Category: Sports

In a game you heard on Thunder Radio, Max Fried looked like a frontline starter and Austin Riley drilled one of the three homers the Braves tallied while turning the page with a 10-1 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night at Truist Park.

Distancing themselves from the blow suffered when ace Mike Soroka sustained a season-ending injury on Monday night, the Braves saw Fried allow four hits and one run over six strong innings. The southpaw received an early lead when Matt Adams and Tyler Flowers hit solo homers against Matt Shoemaker in the second inning.

Fried has posted a 2.04 ERA through three starts for the Braves, who have won six of their past seven games and eight of the first 12 played this year.

“We needed a strong start,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I’m sure he had some emotions when his buddy went down last night. I’m sure he felt like he needed to step up, and he damn sure did.”

Continue reading about the Braves’ win here.

In a game you heard on Thunder Radio, The Nashville Predators opened up a 4-0 lead on the Arizona Coyotes and claimed a 4-2 victory in Game 2 to even their best-of-five series at 1-1. The Preds will have fewer than 24 hours to relish their Tuesday afternoon victory, as they’ll be right back on the ice for Game 3 on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT (Watch: FOX Sports Tennessee, NHL Network; Listen: 102.5 The Game). 

After surrendering three goals in the opening period in Game 1, the Predators stressed a better start in Game 2, and they got it thanks to impressive goaltending from Juuse Saros and a pair of tallies in the first 20 minutes.

That momentum carried the Preds through the afternoon, and even though they surrendered two goals late in the contest, the victory was the most important thing to come out of Tuesday’s effort.

“It was nice to get out there, get the lead today and build our team game from there,” Preds center Ryan Johansen said. “Nick [Bonino] gave our team a boost with his first goal tonight, and it seemed like we really found our game. We played a solid, solid game.” 

“We talked a lot to our team about mental toughness, focus and really taking the lessons out of the last game,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “The focus level for us was good, and the things that we talked about, the players really executed. Our competitive level and commitment level in certain areas was better than it was in Game 1, so we need to make sure we continue that going into Game 3.”

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Qualifier series between the Predators and Coyotes comes Wednesday afternoon, at 1:30 p.m. CT from Edmonton

Continue reading about the game 2 victory here.

Freddie Freeman heard Mike Soroka yell in pain and then looked to see the young hurler on the ground. A short time later, Freeman and his Braves teammates learned they will spend the remainder of this season without their ace.

Soroka tore his right Achilles tendon in the third inning of a 7-2 loss to the Mets at Truist Park on Monday. His absence damages the World Series hopes of the Braves, who now have a gaping void within a rotation that already had a few holes.

“To sum it up, this night just sucks,” Freeman said.

Quite frankly, there wasn’t any way to sugarcoat what happened. The hope is Soroka will return to form and continue to be one of the game’s top pitchers next year. But his presence will be severely missed by a team that is bidding for a third straight National League East title.

Soroka was taken to a nearby hospital for an MRI exam and thus was not available for postgame interviews. His injury affected the emotions of his teammates and opponents from throughout the league. Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty was among the players who tweeted good wishes soon after the injury occurred, saying, “Prayers up for Soroka.”

Continue reading this story by Mark Bowman, mlb.com here.

The Coffee County Central High School golf team will return to the course Tuesday for their second outing of the young 2020 season.

Coffee County will travel to take on Cookeville at 1 p.m. in non-district competition.

The Red Raiders opened the season with a seventh place finish last week, while the Lady Raiders finished second out of three teams in the Tullahoma Invitation.

The weekly Coffee Coaches Show hosted by Thunder Radio at Al White Ford Lincoln has its guests set for this Saturday, Aug. 8.

Joining the show will be CHS head football coach Doug Greene, CHS head cheer coach Christy Clouse and Westwood Middle School volleyball coach Laura Freeze. Each coach will bring along athletes for interviews and fun between 10-11 a.m. Saturday. Tune in at 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM and 1320 AM, and stream at www.thunder1320.com.

Coffee County Central High School’s Dance team completed its 2020 Universal Dance Association camp with some impressive hardware.

CHS finished with superior trophy, spirit sticks and brought home individual awards, too.

Six Raiderette dancers picked up All-American honors, including Sydney Bell, Hannah Grimes, Rachel Johnson, Taylor Lorance, Makenna Orrick and Hallie Pittman. There were four character and leadership awards awarded and Taylor Lorance was awarded Drill Down  Queen. The team won a bid to nationals at Disney World.

The Coffee County Central High School football team will hold its first full-padded practice on Monday, Aug. 3 in preparation for the upcoming football season.

The practice is made possible by Governor Bill Lee’s executive order 55, which clears the way for fall contact sports to take place under guidance of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Second year Coffee County Red Raider head coach Doug Greene will be a guest this Saturday, Aug. 8, on the Coffee Coaches Show to discuss the first week of practice.

The Raiders open the 2020 season Aug. 21 when they host the Franklin County Rebels at Carden-Jarrell Field. Thunder Radio will be on hand for the broadcast, presented by Al White Ford-Lincoln, in what will be our 63rd consecutive year broadcasting Red Raider football. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The Friday Nigh Thunder Pregame Show – delivered by Riddle Trucking – begins at 6 p.m on Thunder Radio.

 To realize their ultimate goal this year, the Braves will eventually need to fix their rotation. But while winning seven of their first 10 games, they’ve proven strong enough to cover their one glaring weakness.

Austin Riley doubled during a two-run third inning and Johan Camargo contributed a homer as the Braves ran their winning streak to five games with a 4-0 victory over the Mets on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park. You heard the game live on Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM.

Credit for this latest victory goes to a bullpen that worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings after Kyle Wright’s early command issues forced him to exit earlier than desired. This relief corps has posted a 3.07 ERA, despite being asked to cover at least 4 2/3 innings in seven of these first 10 games.

Continue reading this story by Mark Bowman by clicking here.

Two goals in the third period gave the Nashville Predators life, but they were unable to erase the three-goal deficit they suffered in the first frame. 

Nashville fell in Game 1 to the Arizona Coyotes, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon. The victory gives Arizona a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series, with Games 2 and 3 coming back to back on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

“They won the first period and capitalized on their opportunities… both teams competed hard, we had a really strong push in the third period, but we didn’t capitalize like they did when they had their push,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “It’s all about Game 2 now, so we’ll take the lessons out of this game and make sure that we’re ready to go for round two.”

The Preds spent the final 11 minutes of regulation seeking the tying goal, but 43 shots yielded only three goals and Nashville did not claw back from an eight-minute span in the first period, which saw three Coyotes score. 

Arizona claimed each of the game’s first three goals in the opening period, as Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Christian Dvorak and Clayton Keller all beat Preds netminder Juuse Saros. Saros made his first-career postseason start and recorded 33 saves. 

The first goal in particular was the definition of a friendly bounce for the Coyotes, as the puck deflected off the stick of Kyle Turris and off the body of Matt Duchene before carroming into the net.

“He had some situations where I thought he stayed mentally focused, and he had some big saves throughout the game,” Hynes, who declined to name a starter for Game 2, said of Saros. “As the game went on, he made saves when we needed them. When we were making a good push, they had a couple opportunities and he was there. He kept it at four [goals for Arizona], and we were able to keep pecking away at the score and that’s what you want from your goaltender.”

Continue reading here.

Coffee County Middle School has released its football schedule for the fall 2020 season – what will be a shortened season due to COVID-19.

The Red Raiders will open the season on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at home against rival Tullahoma. It will be the first of six CTC conference games, The CMS Raiders normally play eight games – six conference and two non-conference – but were forced to shorten the season to conference only contests.

“Due to COVID-19 and finishing in time for basketball, we are only playing conference games,” explained CMS athletic director Kyle Harris.

The Raiders could have the opportunity to play a seventh game if they reach the CTC conference championship game. The Raiders made it to the title game last year, losing to Tullahoma.

CMS head coach Bryan Morgan and players Brady Wright and Cole Pippenger will be guests Saturday (Aug. 1) on the Coffee Coaches Show from Al White Ford-Lincoln. You can listen to the show from 10-11 a.m. on 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM, 1320 AM or stream by clicking here.

The full CMS schedule is below:

Aug. 18                       Tullahoma                               Home              6:30

 Aug. 25                      Harris Middle                          Away               6:30

 Sept. 1                       South Middle                           Away               6:30

 Sept. 8                       North Middle **                       Home              6:30

 Sept. 15                     Warren Co.                             Away               6:30

 Sept. 22                     White Co.                               Home              6:30

 Oct. 3                         CTC Championship Game                 TBA

**Homecoming Game.