Did you catch Matt Stell on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week?
Matt performed his current single “That Ain’t Me No More” – and after the performance he posted “Thanks to The Kelly Clarkson Show & Kelly Clarkson for having me on to play “That Ain’t Me No More,” it was a magnum good time.”
Check out Matt’s performance here…
Photo Credit: Matthew Berinato
While Ingrid Andress is becoming known for her piano driven hits like her number-one song “More Hearts Than Mine” and her current single “Lady Like” – if you listen carefully, you might hear her favorite instrument to include in her music.
Ingrid shares, “So, I play piano and I love playing but the one instrument that I think sounds more beautiful than the piano is the cello. I would love…actually I’m glad I don’t know how to play because then I’d probably not like it anymore. But I just love listening to cello players. I have a lot of cello on my songs for that reason actually I just think they sound so beautiful.”
Will there be a cello on stage when Ingrid heads out on tour with Dan + Shay later this year? We’ll have to wait and see…
Till then, she if you hear the cello in her song “Lady Like”…
Photo Credit: Lauren Dunn
A trio of Tennessee Vols are in action through this weekend at the NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago.
Senior wing Yves Pons is joined in The Windy City by SEC All-Freshman Team performers Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer. The NBA earlier this month announced 69 players who were expected to participate in the combine, and Tennessee was one of only five universities with at least three players to receive an invite.
Tennessee also had three Vols invited to the NBA Draft Combine in 2019, which resulted in Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone all getting selected in that summer’s draft.
Players are conducting interviews with NBA teams and participating in five-on-five games, shooting and strength and agility drills Tuesday through Friday. ESPN2 and ESPNU will provide coverage of the five-on-five games from 3-7 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
A two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection and the 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Pons was one of 10 finalists for the 2021 Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Fuveau, France, native appeared in 116 games during his four years as a Vol, making 70 starts. Over his final two seasons at Tennessee, Pons blossomed offensively, averaging 9.9 points per game. His defensive prowess never wavered, however, evidenced by his school-record nine-block performance against Florida in the quarterfinals of the 2021 SEC Tournament.
Johnson was Tennessee’s team leader in field goals made (111) and attempted (247) and ranked second on the squad in scoring with 11.3 points per game. His scoring average increased to 12.1 points against SEC opposition. The Shelbyville, Tennessee, product got to the foul line with regularity, attempting a team-high 101 free throws in 27 games played. Johnson scored in double figures 15 times on the season and dropped a season-high 27 points during the Vols’ win at Kentucky.
Fellow freshman Springer led the Volunteers in scoring overall (12.5 ppg) and during SEC play (12.7 ppg). His .435 mark from 3-point range also led the team, while his .810 free-throw percentage ranked ninth among all SEC players and stands as the best ever by a Tennessee freshman with at least 100 attempts. A talented playmaker, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native ranked seventh in the SEC in assists with 3.4 per game during league play. Springer’s six 20-point performances were the most on the squad, and his top scoring effort was a 30-point outburst in UT’s home win over Georgia.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes has produced 27 NBA Draft picks, including 15 first-rounders during his head coaching career. Through the 2020-21 season, those 27 draft picks boasted combined basketball earnings in excess of $1.065 billion (does not include endorsement income).
The 2021 NBA Draft takes place July 29, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
-UT Athletics
OMAHA, Neb. – No. 3 Tennessee generated early offense, but could not keep pace with No. 2 Texas Tuesday afternoon at TD Ameritrade Park, falling 8-4 in a season-ending loss to the Longhorns.
The Vols finish their record-setting season with a 50-18 overall record, an SEC Eastern Division title and the fifth trip to the College World Series in program history.
Liam Spence, Jordan Beck and Pete Derkay recorded two hits each on the day for Tennessee, while Jake Rucker, Drew Gilbert and Connor Pavolony had one hit apiece.
Blade Tidwell started on the mound for Tennessee, giving up two hits and striking out three in three innings of action, but allowed four runs (three earned). Sean Hunley was stuck with the loss after surrendering three Texas runs in a decisive fourth inning.
After being shutout in its opener in Omaha on Sunday, Tennessee wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking an early lead Tuesday. A leadoff single from Gilbert got the Vols’ two-run second inning started before a double from Beck and an RBI groundout from Derkay drove in runs to give the Vols a 2-0 lead.
After Texas (48-16) responded in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run from Eric Kennedy and added another run in the third to take a 4-2 lead, Tennessee evened the score with a pair of RBI singles from Pavolony and Spence in the top of the fourth. Unfortunately, the Big Orange were only able to muster three hits for the remainder of the game against Texas reliever Tanner Witt, who three 5.2 scoreless innings to improve to 5-0 on the year.
The Longhorns regained their lead in the fourth, countering with a three-run inning to take a 7-4 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
HISTORIC SEASON: Tennessee wraps up a 2021 season that is statistically one of the best in program history:
DERKAY GOES OUT A RECORD HOLDER: Playing his 229th and final game in a Tennessee uniform, Pete Derkay had multiple hits for the second straight game in Omaha. Derkay concludes his career in orange and white as the program’s all-time leader in games played.
The Georgia native ends his UT career with 184 career hits, 102 RBIs and a .277 career batting average. He also finishes second in program history in career walks with 132. Derkay batted .417 during the duration of Tennessee’s run in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, leading the team with 10 hits, including a team-high four at the College World Series.
Box Score (PDF) | NCAA Tournament Stats (PDF) | College World Series Stats (PDF) |
-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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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
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
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
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.
-UT Athletics
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
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…
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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
