Cole Swindell, who will headline a concert before the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, got a feel for the track as driver Ryan Blaney recently took him for a few high-speed laps.
“I’ve never been this nervous walking out onstage,” said Cole as he was strapping into the car. “I’m usually in control when I walk out onstage.”
From the look on Cole’s face, he enjoyed the ride.
Check out Cole and Ryan in action.
photo by Jason Simanek
By Jimmy Hyams
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt stopped short of saying suspended wide receiver Jauan Jennings has been reinstated, but all signs point in a positive direction.
“Right now he’s doing everything we’ve asked him to do – being a good teammate,’’ Pruitt said Monday. “We’re giving him an opportunity to do what he needs to do to have success in the future.’’
Pruitt said Jennings is “considered part of the team’’ and is doing “team stuff.’’
Asked if Jennings has been reinstated, Pruitt said: “He has a list of things he’s got to do and he knows what they are. He’s in the process of doing them. It’s kind of hard (to do them) if you’re not a part of the team.’’
Pruitt said Jennings would practice this spring if healthy but will miss spring due to having his knee scoped recently.
Jennings is “day to day’’ and is getting treatment for the knee, Pruitt said.
Jennings, who had 40 catches last year and a game-winner against Georgia, suffered a broken wrist against Georgia Tech in the 2017 season opener and had surgery.
He then basically went AWOL. He didn’t show up for rehab or practice or meetings or most games. He returned to practice with about two weeks left in the season, but then walked out of practice – in essence quitting the team – on a Wednesday before the season finale when he was told he couldn’t play quarterback.
He then went on a profanity-laced tirade on Instagram in which he blasted Tennessee’s coaches, calling them fake, snakes and liars. He dropped the F-bomb multiple times and used the N-word.
Interim coach Brady Hoke, in consultation with then-athletic director John Currie, dismissed Jennings from the team.
A few months ago, Jennings met with athletic director Phillip Fulmer, who said in an interview on SportsTalk WNML in Jan. 12 that Jennings might be able to return if he met certain criteria but the final decision was up to Pruitt.
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
The Academy of Country Music announced that Nash Nights Live co-host Elaina Smith will add her vocal talents to the ACM Awards on April 15.
Elaina will join her Nash Nights Live co-host Shawn Parr as the live voiceover team for the televised awards show.
“We’ve been keeping this secret for what seems like forever now—I’m so excited it’s finally out there,” says Elaina to NCD. “I have been watching the ACM Awards my entire life and it’s a dream come true to be joining the team. Thank you to everyone at Dick Clark Productions for making this a reality. I’m so excited to be doing this with Shawn, and we’ll be bringing all of our behind-the-scenes experiences to the Nash Nights Live audience.”
Check out Elaina’s reaction to the announcement below.
As Elaina makes her debut, 2018 will mark Shawn’s 24th year as an announcer for the ACM Awards.
Hosted by Reba McEntire, the ACM Awards will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and feature performances by Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, and more.
Jim Casey talks with Scotty McCreery about:
Participants:
The best-selling country band of all time may be coming to a city near you.
Alabama with launch The Hits Tour on March 23 in Grand Prairie, Texas, with more than 20 shows to follow, including three stops in Canada.
“This year’s tour is for the lifelong fans, and also the younger generations just now discovering the music,” says frontman Randy Owen.
The Hits Tour
March 23
Verizon Theatre
Grand Prairie, TX
March 24
Majestic Theatre
San Antonio, TX
April 13
Fox Theatre
Atlanta, GA
April 14
Fox Theatre
Atlanta, GA
April 15
Fox Theatre
Atlanta, GA
May 11
Bank of Kentucky Center
Highland Heights, KY
May 12
Grossinger Motors Arena
Bloomington, IL
May 19
Wild Adventures Theme Park
Valdosta, GA
May 20
Portsmouth Pavilion
Portsmouth, PA
May 26
Lake Ozarks Amphiteater
Camdenton, MO
May 27
Tree Town Country Music Festival
Forest City, IA
June 22
Country Stampede
Manhattan, KS
June 23
Wild West Arena
North Platte, NE
June 24
Divots Center
Norfolk, NE
July 19
Country Jam USA
Eau Claire, WI
July 28
Mountainfest
Morgantown, WV
August 1
Bell MTS Place
Winnipeg, MB
August 2
Sasktel Centre
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan CA
August 4
Big Valley Jamboree
Camrose, Alberta CA
August 5
Encana Events Centre
Dawson Creek, British Columbia CA
August 16
Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival
Brownsville, OR
September 8
The Brandon Amphitheatre
Brandon, MS
In honor of International Women’s Day 2018, we crunched some numbers from the Recording Industry Association of America to reveal the Top 5 best-selling solo female country artists of all time. While a couple of the artists mentioned have also had success on the pop charts, you can’t deny their country roots.
Here are the 5 Top-Selling Solo Female Country Artists of All Time, according to the RIAA.
5. Carrie Underwood
19 million U.S. units sold
A seven-time Grammy winner, the 2005 American Idol champion has amassed more than 100 major honors and recorded 26 No. 1 singles, 13 of which she co-wrote. Of her six career albums, all have earned platinum status, including 8X-platinum Some Hearts
4. Linda Ronstadt
30 million U.S. units sold
Country, folk, pop, rock . . . Linda has covered it all in her 40-plus-year career, but no matter which genre you associate her with, her success on the country music charts is undeniable. Linda has 14 platinum albums to her name, including four that climbed to the top of Billboard’s Country chart, as well as 13 Grammys and two ACMs. And who could forget when she teamed up with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris to create the super-est of female super groups and release 1987’s Trio.
3. Reba McEntire
41 million U.S. units sold
Reba McEntire is country royalty and practically created the template for being a female superstar in country music. The Country Music Hall of Famer has scored 35 No. 1 singles to go along with her 19 platinum albums and has been honored with 14 ACMs, seven CMAs and three Grammys.
2. Taylor Swift
41.5 million U.S. units sold
Before she became the princess of pop with her 2014 album, 1989, and 2017 album, Reputation, Taylor ruled the country charts with records Fearless (10X platinum), Taylor Swift (7X), Red (6X) and Speak Now (6X). At 28 years of age, Taylor has already claimed 10 Grammys, 12 CMAs and eight ACMs.
1. Shania Twain
48 million U.S. units sold
Shania Twain remains the first and only female artist in history to have three consecutive albums certified diamond by the RIAA for sales of more than 10 million units each. “The Queen of Country Pop,” a title she definitely deserved to call her own, earned five Grammys, four ACMs and two CMAs, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
More-Than-Honorable Mention
Dixie Chicks
30.5 million U.S. units sold
The Dixie Chicks are the best-selling female band of all time—of any genre—and one of only a handful of acts that can claim multiple diamond albums (Wide Open Spaces and Fly) for sales of more than 10 million each. The trio has won 13 Grammys, 11 CMAs and nine ACMs.
main images courtesy of Tammie Arroyo of AFF-USA.com
Jon Pardi celebrated his recent ACM Awards nomination for Album of the Year by performing two songs from California Sunrise on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
In addition to showcasing his recent No. 1 single, “Heartache On the Dance Floor,” Jon performed his new single, “She Ain’t In It,” which was co-penned by Clint Daniels and Wynn Varble.
The new single is currently No. 26 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 20 weeks.
Watch Jon perform “She Ain’t In It” and “Heartache On the Dance Floor” below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nydVLjmlEAc
photo by Jason Simanek
ST. LOUIS — The No. 2 seeded Tennessee men’s basketball team begins play in the SEC Tournament on Friday at Scottrade Center, facing the winner of the Mississippi State and LSU matchup on Thursday night. The game tips at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised live on SEC Network and streamed online via WatchESPN.
The Volunteers (23-7, 13-5 SEC) claimed a share of the SEC Regular-Season Championship after being picked to finish 13th by select media during the preseason. On Tuesday, UT swept the SEC’s postseason honors, as Rick Barnes won Coach of the Year, Grant Williams won Player of the Year and Lamonte Turner was Co-Sixth Man of the Year. Williams, who was also named First Team All-SEC, joined Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King as the only Vols to earn SEC POY distinction as underclassmen.
SEC Co-Player of the Week and Second-Team All-SEC honoree Admiral Schofield averaged 23.5 points and 5.0 rebounds last week while delivering from the field (17-34, .500) and the free-throw line (11-13, .846) in victories over Mississippi State and Georgia to clinch a share of the title. In Saturday’s game against UGA, Schofield led the Vols in scoring for the third game in a row with 23 points to help UT comeback from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Bulldogs.
Tennessee defeated both LSU and Mississippi State by more than 20 points in its lone meetings with the two teams. The Bulldogs own the No. 7 seed while the Tigers are the No. 10 seed in the tournament, but LSU defeated MSU in its regular-season finale on Saturday, 78-57. The winner of our game will advance to the semifinals and will face the No. 3 seeded Florida or the winner of Game 6 on Saturday.
THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
• Overall: UT leads, 82-43
• In Knoxville: UT leads, 45-11
• In Starkville: UT leads, 30-28
• Neutral Sites: UT leads, 7-4
• Current Streak: Tennessee has won one
• Last Meeting: UT won, 76-54, in Starkville, 2/27/18
• Rick Barnes vs. Mississippi State: 6-1
• Rick Barnes vs. Ben Howland: Barnes leads, 6-2
THE LSU SERIES
• Overall: UT leads, 65-46
• In Knoxville: UT leads, 31-17
• In Baton Rouge: UT leads, 26-25
• Neutral Sites: UT leads, 8-4
• Current Streak: Tennessee has won one
• Last Meeting: UT won, 84-61, in Knoxville, 1/31/18
• Rick Barnes vs. LSU: 4-4
• Rick Barnes vs. Will Wade: Barnes leads, 1-0
A WIN WOULD…
• Extend Tennessee’s win streak to five games.
• Keep the Vols undefeated in rematch games this season. Tennessee is 5-0 in such games.
• Put Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2014.
• Stand as Tennessee’s 11th win away from home this season, bolstering an already-impressive line on its NCAA Tournament résumé.
RIGHT NOW
• Tennessee enters the SEC Tournament riding a league-best, four-game win streak during which the Vols are allowing only 59.2 points per game while boasting a +10.0 scoring margin.
• In Tennessee’s most recent game—a 66-61 home win over Georgia last Saturday—the Vols held the Bulldogs to just three points in the final 8:29 of regulation. And UGA was scoreless over the last 3:10.
• In their last two games, Tennessee has twice held opponents to 20 or fewer points in a half. Mississippi State managed just 20 points in the second half on Feb. 27, and Georgia was held to 19 second-half points in the regular-season finale March 3.
• Tennessee allowed 65 or fewer points in 12 of its 18 SEC games this season. The Vols won 11 of those games, with the lone loss coming at Missouri, 59-55.
• The Vols played a home-and-home series against five SEC teams this season: Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Georgia. Prior to the season, Rick Barnes stressed the importance of those games to his coaching staff and said the Vols needed to go 8-2 in those contests. Tennessee was better than that—it went 9-1.
• Picked to finish 13th in the SEC during the preseason, Tennessee enters the SEC Tournament as the SEC Champion and ranked 13th in the AP top 25 poll.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Tennessee is 65-53 (.551) in 57 all-time previous SEC Tournament appearances.
• The Vols own the third-best SEC Tournament winning percentage among league schools, trailing only Kentucky (.839) and Alabama (.557).
• Since the tournament was renewed in 1979, the Vols are 30-38 (.441).
• Tennessee has won the SEC Tournament four times, tying Florida for third-most among league schools. The Vols won the event in 1936, 1941, 1943 and 1979.
• UT has reached the championship game 10 times (tied for third-most among league schools), most recently in 2009 in Tampa.
• Tennessee has been the No. 2 seed three times previously at the SEC Tournament. The Vols defeated Auburn and Kentucky to win the tournament as the No. 2 seed Birmingham in 1979. UT beat Vanderbilt before losing to Alabama as the No. 2 seed in 1982 in Lexington. And the Vols fell to Ole Miss in overtime as the No. 2 seed in New Orleans in 2012.
• This is the ninth time St. Louis has hosted the SEC Tournament and the first time the event has been contested west of the Mississippi River.
• Tennessee’s all-time record in the state of Missouri is 2-6. The only cities in which the Vols have previously appeared are St. Louis (1-1) and Columbia (1-5).
MEMORABLE VOL PERFORMANCES AT THE SEC TOURNAMENT
• Wayne Chism scored 23, JaJuan Smith added 19 and Tyler Smith put in 13, but it was Chris Lofton’s 25-footer with 12.0 seconds remaining that lifted the Vols to an 89-87 win over South Carolina in the 2008 SEC Tournament in Atlanta on March 14, 2008.
• Carlus Groves went 9-for-10 from the floor, scoring 22 points, to lift Tennessee to an 87-70 upset win over No. 18 Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the 1991 SEC Tournament in Nashville.
• It took Tony White 45 minutes to put 30 on Florida, including five points in overtime, as the Vols beat the Gators, 80-74, in the first round of the 1984 SEC Tournament in Nashville.
• Tennessee topped Kentucky, the third time UT beat the Wildcats that year, in the championship game of the 1979 SEC Tournament in Birmingham, Ala. The Vols prevailed 75-69 in overtime on March 3, 1979.
BARNES IN LEAGUE TOURNEYS
• Rick Barnes is 33-29 (.532) in conference tournament games as a head coach.
• He led Providence to the Big East Tournament championship in 1994.
• So in the last 30 years, Barnes has logged more conference tournament wins and as many conference tournament championships as Tennessee since the SEC Tournament was renewed 39 years ago in 1979 (Tennessee has one league tournament title and 30 wins during that span).
HOWARD WOOD NAMED TENNESSEE’S 2018 SEC BASKETBALL LEGEND
• Former All-American Howard Wood has been selected as Tennessee’s Allstate SEC Basketball Legend and will be recognized by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey at midcourt during halftime of UT’s SEC Tournament opener Friday.
• Wood starred in the Tennessee frontcourt for head coach Don DeVoe from 1978-81. A powerful but undersized center—he was 6-7, 235 during his career as a Vol—he was a member of Tennessee’s 1979 SEC Tournament championship team and was a second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC selection as a senior in 1981.
• The East Hampton, New York, native ranks 35th on UT’s all-time scoring list with 1,201 career points.
• He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 1981 NBA Draft and enjoyed a long and successful professional playing career—with many outstanding seasons spent playing in Spain.
TENNESSEE WAS PICKED 13TH IN SEC
• SEC Champion Tennessee was predicted to finish 13th in the 2018 SEC race by an SEC and national media voting panel.
• The Volunteers also were picked 13th last season before posting an 8-10 SEC record to finish ninth.
• The Vols have outperformed their preseason SEC projection every season under coach Rick Barnes.
SEC CHAMPIONS
• Tennessee’s win over Georgia last Saturday gave the Volunteers their 10th SEC Championship in program history—their fourth in the last 40 years.
• From 1933-50 the SEC Champion was determined by a tournament, except for 1935. Since 1951, when the round-robin schedule was introduced, the title has been decided by a winning percentage on the conference schedule.
• Tennessee won SEC Championships via the league tournament in 1936, 1941, 1943 and 1979. The Big Orange won the league via intra-conference win percentage in 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 2000, 2008 and now 2018.
• Only Kentucky (48) has more SEC regular-season titles than Tennessee (10).
BARNES CAPTURES FOURTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
• SEC Coach of the Year Rick Barnes has captured his fourth regular-season conference crown as a head coach.
• Barnes previously led Texas to Big 12 titles in 1999, 2006 (co-champs) and 2008 (co-champs).
• He also has one conference tournament title to his credit, having led Providence to the Big East Tournament championship in 1994.
TENNESSEE DOMINATES SEC COACHES’ POSTSEASON AWARDS
• In addition to landing two All-SEC performers, Tennessee swept Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year when the SEC coaches’ postseason awards were announced March 6.
• Sophomore Grant Williams earned SEC Player of the Year acclaim and first-team All-SEC inclusion. Nine different Vols have now combined to win 12 SEC Player of the Year awards. Williams joins Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King as the only Vols to win the award as underclassmen.
• Junior wing Admiral Schofield garnered second-team All-SEC status.
• Sophomore guard Lamonté Turner became Tennessee’s first ever recipient of the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award. He shares this year’s award with Missouri’s Jontay Porter.
• And Rick Barnes became the fifth UT head coach to be named the SEC Coach of the Year. Barnes, Ray Mears (twice), Don DeVoe (three times), Jerry Green and Bruce Pearl (twice) have combined to win the award nine times with the Vols.
23 WINS AND COUNTING
• This is one of only six Tennessee teams to win at least 23 games in a single season, and there’s plenty more basketball left to be played.
• Tennessee has logged its 26th all-time 20-win season and its first since 2013-14, when the Vols finished with 24 victories and advanced to their seventh Sweet Sixteen.
• Tennessee also recorded 23 regular-season victories for the first time since 2009-10 (23).
• In 31 seasons as a Division I head coach, Rick Barnes has now led his teams to 20 or more wins 20 times.
BARNES’ NCAA RÉSUMÉ IMPRESSIVE
• With this month’s impending NCAA Tournament appearance, Rick Barnes will have guided four different programs to a total of 23 berths in The Big Dance. He led Providence and Clemson to three berths each before guiding Texas to 16 tournament appearances.
• In Tennessee’s 108-year hardwood history, the Volunteers have made just 20 previous NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Barnes will become just the 13th head coach ever to lead four different programs to the Division I NCAA Tournament (and one of seven who are active).
UT Athletics
By Jimmy Hyams
It has been an historic season for Tennessee men’s basketball.
The Vols have won the school’s seventh SEC regular-season title (five were ties) under the current format. (UT won three prior to 1953 when the regular-season champ was decided by the SEC Tournament.)
They have won at least 23 games for just the seventh time in school history. Only four teams have won at least 25 games (2000, 2006, 2008, 2010).
And they couldn’t have been a bigger underdog. A preseason SEC media pick to finish 13th – ahead of only LSU – UT went 13-5 in conference play after an 0-2 start.
The Vols were No. 8 in the NCAA RPI before beating Georgia on Saturday and had the nation’s No. 4 strength of schedule, according to one service.
It seems fitting that UT’s final regular-season AP ranking of 13 equals the SEC media pick of 13 in the league.
Two other UT teams come to mind as for as overachieving – based on preseason projections.
Cuonzo Martin’s first team at Tennessee was picked 11th in the SEC. It earned a No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, beating Florida twice, upset defending national champion UConn and went 19-15.
After UT went 14-17 in Buzz Peterson’s final year, Bruce Pearl guided those same players to a 22-8 record, 12-4 in the SEC and a tie for first in the East Division.
And this is vindication for coach Rick Barnes, who will tell you he doesn’t need it.
Texas fired Barnes three years ago, feeling he has lost his fastball. In three years at UT, Barnes is 54-42 with an SEC title. The guy that replaced Barnes at Texas, the hot, up-and-comer Shaka Smart, is 49-48 and struggling this year at 18-13 after going 11-22 last year. Smart is making $3 million a year. By the way, Barnes won 60 games in his last three years at Texas.
Here are some interesting numbers about Tennessee this season:
Barnes wanted to go 8-2 against the five SEC teams the Vols played twice. UT went 9-1, sweeping Kentucky, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and South Carolina and splitting with Georgia.
Tennessee outscored Georgia 32-19 in the second half. It marked the third time in four games and the seventh time this season UT held an opponent to 20 or fewer points in a half.
Kyle Alexander shot a remarkable 74.5 percent from the field (38 of 51) in SEC play. He started league play by making 21 of his first 22 shots before his “slump.’’
Lamonte Turner shot a sizzling 94 percent from the free throw line (47 of 50) in SEC player. Jordan Bone shot 85 percent (17 of 20). Thus that duo hit 64 of 70 free throws in league play.
In SEC games, UT shot 76.7 percent from the foul line, opponents 69.6. Free throw accuracy was the difference in UT’s win over Georgia (17 of 18 v. 9 of 15).
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund has raised more than $31.4 million that will be divvied up among those injured and the families of those killed during the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.
The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund is a nonprofit that began as a GoFundMe account after the mass shooting that left 58 people dead and more than 800 injured during Jason Aldean’s performance.
The plan allocated the $31.4 million among 532 claimants in categories identified by the Fund’s committee of victim compensation experts.
The families of each of the 58 people killed will receive $275,000, as will 10 survivors who suffered permanent paralysis or brain damage. Other hospitalized survivors were allocated between $17,500 and $200,000 depending on the severity of their injuries.
More than 90,000 donations were received.
The allocation table is below.
photo by JPA/AFF-USA.com
