The Temple Baptist Christian School Eagles will be back at home on Friday and Saturday as they will host their annual Eagles Invitational basketball tournament to close out the season.  Temple will welcome 5 other schools to the E.C. Bailey Gym in the 2 day tournament.  Action will begin on Friday afternoon as Temple will play at 2:00 and 7:00 PM in the round robin portion of the tournament.  The double elimination tournament bracket begins on Saturday morning.

Joining Temple will be Faith Christian Academy of Jamestown, TN; Shenandoah Baptist Academy of Cleveland, TN; Victory Baptist Academy of Shelbyville; Dogwood Christian Academy of Tunnel Hill, GA and Philadelphia Baptist Academy of Calhoun, GA.  Pool play games will go from 2 PM through 8:15 PM on Friday.  The double elimination bracket will begin at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning.  All the games will be held in the E.C. Bailey Gym at Temple Baptist Church.  The church is located at 66 Fairlane Drive in Manchester, ½ block off the Murfreesboro Highway.

Baseball season is right around the corner and the Coffee County CHS baseball team will host a skills clinic on Saturday, March 3^rd at Powers Field.  The camp is open to ages 6 to 15 years of age.  The camp will run from 9 AM to 12 noon

Campers will work with Head Coach David Martin, his high school staff, and varsity players.  Each camper will receive age appropriate, hands on instruction in all aspects of the game.  The camp is open to players of all ability and skill levels.

Cost for the camp is $20 per player when paid in advance.  There is a half price discount for the 2^nd, and all successive, siblings.  Cost for the camp on the date of the camp is $25 and all proceeds will go to benefit the Coffee County Central High School baseball team.

Campers will need to bring with them: Bat, Glove, Tennis Shoes, Cleats, Hat and Batting Helmet.  Players will utilize the facilities at Powers Field and the Crethan Hansert Hitting Facility on the campus of Coffee County Central High School.   Please contact Chris Langham at ctlua37@gmail.com or 931.247.2629 with any questions.

To register, please fill out the form and return to the address given.  The preregistration discount is available to all forms received by February 23^rd

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The Nashville Sounds Baseball Club has announced its weekly promotions for the 2018 season. The 70-game home schedule at First Tennessee Park includes player-inspired t-shirt giveaways, fireworks shows, ticket discounts, food and drink discounts, social media guests, special jerseys, musical guests, military appreciation, and family days.

Opening Day at First Tennessee Park is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs at 6:35 p.m.

Kroger Plus Mondays and Music City Mondays (9 Occurrences): Score a “Family 4-Pack” of Select section tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 fountain sodas for just $44 when showing a Kroger Plus card at the Sounds Box Office. Additionally, the Sounds will sport their black “Music City” jerseys to represent Nashville’s rich music heritage.

Takeover Tuesdays (7): Special guests and/or fans take over the entertainment and social media at First Tennessee Park. Features include anthem performances, meet-and-greets, autograph signings and more. Brand new in 2018, Takeover Tuesday is presented by Pepsi.

Wear It Wednesdays (9): New in 2018, the Sounds are rolling out a player-inspired t-shirt collection with a unique shirt available to the first 2,000 fans at every Wednesday game.

Throwback Thursdays (10): We’re going retro as Budweiser presents Throwback Thursdays when the Sounds wear their 1978 uniforms to commemorate the team’s original uniform style. Fans can purchase Pepsi fountain soda and Budweiser products at a discounted rate.

FOX 17 Fireworks Friday (12): Watch the Nashville sky light up with a post-game FOX 17 Fireworks show presented by Koorsen Fire & Security.

Saturday at the Park (11): The roar of the crowd at First Tennessee Park gets loudest on Saturday. Make the ballpark the place to be in Nashville with entertainment options like The Band Box.

Military Sundays and Family Fundays (11): On Military Sundays, presented by Piedmont Natural Gas and Tennessee 811, the Sounds salute the troops with special military jerseys and ticket discounts. Family Funday starts with the Hyundai pre-game autograph session with select Sounds players and finishes with kids 12 and under run the bases post-game, presented by First Tennessee.

Seniors and Military families can enjoy a $2.00 discount on single game ticket prices at First Tennessee Park. The offer is valid for any reserved seat section on Sunday through Wednesday games – subject to availability. Offer valid for up to four (4) tickets per I.D. (Seniors 55 +, government issued military I.D. required at box office; no phone orders).

The Nashville Sounds’ media partners for weekly promotions include Nash FM 103.3, 104.5 The Zone, 96.3 JACK-fm, iHeartRadio, FOX 17, and WSMV-TV Channel 4.

The full 2018 promotional schedule will be announced in early March.

The 2018 season will be the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Opening Day is set for Thursday, April 5 when the Sounds begin the season in New Orleans. Opening Night at First Tennessee Park is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs at 6:35 p.m. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

The District 8AAA basketball district tournament schedule was announced on Monday.  Action began on Tuesday night with the girls’ “play-in” game at Fayetteville.  The boys’ “play-in” game is set for Wednesday night as Franklin County plays host to Shelbyville.  Quarterfinal action will take place on Friday with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday at Columbia Central High School.  The girls’ championship and consolation games will be held on Monday night at Columbia with the boys to follow on Tuesday night.

As announced over the week-end right here on Thunder Radio, the Red Raiders and Lady Raiders each received a bye into the semifinals.  The Lady Raiders will open up tournament play on Saturday at 2:00 PM against the winner of Friday’s matchup between Lawrence County and Tullahoma.  The Red Raiders will take the court at 6:30 PM against the winner of Friday’s second boys’ quarterfinal.   Those games will take place at Columbia Central High School and Thunder Radio will be on hand broadcast the action for you.

Regardless of Saturday’s outcomes, both Raider cage teams will advance to next week’s consolation or championship games. It also guarantees a Region 4AAA Tournament berth for each team.  The 1^st round region tournament games will take place on Friday, February 23^rd and Saturday, February 24^th .  Teams that advance to the district championship games will host the first round region tournament games.  The region tournament semifinals and finals will take place at Columbia.

Filip Forsberg

Down three goals entering the third period? No problem.

Austin Watson tallied twice and Filip Forsberg ended it on a penalty shot in overtime as the Nashville Predators roared back to defeat the St. Louis Blues by a 4-3 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.

It’s the fifth consecutive game in which Nashville has seen overtime and the result gives them points in 15 of their last 16 games to hold onto first place in the Central Division.

After the Blues went up by a 3-0 score through 40 minutes of play, Nashville scored three times in the final frame to force overtime before winning it, certainly not the easiest night to explain when it was all said and done.

“I don’t know if you can,” Watson said of summing up the evening. “I don’t think there’s a recipe for that other than just continuing to work and not getting discouraged. We were frustrated by the effort that we put out for the first two periods, but this group never backs off and never just gives up. We kept pushing, were able to get a couple to go for us and tie up and Fil had a great penalty shot in overtime.”

“More than anything, between the second and third period, we talked about things and put it on the table,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought the guys really responded. There wasn’t a question going out into the third period that we could win a hockey game. I don’t think there was a question for them. Once we got a goal, we really started getting things rolling in the right direction.”

Jay Bouwmeester’s slap shot gave the Blues a 1-0 lead late in the first and then Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz both beat Pekka Rinne in the second stanza for a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes.

But the Predators came out for the third with a renewed sense of urgency, and at the 9:06 mark, Calle Jarnkrok slammed home a rebound past former Preds goaltender Carter Hutton to give Nashville life. Then, at 14:33, Watson finished off a shorthanded rush for his sixth of the season to pull the home team to within one. But he wasn’t done.

Less than two minutes later, Watson batted the puck out of the air and just over the goal line, and after a short review, referee Brad Watson pointed to center ice to confirm Nashville’s tying tally.

Then, in the extra session, Forsberg was hauled down on a breakaway and awarded and penalty shot, the perfect opportunity to beat a former teammate for the winning goal.

“It’s huge,” Forsberg said of the win. “That’s what this team is all about. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first line or third line or fourth line or second line, everyone contributes, and it’s great to be a part of that.”

Watson’s effort in particular – someone known more for his shot blocking than his goal scoring – brought the house down, particularly his second strike, only the second time in his career he’s converted twice in the same regular-season game. And it’s performances like that from unlikely candidates that Nashville will need not only now in a tight division race, but in the springtime, especially.

“The division is so tight and that’s a really good hockey team,” Watson said. “They’re playing really well. Hutton is playing awesome for them. It looked like he was going to get them all there for a while and was great back there. Any time you can beat a division opponent, especially one that’s up there in the standings with you, it’s a huge win.”

Come On Back, Now:

The second intermission in the Predators locker room could have included shouting and stick breaking. Down 3-0 against a Central Division rival and coming off a period that saw the Preds outshot 16-3? Would you have blamed them?

But instead, Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said he simply talked to his team. They nodded their heads in assurance.

And then they responded.

Three goals within a span of less than seven minutes in the third period salvaged a point for the Preds, and then an exclamation point from Filip Forsberg in overtime sealed Nashville’s 11th win in their last 16 tries, with an even more impressive point streak – 15 of 16 contests – to go along.

“We talked,” Laviolette said. “I yelled a couple times in the past four games, so we just talked. I guess I talked. It was more just a message of some reality. We didn’t play hard enough in the second period. We didn’t have enough energy. We didn’t do things the way we are capable of. As I’m talking, you can see them shaking their heads, ‘yes,’ so they know that, too. They’re an honest group in there. They know they didn’t play to their capabilities. It was more a conversation that anything else. It ended with the fact that we could win the hockey game.”

After a road trip that saw them collect six out of a possible eight points in four games over six days, the Predators returned home to begin a four-game set in the Music City, and they couldn’t have started in more dramatic fashion.

“We talked about it in the second intermission, just throwing that away and just focusing on just being a whole lot better in all areas of the game and I think we did that,” forward Colton Sissons said. “We had to stick with it for a little bit. We didn’t get the first one until close to the ten-minute mark, but it showed a lot of character in here. We talk about coming back in games that we’re not playing that well and I’m just really proud of the guys’ effort in the third.”

Notes:

Ryan Ellis recorded his 100th career assist on Austin Watson’s first goal.

Nashville has now won four-straight games at home over St. Louis, outscoring the Blues 18-7.

Pekka Rinne is now two wins away from 300 in his career.

Nashville continues their home stretch on Thursday night when the Calgary Flames come to town, followed by a date on Saturday against Detroit before hosting Ottawa on Monday.