Reba McEntire released an updated music video for her 1997 song, “What If.” The modernized video features new clips of essential workers, medical professionals and first responders battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Penned by Diane Warren, “What If” was originally released by Reba in 1997 as a promotional single to benefit the Salvation Army. Reba’s version peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The track is now available digitally for the first time.
“This song is as relevant today as it was 23 years ago,” says Reba. “That’s the power of a great song and Diane Warren is no stranger to writing great songs. Even though we may not be able to physically reach out with just one hand right now, we can still be there for each other and take care of our neighbors, essential workers and medical professionals. Re-releasing this song and updated video with its message of care, hope and love felt like the right thing to do. Maybe we still can change things.”
Tim McGraw release a new single, “I Called Mama,” on May 8.
Penned by Lance Miller, Marv Green and Jimmy Yeary, “I Called Mama” is about the special connection mothers share with their children, especially when times are tough.
“On the one hand, this song is literally, ‘Hey, call your mom,’” says Tim. “On the other hand, you look at a time like this, there are real hardships for everyone, and it’s a great reminder that hearing someone’s voice who knows you and loves you can help you get through anything. I think it’s at these very difficult times that music can help and the power of a song can give someone a moment of clarity or comfort, or just a smile. Especially now, when we seem to need it more than ever.”
Thursday night brought us the exciting release of the 2020 NFL Schedule.
Below, I’ve included the potential Week 1 NFL matchups involving the 38 current University of Tennessee players.
This is best case scenario if each VFL on the current expanded rosters makes the final roster and is active for Week 1’s games.
I’ve also added the 8 one-time UT players that finished their careers elsewhere as well as 4 players from the Knoxville area that did not play for the Vols but are noteworthy.
All 16 games in Week 1 currently have at least one of the noteworthy players described above.
I’ll continue tracking the VFLs in the NFL here on my blog, “Vince’s View.”
WEEK 1 (All Times Eastern) x = rookies
Thursday, September 10, 2020 Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (Thu) 8:20pm NBC
OG – Zach Fulton (73) Houston Texans
(Local Non-Vol) WR – Randall Cobb (–) Houston Texans (Alcoa HS/Kentucky)
(Ex-Vol) P – Tommy Townsend (–) Kansas City Chiefs (U. of Tennessee/Florida) – x
Sunday, September 13, 2020 Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons 1:00pm FOX
OG – Kahlil McKenzie (62) Seattle Seahawks
DE – Darrell Taylor (–) Seattle Seahawks – x
TE – Dominick Wood-Anderson (–) Seattle Seahawks – x
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens 1:00pm CBS
LS – Morgan Cox (46) Baltimore Ravens
S – Nigel Warrior (–) Baltimore Ravens – x
(Ex-Vol) TE – Eli Wolf (–) Baltimore Ravens (U. of Tennessee/Georgia) – x
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills 1:00pm CBS
WR – Josh Malone (83) New York Jets
DE – Kyle Phillips (98) New York Jets
TE – Jason Croom (80) Buffalo Bills
(Ex-Vol) TE – Lee Smith (85) Buffalo Bills (Powell HS/U. of Tennessee/Marshall)
Las Vegas Raiders at Carolina Panthers 1:00pm CBS
DE – Kendal Vickers (–) Las Vegas Raiders
TE – Jason Witten (82) Las Vegas Raiders
(Ex-Vol) QB – Nathan Peterman (3) Las Vegas Raiders (U. of Tennessee/Pitt)
P – Michael Palardy (5) Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions 1:00pm FOX
QB – Tyler Bray (9) Chicago Bears
WR/KR – Cordarrelle Patterson (84) Chicago Bears
CB – Justin Coleman (27) Detroit Lions
OLB – Jalen Reeves-Maybin (44) Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00pm CBS
QB – Joshua Dobbs (1) Jacksonville Jaguars
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings 1:00pm FOX
P – Britton Colquitt (2) Minnesota Vikings
(Local Non-Vol) S – Harrison Smith (22) Minnesota Vikings (Catholic HS/Notre Dame)
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots 1:00pm CBS
(Ex-Vol) WR – Preston Williams (18) Miami Dolphins (U. of Tennessee/Colorado St)
FB – Jakob Johnson (47) New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins 1:00pm FOX
DE – Derek Barnett (96) Philadelphia Eagles
TE – Alex Ellis (85) Philadelphia Eagles
DT – Malik Jackson (97) Philadelphia Eagles
Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals 4:05pm CBS
(Local Non-Vol) WR – Tee Higgins (–) Cincinnati Bengals (Oak Ridge HS/Clemson) – x
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints 4:25pm FOX
RB – Alvin Kamara (41) New Orleans Saints
DT – Shy Tuttle (99) New Orleans Saints
LB – Colton Jumper (51) New Orleans Saints
WR – Marquez Callaway (–) New Orleans Saints – x
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers 4:25pm FOX
DE – Jonathan Kongbo (61) San Francisco 49ers
CB – Emmanuel Moseley (41) San Francisco 49ers
WR – Jauan Jennings (81) San Francisco 49ers – x
(Ex-Vol) TE – Daniel Helm (43) San Francisco 49ers (U. of Tennessee/Duke)
(Ex-Vol) WR – Jalen Hurd (14) San Francisco 49ers (U. of Tennessee/Baylor)
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams 8:20pm NBC
(Local Non-Vol) P – Chris Jones (6) Dallas Cowboys (Carson-Newman)
RB – John Kelly (42) Los Angeles Rams
TE – Ethan Wolf (84) Los Angeles Rams
LB – Daniel Bituli (–) Los Angeles Rams – x
Monday, September 14, 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants (Mon) 7:15pm ESPN
NT – Dan McCullers (93) Pittsburgh Steelers
CB – Cameron Sutton (20) Pittsburgh Steelers
(Ex-Vol) DE – Dewayne Hendrix (–) Pittsburgh Steelers (U. of Tennessee/Pitt)
DB – Rashaan Gaulden (38) New York Giants
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos (Mon) 10:10pm ESPN
OLB – Jordan Williams (40) Tennessee Titans
OT – Ja’Wuan James (70) Denver Broncos
ILB – Alexander Johnson (45) Denver Broncos
How about a little Johnny Cash trivia to pass the time?
50 years ago, Johnny’s 1970 album, Hello, I’m Johnny Cash, ended its four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart (March 28–April 25).
In addition to the iconic title, the album was noteworthy for a number of reasons, including:
It featured three Top 5 singles: “Blistered,” “See Ruby Fall” and “If I Were a Carpenter.”
Johnny’s duet with June Carter Cash, “If I Were a Carpenter,” earned the couple the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Group of Duo.
The 12-song album featured “To Beat the Devil,” which was the first Kris Kristofferson-penned song that Johnny cut.
Just how iconic is the Hello, I’m Johnny Cash album title? When Nashville’s Johnny Cash Museum re-opens after the COVID-19 shutdown, the title will continue to greet guests as they walk in the door.
Abby Anderson and longtime boyfriend Tyler Graham got engaged on May 2.
Tyler proposed to Abby during an evening canoe ride in a lake in Georgia, where the couple has been quarantining. Tyler got down on one knee and presented Abby with a ring made of wildflowers (until the jeweler opens back up and they can design her ring).
photo courtesy Abby Anderson
Abby shared the news via Instagram, saying: “TURNS OUT MY MAN CATCHES MORE THAN FISH💍😭 Ring brought to you by Tyler’s beautiful mind, jewelers being closed, corona and wildflower stems🌞”
Abby was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country class of 2018.
Congrats to the happy couple.
Listen to Abby’s new song, “I’ll Still Love You,” which she wrote about Tyler.
Kenny Chesney dropped a fan-filled video for his new song, “We Do,” which is included on his new album, Here and Now.
Penned by Kenny, Craig Wiseman, Scooter Carusoe and David Garcia, “We Do” features Kenny crooning the chorus directly at his passionate fan base, No Shoes Nation: “Yeah, we laugh and we love and we can’t get enough / As loud as we’re living, man, we still turn it up / We’re amplified, come alive, side by side / No matter where it goes you know we’re here for the ride.”
Directed by Shaun Silva, the “We Do” video features clips of Kenny’s fans enjoying his concerts—from the tailgates to the packed stadiums, and everything in between.
“I’ve wanted to paint this picture for a long time,” Kenny says. “But I never had the song that said what I needed to say about what we all share together. Once I did, it was a matter of how to build this clip in a way that captures the essence of it! Because you try to tell people, and they can’t quite get their heads around it . . . I look at those faces, the kids up on the stage hugging me, the guy throwing his arms into the air on his dad’s shoulders, and I think, ‘Yeah! That’s what the best rockers did for me, too.’ No matter how hard I work, how much we play, I will spend my life trying to give back as much as they give us—because nobody throws passion at a band harder than No Shoes Nation.”
Though circumstances related to the global coronavirus pandemic prevent standard commencement gatherings from taking place, Tennessee Athletics salutes its 65 spring/summer graduates who have completed their degree requirements.
On Thursday, May 7, the university is hosting a redesigned commencement celebration virtually starting at 9 a.m. ET. The link to participate will be available at www.UTK.edu as well as on the school’s official Twitter and Facebookchannels.
Tennessee’s graduates include student-athletes from coast to coast—California to Connecticut—who chose to chase their dreams on Rocky Top. The list also includes multiple international student-athletes from nations such as Australia, Greece and Jamaica.
The list of degree programs is equally as varied, with Vols and Lady Vols earning diplomas in Accounting, Aerospace Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Electrical Engineering, Plant Sciences, Retail & Consumer Sciences, Mechanical Engineering and many other disciplines.
In addition to their academic achievements, this collection of new grads set school records, earned All-America honors and captured SEC and NCAA championships.
“We couldn’t be more proud of our many graduates,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. “We certainly regret that they are unable to celebrate commencement with their coaches, teammates and families here on campus, but we also understand that sacrifices for the greater good are necessary right now. Throughout their time here at the University of Tennessee, these young men and women have developed the strength and resilience to overcome most any challenge they could encounter. And they’re now uniquely positioned to lead the way as society bounces back from this pandemic. We’ll be watching proudly.”
Among the newest crop of UT student-athletes grads are four former standout performers who put their degree progress on hold to pursue careers in professionals sports. They recently re-enrolled in UT’s Renewing Academic Commitment (RAC) Program to complete their degree requirements. This semester’s RAC graduates are baseball players Zach Osborne (2009-12) and Benito Santiago (2015-18), men’s basketball player Steve Hamer (1992-96) and football player Peerless Price (1995-98). All four were drafted out of UT. Price played nine seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL.
Seven of Tennessee’s spring/summer graduates did participate in commencement activities back in December, in anticipation that they would be unable to be present at ceremonies originally scheduled for this weekend.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (5) Jordan Bone, Recreation & Sport Management Jordan Bowden, Africana Studies Jacob Fleschman, Finance John Fulkerson, Recreation & Sport Management
Steve Hamer, Journalism & Electronic Media (RAC)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (4) Lou Brown, Communication & Information (Master’s) Rennia Davis, Hospitality & Tourism Management Kamera Harris, Communication & Information (Master’s) Kasiyahna Kushkituah, Hospitality & Tourism Management
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Athletes in Action Basketball recently hosted its first Virtual Leadership Academy for NCAA Division I women’s basketball captains and emerging leaders, and University of Tennessee student-athletes Kasiyahna Kushkituah and Rae Burrell served as representatives for the Lady Vols.
A total of 50 players from 25 different universities were selected to participate in this year’s Academy, which is normally held in Xenia, Ohio, at the Athletes in Action World Headquarters. This year’s Academy spanned three days, with participants spending two hours daily from April 24 to 26.
Kushkituah is a rising senior from Atlanta, Ga., and averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 31 games last season. Burrell is a rising junior from Las Vegas who was UT’s second-leading scorer (10.5) and rebounder (5.5) while appearing in 31 contests and starting the final nine. They helped the Lady Vols to a 21-10 overall record and 10-6 SEC mark that earned them a share of third place.
The purpose of the Academy is to equip, empower and encourage student-athletes to be competent, confident, effective team leaders. Participants engaged in a variety of sessions and live video conferences, including how to be a great teammate as well as viewing conflict management techniques, case studies in leadership, cohort group breakdowns, communication lessons and interviews with established leaders in business, sport and the military. Attendees had the chance to develop a deeper view of leadership and identity as well as expand the scope of their leadership understanding in the areas of connectedness and service.
Mike Petersen (Atlanta Dream) and Ariel Atkins (Washington Mystics) as well as former college captains and coaches headlined the experience for the players. The Academy is driven and supported by an AIA staff who want to help athletes use the time well and grow in their personal leadership goals. This marked the fourth year that Athletes in Action Basketball staged its Captains Academy and was the first one ever to be held on Zoom. The captains and leaders were able to participate in this training from their own residences.
Athletes in Action is an international sports organization that champions faith, character and victory beyond competition. AIA basketball hosts events, sends teams and develops total athletes and coaches globally. ‘For the good of the game, the growth of its people, to the glory of God’ is the organization’s prime motivation.
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