Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus and his family will star in a new Netflix reality series, DeMarcus Family Rules.
The new show released its first trailer on Aug. 5. The original series will launch via Netflix on Aug. 19. As its name implies, the show will revolve around Jay and wife Allison Alderson DeMarcus—a former Miss Tennessee pageant winner—and their two children: daughter Madeline, 9, and son Dylan, 8.
While the COVID-19 pandemic put a kibosh on Rascal Flatts’ Farewell Tour this year, the trio released a new seven-song EP, How They Remember You, on July 31. The EP includes six brand-new tracks, as well as a rendition of Kenny Rogers’ “Through the Years.” The new EP features songs co-penned by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and more.
Watch the new trailer for DeMarcus Family Rules below.
Chris Janson’s wife-inspired single, “Done,” ascended to the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart this week. Penned by Chris, Mitch Oglesby, Jamie Paulin and Matt Roy, “Done” is featured on Chris’ 2019 album, Real Friends.
More so than any other tune on the 13-song album that Chris co-produced, “Done” had to fit a very specific concept Chris had in mind. As Chris told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, he wanted “Done” to sound somewhere between George Strait’s 1998 hit, “True,” and The Wallflowers’ 1997 hit, “One Headlight.”
“Yeah, the song kind of demanded [different production], but, you know, I produced everything on the new record,” says Chris to Kix. “But, I don’t know, ‘Done’ just kind of called for it. And, I’ll tell ya, I did kind of directionalize it a little—I don’t know if that’s a word—but I set a tone for it. And, I wanted it to sound like a 1995, ’96, ’97 George Strait four-week number one. I wanted it to sound like, [Chris sings]True like the sun comin’ up each mornin’. I wanted it to sound like [Strait’s “True”], you know? Somewhere between that and ‘One Headlight’ by The Wallflowers, so we fell right in the middle of that.”
“Done” follows Chris’ previous Billboard Country Airplay chart-topper, “Good Vibes.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, commander of Expedition 63, jammed out to Travis Tritt’s “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” aboard the International Space Station.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center posted the video of Chris singing along to Travis’ 2000 hit on YouTube on Aug. 4, with the message: “From 250 miles above the Earth, Expedition 63 is aware of the hard times that exist in the neighborhoods of the world rotating below. Even amid the uncertainty & difficulties, we encourage everyone to be the best ‘crewmates’ & take care of each other. Cherish the people you love.”
After seeing the video, Travis posted his own message via Twitter, stating: “This is the closest I will ever get to actually being in space. I’m very honored to have my music being played on the International Space Station! Thanks so much!”
Expedition 63’s mission began on April 17, 2020, and will continue through October 2020.
The SEC is expected to announce its conference-only schedule this week, and Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer is keeping a close eye on the final verdict.
In an exclusive interview with SportsTalk, WNML radio last Friday, Fulmer was asked if he thought each team playing its next two crossover opponents as a good approach.
Tennessee’s next two rotating West foes in 2021 and 2022 are Ole Miss and LSU.
“I think it makes some sense to do that,’’ Fulmer said. “That was discussed. Many, many models will be looked at over the next week or so.
“The message the commissioner sent was to be fair and equitable. What does that look like? How do you get there? Strength of schedule will play some role in it. I think it will probably play more of a role than the rotation might.”
Fulmer said the decision by the SEC to go with conference games only was more about flexibility in scheduling rather that having perhaps difference pandemic protocols than other leagues.
Fulmer did say tongue-in-cheek that he would like for Alabama to play seven games in a row before it plays Tennessee.
Fulmer was asked if he thought it made sense to play your first six games against a division foe and the last four against a crossover opponent.
“That may be something I can bring up to the commissioner,’’ Fulmer said. “Nobody has talked about that. You really don’t know what the virus is going to do. We could have to play a makeup game before the SEC Championship game. I think the flexibility that they’re talking through is what they’re seeking. We’re all seeking.
“I do know we won’t play anyone twice. That was brought up. I do know it’s not just about the rotation. We’re going to be really working to balance where they are early or late home games and all this kind of thing.’’
Fulmer touched on a variety of topics:
Capacity at Neyland Stadium
For the first time, Fulmer said without a doubt “there will be reductions’’ to the capacity at Neyland Stadium.
“I don’t want to put a number out there right now,’’ Fulmer said. “We’re working on several models.’’
Among the models are reducing the 102,455-seat capacity by 50 to 20 percent. (It’s worth noting that seating capacity is actually about 99,000. The higher number comes adding ushers, media, security and UT personnel working the game.)
“We would love to have it 100 (percent),’’ Fulmer said. “But the reality of it, that’s what we all have to face. The economy has been damaged, people’s jobs and everything. …
“We won’t be 100 percent. I’m hopeful we might be 50 (percent) or be like most folks and looking at 20 percent or 25 percent.”
What About Tailgaiting?
“We’ve talked a lot about that,’’ Fulmer said. “We have to get everybody all on the same page with that. The tailgating, the Vol Walk, the band. We’ve had tons of conversations about it. I would like to sit here and say yeah, we’ve figured it out. But again it gets back to the safety factor of the people that want to come to the games, enjoy the game. We have to be smart about what we do.”
Financial Implications
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said his department could lose $60-to-$70 million in revenues even if conference games are played and up to $100 million if the season is canceled.
“(It) seems like a very high number,” Fulmer said. “It is a high number. We are working through all of that as to what it might look like. There are certainly sacrifices and things that we are doing with the budget. That’s everywhere we can, to make it the least impactful as we possibly can.
“If you’re playing at this level, that number is a real number.”
Are Staff Paycuts Possible?
Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes makes about $4.7 million a year. Football coach Jeremy Pruitt makes about $3.85 million.
Fulmer makes $1 million annually.
Many schools across the country – two in the SEC – have reduced pay for personnel.
Is that possible at Tennessee?
“We’re looking at everything we can look at,” Fulmer said. “It’s certainly something we’re considering as we move forward. I think anybody that looks at the day-to-day budget, when things change and get a little harder, you have to look at everything … we certainly have discussed everything that might help us.
“Some of that, you know, you don’t rush to judgement. You don’t make a decision too soon. But you don’t want to make it too late either.”
What About Other Schools Eliminating Programs?
“That’s been hard for everybody across the country,’’ Fulmer said. “Football is such a big revenue source for almost anybody at any level.’’
Stanford has dropped 11 of its 36 sports.
“From Stanford’s position, they probably had too many sports to begin with, to support,’’ Fulmer said. “Not to say those aren’t important to those athletes and coaches. …
“I don’t think we’ll be cutting any sports or anything like that, at all. That hasn’t been brought up one bit. But everybody is paying attention to finances. I can assure you we’ll have to do that through this year and years to come.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Baseball is back as the shorted 2020 Major League Baseball season has been underway for two weeks now.
The regular season has been shorted to 60 games, while the playoffs will be expanded to 16 teams instead of the normal 10.
The 2020 Minor League Baseball season was canceled on June 30 due to COVID-19.
Updates on former Vols in the MLB can be seen below. Check UTSports.com for updates throughout the season.
Zack Godley — RHP, Boston Red Sox Season: 2 App, 1 GS, 0-1, 6.14 ERA, 7.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 1.64 WHIP
Despite not being on the Opening Day roster, Godley impressed during his first outing with the Red Sox. The veteran right hander struck out seven batters and scattered four hits in four shutout innings of relief against the New York Mets on July 27. Godley’s next appearance did not go as well, as he earned the start against the New York Yankees on Aug. 1 but gave up five runs on six hits in just 3.1 innings of work.
Gomes has started three of Washington’s eight games so far this season, splitting time behind the plate with Kurt Suzuki. The veteran backstop is still searching for his first hit of the year.
Senzel is off to a solid start to his second season in the Majors. The Knoxville native and former No. 2 overall pick has recorded at least one hit in five straight games. Senzel homered and doubled to drive in two runs against the Cubs on July 29 and posted another multi-hit performance on Aug. 2 against Detroit, finishing with a pair of doubles in a win over the Tigers.
Stewart has started in left field in nine of Detroit’s 10 games so far this season. The Georgia native hit his first home run of the year and finished with two RBI in a 4-3 victory over Kansas City on July 28. Stewart had another solid day at the plate on July 31 against Cincinnati, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Midland’s frontman Mark Wystrach teamed up with The Band of Heathens for a cover of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso City.” The tune was recorded as part of The Band of Heathens’ live-streaming show, Good Time Supper Club, which airs on Tuesdays.
“El Paso City” was the title track of Marty’s 1976 album. The tune, which Marty penned, topped the charts for two weeks in 1976.
Watch Mark and the Heathens perform “El Paso City” below.
It’s been a long time coming for Luke Bryan’s new album, Born Here, Live Here, Die Here.
In January—the month artists look forward to everything the new year has to offer—Luke announced he would release his seventh studio album on April 24 and embark on a new tour in May, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a kibosh on the tour and the album’s release date was pushed back to Aug. 7.
But here Luke finally is with his new 10-song offering.
“My thing is, write and find some songs, and get about five or six songs going for the album—that starts setting the tone,” said Luke during a virtual media scrum on July 30. “Once you have five or six songs recorded, you can start feeling the vibe of the project. And then from there, you start seeing, ‘Well, what do I need from here? And what am I missing? Do I have too many uptempos, do I have too many mids? I don’t have enough love songs.’ My thing is: spread it out. Try to check a lot of boxes. I’m seven albums in. The current album cycle is about every two years. That’s 14 years of album making I’ve been a part of, which is insane to think about. At the end of it all, when I finish an album, I really try to have it be quite diverse and to let each track live on its own, stand on its own, and really speak for itself.”
Born Here, Live Here, Die Herealready features three back-to-back-to-back No. 1 singles: “Knockin’ Boots,” “What She Wants Tonight” and “One Margarita,” which was his 25th career chart-topper. In addition, Luke previously shared the album’s title track and the touching new song, “Build Me a Daddy.” Luke co-penned three songs on the new album, which also includes top songwriters Hillary Lindsey, Jon Nite, Ross Copperman, Dallas Davidson, Josh Thompson and more.
“I think my legacy would be, ‘Man, that guy had fun doing this job, it was prevalent in his music, his music was fun,'” said Luke, when asked specifically about his country music legacy. “I think I’ll be remembered by how much fun I had doing all this.”
photo by Jim Wright
Born Here, Live Here, Die Here Track Listing & Songwriters
Knockin’ Boots (Hillary Lindsey, Jon Nite, Gordie Sampson)
What She Wants Tonight (Luke Bryan, Ross Copperman, Hillary Lindsey, Jon Nite)
Born Here Live Here Die Here (Jake Mitchell, Jameson Rodgers, Josh Thompson)
One Margarita (Michael Carter, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson)
Too Drunk To Drive (Luke Bryan, Michael Carter, Brandon Kinney)
Build Me A Daddy (Jake Mitchell, Josh Thompson, Brett Tyler)
Little Less Broken (Michael Carter, Lindsay Rimes, Matt Rogers)
For A Boat (Randy Montana, Josh Thompson, Mike Walker)
Where Are We Goin’ (Luke Bryan, Brent Cobb)
Down To One (Dallas Davidson, Justin Ebach, Kyle Fishman)
Vols at practice in 2019 / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal Staff
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday adjusted dates for preseason football activities for SEC schools with the first allowable practice now scheduled for August 17. The new SEC calendar provides student-athletes with more days off than required by the NCAA and fewer practices than permitted by current NCAA rules.
The new preseason calendar was developed based on recommendations of the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force.
Last week the SEC announced its intention to begin the 2020 season on September 26 as it continues to monitor developments around COVID-19. The original start date of September 5 would have allowed for preseason football practice to begin August 7.
In the revised SEC preseason football calendar, schools are permitted to conduct up to 14 hours per week of strength and conditioning, meetings and walkthroughs from August 7-16.
Beginning August 17 and until the opening game, schools are allowed 25 practices with a limit of 20 hours per week of practice time. A five-day acclimatization period is required, with two days in helmets only, two days in shells and the fifth day in full pads.
Schools will be required to provide student-athletes a minimum of two days off each week until the week before the first game of the season.
ORLANDO, Fla. – After a four-and-a-half-month layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic, four NBA VFLs traveled to the NBA bubble in Orlando for the resumption of the 2019-20 season.
Tobias Harris has been a focal point for the 76ers since arriving in Orlando. Through two games in the bubble, Harris is Philadelphia’s second-leading scorer with 27.5 ppg, while shooting a blistering .461 from 3-point range.
In Saturday’s tough, 127-121 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Harris scored 30 points and pulled in eight rebounds.
On Monday, Harris poured in 25 points but was much more efficient, shooting 10-of-17 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to help lead the Sixers past the San Antonio Spurs, 132-130.
Admiral Schofield has seen limited action in the Wizards’ three defeats in Orlando, scoring his first points of the restart in Monday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers.
In Boston’s two contests in the bubble, Williams has played limited minutes, taking part in both the Celtics’ 119-112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night and their four-point triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
The format for the Associations’ return to action includes 22 teams either currently in the 16-team playoff field or within six games of their conference’s eighth spot.
Each team will play eight games to conclude the regular season as they jockey for the final playoff positions. If any of the teams not in the playoffs are within four games of the eighth-place team, a mini play-in tournament will take place to decide the conference’s final playoff participant.
Once the playoff field is set, the NBA will conduct the 2020 Playoffs in its normal format of four best-of-seven series, with the winner having the opportunity to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
VFL Team Schedule and Results
Boston Celtics
7/31 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 119-112 Loss
8/2 vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 128-124 Win
8/4 vs. Miami Heat, 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/5 vs. Brooklyn Nets, 9 p.m. ET ESPN
8/7 vs. Toronto Raptors, 9 p.m. ET TNT
8/9 vs. Orlando Magic, 5 p.m. ET NBA League Pass
8/11 vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/13 vs. Washington Wizards, TBD
Philadelphia 76ers
8/1 vs. Indiana Pacers, 127-121 Loss
8/3 vs. San Antonio Spurs, 132-130 Win
8/5 vs. Washington Wizards, 4 p.m. ET NBATV
8/7 vs. Orlando Magic, 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/9 vs. Portland Trailblazers, 6:30 p.m. ET NBATV
8/11 vs. Phoenix Suns, 4:30 p.m. ET NBA League Pass
8/12 vs. Toronto Raptors, 6:30 p.m. ET ESPN
8/14 vs. Houston Rockets, TBD
Washington Wizards
7/31 vs. Phoenix Suns, 125-112 Loss
8/2 vs. Brooklyn Nets, 118-110 Loss
8/3 vs. Indiana Pacers, 111-100 Loss
8/5 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 4 p.m. ET NBATV
8/7 vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET NBA League Pass
8/9 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 12:30 p.m. ET NBA League Pass
8/11 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 9 p.m. ET NBA League Pass
8/13 vs. Boston Celtics, TBD
After 64 weeks, Locash’s “One Big Country Song” has reached No. 1 on the Mediabase chart.
Penned by Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and Michael Hardy, “One Big Country Song” is featured on Locash’s 2019 album, Brothers. The 11-song offering was the first album on the duo’s new label, Wheelhouse Records/BBR Music Group.
“Thank. You. Country. Radio!” said Locash’s Preston Brust. “The folks at country radio feel like ‘One Big Country Family’ to us, and we just want to thank them for showing us so much love over the years and especially this week.”
“We’re all living in crazy times, so it feels really good to be part of a silver lining story and a song that brought a smile to so many people’s faces,” added the duo’s Chris Lucas.
Locash previously topped the charts in 2016 with “I Know Somebody.”
