CHS golfer Austin Farris lines up a putt on Willowbrook’s 9th green. [Photo by Lucky Knott]

Junior Samuel Prater led the Raider team as he shot a one under par score of 35.  Senior Reid Lawrence carded a 37 while juniors Josh Perry and Austin Farris each shot 38 to round out the Raider scoring.  Junior Matthew Hale was one shot back with a 3 over 39.  Franklin County’s Jonathan Liggett had the lowest round overall as he carded a 34.

The Raiders return to the links on Monday when they travel to Cookeville to compete in the Early Bird Tournament.  That match is set to tee off at 8 AM and will be held at the Golden Eagle Golf Club.  Coach Mike Ray will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about his team.  The Coffee Coaches Show airs at 10 AM each Saturday and is broadcast from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.

Nashville Predators captain Mike Fisher [Photo courtesy of nhl.com]

“I can still picture it vividly.

That afternoon on TV, I’d seen a drone shot of Broadway and the area surrounding Bridgestone Arena that showed all the people gathered for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. I gasped. How was there that many people there? And all to support us? It was almost incomprehensible.

I kept picturing that scene even as we gathered in the locker room for the game that night against the Penguins. I wasn’t the only one who’d seen the shots of all the fans; it was all we could talk about in the room. Before the playoffs even began, we, as a team, set goals we wanted to accomplish, even outside of winning the Cup. Right under that obvious one at the top of the list was to unite and inspire the city of Nashville. We put the list up in our room and looked at it each day.

But the scene outside blew us away. We couldn’t take credit for it or even claim it was what we expected. All of us were looking at each other and going, “holy cow, this is something we’ll never forget.”

The way the city was behind us was unbelievable, and that’s what makes the memory such a high – but also bittersweet. Can you imagine if we had a parade down Broadway?

It’s moments like that which I know I’ll miss. This job I’ve been able to have for a majority of my life is so much fun. To help create that entertainment and to see the joy we can bring to people is such a unique and exciting opportunity. I’ll miss my teammates, my coaches and the game itself.

This is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, but I know I’ve made the right one. I’ve decided to retire from the NHL.

I kept praying for peace about the next step in my life. A peace that said this is God’s will for your future. A peace that said whether or not this was the right time to walk away.

I don’t believe it came in a single instance or some aha moment, but as time passed, I gradually became certain that it was right for me to retire. I believe God gave me the ability to play hockey, and I was helped by dozens of individuals along the way, so it’s not just up to me on when it’s time to say goodbye.

Knowing we were so close to winning it all in June only makes it more difficult to leave it behind, but I do so with hope. Endings are always tough, but I believe when something ends, there are new beginnings, new opportunities and new things to be excited for, too.

I believe that this team, that this city, is going to win a championship, and I’m going to be the biggest fan. No one will be happier than I will be to see it happen, because, these fans, they deserve it.

Closing a chapter like this – one that’s lasted 17 years – makes me think about the support I’ve received my whole life from my family, friends, even people I’ve never met that have prayed for me throughout my career. It’s impossible to thank every one of them, but I’ll try. I hope this letter shows some kind of gratitude to them, to the Ottawa Senators, to David Poile, who brought me to Nashville and put his faith in me, to the entire Nashville Predators organization, teammates, owners, coaches and trainers; the way they’ve treated me has always been with the utmost kindness.

I approached this season with the mindset that it could be my last, and now that it’s past, I’m looking forward to a future that includes a lot more time with my family. Things change when you have kids and you have a family. They’ve supported me without question, and now it’s my turn to return the favor.

A thank you here isn’t enough to say goodbye with, but all those memories, like the moments in the locker room before Game 6, cherishing those is what I hope will keep me, this team and the city intertwined forever.”

Nashville Predators captain Mike Fisher has announced his retirement after 17 NHL seasons.

Fisher, 37, told The Tennessean on Thursday that he was hanging up his skates after tallying 276 goals and 309 assists in 1,088 career NHL games with the Predators and Ottawa Senators.

Mike Fisher had 276 goals and 209 assists over 17 seasons with the Predators and Senators. “I’m looking forward to a future that includes a lot more time with my family,” he said. “Things change when you have kids and you have a family.”
Fisher had 18 goals and 24 assists last season as he helped lead the Predators to the Western Conference title and the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Fisher played seven seasons with the Predators, scoring 237 points on 109 goals and 128 assists. In 11 seasons with the Senators, who selected Fisher with the 44th pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Fisher tallied 167 goals and 181 assists.

Fisher, who was named the Predators’ captain prior to last season, had 23 goals and 28 assists in 13 career playoff games.

It has been two months since the Dodgers lost a series and one month since they lost to any team not based out of Atlanta. They extended both of these streaks on Thursday night, when Alex Wood delivered six solid innings and Chris Taylor homered in a 7-4 win over the Braves at SunTrust Park.

“It was a good win, as any time you can win the rubber match in a series, it is big,” Taylor said. “They have a good team and we played some good games against them.”
The Dodgers took two of three during this trip to Atlanta and have now gone 40-7 since suffering their last series loss in early June against the Nationals. They have won 21 of 24 dating back to July 4 and the Braves accounted for each of the three losses within this span. These torrid streaks have enabled the Dodgers to produce the National League’s best record (76-32) through 108 games since the 1944 Cardinals.
“Every win is big and those guys play the game the right way,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “[Braves manager] Brian [Snitker] has those guys playing baseball the way we play. … It doesn’t matter the opponent, as they are all tough. I commend those guys for how they go about their business.”
Wood recorded his 13th win and avenged his only loss of the season as he limited his original organization to one run over six somewhat stressful innings. Tyler Flowers’ first-inning RBI single accounted for the only support given to Braves rookie Sean Newcomb, who battled all-too-familiar control issues as he needed 110 pitches (62 strikes) to complete 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander was fortunate to allow just three runs while issuing six unintentional walks.
“I’ve just got to do a better job of pounding the zone and stop trying to miss so many bats,” Newcomb said. “I think I’m trying to be too fine, trying to punch people out and make things happen myself, instead of letting them hit it by getting it in the zone a little more.”
Ozzie Albies recorded his first career hit in the ninth inning when he ripped a three-run homer off Tony Cingrani, who was making his first appearance since being acquired by the Dodgers on Monday. Albies made his Major League debut Tuesday. MLBPipeline.com ranks him as the game’s 19th-best prospect.
After issuing a bases-loaded walk to Logan Forsythe in the third inning, Newcomb issued Yasiel Puig a four-pitch walk to begin the fourth. Two batters later, Taylor, who had three hits and three runs scored, jumped on an elevated fastball and drove it over the center-field fence for his 13th homer of the season. The two-run shot traveled a projected 402 feet with a 102.6-mph exit velocity, per Statcast™. Newcomb admitted he was not aggressive enough with the pitch because he was simply trying to throw a strike.
“It was a hitter’s count with a guy in scoring position,” Taylor said. “I wanted to be aggressive and be ready for the fastball. He has good life on his fastball, and I wanted to get in front as he left the pitch over the middle.”
Mistake aids escape: The Braves attempted to turn the tide when they used two walks and Ender Inciarte’s single to load the bases with no outs in the fifth. But Lane Adams was picked off second base and Wood escaped unscathed by getting Brandon Phillips to ground into a double play. The Braves challenged the ruling on Adams, but after a replay review, it was determined that the call would stand.
“I actually thought about the pitch before that to be aware and I just let my guard down,” Adams said. “It was bad timing. It was a big mistake and they took advantage of it.”
Nick Markakis secured his 2,000th career hit with a fourth-inning single. The Braves’ right fielder stands as one of 10 active players to reach this milestone. R.A. Dickey will take the mound at SunTrust Park on Friday, when the Braves begin a three-game series against the Marlins at 6:35 p.m. CT. Dickey has allowed one or no runs in six of his past eight starts and he’s lasted seven innings in two of his past three outings.

The Nashville Sounds started their eight-game road trip with a 4-3 loss to the Reno Aces at Greater Nevada Field Thursday night.
After jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, the Sounds surrendered four unanswered runs to drop their fourth consecutive game.
Starters Frankie Montas and Jake Buchanan matched zeroes through the first two innings before the Sounds broke through against Buchanan in the third.
Melvin Mercedes started the rally with a one-out double, and then moved to third on a wild pitch. Jaff Decker’s RBI groundout gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead. They weren’t done as four consecutive two-out hits plated another two runs.
Franklin Barreto singled, Matt Olson singled, Renato Nunez drove in a run with an RBI single, and Joey Wendle knocked in a run with another base hit to give the Sounds a 3-0 lead.
Montas went back to work and retired the side in order in the third. The right-hander set down the first 11 Reno batters he faced before finding trouble in the fourth.
With two outs in the inning, Christian Walker belted an opposite field homer, his 26th blast of the season to cut the Nashville lead to 3-1. Zach Borenstein followed with a double to right field, and Willians Astudillo launched a two-run blast to even the game at 3-3.
Montas gave way for newcomer Logan Bawcom who was signed by the Athletics to a minor league contract earlier in the day. Bawcom climbed the bump for the fifth and was greeted with a double off the bat of Kristopher Negron. Evan Marzilli followed with a deep fly ball to left-center field that allowed Negron to tag up all the way from second and give the Aces a 4-3 lead.
The Sounds didn’t muster much offense the rest of the way. The only hit for Nashville over the final four innings was a single off the bat of Barreto in the seventh.
Bawcom tossed a scoreless sixth, and Raul Alcantara and Felix Doubront shut down Reno’s high-powered offense the rest of the way.
Barreto and Nunez had two hits apiece in the series-opening loss.
Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Friday night at Greater Nevada Field. Right-hander Corey Walter (2-5, 5.82) starts for Nashville against right-hander Taylor Clarke (0-0, 0.00) for Reno. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CST.