Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/GM David Poile announced Friday that the team has signed forward Patrick Harper to a two-year, entry-level contract.

Harper, 21 (7/28/98), is coming off a four-year career at Boston University headlined by a 14-goal, 37-point senior season in 2019-20 that helped him earn Hockey East Third Team All-Star honors. His 37 points matched his career high first established in his freshman campaign, and his 14 goals were a personal collegiate best. The 5-foot-7, 150-pound forward finished the season 15th among all NCAA skaters in points per game (1.16), tied for 18th in points and tied for 25th in assists (23). An alternate captain for the Terriers this season, Harper was second on his team in points – trailing only fellow Predators prospect David Farrance (2017 third-round selection) – third in assists and tied for third in goals. He also recorded a career-best 12 multi-point games this season, six of which came during his career-long eight-game point streak (4g-11a) to open the campaign.

“Patrick is a dynamic player and with his size excels in the way today’s game is played,” Predators Director of Player Development Scott Nichol said. “He’s a fun player to watch – he likes having the puck on his stick, he likes to make plays and wants to score goals every game. He fits in well on the power play and uses his biggest on-ice attribute – his hockey sense – to his advantage.”

Originally drafted by the Predators in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Harper amassed 115 points (41g-74a) in 127 games at Boston University and became the 84th player in program history to reach the 100-point mark. Harper was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2016-17 and won a conference championship with the Terriers as a sophomore in 2017-18. Internationally, the New Canaan, Conn., native represented the United States at the World Junior Championship twice, winning gold in the 2017 tournament and taking home a bronze medal the following year. Prior to enrolling at Boston University, Harper spent the 2015-16 season captaining Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut; he also skated in nine games with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers.

By Jim Wyatt – TitansOnline.com

A day after the 2019 season ended, Titans cornerback Logan Ryan was asked about his football future. Standing in front of the locker he occupied for three seasons, Ryan smiled before conceding he didn’t really know.

“If I could foresee the future then I would just start betting on games like they did in Back to the Future,” Ryan said back in January. “But I don’t think anybody knows that. … I kid you not, all I wanted to do was to pour my heart and soul into this franchise. I wanted to make it a better place. If I were to leave, I wanted to make it a better place than when I came in and I feel like I did that.

“And I signed up for three years (in Tennessee) – that’s what the Titans offered. I took it and moved my family down here. I gave them three years and played in every game that I possibly could. I played every snap with my heart and soul, and right now I’m looking for a job. If they can extend it and work something out, that would be great. But as of right now, that’s what my contract was and I fulfilled my end of the bargain and they did as well, and we were able to have a great run this year.”

As of today, Ryan remains unsigned. It remains to be seen whether he returns to the Titans or plays elsewhere in 2020. Ryan, after spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Patriots, has proven to be a leader on and off the field in Nashville.

Off the field, he’s been active in the community. Logan and wife, Ashley, are the founders of The Ryan Animal Rescue Foundation, and as a couple they’ve raised money and awareness for homeless animals. During past offseasons, he helped organize workouts with the defensive backs.

On the field, he’s been valuable as well. In 2019, Ryan set career-highs with 120 tackles and 4 ½ sacks while also tallying four interceptions, four forced fumbles, and 19 passes defensed. He had a memorable late-game, pick-6 of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in a playoff game win over New England.

During the past three seasons with the Titans, Ryan appeared played in 50 games, including five playoff contests. Back in January, he said he wouldn’t stress about the uncertainty.

“I don’t want to live with anxiety,” Ryan said. “There’s uncertainty in life with everything. I signed up for (a three-year deal) and I fulfilled that. I am happy to play over 1,200 snaps this year, and to have the year I had, and the year we had as a team, it’s all I could have asked for. This day was going to come regardless, and I am happy it came after the AFC Championship. I wish it would’ve come after the Super Bowl, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

“So this day was going to come, these questions were going to come. I think it was a great marriage for both sides, me coming here. I told them I was happy they believed in me, and they allowed me to expand my role after leaving New England and it allowed me to grow as a player and a leader.”

At the end of the 2019 season, Ryan said he likes the direction the Titans are going. The challenge in 2020, whether Ryan is on the team or not, will be to keep it going.

“The Titans are for real,” Ryan said. “The Titans are contenders, and the Titans have guys that know what they’re doing up top and players that care, that play the right way. They play as physical and as hard-core as you can play with these modern-day rules and bring a smash-mouth brand of football to the South, which is a great reflection of the area that we live in.”

In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to postpone events involving more than 50 people over the next eight weeks, Nashville Soccer Club in conjunction with Major League Soccer has extended the postponement of its matches during this period of time. MLS remains focused on playing the entire 2020 season and is evaluating all options, including pushing back the end of the season and playing MLS Cup in December, as the league did prior to the 2019 season. The league is also identifying other available dates. Throughout this process, MLS will continue to prioritize the safety of our fans, players, employees and partners and to coordinate with federal and local public health authorities as well as other sporting organizations.

Coming up on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show, we will discuss the current suspension of local prep sports due to the school closings as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Local schools and prep athletics are suspended until at least April 1st. Our guests will be Coffee County CHS athletic director Rebecca Koger, Coffee County Middle School athletic director Kyle Harris and Westwood Middle School athletic director Jim Dobson.

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

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman will donate $125,000 to aid three charities in their efforts to assist those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Freeman will donate $50,000 to the Atlanta Food Bank, $50,000 to Giving Kitchen and $25,000 to the Salvation Army.

Freeman’s donation to Giving Kitchen will aid over 30 food service workers with utility and rent. This Atlanta-based charity pays living expenses for food service workers who are sick, injured, experiencing a housing crisis or suffering from the death of a family member.

The Braves announced Tuesday that they, in concert with all 30 Major League clubs, will donate $1 million to assist thousands of ballpark staff impacted by the delayed start of the 2020 season. Through the Braves Foundation, the organization has created a fund to assist gameday workers and certain other affected members of the baseball community with special financial needs that may arise before play begins.

The Tennessee Titans agreed on Wednesday to trade defensive tackle Jurrell Casey to the Broncos in exchange for a seventh-round NFL draft pick, according to multiple reports.

Casey, 30, has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the last five years. In 2019, he recorded 26 tackles and five sacks.

Casey has three years remaining on his contract and is set to earn $11.25 million in base salary in 2020.