Lady Vols in the WNBA Update: June 22

Lady Vols in the WNBA Update: June 22

Posted on June 22, 2021
Lady Vols in WNBA / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – An SEC-leading seven LVFLs have been members of WNBA rosters this season, with six currently active with teams.

Diamond DeShields and Candace Parker have combined to fuel a five-game win streak in Chicago, and Mercedes Russell has worked her way into the starting lineup for top-ranked Seattle. Below are summaries of each Lady Vol alum’s results through June 21.

WNBA All-Star voting is open and fans can vote online for their favorite players.

Rennia Davis

6-2 / G-F / Minnesota Lynx / 1st Season
Davis remains sidelined in her first season in the WNBA due to a stress fracture in her left foot…She was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Lynx.

Next Game: June 23 at Atlanta (7 p.m. ET, BSSEX-ATL, Bally Sports North+, TSN5)

Diamond DeShields

6-1 / G / Chicago Sky / 4th Season
DeShields has started in all 14 games thus far for the Sky, averaging 12.6 ppg., 4.0 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.4 spg. while seeing 31.4 minutes of action per contest…Has logged nine double-digit contests thus far, most recently notching 14 points, two rebounds and an assist in Chicago’s win over Connecticut…Is currently the Sky’s second-leading scorer (12.6 ppg.) behind only Kahleah Copper (14.0 ppg.)

Next Game: June 22 at New York (7 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, YES App, The U)

Isabelle Harrison

6-3 / F / Dallas Wings / 5th Season
Rejoined the Wings after concluding postseason play overseas and has seen action in 13 games, starting in two…Is averaging 7.8 ppg. and 6.3 rpg. while playing 22.6 minutes per contest for Dallas…Has managed double-digit scoring in five games and recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Seattle on May 22…Narrowly missed a double-double on June 13 against Las Vegas with 13 points and nine boards.

Next Game: June 22 at Connecticut (7 p.m. ET, NESN+, Bally Sports SW, TSN3/5)

Candace Parker

6-4 / F-C / Chicago Sky / 14th Season
Has only played in six games due to an ankle injury…She saw her first action for the Sky against Washington on May 15, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight boards…Has started in all six appearances, averaging 11.5 ppg., 8.0 rpg. and 1.3 bpg. in 26.3 mpg….Parker put up a double-double against Indiana on June 12 with 20 points and 14 rebounds…Chicago is currently riding a five-game win streak and sitting at fifth place in the league with a record of 7-7.

Next Game: June 22 at New York (7 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, YES App, The U)

Mercedes Russell

6-6 / C / Seattle Storm / 4th Season
After concluding play overseas, Russell rejoined the Storm and has seen action in 12 contests, starting in 10…Defending WNBA champion Seattle currently sits atop the standings with a 12-2 record through June 21…Russell is averaging 5.8 ppg., 6.0 rpg., 1.7 apg. and 1.0 spg. while playing 22.4 minutes per game…She notched season bests of 12 points vs. Dallas on June 4 and 11 rebounds vs. Indiana on June 1…In her most recent outing against Indiana on June 17, she scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds.

Next Game: June 22 at Washington (10 p.m. ET, JoeTV, Monumental)

Shekinna Stricklen

6-2 / G-F / Atlanta Dream / 10th Season
Has seen action in seven games for the Dream…She is averaging 1.3 ppg. and 0.6 rpg. over 8.0 minutes per contest…Her best outing came against Indiana on May 21, when she connected on all but one of her four three-point attempts en route to nine points in five minutes of action.

Next Game: June 23 vs. Minnesota (7 p.m. ET, BSSEX-ATL, Bally Sports North+, TSN5)

Cierra Burdick

6-2 / F / Minnesota Lynx (Inactive) / 5th Season
Signed a temporary contract with Phoenix during training camp…Played four games for the Mercury before being released on May 26…Saw 4.8 minutes of action per game during that span for Phoenix, averaging 1.0 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field…Signed a similar temporary agreement with the Minnesota Lynx on June 15, appearing in three contests before being released on June 21…She played a season-high eight minutes against Chicago on June 15, turning in six points and a rebound.

-UT Athletics

Lipcius, Spence Named ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Finalists

Lipcius, Spence Named ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Finalists

Posted on June 22, 2021
Vols 1B Luc Lipcius & SS Liam Spence / Credit: UT Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee redshirt junior first baseman Luc Lipcius and senior shortstop Liam Spence were both selected as finalists for the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team, the organizations announced Monday.

Lipcius and Spence were part of the 24-player group of finalists and were each one of three players at their respective position groups. The final team, which is set to be announced on Wednesday, will consist of nine members—one from each infield position as well as one pitcher and three outfielders.

The ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007 and are presented annually to the top defensive players from each division of collegiate baseball.

Starting 63 of Tennessee’s 67 games at first base this season, Lipcius has compiled a .998 fielding percentage, committing only one error in 523 chances. He leads the team with 486 putouts.

In 53 starts at shortstop for the Vols this season, Spence has also compiled an impressive resume defensively. The Australia native boasts a .979 fielding percentage, committing only four errors in 190 chances. Spence also ranks second on the team with 122 assists.

Tennessee gets underway in its second game from the College World Series Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET, taking on Texas in an elimination game.

ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team Finalists 

-UT Athletics

A Day In The Country – June 22nd – Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, The Chicks, & Kris Kristofferson

A Day In The Country – June 22nd – Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, The Chicks, & Kris Kristofferson

Posted on June 22, 2021

This is A Day in the Country with Paul Koffy – June 22nd

On this day in 2019 Luke Comb’s EP The Prequel debuted at number-1 – with songs like “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” “Even Through I’m Leaving,” and “Lovin’ On You.”

In 2010, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s benefit concert raised 2.2 million dollars for Nashville in the wake of its historic flood that year

On this day In 1999, The Chicks sent “Ready to Run” to radio.

And we want to wish Kris Kristofferson a very Happy Birthday

Photo Courtesy of Kris Kristofferson

Team of Tennessee Alums Set to Compete in “The Basketball Tournament”

Team of Tennessee Alums Set to Compete in “The Basketball Tournament”

Posted on June 22, 2021
TBT / Credit: UT Athletics

A team comprised of former Tennessee basketball student-athletes is one of 64 squads set to compete in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a $1 million winner-take-all event.

Organized by VFL point guard Bobby Maze (2008-10), the “Ballinteers” roster includes Jordan Bowden (2016-20), Wayne Chism (2006-10), Duke Crews (2006-08), John Fields (2010-11), Chris Lofton (2004-08), J.P. Prince (2007-10), JaJuan Smith (2004-08), Tyler Smith (2007-10), Cameron Tatum (2007-12) and Lamonte Turner (2016-19). The team will be coached by VFL Ron Slay (1999-2003).

The Ballinteers have been pegged as the No. 9 seed in the TBT’s Columbus Regional, which will be played at Ohio State’s Covelli Center from July 23-27. They will face a team of Purdue alums, No. 8 Men of Mackey, in first-round action on Friday, July 23 at 7 p.m. ET.

Should the Ballinteers advance, they would face the winner of Carmen’s Crew (Ohio State alumni) and Mid American Unity on Sunday, July 25 at 4 pm ET. The final games of the Columbus Regional take place on Tuesday, July 27.

Broadcast specifics are forthcoming, but TBT games will be available on the ESPN family of networks.

Two teams will advance from each of TBT’s four regionals to compete in the tournament’s Championship Weekend at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Quarterfinals games will be played on July 31, and semifinals on Aug. 1. The TBT Championship takes place Aug. 3.

TBT has come to be known for its use of the “Elam Ending,” which is a fairly new win/loss determinant in the game of basketball, and one that is growing in popularity. Designed to preserve a more natural end-of-game finish, the Elam Ending calls for the game clock to be shut off at the first dead ball with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. A target score is then established by adding eight points to the leading team’s score. For example, if the score is 80-72, the teams continue play until a team reaches 88 points. With no game clock in play during the closing minutes, trailing teams are allowed to focus on getting stops and buckets, rather than intentionally fouling.

For more information on the Ballinteers and tickets for this year’s TBT, visit TheTournament.com.

TBT BRACKET

-UT Athletics

Luke Combs Puts the Four In “Forever After All” With Another Week At Number-1

Luke Combs Puts the Four In “Forever After All” With Another Week At Number-1

Posted on June 22, 2021

For the fourth week in a row Luke Combs is coming in at number-one with “Forever After All.”

It’s Luke’s 9-week in the top spot in 2021 – with 5 previous weeks at number-1 with “Better Together” earlier this year.

While Luke’s success has been hard earned, it was predicted by his grandfather years ago, “When I started doing this, I had been singing my whole life, so everybody in my family knew I enjoyed being in chorus class or whatever. I was always singing all the time, and when I picked the guitar up, I would go down and see my grandpa and he would always tell me, “This is the thing.” And at the time, it’s just like, “Oh, you’re grandpa, he loves you,” but he had this demeanor when he said it. He was like, “No, if you stick with this thing you’re gonna be really great at this, if you keep doing it.”

Luke adds, “I guess I always kind of thought that he was, you know, just saying grandpa things, you know what I mean? You’re not going to tell your grandkids that they’re going to be terrible at whatever they want to do. But when I look back on it, the seriousness that he said it with is something that stuck with me.”

While his grandfather is no longer with us, and didn’t get to see the heights of success that his grandson is achieving, Luke is very happy that he did at least get to hear his debut album, “He did get to hear my first album, which is something that I’m very thankful for. It hadn’t been released yet at the time he passed away, so he never got to see what came of that, but he did get to see the culmination of all the work I put into making it.”

Luke is making his grandfather, his parents and his whole family proud.

And part of his family – including his wife Nicole, is featured in the music video for his number-one smash hit “Forever After All.”

Photo Credit: Zack Massey

Brett Eldredge Takes the Stairs to Make It a Good Day

Brett Eldredge Takes the Stairs to Make It a Good Day

Posted on June 22, 2021

We all have our fears that affect the things we do…for Brett Eldredge, one of those fears is riding in elevators.

Brett even had to face that fear head on, when one time he did take an elevator — and it stopped.

Brett shares the story, “If I don’t have to ride an elevator, I won’t. I kind of have a fear of small spaces as it is, but one time I got stuck in an elevator with like six other people. It’s actually online you can watch it on Youtube, but I started playing my guitar and I was pretending I wasn’t sweating and thought I was going to die. But definitely a fear of elevators.”

Brett wasn’t kidding – check out his stuck in an elevator performance right here…

Even though he emerged from that experience safely – it did nothing to alleviate his fears, “I don’t know if I’ll ever got over my fear of elevators, once you’ve been stuck in one once and you’ve watched the video of the guy that was stuck in it for 48 hours on Youtube, you will never get over the fear of elevators. So I think this going to be something I’m always stuck with. So if you see me in an elevator just tell me to stay calm, we can mediate, do whatever give me a pep talk, ‘we only have five more floors to go Brett, lets do this.’ I hate elevators.”

While there’s no love lost for elevators – Brett is super excited to be heading back on the road for his Good Day tour!

Brett and Morgan Evans kick things off in September in Cleveland, Ohio…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Brett Eldredge (@bretteldredge)

As you see from the dates, next Spring, Brett will be heading to Europe. For fans that can’t make the trek, Brett’s giving you a virtual experience of what his overseas shows are like with his Live From Europe EP.

The 4 track collection includes, “Magnolia”…

“Crowd My Mind”

“Love Someone”

and his current single “Good Day”

For more info about the Live From Europe EP, the Good Day tour, and all other things Brett Eldredge – head to his website

Photo courtesy of Warner Music Nashville

 

Vince’s View from Omaha with Vols at CWS – Day 4

Vince’s View from Omaha with Vols at CWS – Day 4

Posted on June 21, 2021
NC State vs. Vanderbilt / Credit: Vince Ferrara

By Vince Ferrara / @VinceSports

Monday was Day 4 for me here at the College World Series. Here’s what it looked like from “Vince’s View.”

99.1 THE Sports Animal’s coverage of the Vols in the College World Series in Omaha is presented by: Senior Benefit, AG Heins Company, Bobcat of Knoxville, Mercedes Benz of Knoxville and Chattanooga Whiskey.

Vince’s CWS Trip Day 4

*Buffet style breakfast in the team serving room

*Full day of sponsored reports from Omaha on 99.1 THE Sports Animal starting with The Starting Lineup as well as NewsTalk 98.7 and WIVK in morning and afternoon drive

Vince Ferrara / Credit: 102.5 The Game

*Radio reports from Omaha for stations in Nashville and Florence, AL

*Lunch at Addy’s Sports Bar…fantastic “Char Buffed” wings that are chargrilled, smoky with a hint of buffalo sauce!

*The Vols practiced late in the afternoon back at Creighton University

*Started prep for Tennessee’s opponent on Tuesday in an elimination game Texas

*Returned to TD Ameritrade Park and enjoyed a fabulous pitching duel between Jack Leiter (15 Ks for Vandy) and Sam Highfill/Evan Justice (2 hits allowed for NC State) in a 1-0 Wolfpack win sending them to the semifinals at 2-0.

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Vince’s View from Omaha with Vols at CWS – Day 3

Vince’s View from Omaha with Vols at CWS – Day 3

Posted on June 21, 2021
Vols PBP Voice John Wilkerson / Credit: Vince Ferrara

By Vince Ferrara / @VinceSports

Sunday, Gameday for Tennessee, was Day 3 for me here at the College World Series. Here’s what it looked like from “Vince’s View.”

99.1 THE Sports Animal’s coverage of the Vols in the College World Series in Omaha is presented by: Senior Benefit, AG Heins Company, Bobcat of Knoxville, Mercedes Benz of Knoxville and Chattanooga Whiskey.

Vince’s CWS Trip Day 3

*Gameday breakfast in the team serving room

*This amazing fan gathering in the lobby as John Wilkerson and I walked out of the elevators to head out to the ballpark

*Get to the stadium, our first setup in the radio booth for Tennessee with this view

*Had some nice visits from Knoxville media here to cover the game, as well as ESPN’s Tom Hart, that stopped in to say hello to us

*The game…obviously was a struggle for Tennessee in a 6-0 loss to Virginia

*Postgame from Tony Vitello and Connor Pavolony

*We visited the grounds of the old, legendary Rosenblatt Stadium with cool makings of the exact locations of the bases and the mound

Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse / Credit: Vince Ferrara

*John and I took three tries at a postgame steak dinner, starting with “The Drover” that everybody has recommended (2+ hour wait) then 801 Chophouse (2+ hour wait) then finally lucked out and found Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse, with no wait, which was excellent

*We heard a lot about Ted & Wally’s Ice Cream, so we took a walk downtown to crush some fantastic ice cream

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Maddie & Tae Go Double Platinum With Their Broken Heart

Maddie & Tae Go Double Platinum With Their Broken Heart

Posted on June 21, 2021

Congrats to Maddie & Tae as they were recently presented with plaques commemorating the certification of their number-1 song “Die Of A Broken Heart” as a 2 times Platinum single!

Maddie says, “The reaction to ‘Die From A Broken Heart’ was completely unexpected. We didn’t even realize that song was gonna have the life that it is having. It excites me. I can’t even tell you how much it excites me to hear our fans relate to this because it’s so our story and so real and true of what we’ve been through.”

She also shares the kind of feedback they get from fans, “There was a mom that said, ‘My daughter’s going through her first heartbreak, and he wasn’t good for her anyways. She doesn’t realize that now, but that song is getting her through it.’ And that just gives us so much purpose and just like keeps us going just knowing that we’re doing something for people.”

Maddie adds, that the biggest thrill, is when they are playing “Die From A Broken Heart” at a show, “The crowd sings ‘Die From A Broken Heart’ so loud to where we can’t even hear ourselves sing…and I’m like ‘Thank you God, this is so cool’.”

Photo credit: Nolan Feldpausch

Brad Paisley & Dale Jr. Get The City Of Music Revved Up For NASCAR

Brad Paisley & Dale Jr. Get The City Of Music Revved Up For NASCAR

Posted on June 21, 2021

On Sunday, Kyle Larson won the first NASCAR Cup race hosted in Nashville since 1984.

Before they started their engines, Brad Paisley and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got things revved up with a pre-race show that had them singing the praises of pairing Music City with NASCAR…

Of course, this is just one more thing that’s great about the “City Of Music.”

As you listen to Brad’s new single, you’ll notice the lyrics paint a pretty vivid picture, this is something that Brad looks to achieve in all of his songs, “I write very visually. My idea of country music is always about the pictures it paints for you. I don’t like songs that don’t give me images in my mind – in country music, that is. Even in pop music. You think about great pop songs that you love, sometimes you don’t always know what they mean, but there’s some great words in there. ‘Hotel California’ is a good example. I don’t know totally what that’s about, but you know, ‘On a dark desert highway’… you know, it’s just…you see everything they’re sayin.”

Photo Courtesy of Brad Paisley, NASCAR & NBC Sports

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