Happy birthday wishes to Faith Hill, who turned 51 years old on Sept. 21.
Faith’s husband of 21 years, Tim McGraw, shared four photos of his bride and a heartfelt message via Twitter, saying: “From the first time we met, I knew that she was the love of my life forever. No matter the ups and downs, the happy and sad or the good and bad. She’s so special and so loved by us. Happy birthday my love. When I wake up next to you in our 80’s, I’ll smile at the life we’ve built.”
Faith and Tim have three daughters, Gracie, 21, Maggie, 20, and Audrey, 16.
From the first time we met, I knew that she was the love of my life forever. No matter the ups and downs, the happy and sad or the good and bad.
She’s so special and so loved by us.
Happy birthday my love.
When I wake up next to you in our 80’s.I’ll smile at the life we’ve built pic.twitter.com/cST05r7lv2
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee will open Southeastern Conference play under the lights at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night as Florida comes to town for a clash between SEC East rivals.
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN with Adam Amin (play-by-play) and Rod Gilmore (analyst) calling the action in the booth while Quint Kessenich will be reporting from the sidelines. Vol Network radio affiliates will have a live audio broadcast with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Brent Hubbs. Sirius (Channel 103) and XM satellite radio (Channel 191) will also carry the game.
The Vols have won back-to-back home games over ETSU and UTEP entering Saturday’s SEC opener against the Gators. The Big Orange will be looking to earn their second straight win over Florida at home after snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Gators with a 38-28 victory at Neyland Stadium in 2016.
Need to Know
Series History vs. Florida
Saturday with mark the 48th meeting all time between Tennessee and Florida. The Gators hold a 27-20 edge in the series and won last year’s meeting, 26-20, on a 63-yard Hail Mary from Feleipe Franks to Tyrie Cleveland on the game’s final play.
UT scored 38 unanswered points to erase a 21-0 deficit and snap an 11-game losing streak the last time the two teams met inside Neyland Stadium back in 2016. Each of the last four meetings between the Vols and Gators have been decided by 10 points or less.
1998 National Title Team to be Honored Saturday
Tennessee will welcome back members of the 1998 undefeated National Championship team for a 20th anniversary reunion this weekend and an on-field celebration at the end of the first quarter. Select members of the 1998 team will also be honored as “Legends of the Game” prior to kickoff.
Neyland at Night
Since the Vols and Gators began playing each other every season in 1990, the teams have met inside Neyland Stadium with a kickoff time of 7 p.m. or later on four occasions.
Tennessee holds a 3-1 record in those contests with wins in 1990 (45-3), 1998 (20-17 OT) and 2004 (30-28). UT’s lone loss came in 2006 (21-20) to a Florida team that went on to win the National Championship.
Dominating D
After struggling in the season opener against a high-powered West Virginia offense, the Vols have been stout on the defensive side of the ball for the past two games. UT’s defense did not allow a touchdown in wins over ETSU and UTEP, marking the first time that the Vols have held opponents out of the end zone in back-to-back games since 2003 in wins over Miami and Duke.
The three combined points Tennessee has allowed over the past two games is the fewest in a two-game stretch since recording consecutive shutouts against Kentucky and Vanderbilt in 2002. The Vols’ shutout of UTEP last week was the program’s first against an FBS foe since a 24-0 victory over North Texas on Nov. 14, 2015.
Big-Play Ability
The Orange and White have already posted five plays of 50 or more yards on offense this season. The Vols had just four 50-plus yard plays all of last season.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano has completed three passes over 50 yards, two of them going to fellow sophomore Josh Palmer, who already has 50 more receiving yards then he did all of last season. Palmer is averaging 24.7 yards per reception this year, which ranks eighth nationally.
About Florida
The Gators enter Saturday’s game with a 2-1 record after posting victories over Charleston Southern (53-6) and Colorado State (48-10). UF dropped their SEC opener to Kentucky (27-16) two weeks ago, ending a 31-game win streak against the Wildcats.
Florida is led by Dan Mullen, who is in his first season as the Gators head coach after a successful nine-year stint as the head man at Mississippi State. Mullen is a familiar face in Gainesville after serving as the program’s offensive coordinator from 2005-08, helping lead the Gators to a pair of SEC and National Titles in 2006 and 2008.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks leads the Gators’ offense, having thrown for 570 yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. Ole Miss transfer Van Jefferson and Freddie Swain have been Franks’ top targets in the passing game, combining for 232 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Dameon Pierce, Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine will see the bulk of the carries for the Gators. Pierce leads the team with 162 yards on the ground while Scarlett has added 105 and Perine has rushed for 99.
On defense, UF is one of the top teams in the country at creating takeaways. The Gators’ defense has already forced eight turnovers to go along with 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Florida’s plus-five turnover margin ranks ninth in the nation and second in the SEC.
Tennessee Athletics has added another chapter to its longstanding history of honoring the greatest of all Volunteers—our country’s service men and women—with this week’s installation of a POW/MIA Chair of Honor inside Neyland Stadium.
The chair is meant to remain vacant in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today. Two seats nearby will be used by a specially selected “Volunteer of the Game” on each home football date, starting with Saturday night’s clash against Florida.
The University of Tennessee is believed to be the first university in the state to have a dedicated POW/MIA seat in one of its athletic facilities. The seat has an expansive view of the stadium from section ZZ12, including a clear view of the names and retired numbers of Tennessee’s four football lettermen—Clyde “Ig” Fuson, Rudy Klarer, Bill Nowling and Willis Tucker—who died while serving the country in World War II.
When this idea was in the conceptual stages, Tennessee Athletics worked closely with veteran and Student Government Association (SGA) Senator Dave Branham, who represents veterans’ interests at the university and works closely with the campus’s Veterans Resource Center.
“East Tennessee and the University of Tennessee is a proud veteran community,” Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. “Being involved with and honoring our nation’s armed forces has always been a point of emphasis within the Athletics Department. The Chair of Honor is one more element we hope will pay tribute to the military community—in this case, the brave men and women who are still prisoners of war or missing in action.
“As the (chair’s) plaque reads, there will always be a place in Neyland Stadium awaiting their return.”
Tennessee Athletics’ history of military appreciation includes sending care packages and flags as well as signed items to active military overseas, armed forces contracting ceremonies during athletic events, incorporating local ROTC programs in pregame/event presentations and “Salute to Service” events for active military, veterans and military families.
“The next step in broadening our involvement is this POW/MIA Chair of Honor,” Associate Athletics Director for Fan Experience & Sales Jimmy Delaney said. “We have seen it in a select few professional and college venues and thought it fit perfectly in Neyland Stadium, given its roots and namesake.”
In conjunction with the new Chair of Honor, Tennessee also will now fly the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at Neyland Stadium.
In 2017, U.S. News and World Report ranked UT 35th among public schools in its “Best Colleges for Veterans” list, recognizing UT’s strong support for veterans and their families. And in 2014, the University of Tennessee became the first school in the state and only the sixth nationally to receive Purple Heart designation from the Military Order of the Purple Heart based on the university’s commitment to veterans and the military.
WORDING ON THE “CHAIR OF HONOR” PLAQUE
Since World War II, more than 82,000 soldiers are unaccounted for.
This unoccupied chair is in honor of the brave men and women who are still Prisoners of War or Missing in Action, and symbolizes there will always be a place in Neyland Stadium awaiting their return.
Following in the footsteps of past country luminaries like Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, Carrie Underwood received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 20.
Carrie received the 2,646th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1750 North Vine Street in front of Capitol Records.
Guest speakers at Carrie’s induction included two men—Simon Cowell and Brad Paisley—who have shared the television screen with Carrie numerous times. Simon was a judge on American Idol when Carrie was named the Season 4 winner in 2005. Brad and Carrie will co-host the CMA Awards for the 11th time on Nov. 14.
Carrie, husband Mike Fisher and their son Isaiah, 3, were in attendance at the ceremony, as were Carrie’s parents.
Carrie shared her excitement with a post on Twitter, saying, in part: “What an amazing day! I am overwhelmed and overjoyed at the love I felt at my Hollywood #WalkOfFame Ceremony! Thank you @simoncowell and @bradpaisley for the kind words. It was an honor to have you there! Thanks to all the amazing fans that came out…And my life wouldn’t be what it is without my boys, my family and my friends! Thanks to all who could come today! I don’t deserve all of this! But I am so grateful and my heart is so full!”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With tip-off and TV information set for three final games, the 2018-19 Lady Vol basketball schedule was finalized on Wednesday.
The Lady Vols’ game at Oklahoma State on Dec. 2 will tip at 4 p.m. ET (3 CT) on FS1. UT will play host to Stanford on Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. ET with SEC Network televising. Tennessee will close out the regular season at Ole Miss on March 3 in a 3 p.m. ET (2 CT) contest streamed by SECN+.
The Big Orange women play their only exhibition game on Nov. 5, as Carson-Newman visits Thompson-Boling Arena at 7 p.m. ET. The Lady Vols open the regular season at 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 11 with a home contest vs. Presbyterian. Both games will be streamed on SECN+ and every game can be heard on Lady Vol Radio Network stations and via UTSports.com.
– SECN+ games are online broadcasts and are available only on WatchESPN via computers, smartphones and tablets. ^ Denotes all of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and the SEC Network will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. – Games listed with multiple networks (e.g.: ESPN2/ESPNU) are considered net flex and will be determined 7-10 days out
Kane Brown dropped a heartwarming video for his new song, “Homesick,” which is featured on his upcoming album, Experiment (Nov. 9).
The new clip, which Kane dedicated to “the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces,” features footage of servicemen and women reuniting with their families after deployment.
Kane penned the tune with Brock Berryhill, Matthew McGinn and Taylor Phillips. If you pre-order Kane’s new album, “Homesick” and “Lose It” are included as instant-grat tracks.
Blake Shelton will voice and perform original songs as the character Ox in the animated Uglydolls movie, which is scheduled for release in May 2019.
Blake, who voiced Earl in the 2016 animated Angry Birds Movie, joins previously announced co-stars Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Pitbull, Wanda Sykes and Gabriel Iglesias in the Uglydolls movie, which is based on the Uglydolls toy brand that features “characters who are distinct for their endearing ‘ugliness’ in a wonderful ‘uglyverse’ where differences are celebrated and embraced.”
According to the movie’s press release, “Unconventionality rules in Uglydolls, the new animated family adventure based on the beloved toy brand. In the adorably different town of Uglyville, the free-spirited Moxy and her friends confront what it means to be different, struggle with their desire to be loved, and ultimately discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing because who you truly are is what matters most.”
Blake’s character, Ox, fancies himself the defacto mayor of the Uglydolls.
STXfilms will release Uglydolls in theaters May 10, 2019. An animated kids series is also underway with a full series order from Hulu.
Chris Young received the inaugural Charlie Daniels Patriot Award at Charlie’s annual charity dinner on Sept.18 that benefits The Journey Home Project, an organization that supports veterans in their return, rehabilitation and reintegration back into civilian life.
An avid contributor and supporter of the United States military, Chris was recognized for his multiple trips overseas throughout the years, performing for troops stationed in the Middle East, South Korea and Japan.
“I am immensely grateful to our military and their families for the sacrifices they make for our country and incredibly humbled to receive the Patriot Award honor from Charlie and The Journey Home Project,” says Chris.
This year’s charity dinner at Nashville’s Palm Restaurant raised more than $200,000 to benefit The Journey Home Project. The evening featured performances by Charlie and Chris, live and silent auctions and remarks from decorated military veterans.
Earlier this month Lady Antebellum signed a new record contract with Big Machine Label Group, after more than 10 years with Capitol Records Nashville.
As the trio continues working on their first project for Big Machine, they are staying busy on the road with Darius Rucker on the Summer Plays On Tour. In between stops, Lady A took their talents to NYC to perform “Hurt” on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
The tune, which was penned by Jon Green, Melissa Pierce and Ben West, appears on Lady A’s 2017 album, Heart Break.
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