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CHS Netters Sweep Cannon County on Senior Night

The 2016 Tennis seniors before Friday’s match. Pictured are(left to right) Coach Mike Ray, Ben Davis, Trevor Ivey-Bodman, Makayla Morgan, Ali Shelton, Maddie Taylor and Coach Audra Brown.
The Coffee County Central High School tennis teams got a pair of 7 to 0 sweeps on Friday night as they dominated Cannon County on Senior Night. The Lions of Woodbury only dressed out 1 male player as Coffee County got the benefit of 6 forfeit wins. Trevor Ivey-Bodman scored an 8 to 1 win in the lone contested boys match.
The Lady Raiders got wins in all 5 of their singles matches as Tori Taylor, Ali Shelton, Makayla Morgan, Kayla Wright and Anna Harrell all won. The Lady Raiders swept their doubles matches to improve to 8 and 5 on the year.
The night began with the recognition of the 5 Raider senior tennis players as senior Red Raiders Will Davis and Trever Ivey-Bodman were recognized and Lady Raiders Makyala Morgan, Maddie Taylor and Ali Shelton were each recognized.
The Raider netters will next be in action on Friday when they travel to Sewanee’s Bruton-Guerry Tennis Courts at the University of the South for the District 8AAA Tournament. Thunder Radio will keep you updated with pairing and times next week.
Bats Can’t Get Blair Off Hook in Loss to Mets
Jacob deGrom displayed no signs of rust and the Mets tarnished Aaron Blair’s Major League debut with Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 win over the Braves to complete a three-game series sweep at Turner Field.
deGrom gained a one-run lead before throwing his first pitch and then quickly settled in as he limited the Braves to one run and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. This was just the second start of the season for the right-hander, who spent most of the past two weeks tending to a strained lat muscle and complications that followed his son’s birth.
Blair settled down after surrendering a first-inning run, but he faded in the sixth before seeing his debut conclude with Michael Conforto’s go-ahead double. The highly-regarded prospect surrendered three runs over 5 1/3 innings for the Braves, who have lost five straight since snapping their 0-9 start with a four-game win streak. The Mets have won eight of their past 10 games.
“Going out there and giving your team a chance to win is always the goal,” Blair said. “But there are still some things I need to work on. Hopefully, the next outing will be a little better.”
Jeff Francoeur’s RBI single accounted for one of the three ninth-inning hits Jeurys Familia surrendered before notching his fifth save.
While deGrom allowed the Braves to set the table, he would not allow them to eat. Making his first start since April 8, deGrom frustrated Atlanta’s No. 3 through 6 hitters. They went 3-for-12 (.250), with Freddie Freeman being retired on a pair of comebackers. Cleanup hitter Adonis Garcia had two singles, but never advanced past first, A.J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and grounded into a double play, while Kelly Johnson had one hit, an infield dribbler.
“He made pitches when he had to,” Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki said. “That’s how you have success and that’s how you get out of innings, and that’s what he did today.”
Freeman hoped Saturday night’s two-hit game was a sign he was breaking out of his early-season funk. But the first baseman went hitless on Sunday and in the process did not take advantage of any of the three hits Daniel Castro notched in front of him. After Nick Markakis delivered a game-tying single and Castro followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners in the fifth inning, Freeman grounded back to the mound for the second time in a three-inning span.
Blair surrendered hits to three of the first five batters he faced, but with the assistance of two double play groundouts, he limited his damage through the first five innings to Conforto’s first-inning sacrifice fly. The right-hander, who ranks as baseball’s No. 54 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, concluded his outing by walking Granderson, surrendering an Asdrubal Cabrera single ahead of Conforto’s decisive double. His fastball became more lively and he displayed an effective changeup during this 80-pitch debut.
“For his first Major League outing against a team that is swinging the bat pretty good and against a team that has professional hitters up and down the lineup, I thought he did great,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s one of those guys, where I can’t wait to see him pitch four days from now.”
Right-hander Julio Teheran (0-2, 5.64) will take the mound when the Braves open a two-game series against the Red Sox on Monday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Boston closer Craig Kimbrel notched a pair of saves when he made his initial return to Turner Field with the Padres last year.
Sounds Drop Second Straight to New Orleans
The Nashville Sounds dropped another one-run game Sunday afternoon, this time a 4-3 decision to the New Orleans Zephyrs in front of 7,593 fans at First Tennessee Park.
Along with the Sky Sox, the Sounds have played the most one-run games in the Pacific Coast League and are 2-5 in such games.
Pitching on only three days’ rest, Sounds starter Jesse Hahn labored through a 34-pitch first inning. After a 4-RBI night in the series opener last night, Destin Hood’s run-scoring single gave the Zephyrs a 1-0 lead just four batters into the game.
Three batters later, catcher Adrien Nieto made it a 3-0 game with a two-run single to right.
Max Muncy cut into the lead in the bottom of the first with a solo blast to right field – his third long ball of the season.
The teams exchanged runs in the top of the fifth and bottom of the sixth. A one-out walk issued to Muncy, along with back-to-back doubles from Jake Smolinski and Renato Nunez, netted the Sounds a pair of runs and cut the deficit to 4-3.
Nashville put a runner at third in the seventh but came away empty handed when Muncy struck out to end the inning.
The bullpen combination of Daniel Coulombe, Angel Castro, Patrick Schuster and J.B. Wendelken held down the Zephyrs and gave the Sounds a chance.
Matt Olson singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth but Bruce Maxwell flied out to left and Chad Pinder struck out the end it.
The series continues Monday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Henderson Alvarez gets the ball for the Sounds in a MLB rehab assignment against right-hander Kendry Flores (0-1, 1.76) for the Zephyrs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Local Attorney Receives Censure
On April 20, Cathleen Grady Conley, an attorney licensed to practice law in Tennessee, received a Public Censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Conley’s office is located at 200 N. Washington St. in Tullahoma.
To obtain business, Conley’s office staff reviewed bankruptcy court records and phoned creditors who had not yet filed a proof of claim, according to a release from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. If the creditor expressed interest over the telephone, Conley’s staff sent an email with a claim form and an agreement providing that Conley would receive one third of any money recovered from the debtor. The phone call and email did not explain that Conley would not be acting as an attorney or provide notice that the protections of the client-lawyer relationship did not exist. Conley was thereby subject to the rules of professional conduct and violated the rules relating to the solicitation of potential clients.
By these acts, Conley violated Rules of Professional Conduct 5.7 (responsibilities regarding law-related services) and 7.3 (solicitation of potential clients) and is hereby Publicly Censured for these violations.
A Public Censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it does not affect the attorney’s ability to practice law.
Conley and been an attorney since 1976.
Coffee County Unemployment Rate Drops
County unemployment rates for March 2016, show the rates decreased in 92 counties, increased in one, and remained the same in two counties.
Coffee County dropped from a February rate of 4.2 percent to a March rate of 4%. In neighboring counties; Bedford fell from 4.4 to 4.1, Cannon County went down from 4.3 percent in February to 4% in March, Franklin County dropped from 4.2 to 3.9%, Grundy County’s unemployment in February was 6 percent falling to 5.6% in March, Moore County stayed the same at 3.4% and Warren County fell from 4.3% to 4%. Williamson County had lowest unemployment rate 2.8%.
2014 State Amendment to be Recounted
A federal judge has ordered a recount of votes on a 2014 amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that made it easier to put restrictions on abortion.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp said the method that was used to count the votes was fundamentally unfair to the eight Tennessee voters who filed a lawsuit against state officials. They have maintained that the state incorrectly interpreted the way the votes should be counted and tallied them in favor of abortion opponents.
A spokesman for state election officials said in an email that he could not comment on pending litigation.
Sharp ordered officials to recount the votes to determine whether the constitutional amendment passed by a majority of voters who cast ballots in the governor’s race.
Motlow State to host Tennessee Promise Volunteer Fair on Wednesday
The Motlow State Community College Moore County campus will host a Volunteer Fair in the Eoff Hall Lobby on Apr. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The purpose of the fair is to link students with local non-profit organizations who are in need of volunteers.
“Students will have the opportunity to learn more about local community service opportunities in their area,” said Jonathan Graham, Motlow Tennessee Promise Specialist. “All Tennessee Promise students must complete eight hours of community service each semester in order to remain eligible for the Tennessee Promise Scholarship. This is a wonderful way to bring community service opportunities to the student.”
The fair is hosted by Motlow State in coordination with the United Way of Coffee and Moore Counties Volunteer Management Program, and will feature eight non-profit organizations: The Humane Society, Partners for Healing, Millennium Repertory Company, Life Choices, Keep Coffee County Beautiful, Good Samaritan, Haven of Hope, and United Way.
For additional information contact Rhonda Cotham, director of student success, at rcotham@mscc.edu or 931-393-1719.
Ducks Take Series Lead as Preds Fall in Game Five
The Anaheim Ducks scored twice in the second and three times in the third to take Game Five by a 5-2 final over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night at the Honda Center. Anaheim won their third consecutive game to take a 3-2 series lead, leaving the Preds on the brink of elimination.
“We have a good leadership group in there, and I think that’s the starting point; when we look back on this game, there’s a lot of good things that we did,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “And I hate the score.”
“There’s only a couple things I think we’ll need to touch up, and then just throw it back at them,” forward Ryan Johansen said. “We need the same effort and some consistent battle level and hopefully get the results we want.”
After a scoreless first period, in which the Preds had a number of quality chances on 13 shots, they converted in the second. Colin Wilson found Ryan Johansen, who walked out from the corner and floated a backhander over the shoulder of Frederik Andersen for a 1-0 lead. But just 22 seconds later, Anaheim got a bounce as a David Perron shot deflected on the way in and just over top of the outstretched glove of Pekka Rinne to knot things at 1-1.
The Ducks took the lead at 16:23 when Ryan Garbutt stuffed the puck home at the side of the net for his first of the playoffs and a 2-1 Anaheim lead to carry into the second intermission.
Sami Vatanen added Anaheim’s third goal on a breakaway before Miikka Salomaki scored his first-career Stanley Cup Playoff goal to bring the Preds to within one. But Cam Fowler scored a late power-play goal for the Ducks to regain a two-goal lead, before Anaheim added one more into an empty net.
The Preds now head home facing an elimination contest on Monday night, something they have to take one period, one shift, one play at a time. Although the Ducks have won their last three games, someone has to win four to take the series, and that hasn’t happened yet.
“We’re going to take the good things from this game, we’re going to go home and regroup and be ready to play,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I have no question that our guys will be ready.”
“You look at any team that’s won the Cup and it’s never been smooth sailing though the playoffs,” Johansen said. “Adversity is going to hit and our backs are against the wall now. One thing in our favor is we’re going home to a city that’s going to be buzzing to try and help us and be there with us and support us. Our job is to throw on the jersey at home and try and bring it back here to Anaheim.”
The Predators will play host to the Ducks on Monday in Nashville. Faceoff will be at 7 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.
Freeman’s Bat Unable to Spark Braves
David Wright provided two doubles and Steven Matz produced his second straight strong start as the Mets extended their recent success with an 8-2 win over the Braves on Saturday night at Turner Field.
Matz might not have been as dominant as he was in a scoreless outing against the Indians last weekend, but he managed to allow just two runs despite surrendering nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. The Mets tallied a two-run first inning against Jhoulys Chacin, and Wright added to that advantage when he delivered a two-out, two-run double in the fourth.
Chacin allowed four runs — three earned — over 5 2/3 innings, and the Braves did not take advantage of Freddie Freeman’s two-hit performance while suffering their fourth straight loss and falling to 1-9 at home this season. The Mets have won seven of their past nine games.
In the ninth inning, Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera hit back-to-back home runs, the fourth time New York has done that this season. The Braves have homered just three times this season and the Mets have outhomered them 23-0 dating back to April 14.
Aaron Blair will make his Major League debut when he starts Sunday’s series finale against the Mets. The 23-year-old right-hander is ranked baseball’s 54th-best prospect by MLBPipeline.com. He was acquired in the blockbuster December trade that sent Shelby Miller to the D-backs. First pitch is set for 12:35 PM CT and Thunder Radio will bring you the action as part of the Braves Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at Noon.
Westwood Soccer Advances to 3rd Straight Conference Title Game
Four goals in the first 5 minutes was the kind of start that Coach Jonathan Graf wanted from his Westwood Rockets soccer team on Friday night as they breezed to a 12 to 0 win over Cascade in the semifinals of the Central Tennessee Soccer Conference being held at Dyer-Bouldin Field. Felix Salinas ended the night with 4 goals, including 3 goals in the first 5 minutes for the Rockets as they advanced to their 3rd straight conference title game.
Leo Suarez, Angel Gonzales and Eric Randolph all added 2 goals each. Leo Basurto and Keiton Sherrill each had a goal as Basurto also tallied 3 assists.
Westwood will face off against Webb on Saturday morning in the CTSC tournament fianls. That match is set to get underway at 11:30 AM at Westwood’s Dyer-Bouldin Field.