Maren Morris will be featured on the upcoming soundtrack for Season 8 of HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones announced the news via Twitter, with Maren adding: “Let the Games begin…👑
Let the Games begin… 👑 https://t.co/diBCBhvbqH
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) April 9, 2019
In addition to Maren, the upcoming soundtrack, which will be released on April 26, features Lennon Stella (of Nashville‘s Lennon & Maisy), Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers and more.
photo by JPA, AFF-USA.com
By Jimmy Hyams
How many men’s basketball coaches have turned down blue-blood programs UCLA and Kentucky?
I know one: Rick Barnes.
In 2007, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, a former Tennessee associate athletic director, fired Tubby Smith and set his sights on Barnes.
Barnes had been at Texas nine years, one year removed from a 30-win season, four years removed from a Final Four.
Kentucky had won a national title in 1998 but had been in a nine-year drought from the Final Four.
The guy pegged to resurrect the program: Barnes.
But Barnes said no. He had fallen in love with Texas, with his athletic director DeLoss Dodds, with football coach Mack Brown, with baseball coach Augie Garrido, with the community.
Kentucky hired Billie Gillispie, whom it fired after two seasons.
Fast forward a dozen years.
UCLA came calling for Barnes. The Bruins were the most dominant program in college basketball history when Barnes was growing up, winning 10 national titles in 12 years. They added another in 1995.
UCLA indirectly contacted Barnes on Tuesday. Talks heated up later in the week and Barnes on Friday told his athletic director, Phillip Fulmer, about the possibility of going West.
UCLA offered about $5 million a year over five years. Barnes was making $3.25 million at Tennessee with a $100,000 built in annual raise.
“It was more than anything about the place,’’ Barnes said Tuesday of UCLA. “It was strictly the lure of growing up knowing what UCLA basketball stood for and the challenge of bringing it back.’’
UCLA’s challenge wasn’t necessarily to win a national championship in a few years or even make the Final Four.
“Just get us a coach we can pull for,’’ was the message UCLA alumni gave athletic director Dan Guerrero.
So UCLA went after Barnes – hard.
Barnes met with Fulmer Sunday night and Monday. The longer negotiations went on, the more likely it appeared Barnes would at Tennessee.
If he were going to UCLA, sources said, he was going to make that decision early afternoon on Monday.
The UCLA deal hit a snag when UCLA wanted to give Barnes a $4 million signing bonus, then have him pay Tennessee the buyout. That would mean Barnes would be taxed about $1.6 million: 40 percent of $4 million.
Despite Barnes calling UCLA “one of the five best jobs in the country,’’ he wasn’t on board with UCLA’s buyout strategy and opted to stay at UT.
“This is a special place,’’ Barnes said of Knoxville.
Barnes said he appreciated the way UT’s administration “treated me and worked with me’’ and gave him the space to make a decision.
After losing four pounds in three days due to anxiety, Barnes felt his best move was not to move.
The UCLA offer came out of nowhere. When Barnes signed his extension last year he said he didn’t request a buyout because “I wasn’t going anywhere.’’
Barnes’ challenge at Tennessee is continued success. His team was ranked No. 1 in the nation for four weeks. It won every home game. It won 19 in a row. It tied a school record with 31 wins. It set a school record with 57 wins in two seasons.
“Can we sustain it and get to another level?’’ Barnes said.
Barnes will try to sustain it this season without seniors Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander, and the possibility of losing point guard Jordan Bone and Grant Williams to the NBA.
Bone has already announced he will test the NBA waters.
Williams likely will do the same thing.
Barnes said that’s part of doing business.
“Every year, in college basketball, if you’re any good, you have to remake your roster,’’ Barnes said.
The terms of Barnes’ deal haven’t been make public but a source said it would likely exceed $4.5 million a year and be guaranteed over five or six years.
“Your team goal every year is to be the best team you can be and if you recruit well enough, you’ll have a chance to win a national championship,’’ said Barnes.
That from a coach who has turned down Kentucky and UCLA.
That from a coach whose return to Tennessee was the best news for the Vol Nation since 1997 – when Peyton Manning bypassed the NFL to play his senior season at Neyland Stadium.
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![Luke Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy” Is No. 1 for 7th Straight Week [1 Week From the Record]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2019/04/09101433/Luke-Combs-TA.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
Luke Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy” is No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for the seventh straight week. The tune is now tied for the second-longest run atop the chart, which was created in 1990. Only Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” and Lonestar’s “Amazed” have had longer runs at eight weeks.
“Beautiful Crazy,” which Luke co-penned with Wyatt B. Durrette and Robert Williford, is featured on the deluxe version of his debut album, This One’s for You Too.
With his latest No. 1, Luke is first country artist in history whose first five singles have reached No. 1, following previous chart-toppers “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away” and “She Got the Best of Me.”
Luke was recently named New Male Artist of the Year at the ACM Awards. He is currently headlining his first arena tour dubbed the Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
“The last few days have been interesting to say the least. One of the nation’s most tradition-rich college basketball programs identified what we here at Tennessee already knew—that Rick Barnes is one the game’s elite coaches and a program-changer. His incredible work here at Tennessee over the past four years illustrates that. Additionally, the impact that he and his wife, Candy, have made throughout this community has been immensely inspiring as well.
“The University of Tennessee and East Tennessee as a whole have developed an enhanced love and appreciation for our men’s basketball program and its culture under Rick’s leadership, and I’m thrilled that he will remain a part of our Tennessee Athletics family.
“I’m grateful to Rick and Candy, and I’m also grateful to our university leadership, which stepped up to show Rick how much he is valued and appreciated. Our commitment to basketball has never been stronger, and we’re all excited for the future as we move forward.”
UT Athletics
George Strait’s new 30th studio album, Honky Tonk Time Machine, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, selling 51,000 equivalent album units in its first week, according to Nielsen Music.
Honk Tonk Time Machine extends George’s record to 27 No. 1 albums on the chart. Both Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson are a distant second on the list with 17 No. 1 albums apiece.
Honky Tonk Time Machine also debuted at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
The new album features 13 songs, including 12 originals and a cover of Johnny Paycheck’s “Old Violin.” George co-penned eight of the tracks, including a duet with Willie Nelson, “Sing One With Willie.” Longtime collaboration Dean Dillon co-penned seven songs, while George’s son, Bubba, co-penned 10 tracks.
“It’s been about two years since I’ve released a record,” says George. “I hope everyone enjoys listening to Honky Tonk Time Machine as much as I enjoyed making it.”
Honky Tonk Time Machine Track Listing & Songwriters
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Before Chris Stapleton found success on the solo front with his three albums Traveller, From A Room: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, he carved out a successful career in Nashville as songwriter, penning tunes such as “Never Wanted Nothing More” (Kenny Chesney), “Your Man” (Josh Turner) and “Drink a Beer” (Luke Bryan).
In addition to writing the lion’s share of songs on this solo albums, Chris has not shied away from covering songs made popular by other artists, including George Jones (“Tennessee Whiskey”) and Willie Nelson (“Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning”).
As Chris tells Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, he’s comfortable recording others artists’ songs—and he feels it’s an honor when other artists record his material.
“I always just find songs and figure out where they belong, whether it’s with me or somebody else,” says Chris to Kix. “I miss the days when if a song was really good, everybody would just do a version of it. Like, how many times has ‘Crazy’ been cut? Or stuff like that. I miss those days—not that anything I ever wrote is that. I don’t know if we’ll ever see the return of that ’cause people feel like, ‘Oh, he did that, I can’t do that.’ But I don’t feel that way about songs, so if somebody else wants to record a song that I wrote, I think it’s a great honor and I welcome it, and it doesn’t mean I’ll never do a version of it.”
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Keith Urban debuted a new song, “Burden,” during the ACM Awards on April 7.
Penned by Irish singer/songwriter Foy Vance, the tune had a profound impact on Keith when he heard it the first time.
“I was riding my bicycle, and I just stopped,” Keith said to the Tennessean. “It went right into the center of me. I got back to Nashville and thought I’d love to capture how I feel about this song if I can, and here we are tonight.”
.@foyvance – good God man,,,,,The Wild Swan is sublime!!! – (and recorded in Nashville no less) – Burden spoke straight into my soul first listen..and i hope i did you justice brother. Thank you too @edsheeran for guiding me into the album, and the wonderful world of Foy. – KU https://t.co/fUpYIJ9Ixq
— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) April 8, 2019
Listen to “Burden” below.
photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com
Before the 54th ACM Awards kicked off in Las Vegas on April 7, the stars walked the red carpet—actually, it was a blue carpet—outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
photos by Arroyo/O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com
By Jimmy Hyams
Will Rick Barnes stay or will he go?
UCLA has apparently offered the Tennessee coach a lucrative package to head West and replace the fired Steve Alford.
Barnes’ roots are in the South. He has been a terrific fit at Tennessee. He is closer to his family and his wife’s family.
Would he be a great fit in Southern California?
I’m not sure.
But I know this: Money talks.
And if UCLA is willing to open the vault for Barnes, he could be enticed to leave.
Last year when Barnes renegotiated his Tennessee contract after a co-SEC championship, he wanted to be the second-highest paid coach in the SEC.
Barnes got his wish. UT paid him $3.25 million with a built-in $100,000 raise over the next four years and a $5 million buyout.
Since then, Barnes has won 31 games, been ranked No. 1 for a month, won every home game and was named national coach of the year by two organizations.
His stock couldn’t be higher.
Also since then, Texas A&M hired Buzz Williams for $3.5 million a year, dropping Barnes to No. 3 in SEC pay.
Barnes has publicly fought for his assistants to make more money. But he also wants to be paid what he considers to be fair market value.
And there’s only one basketball coach in the SEC deserving of more money: John Calipari.
If UCLA did indeed make overtures to Calipari, it would have offered in the neighborhood of $10 million, since Calipari already makes $9.3 million at Kentucky.
If UCLA was willing to offer that much to Calipari, it surely would have been willing to pay Barnes about $5 million a year.
So if UCLA is willing to pony up that kind of cash for Barnes, shouldn’t Tennessee?
If Barnes leaves for UCLA, it shouldn’t be about the money. Tennessee has plenty. It has paid its football coaches handsomely through the years – without much of a return. And of the current UT football coaches only one – offensive coordinator Jim Chaney – has had a measure of success at Tennessee.
Barnes has had tremendous success at Tennessee, with a school-record 57 wins in a two-year period.
But, as with most situations, money likely isn’t the only driving force.
What if Jordan Bone and Grant Williams both leave for the NBA, where is Tennessee basketball?
It’s in a rebuilding mode. You’ve already lost seniors Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander. What would that starting five look like without Bone and Williams?
Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bowden, Josiah James, John Fulkerson, Yves Pons? Or Derrick Walker? Or DJ Burns? Or Jalen Johnson?
You’ve also lost your top assistant, Rob Lanier, to Georgia State.
And you might lose assistant Desmond Oliver to Kennesaw State.
You’d be facing a major rebuilding job without key parts and with high expectations that you’ve built.
And you could go from 31 wins to potentially the NIT.
At UCLA, at 64, Barnes could re-start his coaching clock and for more money – assuming UT isn’t willing to match the Bruins’ offer.
I can’t imagine that Barnes wants to leave.
And I can’t imagine athletic director Phillip Fulmer not stepping to the plate and paying Barnes what it would take to keep him here.
If you argue UT can’t afford to keep Barnes, I’d argue UT can’t afford to lose him.
But stranger things have happened.
After all, this is Tennessee athletics — where you can expect the unexpected.
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
![Just the Winners: ACM Award Winners With Their Trophies [Photo Gallery]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2019/04/08103148/ACM-Winners-AFF.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
Take a look at the big winners from the ACM Awards as they made their way backstage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 7.
Photos courtesy Arroyo/O’Connor, AFF-USA.com.
photos by Arroyo/O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com
