Despite the dark pall of the current prep sports shutdown, a glimmer of hope shown bright on Friday night. The final wiring connections were made for new LED(light-emitting diode) light fixtures at the Westwood Middle School softball field on Friday afternoon by Duck River Electric Membership Cooperative. The lights were turned on Friday evening for their first successful test.

Westwood softball coach Amanda Sullivan was a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show and had this to say about the lights:

Sullivan believes that the lights are the first use of LED lights on a ball field in Coffee and surrounding counties. You can hear the rest of the interview, and all of the Coffee Coaches Show, by downloading the podcast at: http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/coffee-coaches-show_154860

The Coffee Coaches is broadcast live each and every Saturday morning from 10 to 11 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have finalized a deal that addresses both salary and service-time issues, among others, as the entire sport continues to wait out the coronavirus pandemic.

With no start date set for the 2020 season, the two sides had been negotiating for the past couple weeks in an effort to figure out how to handle the potential for a shortened season.

Both MLB and the MLBPA are committed to playing as many regular-season games as possible, leaving open the possibility of the schedule going into October and the postseason being played into November.

No agreements were made regarding the schedule, but given the current uncertainty, the deal leaves enough flexibility for the two sides to work together toward that shared goal. Both MLB and the MLBPA have formed subcommittees to continue discussing any unresolved issues related to the 2020 season.

The Commissioner’s Office will put together a schedule at the appropriate time, then the union will have input before it is finalized. The postseason format could also be altered for 2020, including the prospect of some games being played at neutral sites.

Players will, however, collect prorated service time based on the number of days on the roster or injured list. A regular year of service time is 172 days, so regardless of how many games are played in 2020, a player who is on the roster or IL for the entirety of the season will accrue 172 days of service time.

In the absolute worst-case scenario of a canceled season, players will receive the same service time they did in 2019, which would allow players who are one year or less from free agency — a group that includes Mookie Betts, Trevor Bauer and J.T. Realmuto — to become free agents next fall no matter what.

All suspensions of 80-or-fewer games will be served in 2020 if games are played. Should the season be canceled, those suspensions would not carry over to 2021.

The union voted to accept the deal Thursday, while the owners voted unanimously Friday to ratify the deal.

All transactions are frozen as of Friday until a date to be determined by both MLB and the union. Roster expansion was not included in the agreement, but the issue will be discussed by the two sides between now and the start of the season.

As part of the agreement, MLB has the right to move the 2020 Draft past its currently scheduled date of June 10, but no later than July 20. The Draft can also be reduced to a minimum of five rounds, though MLB can choose to have anywhere from five to 40 rounds.

MLB will have the right to run a combine for amateur players in both 2020 and 2021 if the league determines it makes sense to do so.

Drafted players will receive no more than $100,000 of their signing bonuses up front, receiving 50 percent of the remainder by July 1, 2021, and the other 50 percent by July 1, 2022. Undrafted players will be able to receive no more than $20,000 as a signing bonus.

Signing bonus values will remain at their 2019 level in both 2020 and 2021, according to terms of the new deal. MLB can also reduce the 2021 Draft to as few as 20 rounds.

As a result of the deal, the start of the international signing period may also be delayed from July 2, 2020, to as late as Jan. 15, 2021, while next year’s international signing period can also be pushed back. Teams will also not be allowed to trade Draft picks or international bonus slots in 2020 or 2021.

When MLB baseball resumes, Thunder Radio will be your exclusive radio home for Atlanta Braves baseball in Coffee County as your local affiliate of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.

The Titans have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with special teams ace Nick Dzubnar.

Dzubnar (duh-ZOOB-nar) has spent the past five seasons with the Chargers, where he played primarily on special teams. During his NFL career, Dzubnar has played in 65 career games and he’s recorded 61 tackles.

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Dzubnar played in all 16 games during the 2015, 2016 and 2019 seasons. In 2019, Dzubnar recorded 12 special teams tackles for the Chargers. He ranked first or second in special teams tackles in four of his five years with the Chargers. He had a team-best 21 special teams stops in 2017.

Dzubnar played his college career at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, where he earned All-America honors as a linebacker and was the second-leading tackler in school history with 414 stops, four sacks, seven forced fumbles and five interceptions.

The Titans finished 13th in the NFL in punt return average in 2019, and 23rd in kick return average. The team finished 26th in the league in punt coverage (return average), and 20th in kick coverage (return average).

With school activities postponed until at least April 24^th, try outs for the 2020-2021 Red Raider cheerleader squad or mascot program have been postponed until further notice.  Anyone wishing to try out needs to contact Raider Cheer coach Christy Clouse for more information.  You can contact Coach Clouse at clousec@k12coffee.net to get further information and to remain updated when tryouts are scheduled. 

Dear Baseball Fans,

Opening Day holds an important place in our hearts. It signifies the arrival of spring, the promise of new beginnings, the return of following your favorite team on a long journey filled with twists and turns, and the hope that your team will put together a magical season you will remember forever.

Today is unlike any Opening Day in Major League Baseball’s long history. We need to call on the optimism that is synonymous with Opening Day and the unflinching determination required to navigate an entire baseball season to help us through the challenging situation currently facing us all.

We can do this together by following the direction of our public health experts and government officials to collectively address this global pandemic. Baseball will return, just as soon as it’s safe to do so. You can find helpful information at MLB.com/covid19resources.

I’m proud of how the baseball community has rallied to respond to this unprecedented challenge. In a short period of time under difficult and rapidly changing circumstances, we have met the needs of Minor League players by creating a level of uniform compensation for them, made a $1 million joint donation with the MLBPA to Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America, and our Clubs have committed $30 million to ballpark employees. In addition, we will be shining a light on worthy charities that are involved with the COVID-19 response. If you are able to help, you can make contributions to these organizations at MLB.com/give.

While we aren’t on the field today, there still will be plenty of baseball for you to watch. In addition to programming on MLB Network, ESPN2, and FS1, we have made thousands of games available for free to you through MLB.TV, MLB.com, and MLB’s YouTube accounts. We also are hosting Opening Day at Home, a selection of 30 memorable games, one for each Club, that you can enjoy today across MLB’s digital platforms. While we wait for players to take the field, I hope this brings us together as fans and engages us in conversation through social media.

Throughout our history, baseball has helped us get through difficult times. Baseball will continue to be here for you as we face these challenges together as a community and we look forward to when we can safely get back on the field and hear the words, “Play Ball.”

Stay Safe and Healthy,

Rob

The Titans have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo.

Sambrailo, a 6-foot-5, 311-pounder, has five years of NFL experience, with the Broncos and Falcons.

He’s played in 57 career games, with 13 starts.

Sambrailo, who played collegiately at Colorado State, is expected to bolster the team’s depth while providing competition on the offensive line, primarily at tackle. Sambrailo has worked at left tackle and right tackle during his career, and he’s also lined up at guard.

Earlier this month the Titans re-signed Dennis Kelly, who is the favorite to start at right tackle opposite starting left tackle Taylor Lewan.

Jack Conklin, last year’s starter on the right side, last week agreed to terms with the Cleveland Browns.

Sambrailo spent his first two seasons with the Denver Broncos, where he played in 28 games, including nine starts. Sambrailo spent the past three seasons with the Falcons, where he played in 44 games with six starts.

While with the Falcons in 2019, Sambrailo scored on a 35-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter of the team’s game against the Buccaneers, and he set some NFL records in the process.

The touchdown catch was the longest touchdown reception by an offensive lineman since 1950, per Pro Football Reference. The previous record holder for longest touchdown catch by an offensive lineman was Hall of Famer Lou Groza, who scored a 23-yard touchdown in 1950. Groza was also a kicker. On the Fox broadcast of last year’s game, it was reported that Sambrailo became the heaviest player to ever score a touchdown of 35 yards.

Sambrailo was drafted by the Broncos in the second round, (59th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Sambrailo was a four-year starter at Colorado State, while earning starts at all five position along the offensive line during his college career.

On Tuesday, March 24, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee extended the statewide school closure to April 24, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association(TSSAA) issued a statement to member schools. The statement encourages member schools to extend their moratorium on prep sports until April 24th as well. Both the Coffee County School System and Manchester City School have made it a point of policy to extend any school closures during this emergency to sports practices and games.

The TSSAA statement reads:

Consistent with the Governor’s statement, and in the interest of the health and safety of competitors, coaches, officials, and spectators, we urge every member school – both public and independent – to continue to follow the Governor’s recommendation and suspend interscholastic athletics through April 24, 2020. This suspension should include games, scrimmages, practices, and organized workouts or conditioning.

We are continually monitoring developments related to this public health concern. It is still the hope and goal that we will be able to resume the girls’ state basketball tournament and hold the boys’ state basketball tournament. It is also the goal that our member schools will be able to resume their spring sports seasons, although it will be with a limited time-frame and schedule, culminating with the post-season, and ultimately Spring Fling.

The resumption of the state basketball tournaments and conducting the post-season for spring sports are dependent on numerous factors including time and facilities. We will continue to explore options that will allow both to occur and will provide updates to member schools as the situation develops.