I’m going to guess that when Ray McKinnon signed on to play Coach Burt Cotton in the 2009 movie The Blind Side he couldn’t have guessed it would be among the top grossing films of the year and that his co-star, Sandra Bullock, would be nominated for an Academy Award as best actress. Who could have predicted that? RAY McKINNON podcast excerpt: "I never really got to know Sandra Bullock. But I did get to know her security pretty well. And I really liked him. Whenever I felt I needed to talk to him, I'd get within 30 feet of Sandra and we would be talking."  For a guy whose previous best-known role was probably that of Reverend H.W. Smith on the HBO series “Deadwood,” the success of The Blind Side can’t be anything but good. He’s already been nominated for a 2010 Spirit Award for his role as “Lonzo” in the indie , opposite legendary actor Hal Holbrook. McKinnon, by the way, won an Oscar of his own back in 2002 for his work behind the camera on a short, The Accountant. Ray McKinnon  • •