With the soothing accompaniment of a flowing spring, Miranda Lambert performed “Bluebird” from the porch of her Tennessee farm during the CBS television special, ACM Presents: Our Country, on April 5.
“Bluebird, which Miranda co-wrote with Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby, is featured on her seventh studio, Wildcard, which was released in November 2019. The new single is currently No. 26 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart after 15 weeks.
Luke Combs performed his 2019 No. 1 hit, “Beautiful Crazy,” on the CBS television special, ACM Presents: Our Country, on April 5.
Luke co-penned the tune with Wyatt B. Durrette and Robert Williford about his fiancée, Nicole Hocking. “Beautiful Crazy” topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart for seven straight weeks in February/March/April 2019. The song is featured on the deluxe version of Luke’s debut album, This One’s for You Too.
Armed with a glass of wine, her voice and a piano track, Carrie Underwood performed her current single, “Drinking Alone,” on the CBS television special, ACM Presents: Our Country, on April 5.
Penned by Carrie, David Garcia and Brett James, “Drinking Alone” is the fourth single from Carrie’s 2018 album, Cry Pretty. The tune is currently No. 19 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart after 21 weeks.
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani treated viewers to an at-home performance of their Top 10 single, “Nobody But You,” on the CBS television special, ACM Presents: Our Country, on April 5.
Penned by Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Tommy Lee James, “Nobody But You” is one of four new tracks on Blake’s recently released album, Fully Loaded: God’s Country.
The new single is currently No. 8 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart after 13 weeks.
After collaborating with cross-genre artists Marshmello, Becky G, Khalid and more, Kane Brown teamed with EGOT-winner John Legend for a new ballad, “Last Time I Say Sorry.”
“Last Time I Say Sorry” was co-written by Kane, Legend, Matt McGinn and Andrew Goldstein, who also produced the track. Kane and Legend initially connected during an episode of The Voice in which Kane was a guest performer, while Legend served as a coach.
Kane and Legend dropped a new video for the tune, which they co-directed from their homes—Kane shot video on his iPhone, while Legend utilized his Google pixel/MacBook.
On a six-game winning streak to close out the 2019 football season, there’s no doubt that the Tennessee football team showed improvement and appears headed in the right direction entering Jeremy Pruitt’s third season at the helm of the Volunteers football program.
The eye test last season showed the best Pruitt-coached version of the Vols overall, strength and conditioning progress that translated to the field, individual players (Pruitt and Jones signees) that developed and an impressive ability to shake-off negative plays or stretches and come right back with a positive play. That last trait was especially critical during the strong close to the regular season, where the games weren’t always pretty or complete for UT but the team found a way to win a number of close games.
Just how much progress has been made on the field, according to the numbers?
I took a look at the numbers from Butch Jones’ last season, to Pruitt’s first campaign to last year’s second go-around for Pruitt to show just how much better the team is statistically (in addition to the wins) and how consistent that development has been.
Below, I’ve outlined the numbers in many team stats. I’ve added my notes with additional info, noteworthy accomplishments and opinions on what the numbers mean. You’ll also see some 2019 numbers highlighted in yellow. Those are the 31 of 64 stats where Pruitt’s team improved both from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2018 to 2019. Pruitt’s teams have improved consecutive years in almost half of the stats list. That’s pretty strong.
Will the loss of strength and conditioning Craig Fitzgerald to the NFL set the Vols back? Do the coaching changes stunt the development of the players under Pruitt? Will the loss of key experienced starters like Jennings, Taylor, Bituli and others be too tough to overcome? Could a still experienced team that features a greater percentage of Pruitt signed players enhance that improvement even more? Or will the progress continue, regardless of circumstance, as long as Pruitt is in charge?
Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes was a guest on Thursday on The Erik Ainge Show with Erik and co-host Brian Rice. Listen to that full interview here.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s basketball legend Tamika Catchings was announced Saturday as part of the nine-member 2020 induction class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Catchings follows in the footsteps of her head coach at Tennessee, the late Pat Summitt, who was the first and only other person associated with the Lady Vol program to be welcomed to that hall. The Class of 2020 will be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Birthplace of Basketball, on Saturday, August 29, 2020.
As previously announced, in light of the unique circumstance surrounding the Class of 2020, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Election Process Committee suspended the Direct Election Categories for one year with the exception of the International Committee. This year’s distinguished class includes honorees from the North American committee, Women’s Committee and International Committee. To be elected, North American and Women’s Committee finalists must receive 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2020 includes: 18-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, 15-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan, 15-time NBA All-Star and nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection Kevin Garnett, four-time National Coach of the Year Eddie Sutton, two-time NBA Champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings, three-time NCAA National Championship Coach of Baylor Kim Mulkey, five-time Division II National Coach of the Year Barbara Stevens and long-time FIBA executive Patrick Baumann.
“The Class of 2020 is undoubtedly one of the most historic of all time and the talent and social influence of these nine honorees is beyond measure,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “In 2020, the basketball community has suffered the unimaginable loss of iconic figures Commissioner David Stern and Kobe Bryant, as well as the game itself due to COVID-19. We have also banded together like never before in appreciation of the game and those who have made it the uniting force it is today. Today we thank the Class of 2020 for all they have done for the game of basketball and we look forward to celebrating them at Enshrinement in August.”
The Class of 2020 Enshrinement festivities will begin at Mohegan Sun on Friday, August 28th with the newly-formatted Enshrinement Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala. The Class of 2020 and over 50 returning Hall of Famers will then journey to Springfield, Mass., for the annual celebratory events taking place at the newly-renovated Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Springfield Symphony Hall on the 29th. The second day of events in Springfield will include a special community-focused Celebration Day on the 30th.
Ticket packages to the 2020 Enshrinement Ceremony and all Enshrinement events are on sale now and available online atwww.hoophall.com or by calling the Basketball Hall of Fame at (413) 231-5513. Premium Sponsors of Enshrinement 2020 include Fifty-Five South Ventures, Nike, Baron Championship Rings, Mohegan Sun and Panini.
Catchings, who played for the Lady Vols from 1997-2001, is one of only two UT players to earn WBCA All-America accolades all four years of her career and was a four-time All-SEC recipient, including three times as a first-team honoree.
The 6-1 forward from Duncanville, Texas, was a two-time All-Final Four recipient; the 2001 ESPY Awards Women’s Basketball Player of the Year; the 2000 Associated Press, WBCA, Naismith and U.S. Basketball Writers of America Player of the Year and the 1998 U.S. Basketball Writers of America and SEC Freshman of the Year. Catchings also was a three-time SEC All-Tournament Team member, and two-time NCAA All-Regional Tournament honoree and two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Catchings played a key role as Tennessee went 39-0 and won an NCAA title in 1998 and also helped the Lady Vols place second in 2000. Additionally, she was instrumental in the Big Orange winning four SEC regular season championships and three tournament crowns.
In Lady Vol history, Catchings remains fourth in all-time scoring with 2,113 points and is sixth with 1,004 career rebounds. She is one of only two UT players to record 2,000 points and 1,000 caroms. Catchings continues to rank third in steals (311), fourth in career field goals (760) and free throws (471), and eighth in blocked shots (136). She also is tied for most games played in a season with 39.
Catchings played 15 seasons with the Indiana Fever, was named the 2011 WNBA MVP and led that franchise to the 2012 WNBA Championship, earning Finals MVP honors. Catchings was a 10-time WNBA All-Star, a 12-time All-WNBA Team selection, a five-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and the 2002 WNBA Rookie of the Year. She holds the league’s all-time steals career mark and now is employed by Indiana as vice president/Fever basketball operations.
Previously announced as a member of the 2020 induction class into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Catchings also won four consecutive Olympic gold medals with Team USA from 2002-2016, tying for the most golds ever won in women’s basketball by an American woman and setting records for most Olympics participated in and most golds won by a Lady Vol.
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