The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams squared off against North Franklin on Thursday night at the CCMS gym.  The Lady Raiders rolled to a 41 to 29 win.  The Red Raiders fought off a tough Gator squad to get a 28 to 24 win. 

The Lady Raiders held the Lady Gators to 5 points in the 1^st half as they built a 23 to 5 lead at intermission.  North rallied in the 2^nd half but Coffee County hit 12 of their 19 second half free throws to grab the win.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Olivia Vinson who finished with 16 points.  Taylor Anthony added 11 points.  Channah Gannon and Samantha Kirby each finished with 5 points. 

The Red Raiders trailed 19 to 16 entering the 4^th quarter after trailing for much of the 1^st half.  In the 4^th quarter, the Red Raiders took the lead at 22 to 21 with about 3 minutes remaining and held on for the conference win.  Ethan Hargrove was the leading scorer for the Red Raiders as he had 14 points, including 5 in the final frame.  Cooper Reed added 8 points and Jackson Shemwell finished with 4. 

Coffee Middle’s cage teams will be back at home on Monday as they welcome Harris to the CCMS gym.  Tip-off is set for 6 PM. 

The Temple Baptist Christian School Eagles hosted their first home basketball game of the year on Thursday night.  Welcoming in Dogwood Christian of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, the varsity Eagles got off to a hot start to grab a 52 to 41 win.

The Eagles jumped out to a 10 to 1 lead in the first 4 and a half minutes of the game to seize the momentum.  They stretched the lead to 15 at the half and carried a 16 point advantage into the 4^th quarter.  Temple was led in scoring by Mich Gloden who had 19 points and 9 steals while adding 6 rebounds.  Alex Gloden finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds.  Sam Floyd also finished in double figures as he had 11 points. 

The Eagles hit the road on Friday as they travel to take on Shenandoah Baptist Academy.  The varsity/JV doubleheader will tip off at 4 PM EST in Cleveland, TN.

Ryan Johansen scored his second goal in as many games, but Victor Olofsson put the Sabres ahead for good in the third period, as Buffalo defeated Nashville, 4-3, on Thursday night. The result sees Nashville’s two-game winning streak come to an end, as they fell in Buffalo for the first time in their last nine trips to Western New York.

The contest was a back-and-forth affair at KeyBank Center. The Predators had their chances with 39 shots on goal, but they were unable to solve Linus Ullmark when they needed it the most late in the game.

“We had our chances, they had theirs, but we’re a team that prides ourselves on defense, and tonight it wasn’t good enough from our side,” Preds Associate Captain Ryan Ellis said. “And give them credit, they produced and scored on their chances.”

Matt Duchene didn’t even need a whole minute to put the Preds up 1-0, as he deked around Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark and tucked the puck into the cage at 57 seconds of the first. Jimmy Vesey tied the game for Buffalo later in the opening period, but less than a minute after that – and with just one hand on his stick – Colton Sissons redirected a Ryan Ellis point shot into the twine to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The Sabres took their first lead of the night in the second stanza when Jack Eichel beat Juuse Saros on two different occasions. But before the period was out, Johansen tallied his sixth of the season as he converted on a chance in front to even the score at 3-3 through two periods.

Only one goal came in the third, and it was off the stick of Olofsson to give the Preds just their second regulation loss in their last nine outings.

“We worked, we were competitive, but I think we can just be smarter with the puck,” Sissons said. “We get in trouble when we’re trying to be at bit too creative, and we can’t be when we have our chances. But at certain times, we have to be a little bit wiser with the puck.”

From here, Nashville returns home to host divisional rival Dallas on Saturday night (at 5:30 p.m. CT) for the first time since the two met last spring in the postseason. Plus, it’s the precursor to the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, and the Predators will be eager to make a statement against the Stars.

“We’ve been doing some good things lately,” Johansen said. “We’ve definitely been taking strides to be a consistent winning team, so taking a step back tonight is frustrating, but no need to get discouraged. We have another game Saturday, so we’ll be ready for that and take care of business at home before we go on another long road trip.”

Notes:

Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm skated in his 500th career game, logging three shots and one hit in 20:56 of time on ice.

Blueliner Yannick Weber re-entered the Nashville lineup in favor of Matt Irwin on Thursday. Yakov Trenin was also scratched for the Predators.

With the quick one-game trip complete, the Preds now head home for one of their own at Bridgestone Arena, as the Dallas Stars come to town on Saturday for a special 5:30 p.m. CT start.

Thursday Prep Schedule
5:00 PM – TBCS Basketball HOSTS Dogwood Christian
6:00 PM – CCMS Basketball HOSTS North Franklin
6:00 PM – CHS Wrestling HOSTS Forrest and LaVergne

Thursday’s Coffee County Elementary Basketball League Postseason Tournament Semifinals at CHS
5:00 – New Union vs North Coffee – Girls
6:00 – North Coffee vs New Union – Boys
7:00 – East Coffee vs Westwood – Girls
8:00 – Westwood vs College Street – Boys

6:00 PM – Nashville Predators at Buffalo – Fifth Third Bank Nashville Predators Radio Network broadcast on Thunder Radio (brought to you by the law office of Burch and Lockhart)

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 14.

Tannehill completed 21-of-27 passes for 391 yards with three touchdown passes and a passer rating of 140.4 in the team’s 42-21 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Tannehill joined Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (three games in 2011) as the only players to complete at least 75 percent of their passes with a passer rating of 130 or higher (minimum 10 attempts) in three consecutive games in a single season in NFL history.

Tannehill also joined Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (five games in 2015) as the only players with four consecutive games with at least two passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 125 or higher in NFL history.

Tannehill is now 6-1 since taking over as the team’s starting quarterback, and he’s posted a passer rating of 100-plus in six of those contests and 130-plus in four of those games.

The veteran quarterback continued to spread the ball around in Oakland, finding 10 different targets on the day.

The Titans face the Houston Texans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.  That game is scheduled for a noon kickoff.  You will be able to hear the Titans Radio Network broadcast right here on Thunder Radio

The Nashville Sounds have been named the 2019 Triple-A winner of Baseball America’s Freitas Award. The Freitas Awards have been presented by Baseball America annually since 1989 and recognize franchises for their community involvement, long-term business success and consistent operational excellence. The award was presented on Monday to Sounds General Manager Adam Nuse at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego.

“This is a tremendous honor from Baseball America for our organization,” said Nuse. “We strive to be the very best Minor League Baseball team in the country and share this award with our passionate fan base in Middle Tennessee. This would not be possible without their support and the support of the Texas Rangers. Minor League Baseball is alive and well in Nashville and we’re excited to continue moving forward with our loyal fans.”

The Sounds’ Remastered rebranding campaign kicked off the memorable year. Following weeks of teaser campaigns on social media, thousands of fans packed First Tennessee Park on November 15, 2018 to get the first look at the team’s complete overhaul of its uniforms, logos and marks. The Remastered event was a rousing success with Rangers ownership, Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and current Rangers players present at the highly anticipated reveal.

The 2019 season started in historic fashion for the Sounds and First Tennessee Park with the first Major League exhibition game in Nashville since 1999. The Sunday matinee game on March 24 drew a record-breaking crowd of 11,824.

Attendance at First Tennessee Park continued to surge into the regular season as 578,291 fans passed through the gates during the 2019 campaign. The Sounds drew 23 sellout crowds and finished with an average of 8,631 fans per game, the third-highest mark in Minor League Baseball.

“When picking Freitas Award winners, we are looking to honor clubs that provide excellence throughout the ballpark experience,” said Baseball America Executive Editor J.J. Cooper. “The Sounds organization has impressed with its ability to connect with fans in a variety of ways, while also connecting to the unique culture of Nashville. In a very competitive sports market, the Sounds have consistently lived up to very high expectations, which is why they were a logical choice to be our Triple-A Freitas Award winner for 2019.”

Off the field, the Nashville Sounds Foundation and community relations department reached new heights in 2019. Once per month during the season, several Sounds players, along with Booster and front office members visited patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. On July 22, the Sounds hosted their fourth annual “Hope to Dream” event. The front office, along with several players, and representatives from Ashley HomeStore surprised 30 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee with new bed sets.

Another rapidly growing program designed by the community relations department continued to develop. Throughout the season the community relations team visited five local elementary schools to play “Pop Up Baseball” games. Front office members, Sounds players and Booster “popped” up at schools with bases, balls and bats. Nashville Mayor David Briley joined the fun for one of the games.

In addition to teaching Nashville’s youth about baseball fundamentals, all supplies were donated to the school to further their experience with the game.

The 2020 season begins on Thursday, April 9 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs. 2020 season ticket memberships are on sale through the Nashville Sounds ticket office. For more information on membership packages, call 615-690-4487, or e-mail tickets@nashvillesounds.com.