Garth Brooks released his new album, Fun, on Nov. 20.
Fun debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart this week. The 14-song offering moved 18,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
While Fun had the best debut on the chart at No. 7, it was topped by Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get (No. 1), Chris Stapleton’s Starting Over (No. 2), Carrie Underwood’s My Gift (No. 3), Dolly Parton’s A Holly Dolly Christmas (No. 4), Morgan Wallen’s If I Know Me (No. 5) and Luke Combs’ This One’s for You (No. 6).
Garth’s new album includes his current single, “Shallow,” featuring Trisha Yearwood, as well as tunes “That’s What Cowboys Do,” “The Road I’m On,” “Courage of Love,” “Party Gras,” “All Day Long,” “Stronger Than Me,” “Dive Bar” with Blake Shelton, and more.
“What I love about this record—it’s as fun as any record, if not more fun than any record, we’ve ever done,” says Garth. “But at the same time, it’s gonna have those ‘Garth moments’ that’s gonna take you all the way back to the first album. And that’s what made it not only fun to record, but fun to listen to.”
Fun Track List
1. “The Road I’m On”
2. “That’s What Cowboys Do”
3. “All Day Long”
4. “Shallow” with Trisha Yearwood
5. “Dive Bar” with Blake Shelton
6. “Amen”
7. “The Courage of Love”
8. “I Can Be Me With You”
9. “Message in a Bottle”
10. “Stronger Than Me”
11. “(A Hard Way to Make An) Easy Livin’”
12. “Where the Cross Don’t Burn” feat. Charley Pride
13.
14. “Party Gras (The Mardi Gras Song)”
15. “(Sometimes You’ve Got to Die To) Live Again”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
Dolly Parton has never been awarded the Medal of Freedom . . . and Late Show host Stephen Colbert is doing everything he can to rectify the oversight.
During his sit-down interview with former President Barack Obama, Stephen broached the topic in a segment called “Questions We’re Pretty Sure Barack Obama Has Never Been Asked Before.”
“How does Dolly Parton not have a Presidential Medal of Freedom?” asked Stephen.
“That’s a mistake,” said President Obama. “I’m shocked. Actually, that was a screw-up. I’m surprised—I think I assumed that she had already got one, and that was incorrect. I’m surprised. She deserves one. I’ll call Biden.”
During his eight years in office, President Obama awarded more than 100 Medals of Freedom, including to recipients Loretta Lynn, Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Tom Hanks and more.
Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Akins co-hosted the 11th annual CMA Country Christmas TV special on ABC on Nov. 30.
This year’s lineup featured Thomas Rhett, Dan + Shay, Gabby Barrett, Lady A, Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, and Darius Rucker with Lindsey Stirling.
Gabby Barrett performed traditional Christmas carol “The First Noel.” Gabby released a studio recorded version of the tune in October.
“Christmas is one of my absolute favorite days of the year, and my faith is the cornerstone of my life, so being able to share both with ‘The First Noel’ is a gift,” said Gabby. “I feel so blessed to do what I do every day, and I hope that this song adds something special to your holidays.”
Watch Gabby’s performance below.
Check out this year’s lineup and set list below.
Kelsea Ballerini: “Santa Baby”
Gabby Barrett: “The First Noel”
Lady A: “Wonderful Christmastime” and “Little Saint Nick”
Little Big Town: “Christmas Time Is Here”
Tim McGraw: “It Wasn’t His Child”
Darius Rucker with Lindsey Stirling: “What Child Is This?”
Here’s everything you need to know about the Christmas in Rockefeller Center TV special.
Date: Dec. 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
Television Station: NBC
Hosts: Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin
Location: New York City with some remote performances
Performers: Dolly Parton, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jimmy Fallon, Tori Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Meghan Trainor, the cast of Ain’t Too Proud and the Radio City Rockettes
Duets: Kelly Clarkson and Brett Eldredge, Dolly Parton and Jimmy Fallon, and Meghan Trainor with Earth, Wind & Fire
Highlight: The 88th annual holiday special will celebrate the lighting of a 75-foot tall Christmas tree in NYC’s Rockefeller Center with 50,000 multi-colored lights and a Swarovski star.
photos: Jimmy Fallon by O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com; Dolly Parton by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Lady Vols held off a scrappy ETSU team on Tuesday, taking a 67-50 victory in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee (2-0) was led in scoring by Rae Burrell, who finished with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Rennia Davis and Jordan Horston were also in double figures with 15 and 12, respectively.
Jakhyia Davis was the high scorer for the Buccaneers (1-1), finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
Marta Suárez scored the first points of the game on a driving layup, and Davis followed it up with a jumper to give the Lady Vols a quick 4-0 lead. ETSU rallied back, tying it up at 9-9 with three minutes remaining in the quarter off an old-fashioned 3-point play by E’Lease Stafford. Tennessee responded by closing out the half with a 9-2 run to lead 18-11 going into the second period.
Keyen Green knocked down a layup to extend UT’s lead to nine before Mykia Dowdell answered with a trey on the other end to put the score at 20-14 just a minute into the quarter. The teams traded baskets until Green knocked down another layup to kick off a 10-2 run spanning two and a half minutes that gave UT a 15-point lead with four minutes remaining in the half. The Lady Vols led by as many as 16, but the Buccaneers closed out the half on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 10 at the half, 38-28.
The Lady Vols came out hot in the second half with Davis nailing a jumper just seven seconds in to kick off a 10-point run, moving the score to 48-28 just over three minutes in and forcing the Buccaneers to call a timeout. Following the break, ETSU outscored UT 9-2 to scrap back within 13 by the 3:03 mark. Davis and Horston combined for five points in the last minute and a half to build Tennessee’s lead to 55-38 entering the final stanza.
Davis converted on a 3-point play to stretch UT’s lead back to 20 to start the fourth. Jakhyia Davis answered with a three for the Buccaneers before Burrell and Green scored on back-to-back possessions to give Tennessee its largest lead of the game at 21. ETSU pulled within 16 with just over five minutes left in the game before UT once again extended its lead to 21. The Buccaneers closed out the contest with four straight points to bring the final score to 67-50.
Next Up: The Lady Vols will travel to West Virginia for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Sunday. Tip time is at 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on Big 12 Now/ESPN+.
Double-Digit Davis: Senior Rennia Davis totaled 15 points against ETSU, marking 30 straight games of double-digit scoring. Additionally, she has scored 10+ in 44 of her last 45 contests.
Big-Time Bench Points: With 23 bench points against ETSU, Tennessee’s bench has combined for 54 points through two games.
Playing Take Away: After recording 13 steals vs. Western Kentucky in the opener, the Lady Vols came away with 16 steals vs. ETSU, marking the highest total since grabbing 16 vs. Murray State on Dec. 28, 2018. UT only had double digits in steals twice the entire 2019-20 campaign, carding 12 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 15 vs. Air Force.
Vols Gs Santiago Vescovi & Keon Johnson / Credit: UT Athletics
After pandemic-related setbacks forced the cancellation of Tennessee’s first four men’s basketball games this season, the Volunteers didn’t have to look far to find an addition to their schedule.
The 13th-ranked Vols found a new season-opening opponent within the University of Tennessee system and will host UT Martin on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Tennessee and UT Martin’s men’s programs have only met four times previously, with the Vols holding a 4-0 lead dating to 1993. All meetings have taken place at Thompson-Boling Arena. The programs last faced one another on Dec. 29, 2010, with the Big Orange posting a six-point victory, 68-62.
While the upcoming clash will be Tennessee’s first game of the 2020-21 season, UT Martin will have one game under its belt. The Skyhawks host Evansville Wednesday.
After the tragic passing of UT Martin head coach Anthony Stewart on Nov. 15, assistant Montez Robinson was elevated to interim head coach. Robinson spent the previous five years as the head coach at Alcorn State and was the 2017 SWAC Coach of the Year.
The Vols are 60-2 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Vols return to action with their penultimate home game against No. 5/5/6 Florida on Saturday, their first game in Neyland Stadium since Oct. 24. Seniors Josh Palmer (WR) and Deandre Johnson (LB) and sophomore Eric Gray (RB) talk with media members about their open Thanksgiving week and getting back to work.
Saturday’s matchup with the Gators will be broadcast on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Josh Palmer, SR – WR
On if it’s been difficult to adjust not playing as frequently as most seasons…
“A little bit. You get used to running a lot and then when you get a lot of time off, it’s hard to get your legs back. I feel like with the breaks, we’ve been able to get our legs back under us, running a little bit more, especially this past week. We ran a little bit more. We just come out to practice and we work hard. That’s what we do here. A lot of the time, it works out. We should be good for game day.”
On where he feels the offense has improved the most in the past weeks…
“Understanding the game plan. We’ve had a lot of time to really sit down with Coach (Jim) Chaney and have him explain to us the whys: why we’re doing certain things and how we’re supposed to do them. I think with a lot of this time off, we’ve been able to understand what he wants out of us.”
On how he would describe Harrison Bailey’s performance in practices over the past few weeks…
“Harrison’s coming along. Obviously, he didn’t get a lot of reps because of the fall camp and not having a spring. All of the quarterbacks are rallying together. The receivers are pushing him and the coaches are pushing him. We’re excited to see how he’s going to respond. He’s responding well in practice, so that’s really exciting to see.”
On how he would assess his season up to this point…
“I probably have a list of things that I wish I could have done better in games. Every loss, I feel like there was something that I could have done better that would have changed the tide of the game. I feel like when I played well, we had good results in the game. If I played badly, then we had bad results in the game. I put a lot of weight on my shoulders to help this team. There are always things I need to improve on. I don’t really look at it as things I do well, because I’m supposed to do it.”
On how much he misses playing in front of Tennessee’s fans inside of Neyland Stadium…
“I miss it. The away games definitely take a toll on the flights. I’m excited to get back in Neyland with the fans, play a heck of a game and beat Florida.”
On if using the jug machines after practice helps with his footwork and timing…
“I have two guys, Will and Ben, that help me every day. Will will play defense and play harder than a normal DB could in the game, because the refs would call pass interference. That’s an everyday thing I’ve been doing for the past two years with these guys. They’ve helped me a lot in my development. I don’t really think it helps with footwork, but it helps with hand-eye coordination by working on the depth of certain routes. Then, I’ll work with the quarterbacks later so we can develop timing.”
On what impresses him the most about Eric Gray…
“His competitiveness and his toughness. He wants the ball and he wants to show the world what he can do. It’s our responsibilities as receivers to help him show that. We’re excited to see when he breaks long runs and we’re the ones blocking for him.”
Eric Gray, SO – RB
On the possibility of having a 1,000-yard season…
“I think about that all the time. It still means a lot, still pushing forward with three games left. I think we have enough chances to go out and do it.”
On not playing and concern for teammates going through contact tracing…
“It’s tough not to be out there playing, watching all these guys playing and not being able to play. But it has also been a great way for people to get back fresh, get back healthy. Playing this SEC schedule, some guys get banged up. Some guys getting banged up so to be able to get back fresh. Those guys that are in contact tracing are still get to work out a little bit on their own and still come back on Friday to be ready to play on Saturday.”
On his strength as a running back…
“My elusiveness, my vision and being able to make someone miss. I believe that’s what I’ve done my whole life and I feel that’s what my strengths are.”
On the Tennessee-Florida game…
“My dad is a big college football guy and he always talked about those games. He always talks about those games like Tennessee vs. Florida. When I was getting recruited, we were talking about what schools I wanted to go to and he was telling me that Tennessee-Florida rivalry, Tennessee-Alabama rivalry are big rivalry games that you want to play in and do well in because everyone is watching, everyone in the country is watching.”
On team morale and why no one has opted out…
“You haven’t seen a lot of the opt-outs like you have at other schools and that just shows the mindset of our team. We are in it to win it; we are all in it together, everyone is in it together. We just want to go out here and flip the script, we want to get this train back on the tracks and keep going forward. We want to make sure that we are doing everything preparing each week the right way so we can put our best foot forward.”
Deandre Johnson, SR – LB
On what it means to play Florida, being from Florida…
“This is another great opportunity to go out there and play some really good guys. They’ve got a couple of guys at Florida that I played with in high school. It’s going to be good going against those guys again. We’re looking to compete. I’m ready.”
On facing Florida tight end Kyle Pitts…
“He’s regarded as one of the best in the nation. He has many strengths. We know that he’s going to be out in the pass tree trying to run a lot of routes and concepts. We’ve got to do a good job of identifying him before the play starts and making sure we’re keeping our eyes on him.”
On how he would evaluate his season up to this point…
“It has had its good and its bad. I can’t really say as of now. It’s too early. We’ve still got three games left. I’m trying to fight hard to get wins. It’s never going well when you’re not winning. I’m just trying to fight my hardest and empty the tank to go out there and get a win.”
On what the key to being a consistently good pass rusher is…
“The most important thing is keeping your body right, making sure you’re watching film, studying your opponents, studying these types of sets, what plays they like to run, watching out for snap indicators and learning new moves, new techniques with your hands. It goes on and on. Most definitely, it’s keeping your body in shape and staying sharp mentally.”
On if it further motivates him to see that he will get many opportunities to pressure the quarterback against a pass-heavy Florida team…
“It most definitely does, when you see those pass attempts and you see how many times they try to connect through the air. I’m going to have my ears pinned back, looking to make some opportunities off the edge and make some winning plays for this football team on Saturday.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® announced the Women’s Preseason Top 30 Watch List on ESPN Tuesday, and Tennessee’s Rennia Davis is part of that outstanding group of players.
Davis, who is on the Wooden list for the third time, made a it a clean sweep of preseason watch lists. She previously was named to the 2020-21 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy and Cheryl Miller Award preseason watch lists. She also is a preseason All-SEC First Team selection in squads chosen by the coaches and media and is No. 12 on ESPN’s list of top women’s college players this season.
The second-leading returning scorer in the SEC, Davis was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2020 as well as an All-America honorable mention recipient from the AP, USBWA and WBCA. She averaged 18.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2019-20 while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the free throw line.
Davis averaged 19.9 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. vs. league foes in 2019-20. She hit 49.6% from the field and 82.8% at the charity stripe in 16 regular-season contests. Against nine ranked opponents, Davis tallied 19.8 ppg. and 7.0 rpg. and shot 43.8% on field goals and 84.2% on free throws vs. those teams.
The two-time All-SEC choice ranked fifth in the conference in rebounding last season at 8.2 rpg. and eighth in field goal percentage (.469) and stands No. 5 in both categories among returning players. She finished No. 4 in the SEC in free throw percentage at .802 a year ago and is No. 2 among returnees this season.
After one game in 2020-21, Davis is averaging 10.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest for the 1-0 Lady Vols, who will face ETSU on Tuesday night. UT is receiving votes in both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.
The list represents six conferences: The SEC leads all conferences with nine selections, followed by the Big 12 with five, and the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and PAC-12 with four selections apiece.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot.
The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball recognizing The Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, The Wooden Award All American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legend of Coaching recipient. Honorees have proven to their university that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the John R. Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award Steering Committee, including making progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07; ’08), Maya Moore (’09; ’11), Chiney Ogwumike (’14), Breanna Stewart (’15 and ’16) and last year’s recipients, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Obi Toppin of Dayton.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.
For up-to-date information on the Wooden Award, please go to www.woodenaward.com and follow the Wooden Award on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward and @WoodenAward on Twitter and Instagram.
The John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter, and Tennessee seniors John Fulkerson and Yves Pons were among the candidates.
Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for two of the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Tennessee was one of 11 teams to land multiple players on the Wooden watch list, joining Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, LSU, Stanford, Villanova and Virginia.
Fulkerson and Pons were among 20 seniors on the initial list. The list also included 12 juniors, 11 sophomores and seven freshmen.
The Wooden Award preseason top-50 list represents 11 conferences. The Big Ten leads all conferences with 10 selections, followed by the ACC and SEC with seven apiece, the Big 12 and PAC-12 with six each, the Big East with four, the Atlantic 10 and WCC with three apiece, the American with two selections and the Mountain West and Conference USA with one selection each.
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award midseason list, late-season list and the national ballot. The national ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award (including making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA). Nearly 1,000 voters will rank, in order, 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early-round games.
VFL Grant Williams was on the national ballot for the 2019 Wooden Award, and Lady Vols great Candace Parker won the women’s Wooden Award consecutively in 2007 and 2008.
The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.
