal Dahlen has seven as a player and GM.

McLean among some of his personal memorabilia,
including five team-autographed Super Bowl footballs

According to NFL records, McLean and only three other people have five rings, among them Bill Belichik and player Charles Haley (49ers and Cowboys.)


McLean has more Super Bowl rings than these NFL legends who have four: Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mel Blount, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Rocky Bleier, Donnie Shell, and Mike Webster with the Steelers, and Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Keena Turner, and Tom Holmoe with the 49ers.


McLean is a legendary Athletic Trainer with over 40 years of experience in college and pro football. He spent 11 years at the University of Michigan and then 24 with the 49ers. He downplays his success, although he was Bill Walsh's right-hand man for much of his career. He is honored to be a part of the great 49ers tradition. He attends the Hall of Fame inductions of former 49er players (and there have been 12 through the years.)

McLean before a 49ers-Cowboys game.

"I was just around some great people," McLean said, referring to the legendary coaches and players he worked with. "You realize how popular the team is when you arrive at the hotel and there are fans lined up in the lobby waiting for you. But I was just concerned with doing my job and getting players ready to play."

McLean said Montana is "an easy-going guy who never let anything bother him." He said Montana often played practical jokes on the team and even on McLean himself. One time during training camp, Montana hid Lindsy's bike up on a nearby roof.

More on this story soon. McLean is from Nashville originally and now lives here as do his mother and older sister. He attended Hillsboro High School and then Vanderbilt before his outstanding career. Please see more pictures below.

Jerry Rice gave McLean this jersey after the 1989 Super
Bowl. Rice had three touchdowns in the game.

McLean brought this ring out for the interview.

Annual Titans Kickoff Event at Wildhorse

Jeff Fisher, Mike Keith and the Titans' rookies were the featured guests at the Sports Council's Annual Titans' Kickoff Lunch at the Wildhorse yesterday. A crowd of about 1,000 was on hand.

The Wildhorse was SRO for the event

Fisher showed why he is the most popular man in town- he was in typical form: personable, down-to-earth, funny, and as usual, very informative.

The main part of the program was Fisher introducing all the rookies, including those on the practice squad, and Keith briefly interviewing them. The rookie class includes: Rusty Smith, Alterran Verner, Robert Johnson, Rennie Curran, Patrick Trahan, Myron Rolle, Kevin Matthews (son of Bruce Matthews), Stafon Johnson, Mark Mariani and more.

The class indeed looks strong. Fisher had high praise for the rookies, such as Robert Johnson, was actually did not start out playing football in college but ended up starring at Utah.

Fisher and Keith 

Some of the interesting facts Fisher brought up:

1. Myron Rolle missed only one college start at Florida State- he had an interview for the Rhodes Scholarship, then made it late to the game and played from the 2nd quarter on.

2. Rusty Smith is Florida Atlantic's first NFL draftee. He threw for over 10,000 yards there and led them to Bowl games.

3. Stafon Johnson has dealt with some serious injuries, but Fisher plans for him to return and be a strong part of the team.

Rusty Smith, Paul Lyle and NFL
legend Ross Browner

4. Mark Mariani started his athletic career playing tennis, and the footwork in tennis has helped him a lot in football.

Stafon Johnson and Alterraun Verner both played
college ball in Los Angeles.

WNSR's NFL Players Radio Show

WNSR 560 AM has announced plans for its 13th annual NFL Players Radio Show this fall.

The show will be Monday nights from 6-7 PM at the Tilted Kilt in Hendersonville, 230 E. Main Street, approx. 25 minutes from downtown Nashville.

Former Titan and current radio personality Brad Hopkins will host the show, and the plan is to have a different current Titan player on every week. For further details, see WNSR's website at www.wnsr.com.

SEC vs. Big Ten in Nashville

Almost 40,000 people watched Vanderbilt host Northwestern in Nashville on Saturday night. The Wildcats edged the Commodores 23-21 in a thrilling game.

The two private schools in two of the strongest football conferences in the nation put on a good show for both the stadium and the television viewers.

Vandy stacks it up before the Northwestern game.

The Wildcats get ready for their SEC matchup with Vandy.

Tennessean Jabari Greer Plays Tennessee in Nashville

        Saints star Jabari Greer is from Tennessee, played for Tennessee and just yesterday was playing AGAINST Tennessee IN Tennessee. Is that enough of a Tennessee connection for you?

        Greer is a super-nice guy, very friendly, well-spoken, intelligent and personable. He was glad to speak to a writer after the Titans-Saints preseason game at LP Field.

Greer warms up for the Saints-Titans game.

        "Coming back to Nashville is wonderful," Greer said. "Tennessee is the place that molded me into the man I am, with the values that I have- family first, giving back to the community, slowing down to enjoy the finer things in life."
        Greer obviously likes his home state and his alma mater.
        "It was a dream come true playing for Tennessee," he added. "I will always have love for the University of Tennessee."
        The big Saints stars were all in Nashville- Sean Payton, Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and company.

Greer, a coach and teammates discuss the defense.

Reggie Bush enjoyed talking to teammates during the game.

Drew Brees with Gregg Williams. Brees worked out
before the game and then signed autographs 

    


        Bush is obviously an incredible athlete and football player. In person, he is not extremely tall. Both Bush and Brees were very nice to sign a lot of autographs for the many Saints fans at the game.
        Gregg Williams certainly was able to speak to some good friends from his days in Nashville when he was the Titans' defensive guru.  

Chris Johnson Breaks Another Record?

Could this be another record for CJ?

CJ is one of sports' biggest superstars

It may very well be, especially given the popularity of pro football, the beginning of the 2010 season, the surplus of football preview magazines and- this is the real clincher- the booming popularity of fantasy football. 


Within just two months, Chris Johnson has appeared solo on at least twelve (12) national sports magazine covers. According to the RMG Group's unofficial calculations, CJ has broken another record with this one- 12 covers in just 8 weeks time.


During the 2010 football preseason, the Chris Johnson has appeared solo on these magazine covers, including: Sporting News (July 15), Sports Illustrated (August 23), Athlon Pro Sports Fall 2010, Lindy’s Sports Pro Football, ESPN Fantasy Football, Athlon Sports Fantasy Football, Sporting News Fantasy Football, Pro Football Weekly and Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football, Fanball.com Fantasy Football 2010, Fantasy League, Fantasy Football League, Fantasy Football Index, Fantasy Football.


Enjoy it, CJ. You deserve it.

Prep Pigskin Preview: Wilson Back as Head Coach

Jim Wilson has seen a lot in his 34-plus years as a football coach. The longtime Nashville coach is back doing what he loves: coaching and being a positive influence in the lives of young people.

One of Wilson's many players:
the Chargers' Tim Dobbins (51)

Wilson is in his first year as head coach at East Literature, an upstart Metro program in east Nashville. East Lit is in a very tough district, 10-AA with Maplewood, Stratford, Whites Creek, Pearl-Cohn, CPA, Lipscomb and more. The Eagles are in their third year with a football program; football players previously played for Stratford.

"I've been very blessed during my career," said Wilson after a recent practice. "I've had great staffs where I've coached."

East Lit players stack it up at the end of practice

Wilson (near front) and coaches work with the offense.

In the 1990's, Wilson did what perhaps no other football coach has done: he built Nashville's Glencliff High into a state powerhouse program after years of a challenging situation there. In 1999, they finished 13-2 and were Class 5A State Runner-Up. They narrowly lost in the 5A Finals to Sevier County.

The Glencliff program produced a number of outstanding players and young men throughout those years, most of whom now live and work in Nashville, and some of whom are in coaching and who coach at Glencliff. Wilson's assistant coaches also dot the Nashville sports landscape. One of his many protege's Greg Abner is now head coach at Cane Ridge.

Wilson with two East Lit coaches

Wilson admits that coaching at Glencliff had its challenges, as so many of the young men faced considerable obstacles during their formative years.

"Coaching in Metro is tough," he said. "But my coaches really built relationships with the kids," he said. "There was a lot of discipline, but there was a lot of relationships, too. The players understood why we disciplined them, because we were not going to let them be bad citizens."

One of Wilson's many success stories is superstar Tim Dobbins, now a Miami Dolphin and in his 5th year in the NFL. Dobbins grew up in Nashville in a very difficult situation. Dobbins today gives credit for his success both on and off the field to his high school football coaches- Wilson, Abner and Steve Schyck, among others. Schyck is now an assistant coach at Orlando, Florida's Dr. Phillips High School. Abner is still very close to Dobbins. Not surprisingly, Coach Abner is considered one of the top young high school head football coaches in the state.

Dobbins signs autographs for fans

Wilson and Abner keep in regular touch with Dobbins and many of their former players.

"There are a lot of Tims," said Wilson as he spoke about Dobbins. "They're just not in the NFL."

Abner is especially proud of Dobbins. In a recent interview, Coach Wilson said that Dobbins considers Greg Abner virtually like a father.

Greg Abner spoke about Tim during a recent interview:

"It's really special to know that Tim is doing so well," said Abner. "It's a great story, and it took a lot of work and pushing and pulling, but he's really a great young man."

Both Wilson and Abner rave about Dobbins' work ethic in the weight room. As a sophomore in high school, Dobbins had already broken every University of Tennessee weight-lifting record except the records of one person, Al Wilson, a five-time Pro Bowl NFL linebacker with the Denver Broncos.

There are many, many great stories from those Glencliff teams during the 1990's and beyond. The following is part of the Metro Council Resolution honoring the 1999 Glencliff Football team:


WHEREAS, the "Colts" team was led by Head Coach Jim Wilson, and Assistant Coaches, Thomas McPhail, Steve Schyck, Greg Abner, Jacques Porter, Jeff Hudgins, Brian Dunning, Doug Hintemeyer, and Athletic Trainer/Managers Jon Tokahashi, Chris Vaught, William Young, Matt Fedun, Chris Groves, Larry Carter; and

WHEREAS, members of the talented team are Antonio Hamm, C.J. Johnson, Reggie Ingle, Derric Harris, Shawn Scales, C.J. Scott, Danny Edwards, Adaris Palmer, Derek Bull, Jeremy Hicks, Michael Craig, Jimmy Pregle, Barry Cothran, Ricky Neuble, Brad Randolph, Derrick Esmond, Lance Cohen, Josh King, Tim Dobbins, Terry Hancock, Justin Johnson, Dallas Buell, Daron Anderson, Casey Konecne, Alan Wafer, Dale Fisher, Corey Edmondson, Chris Taylor, Michael Spurlock, Joe Fitzgerald, Justin Crockett, Sena Omer, DeLorean Jordan, Jeff Easley, Jason Adkins, Jeremy Womble, Jeremy Barnett, Alvin Hawkins, Michael Illarramendi, Matt Smith, Jeremy Gooch, Jamal Patton, Phillip Wise, Herbert Crutcher, Anthony Brown and freshman players Desmond Amacher, Troy Burlason, Chris Hicks, Josh Patton, Greg Rediker, Alrik Spruill, Ronnie Stafford, Jon Dillard, Darron Johns, Gary Lyle, Tim Pendegrass, Jason Stuart, Dearreus Thomas; and
WHEREAS, senior safety/halfback C.J. Scott was named Class 5A Mr. Football Back of the Year, an honor given to the player who exemplifies skill and superior physical ability at the back position; and