Reba McEntire returns for a second year as host of the ninth annual CMA Country Christmas, a two-hour music celebration that airs on ABC on Dec. 10.
CMA Country Christmas was taped on Sept. 27 at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center in Nashville. In addition to Reba, this year’s lineup includes performances by Tony Bennett, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Amy Grant, Diana Krall, Dustin Lynch, Martina McBride, Old Dominion, Brad Paisley, Michael W. Smith, Lindsey Stirling and The Isaacs.
“I’ve always cherished celebrating Christmas alongside family and friends, taking time to reflect on the season,” says Reba. “I’m so excited CMA invited me back to host their show and am looking forward to fun singing carols with my friends.”
CMA Country Christmas airs on ABC on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. CT.
Watch Reba’s performance of “Hard Candy Christmas,” a song Dolly Parton made famous in 1982’s The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A finish for the ages ended in Tennessee’s favor, as the seventh-ranked Vols rallied to beat top-ranked and previously unbeaten Gonzaga, 76-73, in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at Talking Stick Resort Arena Sunday.
Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield, who finished with a career-high 30 points, buried a pair of 3-pointers from NBA range as part of an 11-5 run over the final 3:17 of play. The senior wing scored all 11 points during the run, knocking down three of his career-high six treys.
Tennessee (7-1) handed the Bulldogs (9-1) their first loss of the season in the nail-biter, marking UT’s fifth all-time win against the nation’s No. 1 team. Tennessee’ defense stepped up to hold one of the nation’s best offenses to no field goals during the final 4:16 of the game.
The Volunteers took a one-point lead into halftime, but the Zags jumped ahead within the first minute of the second half and held on to the their lead until 1:20 left on the clock. Gonzaga pulled ahead by as many as nine points before UT started chipping away at the lead.
After scoring just five points in the first half, Schofield erupted after halftime to score 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting with five threes. None were bigger than a deep ball that banked off the glass with 1:20 remaining to give the Vols a two-point lead. His swish from beyond the arc on the following possession broke a 73-73 deadlock and ultimately stood as the difference in the game.
The Zags had two looks during the final 24 seconds to tie the game but both were off line, including an attempt by Rui Hachimura, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for Gonzaga.
Grant Williams posted another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with seven assists. Jordan Bowden was the other Vol to finish with double-digit scoring, tallying 11 points behind three treys in the second half.
The first half was a game of momentum shifts. The Vols started things off with a 7-0 run before jumping out to a 17-8 lead behind 8-of-13 shooting. Tennessee’s offense would go cold, though, hitting just four of its final 20 shots in the half.
During the drought, Gonzaga’s high-scoring offense caught fire for an 11-of-17 shooting stretch to take a 33-27 lead with 3:22 left in the frame. However, UT finished the half strong with a 7-0 run to take a 34-33 advantage into the break.
Williams paced the Big Orange in the period with 12 points and seven boards, while Yves Pons chipped in seven points and three rebounds.
Meme Jackson – Lady Vols senior Guard / Credit: UT Athletics
AUSTIN, Texas — Senior Meme Jackson logged a career-high 33 points to lift the No. 9/9 Lady Vols to an 88-82 victory over No. 12/12 Texas in the Frank Erwin Center on Sunday.
Sophomore Evina Westbrook posted 23 points for her third straight 20+ point performance. Cheridene Green was also in double figures for Tennessee (8-0), adding 10 points and six rebounds.
Texas (7-2) was led in scoring by Audrey Warren with 21 points. Danni Williams, Destiny Littleton and Sug Sutton were also in double digits for the Longhorns with 14, 13 and 11, respectively.
Texas led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, fueled by a 47.1 field goal percentage and 12 first-quarter points from Warren, but Jackson hit two foul shots at the end of the period to cut the deficit to nine at 23-14.
Jackson carried that momentum into the second quarter, converting an and-one on Tennessee’s first possession to cut Texas’ lead to six. The teams traded buckets until Tennessee mounted a 10-0 run to take the lead at 29-27 with 4:56 to play in the half. Jackson hit back-to-back treys to close out the quarter, giving Tennessee a 40-35 lead at the break. After allowing Texas to shoot eight of 17 from the floor in the first quarter, the Lady Vols held the Longhorns without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the second period.
The Longhorns came out firing in the second half with Williams connecting on a long-range three on their first possession. With just under five minutes to play in the quarter Texas tied it up at 52-all on a Sutton layup, but Tennessee answered with a 7-0 run to move ahead 59-52 at the 2:44 mark. The Lady Vols maintained a lead through the rest of the period, entering the final stanza up 62-57.
Texas pulled within two at 65-63 with 7:06 left in the game, but a three-point play by Westbrook and a quick trey from Mimi Collins extended the Lady Vols’ lead to 71-65 less than a minute later. The Longhorns rallied again, pulling within one with just over three minutes to play, but the Lady Vols hit nine free throws in the closing minutes to secure an 88-82 victory.
Up Next: The Lady Vols will return to Knoxville for final exams before hosting No. 11/11 Stanford on Dec. 18. The game will tip at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Turn ‘Em Over: With 17 turnovers forced against Texas, the Lady Vols have caused 17 or more turnovers in seven of eight games thus far this season. On the year, Tennessee is averaging 22.5 turnovers forced per game.
20+ Performances: With 23 points against Texas, Evina Westbrook posted her third 20+ performance in as many games. Meme Jackson also had a 20+ (33) game against the Longhorns, marking the second contest in a row with two Lady Vols over 20 points and UT’s sixth 20+ performance of the season.
Against Texas: In the 40th meeting between the two teams, the win moves Tennessee’s record to 25-15 all-time against Texas and 4-3 under Holly Warlick. UT has won the last two meetings.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 9/9 Tennessee (7-0) and No. 12/12 Texas (7-1) renew their rivalry in Austin on Sunday, as these storied programs meet for the 40th time during the 40-year run of a series that began on Dec. 8, 1978, on a campus with an original footprint of land known as the “Forty Acres.” Tip-off is slated for 12:02 Central (1:02 ET), with the game available on ESPN2 and the Lady Vol Radio Network.
UT head coach Holly Warlick, then a junior, started at point guard for the Lady Vols in that first UT/UT match-up, leading her squad to an 84-60 victory over the Longhorns in Columbia, Mo., at the Midwestern Classic Tournament.
Warlick played 39 minutes in that contest, scoring four points and adding two rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal while helping her squad improve to 4-0. On Sunday, she will direct the Lady Vols as a head coach in this series for the seventh time. She stands 3-3 so far, winning her first two times and in the most recent one in Knoxville last season.
The Lady Vols enter this match-up with a perfect 7-0 record after surviving a serious upset bid by Stetson on Wednesday night in Knoxville. The Hatters had Tennessee down by 20, 42-22, with 7:16 to go in the third period before UT used a 22-0 run to flip the script and remain unbeaten with a 10-point win, 65-55.
Texas enters on the heels of a 67-49 loss to No. 6/6 Mississippi State last Sunday, the first setback of the campaign for the Longhorns.
The Lady Vols are 1-0 in road games this season, winning by 13 at Oklahoma State, 76-63, last Sunday. Including a pair of neutral site wins over Clemson and UAB at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, Tennessee is 3-0 away from Knoxville in 2018-19. The Longhorns are 3-1 at home this season, picking up wins vs. Duquesne, McNeese State and UTSA before dropping one to Mississippi State last Sunday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Adam Amin (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst) and Andy Landers (analyst) will describe the action for ESPN2.
Mickey Dearstone is handling the call for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 20th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
For UT home games (after football season has concluded), the Lady Vol Network has a low-power transmitter that makes the game available on the radio at 99.3 FM.
NOTING THE LADY VOLS
A STAR IS BORN: Point guard Evina Westbrook has developed into the player she was projected to be. The sophomore leads UT in scoring (15.7) and already has three games of 20+ points this season in addition to 4.6 apg., 3.4 rpg. and 2.0 spg.
SMOOTH OPERATOR: Rennia Davis has upped her game as a sophomore, averaging 15.3 ppg., 7.3 rpg. and shooting 52% on FGs, 44% on 3FGs, and 83% on FTs. She has been in double figures in all six of her games.
ACTION JACKSON: Meme Jackson brings the energy for Tennessee. She leads UT in 3FGs (14), but her ability to provide relentless defense and fill up a stat sheet in other categories (stls., rebs., assts.) is key to the team’s success.
NKOTB: Zaay Green (9.3 ppg.) has made the biggest statistical splash so far of the “new kids,” but all four freshmen have carved out roles and found ways to help this team.
DON’T FORGET THE WINDEX: UT has shown signs of being a solid team on the glass, ranking No. 4 nationally in reb. margin (16.0), No. 10 in off. rebs. per game (18) and No. 11 in rebs. per game (47.4). The Lady Vols have out-rebounded their opponents in all seven games thus far.
PACK YOUR DEFENSE: In addition to rebounding, Tennessee’s defense is a catalyst for its offense. UT ranks No. 11 in steals per game (13.4) and No. 19 in turnovers forced (23.29. Meme Jackson is ranked No. 48 in steals per game (2.86).
GET OUT OF THE BLOCKS: The Lady Vols have been slow starters the past four games, being outscored in the 1Q (82-69) and 2Q (69-54) during that span before bouncing back to win the 3Q (82-52) and 4Q (79-46).
FACING RANKED FOES: Tennessee is 41-35 vs. ranked foes under Holly Warlick, including 25-16 vs. those ranked 11 through 25. UT was 7-6 vs. ranked teams in 2017-18.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LADY VOLS
The sophomore duo of Rennia Davis and Evina Westbrook joined forces for 44 points to lead No. 9/9 Tennessee to a 65-55 victory over Stetson at Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday night.
Davis (24 points and nine rebounds) and Westbrook (20 points) hit a combined 20 of 21 free throws in the win, as the Lady Vols finished 25 of 30 for the game from the charity stripe for 83.3 percent. Freshman Zaay Green tallied eight points and five rebounds, while Mimi Collins was strong on the glass with seven points and seven rebounds.
After being held to just 22 points at the half and trailing by 20 (42-22) early in the second half, Tennessee (7-0) rallied with a 22-0 run in the third quarter to outscore the Hatters 43-17 in the second half. Westbrook and Davis led the charge for the Lady Vols with 30 combined points in the final two quarters.
NOTING THE LONGHORNS
The Longhorns are led by Karen Aston, who is 149-63 in her seventh season in Austin. She has a career record of 250-126 in her 12th year.
Texas returned three starters and eight letterwinners from a year ago and welcomed six newcomers. UT lost Ariel Atkins (14.9 ppg.) and Brooke McCarty (13.6 ppg.) to graduation.
The starters back and their scoring in 2017-18 are Lashaan Higgs (12.8 ppg.), Jatarie White (10.8 ppg.) and Joyner Holmes (6.8 ppg.). Higgs is out for the year after suffering a knee injury on Nov. 23. Holmes has yet to make her season debut while sitting out due to an ankle injury suffered in early October.
One of Texas’ newcomers is grad. transfer Danni Williams, a three-year standout at Texas A&M.
Texas was 28-7 overall and finished second in the Big 12 with a 15-3 mark last season.
The Longhorns finished #8/10 in the 2017-18 final polls after making it to the NCAA Sweet 16.
THE LONGHORNS’ LAST GAME
Junior guard Sug Sutton’s 16-point outing was not enough, as No. 10 Texas (7-1) lost at home to No. 6 Mississippi State (8-0), 67-49, last Sunday.
Sutton led the Longhorns in points (16), assists (five) and rebounds (eight). Sophomore guard Destiny Littleton also had a solid performance, contributing nine points and three rebounds.
MSU outscored Texas 48-28 in the paint, and Texas committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee leads the series with Texas, 24-15, and has a 12-6 edge in Knoxville, a 10-8 record in Austin and a 2-1 mark at neutral sites.
The Lady Vols ended a three-game overall losing skid in the series last season and will attempt to stop a two-game road losing streak in the series on Sunday.
While the first meeting in the series was on Dec. 8, 1978 (Tennessee 84, Texas 60), this marks the 37th-consecutive season these programs have met. The UTs played twice in 1986-87 and 1991-92 in regular-season tourney match-ups in addition to the regularly-scheduled games.
Tennessee ran off 13-straight wins over Texas from Jan. 20, 1990, to Dec. 22, 2000, but since then the Lady Vols have forged a 9-8 mark with Holly Warlick standing 3-3 vs. the Longhorns.
Head coaches Holly Warlick and Karen Aston have some common ground, with both having served as assistants (HW: 1985-2005/KA: 1998-2000) and associate head coaches (HW: 2005-12/KA: 2000-06) for two of women’s basketball’s legendary coaches.
Warlick, of course, follows in the footsteps of Pat Summitt (NCAA-best 1,098-208 record in 38 seasons) at Tennessee, and Aston, with some stops at other schools from 2006-12, holds a job her mentor Jody Conradt (900-307) had for 31 years.
Texas Senior Associate A.D. and women’s basketball administrator Kathy Harston was women’s basketball director of operations and worked with Summitt, Warlick and UT assistant Dean Lockwood on the Lady Vols staff from 2008-12. She also was at Texas before that.
Lady Vol freshman Zaay Green hails from Duncanville (Texas) High School, the alma mater of Lady Vol and hoops legend Tamika Catchings.
Longhorns post Jatarie White and guard Danni Williams started their careers in the SEC at South Carolina and Texas A&M, respectively.
Tenn. is 57-22 all-time vs. the Big 12, including 1-0 this season with a win over Oklahoma State.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
Senior Jaime Nared scored 23 points and recorded 13 rebounds to lead No. 11/13 Tennessee to an 82-75 win over No. 2/4 Texas in front of a crowd of 9,651 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 10, 2017.
After another strong start in front of their home fans, the Lady Vols (10-0) never trailed during the game and held the Longhorns (7-1) to 36 percent shooting.
UT earned its first home win over a top-two ranked opponent since beating No. 2 Stanford in 2010. It also halted a three-game losing skid to Texas.
Mercedes Russell finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and 34th of her career. Evina Westbrook added a career-high 15 points of her own on 5-for-11 shooting in the winning effort. Ariel Atkins led the Longhorns offensively, shooting 6-for-14 with 21 points. Atkins hails from Duncanville (Texas) H.S., the same alma mater as former Lady Vol Tamika Catchings and current freshman Zaay Green.
NEXT UP FOR TENNESSEE AND TEXAS
After the Texas game, the Lady Vols will be off until Stanford comes to Knoxville on Dec. 18 for a 6 p.m. ET tussle at Thompson-Boling Arena. The SEC Network will televise that contest.
Interestingly enough, Texas’ next opponent is Stetson, UT’s last opponent before coming to Austin. The Hatters and Horns meet at the Frank Erwin Center on Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. CT.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football defensive end Kyle Phillips will play in the 94th East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 19 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The college football all-star game announced on Thursday night the Vols’ captain has accepted an invitation to play in the contest.
The 2019 edition of the East-West Shrine Game will kick off at 3 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field and will be broadcast live on the NFL Network.
Phillips will be the 49th Vol to play in the East-West Shrine Game all-time, joining recent participants Ethan Wolf (2018) and Justin Coleman (2015) as well as other notable Vols such as Casey Clausen (2004), Frank Emanuel (1965), Steve DeLong (1964) and Beattie Feathers (1934).
Phillips was an outstanding leader for the Vols on and off the field during his career, saving his best season for 2018. The Nashville, Tenn., native ranked second on the team in sacks (5.0) and tackles for loss (8.0), and finished third in tackles (56), while starting all 12 games this fall. He added a pick-six versus No. 1 Alabama, five quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick to fill up the stat sheet in his final collegiate season.
For his career, Phillips finished with 114 tackles, 16 TFLs and eight sacks, while appearing in 41 games with 20 starts.
In addition to being named a permanent captain for the 2018 season, Phillips took home the Bill Majors Award and Defensive Player of the Year honors at the end-of-season team banquet.
Phillips collected SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after logging a career-high nine tackles and forcing a fumble in a 30-24 victory at No. 21 Auburn on Sept. 13. Phillips was a semifinalist for the 2018 Campbell Trophy as well as the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, and grabbed Google Cloud Academic All-District honors.
Phillips graduated in three years with a degree in sports management and was a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He was named to the SEC Community Service Team in 2017 and traveled to Vietnam as a member of the 2016-17 VOLeaders Academy class.
Kip Moore will extend his Room to Spare Acoustic Tour into 2019 with more than 25 dates, including stops in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and more. The tour will also make four stops in the U.K. Charlie Worsham and Muscadine Bloodline will serve as support.
Kip released a new EP, Room to Spare: The Acoustic Sessions, on Nov. 16. The seven-song EP features six never-before-released songs, including five that were co-penned by Kip.
Room to Spare Acoustic Tour
March 7 | Chicago, IL | Copernicus Center**
March 8 | Carmel, IN | The Palladium**
March 9 | Bowling Green, KY | SKYPAC**
March 14 | Minneapolis, MN | The State Theatre*
March 15 | Ottumwa, IA | Bridge View Events Center*
March 16 | Springfield, MO | Gillioz Theatre*
March 21 | Morgantown, WV | The Metropolitan Theatre**
March 22 | Athens, OH | Memorial Auditorium**
March 23 | Richmond, VA | The National**
March 28 | Sacramento, CA | Crest Theatre**
March 29 | Santa Rosa, CA | Luther Burbank Center for the Arts**
March 30 | Hanford, CA – Fox Theatre**
April 18 | Moncton, NB | Capitol Theater
April 19 | Halifax, NS | Casino Nova Scotia
April 20 | Charlottetown, PEI | Confederation Centre of the Arts
April 25 | Atlanta, GA | The Buckhead Theatre**
April 26 | Macon, GA | The Grand Opera House**
April 27 | McMinnville, TN | Cumberland Caverns**
May 2 | Boston, MA | Wilbur Theatre**
May 3 | New Brunswick, NJ | State Theatre**
May 4 | Burlington, VT | Flynn Center**
May 9 | Ridgefield, CT | Ridgefield Playhouse**
May 10 | Portland, ME | The State Theatre**
May 11 | Glenside, PA | Keswick Theatre**
May 26 | Manchester, UK | Academy 2
May 27 | Glasgow, UK | Fruitmarket
May 29 | Birmingham, UK | Town Hall
May 30 | London, UK | Cadogan Hall
*Dates with Charlie Worsham **Dates with Muscadine Bloodline
You can ring in the New Year in Nashville with a free show featuring Keith Urban, Brett Young, Peter Frampton, Judah & the Lion, Caitlyn Smith, Devon Gilfillian and Fisk Jubilee Singers
The free event—dubbed the Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville—will take place at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park (approximately one mile from the heart of downtown). This will be the fourth year that Keith headlines the event.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. CT on Dec. 31, followed by the raising of the Music Note (Nashville’s equivalent to NYC’s ball drop) to kick off the live music. The event will include the traditional Music Note Drop and accompanying fireworks display to ring in the New Year against the backdrop of the iconic State Capitol building and unique view of the Nashville skyline.
The Nashville show will be featured on NBC’s New Year’s Eve national broadcast from Times Square in New York, with hosts Carson Daly, Chrissy Teigen and Leslie Jones.
George Strait dropped an intoxicating new track, “Código,” on Dec. 7.
Penned by George, his son Bubba Strait and longtime collaborator Dean Dillion, “Código” references the tequila brand that George co-owns.
The tune is George’s first new music since 2015’s Cold Beer Conversation, his 29th studio album. George is currently working on new music that’s slated to be released in 2019.
2019 is lining up to be a busy year for the Cowboy—George has announced four Strait to Vegas shows (Feb. 1, Feb. 2, Aug. 23, Aug. 24) as well as dates at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on March 30, Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, Ohio, on June 8, and Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 22. George will wrap 2018 with two Vegas shows on Dec. 7 and 8.
It’s humbling waking up hearing that you’ve been nominated for two #GRAMMYs. It’s one of those things that just never gets old… from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 🙏 @RecordingAcadpic.twitter.com/nWpoOTYgCl
I’m stunned and humbled and just blown away. And I’m honored to be alongside artists I admire so much. When other girls my age were planning their dream weddings, I dreamt of a Grammy nomination. I don’t even need to win. 5 year old me and teenage me are both satisfied as of now. https://t.co/VwP9X1iIyq
According to the report, the woman has been sending cashier’s checks and gift cards to a person claiming to be Dierks for two years. The woman told police she met the suspect via Twitter and exchanged text messages.
Rock Hill authorities have determined the case will have to be investigated by federal authorities.
In June, more than 20 country stars united for a PSA to combat imposters on social media. Spearheaded by Blake Shelton—and posted on his YouTube page—the PSA includes appearances by Keith Urban, Lindsay Ell, Hunter Hayes, Kelly Clarkson, Maren Morris, Rascal Flatts, Dustin Lynch, Kip Moore, Jon Pardi, Jake Owen, Travis Denning, Brett Young, Maggie Rose, Trace Adkins, Old Dominion, Cale Dodds, Cole Swindell and Michael Ray.
The gist of the PSA: make sure to look for the blue verified check mark next to the name of the country star on their social media accounts and never give out any of your private information. These guys and gals don’t want—or need—you to send them any money.
![Watch Reba McEntire Perform “Hard Candy Christmas” in Sneak Peek of Tonight’s “CMA Country Christmas” TV Special [+ Photo Gallery]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2018/12/10083423/Reba-McEntire-CH1.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
![George Strait Drops Intoxicating New Song, “Código,” [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2018/12/07102038/George-Strait.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
