SEC
Andrew Maraniss, right, with Perry Wallace, has become a full time writer who will contribute to an ESPN website and The Tennessean, and also work on more sports-related books.
Writing his first book inspired Andrew Maraniss to turn a new chapter in his life.
Documenting Pearl High graduate Perry Wallace’s turbulent experience as the first African-American to play basketball in the SEC at Vanderbilt and the subsequent success that came after the book “Strong Inside” was published was so exhilarating for Maraniss that he’s decided to make writing his full time gig.
The former Vanderbilt sports information director is stepping away from an 18-year career at McNeely Pigott and Fox, the last four years as a partner, to follow in the footsteps of his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author David Maraniss, to focus on a series of writing and other related projects.
“Working on ‘Strong Inside’ and then seeing it come to fruition was a confidence-booster that this is something I can do,” Maraniss said.
Along with his plans to write other books, Maraniss is contributing to ESPN’s new website The Undefeated, which is focusing on “the intersection of race, sports and culture,” and also writing a weekly question-and-answer column for The Tennessean featuring Nashville newsmakers.
In many ways, Maraniss, 46, is returning to his first love. It was writing that brought him from Austin, Texas, to Nashville in 1988 as a student at Vanderbilt on the Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Scholarship for sports journalism.
The success of “Strong Inside,” which is close to selling out its second printing, meaning nearly 12,000 copies have been sold, left Maraniss swamped by trying to continue to hold down his position at McNeely, Pigott and Fox and meeting the obligations associated with the book.
Strong Inside by Andrew Maraniss
A flood of speaking engagement requests came for Maraniss and Wallace after the release of the book at the end of 2014 and are still coming today. In the next few weeks, they will speak in Washington, D.C., Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City, Mo., and Lawrence, Kan.
The paperback version of “Strong Inside” will be released in August.
Maraniss also just finished editing a middle school version of the book for ages 10-14, which will be published by Penguin’s young adult imprint, Philomel, in January 2017.
And a documentary based on the book is in the editing stage and expected to premiere at film festivals early in 2017.
“I worked on the book for seven years before I had a publisher, so for a long time I didn’t know if it would ever get out there or if anyone would read it,” Maraniss said. “But at the same time I had high expectations because I knew Perry Wallace’s story was so interesting. Still, it exceeded my expectations. I’m really grateful for the enthusiasm that has been there for the book and the reviews it’s gotten and the people who have read it and commented on it.”
Maraniss won’t give away much about the proposals he has for other books.
“I’ll say that one is a children’s sports and history series and the other for adults dealing with historical events that took place in the Deep South in the early 1900s,” Maraniss said.
Maraniss already has written his first story for theundefeated.com, which was on former Vanderbilt and Alabama basketball coach C.M. Newton, who also served as athletics director at Kentucky.
“C.M. Newton is 86 now and I went down and saw him in Tuscaloosa,” Maraniss said. “It’s interesting; he’s beloved by three different fan bases in the SEC. He’s a special guy.”
Maraniss’ next story will be about Pearl High’s athletic and academic legacy.
The first Q&A Maraniss will write for The Tennessean will be on Titans defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
Kornet’s sister was at UCLA during shooting
Nicole Kornet
Nicole Kornet, the sister of Vanderbilt forward Luke Kornet, was on the UCLA campus Wednesday when a gunman opened fire in an apparent murder-suicide. Nicole Kornet is a senior on the UCLA women’s basketball team.
The gunman reportedly killed a professor before turning the gun on himself.
Kornet’s mother, Tracy, a WSMV-4 reporter, posted on Twitter: “Prayers to the families of the dead at #UCLA. My daughter is safe and on lockdown in the gym. Thx for asking.”
Former Brentwood guard Patrick signs with Packers
Former Brentwood offensive guard Lucas Patrick, who was a two-year starter at Duke, signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers.
The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Patrick made the All-ACC honorable mention list in 2015.
Peyton and “Snacks” to visit White House
Peyton Manning and former Vols punter Britton Colquitt along with former La Vergne and Tennessee State offensive guard Robert “Snacks” Myers are scheduled to visit the White House on Monday as members of the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos.
Another camp coming for high school football players
Satellite football camps keep popping up in the Midstate.
There will be two Sunday — Tennessee’s Statement Camp ’16 at TSU’s Hale Stadium and the Music City Showcase at Franklin Road Academy. A total of 23 college coaching staffs will be at those two camps for high school prospects.
On Thursday, there will be 23 coaching staffs at a camp at Goodpasture being put on by Field House Camps.
Some of those staffs include Florida, South Carolina, Southern Miss, TSU, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, UT Martin and Cumberland.
Memorial golf tournament to be broadcast on WUXP
WTVF-5, the local CBS affiliate, will carry the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Telethon on Sunday, meaning the final round of the Memorial Golf Tournament will be broadcast live on WUXP-30 from 1:30-5 p.m. A live stream and updates will be available at thememorialtournament.com and pgatour.com/live.
Former Vol’s daughter starring in local TV ads
Taylor Allen
It comes as no surprise that Corey Allen’s 14-year-old daughter Taylor is developing into a talented basketball player.
She’s simply following in the footsteps of her dad, who starred at Whites Creek, led Aquinas to the junior college national championship and finished his career as a starter at Tennessee.
What wasn’t expected is the success Taylor is having off the court, including as an actress in several local TV commercials.
Her latest is in the recurring role she has in the Old Hickory Credit Union spots.
SEC tourney had almost $20 million in economic impact
The 2016 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament had a direct economic impact on Nashville of $19,966,738, according to the Nashville Sports Council.
That was more than any of the previous years the tournament was played at Bridgestone Arena.
Shaw leaving Vandy women’s team for Wisconsin
Kendall Shaw, who played in 25 games for the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team last season, is transferring to Wisconsin.
The 6-foot-4 center, who has one year of eligibility left, averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds after missing the previous two seasons with injuries.
Titans chaplain speaks to FCA camp
Former Titans fullback Casey Cramer, who is now the team’s chaplain, was the featured speaker at the Greater Nashville FCA camp this past week.
Athletes from four inner city schools and four private schools attended leadership training at Deer Run Retreat in Thompson Station.
Stallings’ son sets RBI record for Triple-A club
Jacob Stallings
Jacob Stallings, the son of former Vanderbilt basketball coach Kevin Stallings, set a club record Tuesday when he had seven RBIs for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.
The Pittsburgh catching prospect, who played at Brentwood Academy, homered twice in a 9-3 win over Rochester.
He had a leadoff homer in the third inning, a three-run double in the fourth, an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth.
Belmont’s Tiner adds preaching to play-by-play duties
As if Belmont baseball and women’s basketball play-by-play announcer Rich Tiner didn’t have enough already on his plate, the school’s director of mass communications is now a full time preacher.
Tiner became the pastor at The Pointe Church, previously First Church of God at Mt. Juliet, located on Morningside Drive, which is just off Lebanon Road.
Metro Parks meetings coming up
A series of community meetings are scheduled for Nashvillians to have the opportunity to provide input on the future of Metro’s parks.
The meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Southeast Community Center on Hickory Hollow Parkway, at noon Thursday at the Downtown Library with Mayor Megan Barry and at 6 p.m. Thursday at Old Hickory Community Center and McCabe Community Center.
If you have an item for Midstate Chatter, contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
SPORTS ON NASHVILLE TV
The top five local ratings for sporting events on television for May 23-29:
1. NBA playoffs: Warriors-Thunder (May 28), 5.9 rating
2. NBA playoffs: Warriors-Thunder (May 26), 5.8 rating
3. Auto racing: Indianapolis 500, 5.5 rating
4. NASCAR: Charlotte 600, 4.9 rating
5. NBA playoffs: Cavaliers-Raptors (May 27), 4.5 rating
Each rating point equals 9,902 Nashville homes.
Source: Mark Binda, WTVF-5 programming & research director