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Sounds Drop Pair of Games in Oklahoma City
The Nashville Sounds saw their record drop to an even .500 at 36-36 with a pair of losses to the Oklahoma City Dodgers at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Thursday night.
The two teams gathered to play an unofficial doubleheader after a game in the previous series in Oklahoma City was suspended due to a power outage.
Played resumed in the top of the eighth inning with the score deadlocked at 1-1. The Sounds had chances to take the lead in the eighth and ninth innings but couldn’t push across another run. With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Melvin Mercedes struck out to keep the game even.
The missed opportunity came back to hurt when the Dodgers won it in the home half of the ninth. Facing lefty Felix Doubront, Trayce Thompson started the inning with a double to left-center. Moments later, Willie Calhoun sent a base hit into right field to score Thompson and give the Dodgers a walk-off 2-1 win.
Game two of the night was all Dodgers from start to finish in a 14-5 win. Oklahoma City scored in every inning except the seventh and had multi-run frames five different times.
Starter Frankie Montas scuffled through two innings and was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on five hits. Three of the five hits went for doubles as the Dodgers plated a run in the first and three in the second to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
Matt McBride got the Sounds on the board with a solo homer in the third, but the momentum was short-lived as the Kyle Farmer’s solo homer in the bottom half highlighted another three-run inning for Oklahoma City.
Ryan Lavarnway and Matt McBride added run-scoring base hits in the fourth, and Renato Nuñez cracked his league-leading 19th homer of the season in the fifth, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Nashville pitching allowed a season-high 14 runs on a season-high 19 hits. Eight different Dodgers had multi-hit games in the blowout.
McBride, Lavarnway, Franklin Barreto, and Jaff Decker all had multi-hit games for Nashville in the losing effort.
Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Friday night in Oklahoma City. Right-hander Zach Neal (1-2, 3.46) starts for Nashville against right-hander Trevor Oaks (3-2, 3.89) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
6/22/17–Ronald Lee Kirk
RONALD LEE KIRK
(March 5, 1954 – May 7, 2017)
Ronald Lee Kirk was born March 5, 1954, to his parents, the late Bill and
Marletta Kirk. He departed this life May 7, 2017, surrounded by his
friends.
Ronald is survived by three daughters; Angie, Hollie, and Mistie, a
stepson; Zach Brown, a sister; Billie, a brother; Ricky, a nephew; John,
and Special Friend Terry Brown, as well as several other lifelong friends
and family members.
Ronald was a 1972 Graduate of Franklin County High School. Ronald was a
"happy go lucky" type of person. He never worried much about
worldly possessions or financial matters.
He worked as a bridge painter for many years and sometimes worked for the
County by assisting in their litter program.
In his teenage years, he loved Roller Skating, Fishing and 55 Chevrolets.
He had a special talent for tinkering with car radios.
In his later years, he enjoyed traveling, and spent a lot of time in Key
West Florida.
GRAVESIDE SERVICE: Thursday, June 22, 2017, 6:00 P.M., at the New Brick
Cemetery
BURIAL: New Brick Cemetery
CENTRAL FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF THE ARRANGEMENTS.
Coffee County Youth Bass Club Members at National Tournament
Braeden(left) and Colby(right) Thurmond show off their scholarship winnings on April 13th at Kentucky Lake.
Two of Coffee County’s finest fisherman will push off this morning from Paris Landing State Park in an attempt to win a national championship. The brother tandem of Colby and Braeden Thurmond will join 230 other youth angler teams from across the nation for this weekend’s Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. The brother duo are members of the Coffee County Youth Bass Club.
The Thurmonds qualified for the national championship by finishing the year in 21st place in the 2016-2017 TN Bass Nation Points Championship. Braeden and Colby finished in 54th place in the Tennessee State Championship held in May on Tims Ford. The Thurmonds, along with boat captain(and dad) Phillip Thurmond, have been on Kentucky Lake all week practicing and getting ready for Thursday’s launch.
Fishing begins at 5:30 AM on Thursday and Friday morning for the preliminary rounds. The top 12 anglers will return for the finals on Saturday morning. Weigh-in time for Thursday and Friday is at 1:45 PM at Paris Landing. The weigh-in on Saturday will be at 2:30 PM in downtown Paris.
Team Thurmond, along with Coffee County Youth Bass Club coach Phil Petty were guests on the Coffee Coaches Show on Saturday talking about the upcoming tournament. You can listen and/or download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/audio/CCS061717Podcast.mp3
You can track the Thurmond’s progress online by checking out the online leaderboard at: https://www.bassmaster.com/tournaments/costa-bassmaster-high-school-national-championship-presented-dick-s-sporting-goods-and-junior
Predators Named 2017 NHL General Manager of the Year
Nashville Predators GM David Poile
David Poile called it an organizational award, but he deserves as much credit as anyone.
The Predators general manager was named the 2017 NHL General Manager of the Year on Wednesday night at the 2017 NHL Awards at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, winning the award for the first time in his fourth nomination for the honor since its inception in 2010, the most of any GM.
The upcoming campaign will be Poile’s 36th as a general manager, making him the longest-serving GM in NHL history, set to move past Jack Adams and Glen Sather. His tenure – dating back to the 1982-83 season with Washington – has spanned 2,625 games and 1,282 wins, ranking him second only to Sather (2,700 games, 1,319 wins).
The award is voted on by the League’s general managers, plus a panel of NHL executives and media. Needless to say, the honor from peers and colleagues left the NHL’s senior GM humbled.
“It’s an organizational award, we all know that, and it means a lot because it means that we’ve done some good things both on and off the ice,” Poile said. “It’s a good time to be with the Nashville Predators and I’m just really happy that I’m here on behalf of the Predators.”
As bold as ever, Poile has made two franchise-altering deals in the last 18 months that helped propel the Predators to their first Stanley Cup Final in club history. In January of 2016, Poile dealt defenseman Seth Jones to Columbus in exchange for top centerman Ryan Johansen. Then, just six months later, Poile traded Shea Weber to Montreal in exchange for All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban.
The deals, which sent shockwaves across the hockey world, show Poile’s ability and willingness to do whatever it takes to bring the Stanley Cup to Nashville. He nearly did in 2017, and he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
Poile often tells a story from his first days on the job in Washington back in 1982 when he made a deal to trade the team’s captain, recalling Washington’s owner uttering the phrase, “I hope you know what you’re doing,” to the rookie GM.
Ever since, Poile has been proving his abilities in a business that has seen a slew of surnames come and go at the position. Yet, for almost 36 consecutive years, Poile has found himself calling the shots, and doing so well enough to man the phones season after season.
A member of the NHL’s Competition Committee and General Manager of the 2014 United States Olympic Team, among many other positions and accolades, Poile remains one of the most respected voices in the game.
“I was thrilled for him,” Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach John Tortorella said of Poile. “And this has gone on for a while in Nashville with how good that team has been… The way that city has taken off, it’s great for our game and for David, he’s grinded away and for him to get the opportunity…I’m thrilled for him.”
So in year 36, Poile will just continue to do what he’s done his whole career – manage his team with his heart on his sleeve in his quest of the ultimate prize. His latest honor is just another affirmation that the GM indeed has a decent idea of what he’s doing.
6/24/17 — Oliver “OB” Boyd Lee, Jr.
Oliver “OB” Boyd Lee Jr of Tullahoma passed this life on Monday, June 19,
2017 at his daughter’s home in Palm Coast, FL at the age of 80 years.
Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 11 AM at the
First Presbyterian Church of Tullahoma with burial to follow at Rose Hill
Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be Friday, June 23, 2017
from 5-8 PM at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home.
A native of Athens, TN, he was the son of the late Oliver Boyd Lee Sr and
the late Ruby Bridges Lee. He was an electrical engineer and worked at
AEDC for many years. He was a very active member of the First Presbyterian
Church and enjoyed photography and working word puzzles. He and his late
wife, Virginia, were always together and people would recognize them “as
the man with his cowboy hat and the beautiful lady with the jet black
hair”.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia
Blanks Lee who died in November of 2016.
Mr. Lee is survived by two daughters, Debbie Martin and her husband,
Ferrell of Palm Coast, FL and Tina Bonner and her husband, Michael of
Tullahoma; one brother, Anthony “Tony” Byrom Lee and his wife, Theresa of
Butler, TN; six grandchildren, Jimmy Hawkins and his wife, Leslie of
Maryville, TN, Natasha Martin of Murfreesboro, TN, Ross Bonner and his
wife, Julie of Boston, MA, Xenia Martin of Palm Coast, FL and Seth and
Rachel Bonner of Tullahoma and two great grandchildren, Addison and James
Hawkins.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Michael Ray Sherrill
Michael Ray Sherrill of Tullahoma passed this life on Tuesday, June 20,
2017 at his residence at the age of 63 years. No services are scheduled.
A native of Tullahoma he was the son of the late Mr and Mrs Ernest Sherrill.
He was a U S Army veteran. He enjoyed fishing, watching TV, playing with
remote control cars and being with his grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one son, Joshua
Sherrill and two brothers, David and Ralph Sherrill.
Mr. Sherrill is survived by one son, Michael Bates of Clarksville; two
daughters, Jennifer Zimecki and her husband, David of Tullahoma and Kristen
Bates Carpenter of Clarksville and six grandchildren.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Preds Lose James Neal to Vegas in Expansion Draft, Look to Future
James Neal during his time with the Nashville Predators
The business the side of the game doesn’t always fall favorably.
Predators General Manager David Poile knew all along there was a potential for his club to lose one of its better players to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. On Wednesday, as the League’s newest franchise selected one player from each of the remaining 30 clubs, it came to fruition.
James Neal, a member of Nashville’s leadership team and a 20-goal scorer in each of his nine NHL seasons, was selected by the Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft during the official announcement throughout the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.
Poile worked throughout the week in an attempt to strike a deal with Vegas General Manager George McPhee, but in the end, the Nashville GM realized he was going to have to part ways with Neal.
“With how well we played in the playoffs, I’d certainly like to bring everybody back, but the prices [to make a deal with Vegas] were very high,” Poile said. “[McPhee] was looking for younger players or high draft picks, and at the end of the day, I just felt that we had to do what the Expansion Draft was set out to do and that was to lose a player. In this case, we lost James Neal and that’s a pretty big price to pay.
“The Predators have lost a really good person and a really good player in James Neal.”
While the loss of Neal isn’t easy to take, Poile has been around long enough to know that life must go on, and with that, the chance to make something else happen in his lineup, potentially with options already in his system.
“For every action, there’s going to have to be a reaction,” Poile said. “James’s salary was fairly high, he’s one year away from unrestricted free agency, so you don’t know exactly where you would’ve been in another year. What this does now is takes us in a different direction. Just like we saw in the playoffs when we had injuries, different people had to step up to the plate, whether we promoted a Frederick Gaudreau, Pontus Aberg, Colton Sissons… The bad news is we lost James Neal, the good news is now we’re going to give opportunities to some of our younger players.”
Poile is also looking ahead to the upcoming NHL Draft and free-agency period within the next 10 days, undoubtedly a chance for him to survey what may be available as he tries to replace a player like Neal. And knowing Poile, the phone lines will be hot.
“We have a hole in our lineup and now we go on to the [NHL] Draft and eventually to free agency on July 1, and the possibilities are certainly looming that we might need to add another forward,” Poile said. “There could be another trade or we could do something in free agency.”
Motlow Baseball Adds to 2017 Recruiting Class
Motlow State Community College baseball Head Coach Dan McShea – Photo by Jeff Reed Photography.
The Motlow State Bucks have added a pair of transfers from Tennessee Tech University to the growing list of newcomers to the baseball program for the 2017-18 school year, according to Head Coach Dan McShea.
McShea recently announced that both Carson Pack and Logan Walters have signed a National Letter of Intent to continue their baseball careers as student-athletes at Motlow. Both attended TTU last season and both were redshirts for the Golden Eagles. Both Pack and Walters have two seasons of eligibility at Motlow.
“Both Carson and Logan were highly-recruited pitchers in our state out of high school,” said McShea. “We expect big things from both and we are happy to have them join our baseball program.”
They join a recruiting class that now stands at 11 players who will suit up for the first time for the Bucks in late January 2018. Motlow will return seven players from last season and is expected to add 10 more, filling out a 28-man roster, before the beginning of school in late August.
Six of the newcomers are from within the state, with three more residing in neighboring Alabama. Paul McIntosh played his prep baseball at Dade Christian High School in Miami, and Andres Rodriquez attended the Carlos Beltran Academy in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
First-year players from Tennessee are Brayden Gentry from Lewisburg, Justin Cooke from Soddy Daisy, James Bailliez III from LaVergne, Pack is from Andersonville, Walters is from South Pittsburg, and Matthew Young is from Maryville.
Coming in from Alabama, although they are inside Motlow’s service area, are Kyle Davis from New Market, and Tyler Harmon and John Mangini from Huntsville. Davis attended Buckhorn High School, while both Harmon and Mangini prepped at Virgil Grissom High School.
Braves Win in Walk-off over Giants
Hunter Pence’s game-tying home run in the ninth inning gave the Giants a chance to benefit from Jeff Samardzija’s effective start. But Matt Kemp was the last to take advantage of SunTrust Park’s cozy confines, as his two-run homer off Cory Gearrin gave the Braves a 5-3, 11-inning win over the Giants Wednesday night.
Nick Markakis drew a one-out walk before Kemp drilled a 1-0 slider that snuck over the top of the right-field wall. This was the Braves’ third walk-off win within their past five games.
“Other teams have taken advantage of our surroundings, so when Matt hit that one out, I said, ‘I love our ballpark,'” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Sean Newcomb impressed in his third career start, as he limited the Giants to one run over six innings and retired the last 13 batters he faced. The rookie left-hander threw just 80 pitches before he was lifted, possibly because of work he had done before rain delayed the start of the game for one hour and 15 minutes.
The Giants tallied an eighth-inning run courtesy of Arodys Vizcaino’s wild pitch and tied the game in the ninth on Pence’s solo homer off Jim Johnson, who has blown five of his 18 save opportunities.
Samardzija limited his damage to three runs over seven innings. The lone run of support the righty received while in the game came courtesy of Brandon Belt’s second-inning RBI triple down the right-field line.
Hours after Freddie Freeman confirmed he was planning to play third base when he returns from the disabled list, Matt Adams provided further reason for the veteran first baseman to make this unselfish decision. His two-run shot, which traveled a Statcast-projected 406 feet over the right-center-field wall, was his 11th home run in a span of 117 at-bats since being acquired from the Cardinals to serve as Freeman’s replacement.
“You feel good every time he comes to the plate,” Snitker said. “He’s just making the most of a really good opportunity.”
Samardzija recorded three strikeouts during a perfect sixth inning and then allowed Flowers to connect on a 2-1 curveball that bounced off the top of the left-field wall and was initially ruled a single. A boundary review showed the ball hit the net connected to the foul pole, giving Flowers his sixth homer of the season and third within a span of 21 at-bats.
“I think that we all thought, including Flowers, that the ball was foul,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “I guess he hit it off the end of the bat, it spun back fair, and hit the top of the fence to bounce over. That’s a bad break and ended up being a big run.”
Flowers did not initially run out of the box because he was sure the ball would land in foul territory.
“Not too far past third base, I felt it was 10-plus feet foul and hooking,” Flowers said. “Thank goodness it went out, not only to get a home run, but to not end up with a single on something like that. That would have been the more embarrassing part.”
Jaime Garcia will take the mound when Thursday’s series finale begins at 6:35 p.m. CT. Before enduring a five-run fifth inning during Saturday’s win over the Marlins, Garcia had allowed four runs or less in each of his 12 starts.
Church Burns in Tullahoma
Photo provided
Fire Chief Richard Shasteen said that when crews arrived flames were already coming from the building’s attic area. He added that the church was about a 50 percent total loss.
A portion of Cedar Lane and the city pool had to be closed for a period of time.
According to Tullahoma Police Investigator Tyler Hatfield, an electric meter had been stolen from the building. The Tullahoma Utility Board was installing a new meter and it arced. That is when the church began to burn.
No injuries were reported.
Shasteen added that he wanted to thank Manchester Fire and Rescue and the AEDC Fire Department for their mutual aid assistance.
He said the State Bomb and Arson Squad will begin their investigation on Thursday.