The Nashville Sounds Baseball Club announced today its participation in Minor League Baseball’s CommUNITY First initiative. The campaign is geared to raise funds for local Feeding America food banks while also honoring local heroes risking their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feeding America is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a network of food banks. The local Feeding America food bank the Sounds and its fans will raise money for is Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

For every $10 donated through the campaign by a Nashville Sounds fan, the Sounds organization will donate one ticket (up to 500 maximum) to a future 2020 or 2021 game to a local hero. The ticket donations will be made to heroes supporting Middle Tennessee such as local nonprofits, hospital staff, first responders, nursing home staff, grocery store employees, and many others.

“We’re proud to continue to support Feeding America and specifically Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee,” said Sounds General Manager Adam Nuse. “The Sounds will continue to do everything possible to lend a helping hand in the community. We are asking for our dedicated fan base to be great teammates during this heartfelt Minor League Baseball initiative.”

Nashville Sounds fans interested in donating can follow these instructions:

1. Fan visits dedicated donation page at MiLB.com/CommUNITYFirst
2. Fan selects Nashville Sounds from the drop-down menu of participating teams.
3. Fan selects the amount he or she wants to donate ($10 minimum) to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
4. Payment is processed and fan receives a thank you confirmation e-mail.

To kick off the campaign, MiLB Charities has made a significant donation to the Feeding America COVID-19 Response Fund.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play at First Horizon Park. The 2020 season will begin at a date yet to be determined by Minor League Baseball.

Several updates to the TSSAA Bylaws were made over the past six months that will take affect in July for the start of the 2020-21 school year. The changes were voted on at the two previous meetings of the Legislative Council. We are asking the administrations of all TSSAA and TMSAA member schools to carefully review the changes and provide a copy to everyone involved in athletics at the school.

The Legislative Council, which is made up of twelve administrators from member schools, is the governing body of the TSSAA that has the authority to make changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. Council members are school administrators — four from each Grand Division of the state — elected for three-year terms. The Council ascertained the sentiment of the membership toward such changes at the regional meetings in each Grand Division of the state in November of this past year where proposals were discussed by school principals.

Be reminded that the TSSAA Board of Control’s mandated heat, lightning, and concussion policies apply to every sanctioned sport during practice and games. The TSSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee reviews and updates these policies annually. The state law concerning “Cardiac Arrest” must also be followed at all times. This information is always available on the TSSAA.org website. It is vital that every administrator and coach have copies of these policies and understand their importance. They must be followed at all times in all sports whether indoors or outdoors.

What follows is a summary of the Bylaw changes and where they can be found in the TSSAA or TMSAA handbook. An updated version of the TSSAA and TMSAA handbooks will be available on our website prior to member schools receiving the 2020-2021 printed copies. When they become available, the updated handbook should be used to conduct coaches’ meetings.

Article II, Section 23 (All-Star Games) of the TSSAA Bylaws

This rule has been removed from the Bylaws. The change means that administrators and coaches will not have to worry about an underclassman playing in an All-Star Game after their season is completed.

Article I, Section 6 (Cooperative Programs) of the TSSAA Bylaws

This rule has been changed to state that two schools may request to form a cooperative agreement if one of the schools has not had the program the last two years. The old rule required the school to not have the program for five years before requesting to co-op.

Article II, Section 13 (Ineligible Transfer Students) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

The section making students ineligible for twelve months in all sports if they transfer a second time in their career has been removed.

Article IV, Section 8 (Sports Calendar) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

This change increases the number of student-athletes coaches are allowed to give individual instructions to per day during preseason and offseason from three (3) to five (5) in baseball and softball. The number in football, girls’ soccer, and soccer has been increased to six (6).

Article IV, Section 8 (Sports Calendar) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

This change states the Dead Period will start on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. and end two weeks later on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. during the same weeks designated by the Bylaws. This delays the Dead Period by 24 hours which allows school personnel to bring their players home from camp on Sunday. Now they will not be required to leave on Saturday before the Dead Period begins. The upcoming 2020 dead period has been adjusted according to this directive.

Article III, Sections 7 and 9 (Student-Athletes and Coaches Ejected for Unsportsmanlike Conduct) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws

An addition to these bylaws states that schools who have not submitted their “Confirmation of Sportsmanship Meeting Form” by the end of the sports season in which the violation occurred shall be subject to a $100 fine.

Article I, Section 9 (Coaches) of the TMSAA Bylaws

This change states that the annual registration fee for non-faculty coaches at the middle school level will be $25.00 per coach.

As many as four NHL arenas would host three games each per day without fans in one of the scenarios the League is considering to finish the season, Commissioner Gary Bettman told Sportsnet last week.

The NHL, which paused the season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, also floated the idea to the general managers of holding the 2020 NHL Draft in June before the season ends.

“It was a trial balloon,” Commissioner Bettman said of the draft proposal. “No decision has been made. And I said as we were getting some feedback, ‘We don’t live in a world of perfect anymore. We’re going to have to make adjustments.’

“Ideally from our standpoint — and it would resolve a lot of issues — would be if we could complete the regular season, even if it’s on a centralized basis, and then go into the [Stanley Cup Playoffs] the way we normally play them.

“That would be ideal. But that’s, again, one of the numerous models we’re looking at, and if we can’t do ideal, if we can’t do perfect, we’re going to have to figure out what’s next to perfect.”

The NHL has decided against playing in non-NHL arenas at neutral sites because League arenas are best equipped to handle its needs if it decides to centralize games.

“We can’t play in a small college rink in the middle of a smaller community, because if we’re going to be centralized, we need the back of the house that NHL arenas provide, whether it’s multiple locker rooms, whether it’s the technology, the procedures, the boards and glass, the video replay, the broadcasting facilities,” Commissioner Bettman said.

The NHL would need four NHL-caliber locker rooms in each arena, because if it plays three games per day in one arena, it would need to use appropriate sanitizing procedures as teams move in and out, the Commissioner said.

Commissioner Bettman stressed the number of cities and the locations have not been decided. The NHL is modeling to make sure it is prepared for any eventuality.

“Maybe it’ll be two cities,” the Commissioner said. “It’s not something that we can predict right at this moment. But this is part of the contingencies. It doesn’t necessarily have to be by division, although the centralization may be by division.

“But the particular location could be anywhere that isn’t a hot spot and has what we need both in terms of the arena and having practice facilities, because if you bring in seven or eight clubs to a particular facility and you’re playing lots of games on a regular basis without travel, there does need to be ice for practice.”

The NHL has recommended players and staff self-quarantine through April 30. The first step toward resuming the season would be for players to work out at team facilities. The next step would be a training camp, which Commissioner Bettman said, based on a conversation with players and the NHL Players’ Association, would need to be at least three weeks.

Commissioner Bettman said the NHL felt no pressure to be the first major North American sports league to resume its season.

“This isn’t a race,” the Commissioner said. “The stakes are too important. … While some of them may have been able to work out in terms of physical strength over the last few weeks, the fact is, none of our guys really have been on skates. We’re going to have to make sure that they’re in game-ready condition, because we don’t want to put them on the ice and risk injury and their careers. So we’re going to need time to come back right, and when we come back, it’ll be having done the right things.”

The idea of holding the draft before the season ends presents problems, such as determining the draft order and what to do with certain contingent draft picks. But waiting months to hold the draft would present another set of problems.

“That’s why you’ve got to look at all of the options, balance them and try to make a good judgment, and we’re doing it with the feedback from our clubs, obviously,” Commissioner Bettman said. “We’re not sitting around on our own saying, ‘This is what we’re doing, period.'”

The NHL is also listening to the authorities.

“The decision ultimately will be made by medical people and people who are in governments at all different levels, so we’re not going to try and do anything that flies in the face of what we’re being told is appropriate,” the Commissioner said.

“… But clearly, we can play into the summer. Clearly, we can play next season, which we intend to do in its entirety, starting later. And so, with a lot of timing options, we have a great deal of flexibility, and we’re not going to rush anything. We’re not going to do anything that’s crazy. We’re going to try and do something, under the circumstances at the time, that is sensible.”

Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, May 15.  MLS training facilities remain closed to all players and staff with the exception of players requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residence.

While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, MLS will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.

MLS will remain in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on this continually evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.

Coffee County CHS Dance team coach Ashley Kraft announced the roster for the 2020-2021 Raiderette dance team on Saturday. Due to social distancing requirements and the closing of schools, Coach Kraft was forced to pick her squad from videos submitted.

Coach Kraft said: “Congratulations to the 2020 – 2021 CCHS Dance Team! We had a great turnout for our virtual tryouts and had to make some tough decisions. I can’t wait to get this season started!”

The 2020-2021 Dance Team roster is(in alphabetical order):

Sydney Bell
Jaelyn Ferrell
Hannah Grimes
Alexia Hasty
Rachel Johnson
Taylor Lorance
Carlee Lowe
Lillian McGee
Makenna Orrick
Cherish Owens
Hallie Pittman
Brittney Spencer
Liliana Stetler
Cierra Wallace