The Manchester Youth Baseball Association was in action on Thursday with 6 games contested in 4 age divisions. 

In the 6U Division, Cooper Sports squeaked past Lovelady Auto Parts 20 to 19.  Tied at 14 entering the final inning, Cooper pushed across 6 runs to Lovelady’s 5 in the decisive 4^th inning for the win.  Walker McKnight had the walk-off RBI double and added a pair of singles for Cooper.  Owen and Isaac each had 4 hits and 4 runs at the top of the Lovelady lineup. 

In the 8U Division, Dr. J’s raced past KK’s 17 to 4 and Interstate Auto caged Lions Club 14 to 0.  In the opener, Dr. J’s built a 13 to 1 lead after 2 innings to spoil KK’s upset hopes.  The win improves Dr. J’s to 5 and 0 on the season.  The Doc squad was led in hitting by Kolton Strickland had 3 singles and a home run while scoring 4 times.  Walker hit a triple and a single for KK’s.  In the nightcap, Interstate built and early lead and played good defense in the shutout win.  Kaden Spencer had a home run and 3 singles while Eli Baker had 4 hits and scored 4 times for Interstate.  Fallon had a pair of hits for Lions Club. 

In the 10U Division, Chico’s Bail Bonds raced past Coffee County Bank 14 to 3.  Chico’s jumped on top early as they plated 7 runs in the top of the 1^st inning.  Kaden Brewer had the big knock for Chico’s as he ripped an RBI double.  Hunter Stoner of Chico’s had 3 walks and scored 3 runs.  For Coffee County Bank, Tucker Linzey had a solo home run.

In the 12U Division, Bush Insurance blanked Peoples Bank 16 to 0 and Shelter Insurance edged First Vision Bank 6 to 5.   In game #1, Bush scored in every inning as they pounded out 13 hits.  Aiden Melton swung the hot stick as he had a home run and 2 singles for Bush.  Ethan McKenzie and Isaiah Deadman each had singles for Peoples.  In a thrilling 2^nd game, Shelter had to rally from a 2 run deficit with 4 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning.  First Vision got a run back in the 4^th inning and got a lead-off double in the 5^th by Riley Evans before he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple.  Jonathan West had a 2 RBI double for Shelter in the decisive 3^rd inning to provide the winning margin.  Boone Floyd had an RBI double for First Vision. 

Friday MYBA Schedule

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by Jim Wyatt – TitansOnline.com

Kevin Byard has played in a Pro Bowl, and he’s been voted a team captain by his teammates. The Titans safety, who has 17 interceptions over the past three seasons, is regarded one of the best in the game at his position. But there’s something else Byard is even more proud of – he bought his mother a house recently.

“That’s probably one of the biggest milestones that I’ve accomplished in my playing career, for sure,” Byard said. “To get drafted, and second to be able to buy my mom her forever home is something that means dearly to me, has meant something to me since I was younger.

“It’s kind of been a pipe dream. Something that I never really – something I thought about doing, but I never really thought it was going to be possible. Just been a lot of hard work and dedication to be able to accomplish that goal.”

Byard has credited his mother, Artina Stanley, for much of his success. Following a divorce when Byard was in ninth grade, his mother moved with the children from Philadelphia to Atlanta. While the family dealt with financial struggles, Stanley worked long hours to make sure her children received what they needed. Byard has said he and his older brother “had to grow up really fast” as they helped their mother with taking care of the younger kids in the family.

Byard, who played collegiately at MTSU, has made an effort to give back to the community. Last May, Byard hosted 200-plus youngsters at the inaugural Kevin Byard Football Camp at Ensworth School. At the time, he said he planned to hold the camp – which was free – every year.

In September, Byard partnered with UnitedHealthcare to distribute new shoes and socks to over 300 students at Robert Churchwell Elementary School in Nashville. Byard tossed the football with kids, and spoke to them about the importance of making good grades. Byard joined Titans teammates, coaches, and other members of the organization for tornado clean-up efforts in Nashville in March.

Kevin Byard Taking One Day at a Time as Season Approaches
Byard has taken part in the Titans Caravan, and other off-field events in the Nashville area.

On the field, Byard said he wants to keep improving while being even more of a leader. “We’re all in this together,” Byard said. “We’re all in this to win a Super Bowl. I know for a fact every single day that I come into that building I come into that building to put in the work, and I come into the building to work hard and try to accomplish that goal. I feel like we all should be trying to accomplish the same.

“I’m going to try to hold my guys accountable if I feel like somebody is slacking off, or if I’m slacking off somebody should hold me accountable. I think that’s just the relationship that we all need to have in the building, and not be too concerned with emotions and different things like that. It’s all about the goal of trying to win a Super Bowl.”

After 2 days of proposals, there is a glimmer of hope that Major League Baseball could be played in 2020. On Wednesday, the league reportedly made a proposal for a 60-game season that featured prorated pay for players, something the union has been asking for since talks began. On Thursday, the MLB Players Association(MLBPA) made a counter proposal.

While a deal has yet to be reached, there’s clearly some progress being made. The MLBPA took the next step Thursday with a counterproposal calling for a 70-game season. MLBPA leader Tony Clark released the following statement Thursday afternoon:

“We delivered to Major League Baseball today a counterproposal based on a 70-game regular season which, among a number of issues, includes expanded playoffs for both 2020 and 2021. We believe this offer represents the basis for an agreement on resumption of play.”

The union released another statement shortly thereafter after some owners started speaking out against the deal anonymously in the press. Clark said it was “unequivocally false to suggest that any tentative agreement” was reached when he met with commissioner Rob Manfred earlier in the week.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan notes that the league is unlikely to accept this latest proposal. But there is middle ground and a deal could be close. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said Thursday afternoon that he expected a deal within the next 48 hours. The MLBPA’s proposed regular season would begin on July 19 and wrap up on Sept. 30.

Knowing that the league likely needs around a week to get things up and running for a second “spring” training and about three weeks for said spring training to take place, there really isn’t much time left to argue over the number of games to be played this season.