Are you getting ready for your 4th of July celebration?
Still need help planning the menu?
Thomas Rhett might just have an idea for you…
TR shares, “I mean, steaks are kinda my go to, but I think if I was having like a Fourth of July party or something like that, makin’ smash burgers on the Traeger are my favorite thing in the world to do. Just getting ground beef and putting like a cast iron on the Traeger and gettin’ it to 500°, put ‘em on there, smashin’ ‘em, cutting with olive oil, salt, pepper. Put the buns on either side of them while there’s butter meltin’ on ‘em, and then American cheese. Pop it all together, good to go.”
We’re sure that half of Thomas Rhett will want a burger on 4th of July – and the other half will too!
Alan Jackson is out playing shows on his Last Call: One More For Road tour.
While AJ is out there creating lasting memories for his fans – going into this 4th of July weekend, Alan recalls a very special time he had celebrating America’s birthday in New York.
Jackson says, “Well, this one is hard to beat. I had an old boat in Florida. It’s like an old antique motor yacht, and it was kind of a cool old boat. I’ve always wanted to take it up north like to New York and up in that area, up in the northeast where it’s so pretty. So, we took the boat up there and Denise and the girls, we all went up. They like going to New York City, which I don’t really care about going to the city. So, I got to stay in my boat there at the harbor tied up, which was cool anyway. So, they spent time in the city a few days and then that was Fourth of July, and we went out in the Hudson River that night and they shot the fireworks off and we were anchored out in front of the Statue of Liberty and New York City was behind us, and the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks were going off sitting on that boat. That was the coolest thing and my girls still talk about that. I mean, that was the coolest thing on Fourth of July I can ever remember. I can’t top that one probably. It was emotional sitting there watching the Statue of Liberty and thinking about all that. It was very cool.”
We don’t think the boat that Alan is referring to is the same one from his “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” video…
Brett Young admits that while he did have a bit off an adventurous streak in him during his youth – playing around with fireworks was not really his thing.
Brett says, “I was never really into fireworks. I enjoyed watching them from afar. But the probably first five years of my life I was a little bit of a daredevil. My parents would find me climbing things and jumping off of things and then all of a sudden this switch flipped at like five years old and I was like a very cautious, almost fearful kid. And that ran over into the whole firework game. I was afraid that one was gonna blow up in my hand or something and so if we’d go to an event where I could watch from afar I was into to it, but I never wanted to be the one setting them off.“
While he celebrates America, Brett also shares that the 4th played a part in him finding his wife, Taylor, “Fourth of July, for my wife and myself – we met because she had a roommate in Arizona that was from Newport Beach, which is where I’m from. And even before we met, she was going from Arizona to Newport Beach every 4th of July. And Newport Beach closes down the streets, and it’s like beach cruisers and all the homes on the waterfront throw little parties. And it’s a lot of families, but it’s also a lot of youth, and we’ve just always loved that. And so, like whatever the PG-13 family oriented version of that is – I think it’s fireworks at the beach and barbecuing out on the sand during the day, and volleyball and family and the whole thing.”
Brett and Taylor Young both star in the music video for “You Didn’t” – which is Brett’s current single at country radio.
All-American girl Carrie Underwood shares one of her favorite 4th of July memories from when she was young, “I think my favorite Fourth of July memory would be going to the fireworks stand and picking out which fireworks I wanted to do. I must’ve been like 7 or 8, and I came home and made a list of what order I wanted to do them in, because I wanted to put a show on for Mom and Dad, and of course I couldn’t wait until it was dark outside (laughs). So, I made my Mom and Dad get the lawn chairs and come out to the backyard and watch some not very dramatic fireworks at like six o’clock in the evening, but I was so proud of myself, and I was so proud of the show that I put on. So, I feel like that was a little training for what I do now – putting on shows, figuring out how it’s all going to work out.”
As everyone is celebrating America’s birthday on July 4th – Chris Janson and his wife Kelly will be celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary.
Back in 2010 the couple were looking for a date to exchange vows, and with Chris’ schedule the day that just seemed to work was the 4th of July.
For Chris, that made more sense that waiting any longer to say “I Do” to Kelly, ““Who wants to wait six months to get married-I mean whatever we didn’t have time for doing that plus I was working a lot of the time as I always am with music I can just never stop so we just decided well July fourth is coming up… that be kind of cool to have it out on the farm with fireworks. So that’s what we did we got married on the fourth of July. So that’s an easy holiday to remember.”
Chris released his latest album All In earlier this year, and with the title track, Chris proves he’s all in when it comes to Kelly.
All In also features Chris Janson’s latest single at country radio, “Keys To The Country.”
Coffey Anderson recently released his latest EP, Come On With It.
The 8-track collection of music includes the song “America Is My Hometown.” The son of an Air Force veteran Coffey is very happy to celebrate the country he loves – and Anderson shares that when he plays songs like this the “energy in the room changes.”
When it comes to America’s birthday, Coffey’s plans are not much different from everyone else’s, “I love celebrating it with food, and I love celebrating the 4th of July with my family.”
But one difference in his plans is, “Typically, on the 4th of July I’m singing somewhere.”
And that’s happening this 4th of July 2022, as Coffey Anderson will be in New York City performing on Fox and Friends.
Anderson will be performing early – and then “this year I will be watching fireworks after I finish singing in New York City.”
Fans tuning in will be looking for this one from him – Coffey Anderson’s “Mr. Red White and Blue”
Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Friday that New York native Tobe Awaka (pronounced: toe-BAY uh-WAH-kuh) has signed with UT and will enroll in July for the second session of summer school.
Awaka will be a freshman for the Vols this upcoming season.
“Tobe gives us another big, strong presence in the post who plays a very physical brand of basketball,” Barnes said. “Tobe is an excellent student and had offers from multiple Ivy League programs. He’s very comfortable playing down on the block, he can score with either hand and he has a nice shooting touch. He rebounds and moves well, and we love his toughness and grit.”
A 6-8 forward from Hyde Park, New York, Awaka was the 2022 New York Gatorade Player of the Year—an award that former Vol and current Philadelphia 76ers swingman Tobias Harris won in 2010.
Awaka also was a member of the New York Lightning AAU program—the same program that produced Tennessee rising sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler.
“Just like Zakai, Tobe continues the New York-to-Tennessee pipeline, which has produced many fan favorites over the years,” Barnes said.
This past season at Cardinal Hayes High School, Awaka posted averages of 19.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.
In April, Awaka logged double-doubles in each of his four games at the Nike 17U EYBL Session 2 in Indianapolis, helping lead the Lightning to a 4-0 record with averages of 12.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per game on 55.3 percent shooting from the field.
Awaka is the fourth member of Tennessee’s 2022 prep signing class, joining guards B.J. Edwards and D.J. Jefferson and forward Julian Phillips. In addition to those four high school signees, the Vols also added Indiana State graduate transfer guard Tyreke Key to the roster this offseason.
Tennessee Athletics landed at No. 13 in the final 2021-22 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup national standings, NACDA announced Thursday.
This is Tennessee’s best Directors’ Cup finish since 2006-07, when it earned its best-ever placement at No. 7. It also snaps a 10-year streak of finishing outside the top 20.
Tennessee was the fourth-best finisher among SEC schools this year—a significant improvement from it’s ninth-place SEC finish a year ago.
In its first full academic year under Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White, Tennessee secured its first-ever SEC Overall All-Sports Trophy earlier this month. Tennessee also finished first in the SEC Men’s All-Sports standings while earning a second-place finish in the SEC Women’s All-Sports standings.
“Our student-athletes and coaches have a lot to be proud about this year, highlighted by five SEC championships,” White said. “Across the board, we’ve shown significant improvement from recent years. But we can’t be satisfied; 13th place is not our goal. We’re setting our sights higher, and I’m very confident we’re going to keep rising.”
To view a comprehensive and interactive Tennessee Athletics 2021-22 year-in-review, highlighting achievements by each of UT’s 20 varsity sport programs, click HERE.
As Tennessee seeks to build on its championship tradition across all sports, the ongoing My All Campaign is fueling the pursuit of enhanced championship resources to support student-athletes’ academic and competitive pursuits.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello announced the addition of a new strength and conditioning coach on Thursday, welcoming back Quentin Eberhardt for his second stint as the Director of Baseball Sports Performance.
Eberhardt served in the same role for the Volunteers from 2018-2021 before taking a job in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs prior to the 2022 season.
Eberhardt was instrumental in the continued improvement of Tennessee baseball during his first stint with the program.
Under Eberhardt’s guidance, the Big Orange saw drastic increases in their power numbers each season. UT had 141 extra-base hits and 42 home runs during his first season in 2018 after finishing with 123 extra-base hits and just 33 homers the year prior. Tennessee made an even bigger leap in 2019 with 173 extra-base hits and 53 long balls. The Vols were on pace to shatter those numbers in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In just 17 games, UT had already compiled 77 extra-base hits and ranked second in the nation with 31 homers and sixth nationally with 43 doubles.
Tennessee made another huge leap in 2021, blasting 98 homers while racking up 244 extra-base hits en route to making its first trip to Omaha since 2005. UT was one of the top offensive teams in the nation, ranking among the top 10 in the country in runs scored (7th – 425), hits (2nd – 657), doubles (3rd – 134), home runs (4th – 98) and walks (5th – 336). The Vols’ 98 homers were the second most in a single season in program history at the time.
It wasn’t just the bats that displayed major improvements under Eberhardt, as UT’s pitchers also increased their strikeout totals during each of his four seasons. After finishing with only 198 strikeouts in 2017, Tennessee’s pitching staff nearly doubled that in 2018 with 383 punchouts. In 2019, the Vols finished the year ranked 33rd in the country with 551 strikeouts, the second most in a single season in program history. Through 17 games in 2020, Tennessee pitchers had already racked up 171 strikeouts and were averaging 10.1 Ks per nine innings. The 2021 team went on to set a new program record with 617 punchouts while averaging 9.00 strikeouts per game.
The Big Orange increased their speed during Eberhardt’s watch, as well, ranking among the SEC and national leaders in stolen bases multiple times. In 2019, UT led all Power 5 programs with 108 stolen bases, its most in a single season since 2005.
On top of his time with the Cubs, Eberhardt brings a wealth of experience as a strength and conditioning coach at the professional level.
The Columbus, Ohio native spent four seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach for the New Orleans Baby Cakes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. Before working with New Orleans, Eberhardt also spent time as the strength coach with four other minor league teams: the Rome Braves (2013), the Quad City River Bandits (2012), the Corpus Christi Hooks (2011) and the Gulf Coast League Astros (2010). During that time, he worked with numerous major leaguers such as Dallas Keuchel, Dee Gordon, Brian McCann, Stephen Piscotty, J.D. Martinez, Edinson Volquez and Martin Prado, among others.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The final All-America teams of the season were released by Baseball America this week with three Volunteers earning second-team honors.
Sophomore pitcher Chase Dollander secured his sixth All-America nod this year, with the other five being first-team selections. The right-hander was also named the SEC Pitcher of the Year, just the second player in program history to win that award (Luke Hochevar, 2005). The Evans, Georgia, native posted a perfect 10-0 record and led the country with a 0.80 WHIP. He also was second in the SEC with 108 strikeouts and led the conference with a 2.39 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .175 batting average.
Senior third baseman Trey Lipscomb and Junior outfielder Drew Gilbert were also selected as second team All-Americans, both also picking up their sixth All-America honors of the season. Neither individual had ever been named to an All-America team prior to this year.
Lipscomb sat atop the SEC in RBIs at the end of the season, with 84 in 2022. That figure ranks third in single-season program history while Gilbert’s 70 rank eighth, and put him fourth in the conference.
The duo also combined to hit 33 of Tennessee’s record-setting 158 home runs, with Lipscomb crushing 22 and Gilbert blasting 11.
Tennessee has had eight players earn non-freshman All-America honors this season, doubling the previous program record of four set in 2021 and 1994. If you include freshmen All-Americans, the Vols have had nine players earn All-America recognition, which also smashed the previous school record of five in 2021.
To see the complete Baseball America All-America teams, click HERE. A full listing of Tennessee’s postseason All-Americans and national award winners can be seen below.
Tennessee Postseason All-Americans / National Awards Winners
Tony Vitello Perfect Game National Coach of the Year ABCA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year
RHP Drew Beam NCBWA – Second Team NCBWA – Freshman (First Team) Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team Perfect Game – Freshman Team
DH/1B Blake Burke Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team Perfect Game – Freshman Team
RHP Chase Burns NCBWA Freshman National Pitcher of the Year Collegiate Baseball National Co-Freshman Player of the Year NCBWA – First Team D1Baseball.com – Third Team ABCA – Third Team Collegiate Baseball – Third Team Collegiate Baseball – Freshman Team NCBWA – Freshman (First Team) Perfect Game – Freshman Team
RHP Chase Dollander D1Baseball.com – First Team ABCA – First Team NCBWA – First Team Collegiate Baseball – First Team Perfect Game – First Team Baseball America – Second Team
OF Drew Gilbert NCBWA – First Team ABCA – Second Team Baseball America – Second Team Collegiate Baseball – Second Team Perfect Game – Second Team D1Baseball.com – Third Team
3B Trey Lipscomb NCBWA – First Team ABCA – Second Team Baseball America – Second Team Collegiate Baseball – Second Team D1Baseball.com – Third Team Perfect Game – Third Team
