Category: Sports

We already knew it here in Nashville, and the rest of the NHL’s fans agree.

Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne’s first-career tally has been voted the Goal of the Year in the 2020 NHL Fan Choice Awards. The netminder received 42.3 percent of the votes beating out Connor McDavid (25 percent), Andrei Svechnikov (20 percent) and Matthew Tkachuk (12.7 percent) to earn the accolade.

More than two million votes were submitted from NHL fans all over the world to determine the winners of 20 categories, and Rinne’s margin of victory was greater than most.

“For sure [it’s a dream come true], I’m not going to lie,” Rinne said following Nashville’s win in Chicago back on Jan. 9. “I understand it might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so I really enjoyed it. It was an awesome feeling seeing the puck go in… But I’m trying to see it and then [Roman Josi] and [Nick] Bonino, I think they were going nuts, and it was pretty cool. I just threw my hands up in the air and tried to try to act as cool as I can.”

Rinne was the first goaltender to score since 2013 and became just the 12th goalie in NHL history to be credited with a goal. There have been 15 goalie goals scored in League history, and perhaps even more impressive, Rinne is one of only seven netminders to actually shoot it himself. (The others occurred with a team accidentally putting the puck in their own empty net on a delayed penalty or in extra-attacker situations, and the respective goaltenders were the last to touch the puck.)

There’s never a bad time to relive the goalie goal. Once more, here’s Rinne in all his glory, as well as some other clips featuring the Finn.

With dates and opponents set, Nashville SC returned to full-team training on Monday ahead of the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando.

The Boys in Gold are set to face Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire FC in the group stage of the month-long competition kicking off July 8. It’s an unprecedented competition for unprecedented circumstances, but Head Coach Gary Smith will make sure his players are ready to face whatever each opponent brings.

“We’re going to go into a format that is not natural to any of the teams that are playing in it,” Smith said. “I certainly haven’t, with a professional outfit, played in a situation like this. It will be very different. I’m sure it will be for a lot of people. What I will say is we have a limited time here. Three games, we have a two-week tournament that we want to turn into a four-week tournament and unless we do well in those first three games then we could be coming home fairly swiftly and it’ll feel like a bit of a whirlwind. So, we need to be ready, we surely need to be focused. In terms of planning for it, I know who we have now and I can have a lot closer look at some of the footage, albeit it limited at this early stage in the season.”

The tournament format, with a group stage leading into a knockout stage, is similar to a FIFA World Cup, but with one added caveat: the group stage matches count towards the regular season standings, as MLS plans to resume the regular season in home markets after the MLS is Back Tournament.

While plenty of Nashville SC players have experience in international cup competitions like the World Cup or Gold Cup, captain Dax McCarty thinks the regular season incentive in the group stage will bring extra energy to the group stage.

“I think there is incentive to try and win every single game,” McCarty said. “It’s up to the coaching staff to decide how they want to rotate and keep guys fresh, but as far as I’m concerned I want to win this tournament. So if you ask me, I want to play every game as much as I can, as many minutes as I can, and go on and lift a trophy at the end of this. In order to do that, you have to get out of your group and in order to get out of your group you have to accumulate points. Then the cherry on top is that those points will go towards the regular season. As far as I’m concerned, there’s just so much incentive to go out every single game and try to play open, exciting, attacking soccer to try to win games and score goals and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Nashville SC enters the tournament after suffering two narrow one-goal losses to start the 2020 season before it was paused. McCarty saw a lot of positives in those two matches that give him confidence in the team’s ability to make some noise in Orlando.

“We’ve been so solid defensively in our first two games,” McCarty said. “I have been so happy and proud of the way that that our team was able to defend against two elite MLS teams, two perennial MLS Cup contenders with exciting attacking players. We were able to severely limit the amount of chances that both of those teams had. On the flip side of that, our attacking play needs to get better. That’s something we recognize and our coaching staff and attacking players have been working hard to make sure that when we get into good attacking positions, we do more with the chances that we create. There are no participation points. Obviously we realize we lost our games and that doesn’t sit well with me, that doesn’t sit well with our team and our whole staff. Part of the reason we’re so excited to get back on the field is to take those positives from those first two games and try to turn those into wins and into points.”

The MLS is Back Tournament kicks off July 8 in Orlando.

The Manchester Youth Baseball Association closed out their first week of competition on Friday night with 4 games in the two oldest age divisions.  The week featured big crowds, exciting baseball action and a lot of fun for all involved.  Friday night was no different.

In the 12U Division, Powers’ Storage dropped First Vision Bank 8 to 5 and Clower Automotive beat Peoples Bank 19 to 1.   In the early game, Powers got a pair of runs in the first inning only to see First Vision score 5 unanswered to take a 5 to 2 lead.  But Powers sent 8 batters to the plate in the 3^rd inning to take a 6 to 5 lead that they would not surrender.  A.J. Schuster and Brycen Campbell each had RBI singles in the 3^rd inning for Powers.  Bryceton Bunch had a home run for First Vision.   In the nightcap, Trace Parker and Kaiden Gannon combined to throw a no-hitter for Clower.  M.J. Rollman had 2 doubles and a single for Clower.  Isaiah Deadman drew a walk, stole 2 bases and scored on a fielder’s choice for People’s lone run. 

In the 18U Division, the Expos split a doubleheader with the Mets and the Yankees.  In the first game against the Mets, the Expos blew open a 4 to 1 game in the 5^th inning with 6 runs and rolled to a 10 to 1 win.  For the Expos, Walker and Christian G each had a walk and a double.  Timothy Henderson had a walk, a single and scored the Mets only run.  In the nightcap, the Yankees pounded the Expos 17 to 0.  For the Yankees, Braden Ross and Noah Bradshaw combined for the no-hitter on the mound.  Remington Banks had a home run for the Yankees while Wyatt Nugent and Bradshaw each had a single and a double for the victors. 

The league returns to action on Monday with 8 games in 4 divisions. 

Monday MYBA Schedule

6U at Tee Ball Field

No Games

8U at Fast Pitch Field

5:00 PM – KK’s vs. Interstate Auto

7:30 PM – Dr. J vs. Freedom Automotive

10U at National League Field

5:00 PM – First National Bank vs. Viam

7:30 PM – State Farm vs. Chico’s Bail Bonds

12U at Aaron Miller Field

5:00 PM – Clower Automotive vs. First Vision Bank

7:30 PM – Peoples Bank vs. Powers Storage

18U at Looney Riddle Field

6:00 PM – Manchester Braves vs. Yankees

8:00 PM – Yankees vs. Manchester Braves

Unofficial League Standings

The Titans wrapped up their virtual offseason program on Thursday. Now, the team has its sights set on what should be a unique training camp. “I felt like this was the right time,” Titans Coach Mike Vrabel said. “I didn’t want it to drag, I didn’t want to see these long faces in the meetings and I felt like they continued to be engaged as we started to the end.”

It’s been a different offseason for teams across the NFL, including the Titans. OTAs and minicamps were canceled as players and coaches met through virtual meetings instead of in person because of the coronavirus pandemic. Vrabel didn’t return to Saint Thomas Sports until Monday, the next business day after the NFL opened its doors to coaches across the league.

The NFL gave teams the option of extending their offseason program until June 26. Vrabel thinks the team accomplished as much as it could during a time when a lot of players have gathered on their own for workouts and throwing sessions.

“Our players put a lot into this,” Vrabel said. “They had a lot of dedication to be on these meetings voluntarily, to be involved, to making sure that they worked out and got on these meetings, and our rookies, to be involved in the rookie program and get brought up to speed as best as they possibly could. Individual units into groups, secondary to linebackers, and linebackers and D-line, started adding those groups. The receivers and the quarterbacks and started to work in the tight ends and the running backs. That’s kind of what we did.

“I anticipate an earlier start (to training camp) and so I felt like in order to allow for our players and their families to be emotionally and physically ready for the season, I wanted to try to give them some of that time, as well as our coaching staff so that we could come back fresh and ready.”

Vrabel praised his coaching staff for adjusting during an offseason like no other. “I think it forced me to realize how great our coaching staff is and how creative they are, and what kind of teachers they are to be able to adapt to this virtual setting,” he said. “Again, I thanked them in front of the team. I was in every meeting, and instead of you fall into this rut of having to have team meetings every single day and stand up in front of them and talk about the things that I want to talk about. In the end, those coaches know those players better than anybody. Those six running backs that are in that room with Tony Dews working through protections, and working through routes, and working through run schemes, that’s what I felt like they needed. What it really forced us to do was to break things down and to have a lot of individual meetings so that these guys can improve on their details within the calls. The time to come together, which we have to as a football team, and obviously as a society, is going to be when we get these guys back for training camp.”

Now, the clock is ticking to find out exactly when camp will be allowed to start. Vrabel publicly wondered if it might be ahead of the July 28 date for all teams that was floated out this week.

Plus, there are questions about what things might look like when camp does begin because of the remaining issues surrounding COVID-19. An NFL memo sent to teams recently detailed a number of requirements. Among them: Teams will be required to reconfigure locker rooms to allow for 6 feet of space between lockers, and meetings should be held outside or conducted virtually “when possible.” Of course there will be testing, and temperature checks.

The Titans are scheduled to kick off the preseason on August 15 at Washington, and the regular season is scheduled to start on September 14 at Denver.

“Whatever (the NFL) tells us, that’s what we’re going to do,” Vrabel said. “If every person has to walk around six feet apart, we’re going to walk around six feet apart. If we have to do something to change the locker room, and there can only be 15 guys in the weight room at a time and it’s got to be wiped down, and we have to change our meeting rooms and put them different places and make sure that we have space, and team meeting room can’t be in the team meeting room, we’re going to do all that. … We’re going to do what’s best for the players like we always do.

“(You wonder about) just the flow of the players when they walk in (the building) in the morning and try to do that and see what that looks like. How many guys can be in a hot tub? How many guys can be in the training room? How many guys can lift and what time do you want to lift? Some guys like to lift before practice, some guys like to lift after practice. What the flow through the lunchroom looks like, and how the boxed lunch has to be, no buffet, how many guys can sit at a table and how you space that out. The meeting rooms like you mentioned, how do you do a team meeting room with 90 players? How do you do an offensive and defensive unit meeting? We’re looking at all of that and I’m confident that everybody within the organization is going to help us do that and make it as seamless as possible. It’s going to look different. I told the players it’s going to look different. We’re still going to be here for a reason and that’s to prepare for a season, a successful season.”

By Mark Bowman MLB.com

This year’s MLB Draft was much different than any other ever conducted. But like every other year, each general manager and scouting director is publicly expressing excitement about the players landed.

With just four selections during the Draft, the first of which was the 25th overall, the Braves focused on gathering as many high-upside products as possible. They started by taking Wake Forest left-hander Jared Shuster, whose anticipated willingness to accept an under-slot signing bonus allowed him to vault from second-round projection to first-round selection.

Atlanta’s final three selections were University of Michigan outfielder Jesse Franklin, Clemson right-hander Stephen Strider and University of Texas right-hander Bryce Elder.

Now what?
Braves vice president of scouting Dana Brown and his staff will now attempt to sign each of the team’s four selections, and then attempt to further stock the system by signing undrafted players, none of whom can receive more than a $20,000 signing bonus this year.

All drafted players must be signed by Aug. 1. Undrafted players cannot sign before Sunday.

The slot values for each of the Braves’ four selections are: Shuster ($2.74 million), Franklin ($599,100), Strider ($451,800) and Elder ($336,600).

If the Braves can sign Shuster and Strider at less than their assigned slot values, they will have the remaining bonus pool flexibility necessary to attempt to financially persuade Elder from continuing his collegiate career. Given the Texas right-hander was hoping to go in the third round, he might get a signing bonus that is double that of his fifth-round slot value.

The Braves’ pool allotment this year is $4,127,800. If a club exceeds its assigned pool, it faces a penalty. Teams that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, clubs lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.

In eight years with these rules, teams have exceeded their allotment a total of 149 times but never by more than 5 percent. Twenty-one of the 30 teams outspent their pool last year.

Trend wrap
Within his first two years as the Braves’ VP of scouting, Brown has leaned toward college talent. A college player was taken with each of the club’s four picks this year, and with eight of the first 10 selections Brown made in 2019.

But there were a number of reasons most teams shied away from high school talent this year. The COVID-19 shutdown prevented scouts from evaluating how many of the top prep players matured since last summer.

With the addition of three college pitchers, the Braves might have gained some insurance for the next couple years. Yeah, it’s nice to think about the possibility of Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright in the same rotation soon. But pitching plans inevitably fall apart. Consequently, in case you hadn’t heard, you can never have enough pitching.

First-round fact
After Shuster notched 35 strikeouts and issued only five walks over 32 innings in the Cape Cod League last summer, he recorded 43 strikeouts and just four walks over 26 1/3 innings for Wake before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His 13-strikeout performance against third-ranked Louisville on March 7 showed how far he had come since issuing 58 combined walks over 102 innings as a freshman and sophomore.

Much of Shuster’s improvement can be attributed to the Wake Forest pitching lab, which opened in 2019. The biomechanics evaluations used in this state-of-the-art lab influenced the more aggressive hip turn Shuster developed before seeing his fastball velocity rise from 89-93 mph to 91-95 mph over the past year.

Day 2 name to watch
Franklin has the potential to be a power-hitting center fielder. His raw power is impressive, and he has shown great athleticism while pursuing fly balls. He totaled just eight stolen bases over two seasons with Michigan, but as he continues to mature as a player, there’s hope his above-average speed will start to provide value on the basepaths.

NDFA strategy
During a normal Draft, teams often used some of their picks within the first 10 rounds to select college seniors who had no leverage and thus often accepted a signing bonus of $10,000 or less. This created savings teams used in an attempt to persuade some high-upside high school players to forgo college plans. That pool of high school talent will not be willing to accept $20,000 or less this year. So look for the Braves to pursue college seniors or possibly some juniors who are unsure of what the future holds for them at the college level.

The last word
“In 31 years in baseball, I’ve never seen anything like it. I started scouting in 1993. I’ve been in a lot of different Draft rooms. This was very difficult and very challenging. You have to trust your earlier looks on the players from [last summer] and the data, whether that be with TrackMan or other analysis. I’ve had success with being able to put the pieces together. I don’t always see the players. So at the end of the day, I can put the pieces together for the organization to get an impact-type player.” — Brown, on the uniqueness of this year’s Draft

Mark Bowman has covered the Braves for MLB.com since 2001.

The Manchester Youth Baseball Association hit the diamond on Thursday night with games in all 5 divisions.

In the 6U Division, Manchester Tire and Brake rolled past Lovelady Auto Parts 20 to 4 and Star Physical Therapy squeaked past Cooper Sports 18 to 15.  In the first game, Manchester Tire and Brake scored 8 runs in each of the 1^st two innings to put the game out of reach.  Kasen Shelton had 2 home runs for Manchester Tire and Brake.  For Lovelady, Owen and Dominic each had a single and a double.  In the 2^nd game, Star Physical Therapy held off a late rally to grab the win.  Dowell and Laine each had a double and 2 singles while scoring 3 runs for Star.  Jason Cook had 3 hits for Cooper Sports. 

In the 8U Division, Dr. J edged Lions Club 8 to 6 and Freedom Automotive blanked KK’s 13 to 0.  In the opener, Dr. J’s built a 6 to 1 lead entering the 4^th inning, only to see the Lions Club score 4 runs in the final inning in a failed comeback attempt.  Dr. J’s was led in hitting by Kolton who had 2 home runs and a single.  Mia and Bentley had home runs for the Lions Club.  In the 2^nd game, Freedom broke open a 2 to 0 game with 11 runs in the last 2 innings for the win.  Aiden Hayes had a single, a double and a triple to lead Freedom.  Kyson rapped a double for KK’s. 

In the 10U Division, State Farm topped Viam 14 to 4.  State Farm jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the game.  Levi Rossman was the leading hitter for State Farm as he had a triple, a single and 2 RBI.  Rossman also got the win on the mound.  Ayce Tesiro had a 2 run homer for Viam. 

In the 12U Division, Clower Automotive doubled up Bush Insurance 10 to 5 and Shelter stopped Peoples Bank 12 to 4.  In the first game, Bush Insurance jumped out to a 2 to 0 lead before Clower answered with 4 runs in the home half of the 1^st inning to take the lead for good.  Caleb Crouch hit a single, a home run and got the win on the mound.  Jaden Dicken had 2 singles and scored twice for Bush.  In the nightcap, Shelter built a 10 to 0 lead before Peoples pushed across a run in the 3^rd and 3 more in the 4^th.  Matt Moore led Shelter with a home run and a single.  Moore also was the winning pitcher.  Josh Harris had a double for Peoples. 

In the 18U Division, the Mets downed the Manchester Braves 9 to 2.  Tied at 2 after 1 inning, the Mets plated 6 runs in the 2^nd inning and never trailed again.  Braeden Brown had 2 triples and got the win on the hill for the Mets.  Jayden Marcrom and Hayden Collins each had singles for the Braves. 

The MYBA will return to the diamond on Friday night for a slate of 6 games. 

Friday MYBA Schedule

12U at Aaron Miller Field
5:00 PM – Powers Storage vs. First Vision Bank
7:30 PM – Clower Automotive vs. Peoples Bank

18U at Looney Riddle Field
6:00 PM – Expos vs. Yankees
8:00 PM – Yankees vs. Expos

The Braves certainly feel good about Jared Shuster’s upside, but the club also targeted the Wake Forest left-handed pitcher with an eye to the later rounds of this year’s shortened MLB Draft.

With their only selection on Wednesday night, the Braves took Shuster with the 25th overall pick. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound hurler made significant strides since last summer and was considered one of this year’s highest risers. But MLB Pipeline ranked him as the No. 77 overall prospect, and the assumption was he would not be taken any earlier than the second round

So there was certainly some surprise when the Braves made this selection. But the team’s director of scouting, Dana Brown, provided some clarity, saying an under-slot signing could prove beneficial due to the added bonus pool flexibility the Braves may now have to pursue strong players in the final three rounds of this year’s five-round Draft.

The Braves lost their second-round selection when they signed left-handed reliever Will Smith this past offseason. So they have just three more picks before this selection process concludes on Thursday night.

The Braves have a pool of $4,127,800 to spend, including $2,740,300 earmarked for their first selection. If Shuster were to agree to an under-slot signing bonus, the team might be able to take a chance on using one of their later-round picks on a high school player who falls in the Draft because of signability concerns.

“Strategically, we feel we were able to get a good left-handed pitcher in the beginning,” Brown said. “Maybe we could save some money on that pick and potentially sign some of our high ceiling players that may slide in the Draft. That could make up the gap of not having a second rounder.”

Shuster said he didn’t know much about the Braves’ interest until last week and did not know he was going in the first round until a few minutes before the selection was made. The southpaw caught Brown’s attention during last summer’s Cape Cod League.

“We feel like this is a pitcher with some upside play to him,” Brown said. “We feel like the aptitude is really good.”

After spending the fall making his hip turn slightly more aggressive, Shuster saw his fastball velocity rise from 89-93 mph to 91-95 mph. He touched 97 mph a few times and continued to show good swing-and-miss stuff with his changeup. His slider remains questionable, but it has shown some improvement.

“I’m not concerned with the [slider],” Shuster said. “I know how hard I’m working on all of my pitches, and I know it’s going to be just as good as the other pitches.”

Shuster recorded 43 strikeouts and issued just four walks while producing a 3.76 ERA in the 26 1/3 innings completed before the coronavirus pandemic ended Wake Forest’s season earlier this year. He was certainly more effective than he had been in 2019, when he produced a 6.49 ERA and recorded 94 strikeouts while issuing 37 walks over 68 innings.

“I feel like I have a really high ceiling and I’m going to work hard to reach that ceiling,” Shuster said.

The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced today that formal training camps (Phase 3) for the 24 teams resuming play will open on Friday, July 10, provided that medical and safety conditions allow and the parties have reached an overall agreement on resuming play. The length of training camp and, therefore, the start date for formal resumption of play (Phase 4) will be determined at a future date.

The Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association awarded their annual region scholarship to graduating senior Coffee County Red Raider Hayden Skipper.  Skipper will receive the $1,000 scholarship for being selected out of Region 4 of the TBCA membership.  Pat Swallows, the state director for TBCA, made the announcement on Friday. 

Skipper has signed to play college baseball with Lipscomb University.   Hayden was named to the 2019 District 8AAA All-District team and was selected as the Red Raiders’ Most Valuable Player.   Skipper was selected for the Tennessee Baseball Report All Region Team in 2019.

Skipper was signed to play at Lipscomb as a pitcher and outfielder.  Lipscomb University is a private, Christian liberal arts university in Nashville.  The Bisons are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) Division 1 and competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  Lipscomb is coached by Jeff Forehand who is in his 14th year as head coach for the Bisons.   Hayden is the son of Richard and Jenny Skipper.

Story by John Brice – TSSAA

Stack all the days in a decade; there’s roughly 3,650 turns of the calendar. Steve Trussler can fill them all with the nights logged working TSSAA events as an official, umpire or otherwise in more than 50 years’ service to high school athletics in Tennessee.

A native of the Gainesville and Jacksonville areas of Florida, still with the Florida Gators’ fight song as a ringtone to this day, Trussler’s time in the Volunteer State extends back to his college days of attending and graduating from David Lipscomb University in 1968.

He never left Tennessee and once he got started officiating contests, Trussler likewise never left that role.

“I kept a record, still got it, and I’ve called right at 4,000 dates in the 50 years,” Trussler said. “I did basketball, baseball, football, and softball since its inception in the mid-80s. I’ve written down every assignment, worn out three or four cars, at least. I just stayed active and always had a smile on my face. I was never on time; I was always early. And I always acted like I wanted to be there, because I did, and I always wanted to be professional and have fun. And with the kids and the coaches and fellow officials I’ve met over the 50 years, I wouldn’t take anything for it. Hundreds of friends, close friends that I’ve made. That’s really what keeps you going. And you’ve gotta love kids or you can’t do it the right way.”

Trussler explained that an inability to hit collegiate pitching on the diamond mandated his adaptation of learning sports from the viewpoint of those behind the scenes. He umpired preseason baseball scrimmages; served in various roles of student-trainer and manager and assisted Lipscomb athletics in any possible manner.

“When I graduated, I joined the local officials under A.F. Bridges. and I just fell in love with it,” Trussler said. “I learned from the best. Earl Crowell, Gabby Street, Bill Pack Sr. I learned the game from then. They taught me that I better learn the rules and I better know how to enforce them.

Trussler logged not just 50 years of officiating but also a five-decade tenure as an employee of the State of Tennessee. He worked 40 years in child protective services and public welfare before he added a decade as a public educator and administrator in both Grundy and Marion counties. Trussler was a recipient of the TSSAA Athletic Director of the Year award in 2018.

In addition to his longevity as a football official, Tressler has worked 15 TSSAA Spring Fling championships, can recall his early basketball work in six-on-six girls’ hoops and helped officiate a BlueCross Bowl football championship in Cookeville. He can recall an early football assignment that netted a $5 payday.

He and wife, Wilma, have been together since their days at Lipscomb and raised two sons, former NCAA collegiate athletes, Jay and Jon.

“I’m blessed,” Trussler said. “I still go to basketball and baseball and softball meetings, even though I’m not on the field. It’s just something that gets in your blood and you love it so much, it just stays with you. And that’s not happening anymore. A lot of younger guys can’t take the hammering from coaches and fans or the 200-mile roundtrips at night in fog and sleet and they get out of it. But it’s just a great profession; I’d recommend it to anybody. When I met Wilma at Lipscomb, I told her, ‘I love sports and I love kids, and this is what I’m going to do.’ And she never complained. We’ve stayed married 50 years with me gone all those nights.”

Now 73, Trussler isn’t planning an end anytime soon to his love affair with high school athletics.

“There have been a lot of changes,” Trussler said. “Three or four uniform changes, scores of rules changes. It keeps evolving and keeps evolving toward increased safety for the players.

“But I hope I can stand on that sideline and run that clock for Mr. (Ken) Pack for another 10 or 15 years.”