Category: Sports

Most of the headlines coming out of Nashville on Monday included Matt Duchene’s name, but the deal to sign the star centerman wasn’t the only transaction the Predators made as free agency opened.

There was another forward by the name of Daniel Carr, who signed on the dotted line – a one-year, one-way deal worth $700,000 – to become a member of the Preds.

“I’m so excited – I think that’s the only way to put it,” Carr said via phone two days after his contract was announced. “I can’t get over how much of a family the organization feels like and how welcoming everyone’s been. I’m just excited to be a part of it, and hopefully I can come into camp and make the team and try to help as best as I can.”

You may not have heard Carr’s name before, but if he has anything to do with it, you’ll get used to it in the months to come. You’ll notice the contract is one-way, meaning the Predators believe he’s capable of landing a roster spot for Opening Night.

Preds General Manager David Poile confirmed that line of thinking when he stated: “We think Daniel is ready to become a full-time NHL player and have an impact on our offense next season.”

So, why are the Preds so high on an undrafted 27-year-old winger from Sherwood Park, Alberta?

For one, Carr is the reigning MVP of the American Hockey League. He posted 30 goals and 71 points in just 52 games with the Chicago Wolves in 2018-19, a point total tied for the third-most in the league.

An NCAA champion with Union College in 2014, Carr has also appeared in 100 NHL contests over the past four seasons, most of them coming with the Montreal Canadiens and the rest with Vegas last season. He’s well aware of what it takes to play in the top league in the world, and he intends on doing so again.

Don’t get him wrong – he enjoyed the past campaign with the Wolves, a season that saw him post his highest point totals since he was playing Bantam AAA for the Leduc Oil Kings as a teenager – but he has no desire for another prolonged stay in the AHL.

“The American League is an interesting place because nobody wants to be there,” Carr said. “It’s the best way to put it… but you can’t really feel sorry for yourself ever in life, and I learned that the hard way… It was mixed emotions throughout the year, but if I think about the hockey part of it, it was a ton of fun.”

Las Vegas, NV – December 4: Daniel Carr #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up prior to a game against the Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on December 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
Las Vegas, NV – December 4: Daniel Carr #23 of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up prior to a game against the Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on December 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) Getty Images

After having the type of season he did, Carr was hoping for another NHL shot. Luckily for him, that’s exactly what the Predators had in mind when they reached out to his camp prior to July 1.

“You have to sort through the fluff of that period, and I think when we spoke about Nashville, I just realized that there’s just no fluff in what we were talking about,” Carr said. “I talked to other people about the people in the Predators organization, and everybody just comes back and says it’s just first class and the people are first class. For me, that’s what I wanted to do.”

Carr spoke fondly of his time with the Canadiens from 2015-18, especially that final season that saw him skate in 38 games and record 16 points. He’s always had to scratch and claw for his opportunities, and the chance that now lies ahead in Nashville may be the best he’s ever had in his five years as a professional.

“That’s why I’m coming to Nashville,” Carr said of the belief in him shown by the Preds. “You look at the team and how good the players are that you have the opportunity to play with, I think that was a big selling point. I realize it’s only a one-year contract, but it’s an opportunity for me to prove myself… And as a guy coming in, how could you not be excited about the opportunity to earn a chance to play with these guys?”

He has played against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena a couple of times before, including Shea Weber’s first game back in Nashville after being traded to Montreal in the summer of 2016. It was that night, Carr says, when he realized Nashville is a true hockey town.

“Just the standing ovation he got, you could tell they care about their players,” Carr said. “It was really cool to see that, and I’ve obviously been in other games where it was just like, ‘Wow, this place is rocking.’ I’m really excited to experience that.”

It’ll be a busy summer for Carr before he arrives in Music City later in August – on top of a grueling training regimen, he’s tying the knot in less than two weeks. Hearing his name called in the building on Oct. 3 when the Preds open their season might be the only thing that can come close to topping the wedding.

If he has any say in the matter, it might just happen.

After practicing on Monday, the Red Raiders will load the buses and travel to Ooltewah on Tuesday for a 9 AM 7 on 7 scrimmage event.  On Wednesday, Coffee County will travel to Lynchburg to take on Moore County in an 8 AM 7v7 workout with the Blue Raiders.  On Thursday, the Red Raiders will welcome Lincoln County to Manchester for a 5:30 PM 7v7 scrimmage.

Coach Doug Greene will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the schedule for July as he prepares for is first season as head coach of the Red Raiders.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday morning from 10 to 11 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.

The Sounds maintained the lead for the entirety of the game, defeating the Oklahoma City Dodgers 6-4. Pacific Coast League All-Star Seth Maness earned his fifth win of the season in the contest.

Two runs were scored by Nashville in the first inning, with one run scoring on an error. With the bases loaded, Angelo Mora overthrew second base after fielding a groundball. That scored Zack Granite and Scott Heineman to put the Sounds up 2-0.

Oklahoma City scored one run in the top of the second inning when they hit back-to-back doubles by Jon Kemmer and Jake Peter. Nashville responded with a run of their own in the bottom-half of the inning when Juremi Profar led off with a single and scored when Christian Lopes followed him with an RBI double to make the score 3-1.

Matt Davidson kept the offense going with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to extend Nashville’s lead to 5-1. It was his 21st homer of the season.

The Dodgers would hit a two-run home run themselves in the fifth inning. With two outs, Gavin Lux walked and Connor Joe hit the homer to bring the game to 5-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, Davidson hit another RBI with a double that scored Eli White. But Oklahoma City got that run back with a run in the top of the eighth after a sacrifice fly by DJ Peters. That made the score 6-4.

David Carpenter came into the game in the ninth and struck out two-of-three hitters he faced to finalize the victory at 6-4. That tied the five-game set at 2-2 to set up a series-deciding game Wednesday night. With first pitch at 7:05 p.m., left-hander Wes Benjamin (3-5, 6.56) starts for Nashville while right-hander Brock Stewart (2-6, 6.88) starts for Oklahoma City.

Post-Game Notes

– With the 6-4 win, the Sounds improved to 37-47 on the season.

– Zack Granite extended his on-base streak to 12 games after going 3-for-5 tonight. Since the streak started on June 20, he is hitting .393 (22-for-56) with 10 runs, three doubles, a triple, a home run, six RBI and three walks.

– Pacific Coast League All-Star David Carpenter earned another save tonight, giving him a league-leading 14 saves.

– Matt Davidson’s 21st home run was his first since June 24 versus New Orleans. He is now ranked tied-for-fifth in the Pacific Coast League. It was also his 17th multi-RBI effort of the season.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Daniel Rios of Nashville SC[Photo courtesy of nashvillesc.com]

Tribbett has been named one of five nominees for Midseason Defender of the Year, while Ríos is up for Midseason Most Valuable Player. Fans can vote on the USL Championship’s website until July 3 at 11 a.m. CT.

Ríos has been leading the charge among Nashville’s forwards so far this season with 10 goals, halfway to his 2018 season total with North Carolina FC. He is also firmly in the race for the USL Championship Golden Boot, sitting in a tie for second place and firmly in first place in the Eastern Conference. For comparison, the next-highest active goal scorer from the Eastern Conference is Ottawa’s Mour Samb with seven goals.

Meanwhile, on the back line, Tribbett has been an anchor for Nashville SC as a central defender. He has won 96 of his 134 duels and 58 of 79 aerial duels while leading the Boys in Gold in blocked shots and clearances. In his 13 appearances this season, Nashville has a 0.61 goals against average and six shutouts.

This is the second year in a row that Tribbett has been up for Midseason Defender of the Year, as he won the fan vote last season as a member of Penn FC.

For the second year in a row, Nashville SC has multiple nominees for Midseason Awards. In 2018, Matt Pickens was nominated for Midseason Goalkeeper of the Year, Gary Smith was up for Midseason Coach of the Year and Ropapa Mensah was nominated for Midseason Young Player of the Year.

New Preds center Matt Duchene[Photo by USA Today]

“Our objective this offseason was to bolster our offense, and signing Matt Duchene gives us another dynamic goal-scoring, playmaking center,” Poile said. “We are excited to add his skill and experience to our top-six forwards and look forward to the next seven years of Matt and his family in Smashville. Matt’s love of country music and passion for the city of Nashville make this partnership a perfect fit.”

Duchene, 28 (1/16/91), matched his career high in points last season with 70 (31g-39a) in 73 games spent with the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets. His 31 goals were a career best; his 39 assists were also his third-most in a single season. Duchene, who began the season in Ottawa, tallied 58 (27g-31a) of his 70 points in a Senators uniform before being acquired by Columbus at the trade deadline. He closed out the 2018-19 campaign by posting 12 points (4g-8a) in 23 contests with the Blue Jackets and helped lead them to a First-Round sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying five goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games.

Originally drafted in the first round (third overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Avalanche, Duchene’s 547 career points (232g-315a) are the second-most among all skaters in his draft class. He is a two-time All-Star, the most recent nod coming at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in Nashville, and has led his team in scoring in four of his 10 NHL campaigns. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound center has posted seven career seasons with at least 50 points and 20 goals and is a two-time 30-goal scorer. One of the premier face-off men in the NHL, he holds a career mark of 53.1 percent, which is the 12th-highest among players who have taken at least 10,000 faceoffs since he entered the League in 2009-10. His 62.6 face-off win percentage in 2017-18 led the NHL and is tied for the 10th-highest mark in League history. Duchene was a finalist for the Calder Trophy in 2010 after he led all rookies in points (55) and tied for the rookie lead in goals (24). Additionally, he served as an alternate captain for the Avalanche in 2016-17 and the Senators in each of the last two seasons.

Internationally, the Haliburton, Ont., native has won Gold with Canada at several events, including the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2015 and 2016 World Championships, 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and 2008 U-18 World Championship. Prior to turning pro, Duchene starred for the OHL’s Brampton Battalion, recording 129 points (61g-68a) in 121 career junior contests. He led the Battalion to the OHL’s Robertson Cup Final in 2009 before falling to Ryan Ellis and the Windsor Spitfires in five games.

Left-hander Joe Palumbo matched a season-high with 10 strikeouts and limited the Dodgers to one unearned run to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 4-3 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers in front of 7,608 fans at First Tennessee Park Monday night.

It was Palumbo’s first start at First Tennessee Park. He joined Nashville on the recent road trip after spending most of his season with Double-A Frisco. Palumbo struck out at least one Oklahoma City batter in every inning, including three punchouts in the first and thing frames.

Nashville busted the game open with a four-run bottom of the fourth inning. Tyler Pill started the frame with a single to right field. After a walk and fielder’s choice, Carlos Tocci came to the dish with a pair of runners on base and belted a three-run homer to right-center field. Tocci’s fourth home run of the season gave the Sounds a 3-0 lead.

Adam Moore followed by reaching on a misplayed ground ball by Dodgers first baseman Cameron Perkins. It came back to hurt Oklahoma City when Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled down the left field line, scoring Moore to make it a 4-0 game.

The Dodgers got on the board in the top of the fifth inning with the help of a Nashville error. With two outs, Angelo Mora hit a fly ball to right-center that Pill misplayed. Gavin Lux followed with a run-scoring double to trim Oklahoma City’s deficit to 4-1.

Phillips Valdez relieved Palumbo and tossed two scoreless innings to get to the Sounds to the eighth. Another error helped Oklahoma put their second run on the board. Shane Peterson reached on an error by Andy Ibanez and later scored to make it 4-2.

Oklahoma City had the tying run at second base in the ninth inning when David Carpenter struck out Drew Jackson to preserve the 4-3 win.

Game four of the five-game series is scheduled for Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Seth Maness (4-2, 4.94) starts for Nashville against right-hander Dennis Santana (2-5, 6.33) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 4-3 win, the Sounds improved to 36-47 on the season.

– Joe Palumbo struck out 10 batters – the first time a Sounds pitcher has reached double-digit strikeouts since Eric Jokisch fanned 11 batters on June 15, 2018 at El Paso.

– Zack Granite’s 10-game hitting streak was snapped with a 0-for-3 night. He did walk and was hit by a pitch to extend his on-base streak to 11 games.

– David Carpenter converted his 13th save in as many opportunities.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

For one low price, soccer fans in Nashville can see the three biggest soccer matches at Nissan Stadium this year. Nashville SC is offering a Club & Country ticket package that will include a ticket to see the U.S. Men’s National Team take on Jamaica in a CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinal this Wednesday, July 3 at 8 p.m., and tickets to see Nashville SC play twice at its future home in Major League Soccer preview matches on July 27 and October 12.

With the package, fans can watch the U.S. National Team try to advance to Gold Cup Final at Nissan Stadium on Wednesday. The U.S. is the defending Gold Cup champions, taking home the trophy in 2017 with a win over Jamaica. It will be the first knockout match that any U.S. National Team will play in Nashville, as the city has previous hosted friendlies or Gold Cup Group Stage matches.

Fans will also receive tickets to Nashville SC’s two MLS preview matches at Nissan Stadium, on July 27 against Indy Eleven and October 12 against North Carolina FC. This will be a chance to see Nashville SC play at its future home when it enters MLS for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

The Club & Country package to see the U.S. National Team and Nashville SC starts at just $60 for the three matches. Click on the following LINK to get your Gold Cup tickets.  You will be able to select your seat location now for the Gold Cup match and a Nashville SC ticket representative will contact you for your seat location Nashville SC’s two matches in Nissan Stadium.

Nashville Soccer Club saw its seven-match unbeaten streak come to an end as it lost 1-0 to North Carolina FC at WakeMed Soccer Park.

North Carolina FC controlled the pace of play for much of the first half, holding court in the attacking half of the pitch, yet Nashville had the edge in possession. North Carolina’s best chance of the early moments came on a DJ Taylor long-range shot that goalkeeper Connor Sparrow got a finger to and knocked away.

Nashville SC had its first big chance of the match in the 17’ minute as Justin Davis made a run down the wing and laid a ball across to Daniel Ríos, who brought it down with a skillful play and put a shot on net that was parried away. A few minutes later, North Carolina had a strong header off of a corner kick that Sparrow lunged up for and poked over the crossbar.

NCFC got the first goal nearing the end of the first half on a well-run attack forward and a goal by Ben Speas. Head Coach Gary Smith made his first substitution of the match early in the 39’ minute with Alan Winn coming on for Kosuke Kimura. Ríos had another good chance late in the half, but his shot from the top corner of the box missed wide.

In the early second half, Cameron Lancaster had a good chance in the 51’ minute, but his header in front of goal sailed high and over the crossbar. Nashville kept pressing with numbers forward and had plenty of shots, but few on net.

Lancaster had another good chance on a long-range free kick, but the North Carolina keeper got to it on the near post. In the final minutes, Ríos had a free kick from distance that the NCFC keeper also saved at the other post.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday night’s match:

1) Putting on the Pressure

Nashville SC was defending for much of the first half but stepped to the front foot in the second half. The Boys in Gold had 59% of the possession in the second half and took 12 shots to North Carolina’s three. However, despite all the chances, Nashville SC couldn’t find the back of the net, getting shut out in a loss for just the third time this season.

2) Streaks End

Saturday night’s loss marked the end of a number of streaks for Nashville SC. It marked the end of Nashville’s seven-match unbeaten streak and a lengthy road unbeaten streak that dated back to April. For Cameron Lancaster, it marked the end of his five-match scoring run, having found the back of the net in every other match he has played for Nashville SC. Because Matt LaGrassa did not make an appearance in the match, his streak of 52 consecutive appearances for the club dating back to last season came to an end. Finally, the loss was also Connor Sparrow’s first in a Nashville SC shirt.

3) Wacky Night in the USL Championship

Nashville’s loss added to what was already a chaotic night near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. New York Red Bulls II, Indy Eleven and Louisville City FC all drew on the night, while Tampa Bay Rowdies needed a stoppage time goal to beat Ottawa Fury FC. Nashville SC will fall to fifth place with this loss.

Up Next

Nashville SC continues its road swing next Saturday night with a trip up I-65 to take on Louisville City FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT.

The Nashville Sounds lost to the Oklahoma City Dodgers 13-6 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,326 Sunday night. The Dodgers hit five home runs to highlight their offensive night.

The rout started in the first inning when Gavin Lux hit a leadoff homer in the first inning. The Sounds did respond with a run in the bottom half of the inning to have the game tied at 1-1 into the second inning.

The Dodgers scored the next 12 runs from innings two through five. Four runs came in the second inning on four hits to put them up 5-1. They scored two more runs in the third inning on back-to-back home runs by Jon Kemmer and Jake Peter to make it 7-1.

Nashville did load the bases in the bottom of the third inning but was able to score just one run and make the score 7-2. Oklahoma City stayed hot in the fourth inning with a two-run shot by Zach Reks and a solo shot by DJ Peters. With the score 10-2 into the fifth inning, the Dodgers kept it coming with three runs to put the score at 13-2.

Dustin May, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ third best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, pitched well in his Triple-A debut. He earned the win, going 5.0 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. May is currently ranked the 51st best prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.

The Sounds scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, putting forth their best offense of the night. Tyler Pill hit in the first run on a sacrifice fly. Zack Granite hit a two-run triple and was hit in by Eli White to make it 13-6.

That would be the final score as Oklahoma City took game two of the series and now lead the season series 3-2. Monday night’s game starts at 7:05 p.m., where Sounds’ left-hander Joe Palumbo (0-0, 8.31) will face Dodgers’ right-hander Tony Gonsolin (1-1, 2.77).

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 13-2 loss, the Sounds dropped to 35-47 on the season.

– Tim Dillard set single-game career-highs in runs allowed (13), earned runs allowed (13), hits allowed (15) and home runs allowed (5).

– Scott Heineman had a season-high three hits, his sixth multi-hit game of the season. It was the 38th time a Nashville hitter had at least three hits.

– Tyler Pill pitched as a position player in the ninth inning. Pill used to be a full-time pitcher and is now a full-time hitter.

– Jacob Lemoine, Kyle Bird and Tyler Pill combined for 4.1 shutout relief innings.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to pull away from the Nashville Sounds in a 10-7 win in front of a sellout crowd of 11,028 at First Tennessee Park Saturday night.

The back-and-forth tilt was even at the start of the eighth. Trouble started when three of the first four batters reached for Oklahoma City against Nashville reliever Miguel Del Pozo. With the bases loaded and one out, Del Pozo balked to give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead.

Del Pozo struck out Zach Reks for the second out in the inning and was relieved by Reed Garrett. Dodgers designated hitter Cameron Perkins greeted Garrett with a two-run single to extend Oklahoma City’s lead to 8-5. The Dodgers sent five more hitters to the plate and tallied two more runs to make it 10-5.

Nashville made some noise in the ninth when Juremi Profar and Zack Granite collected base hits. Eli White banged a double into the left field corner to score both runners. The Sounds brought the tying run to the plate but the Dodgers worked out of the jam.

The teams exchanged runs in the early going as Oklahoma City got solo home runs from Connor Joe in the first and Jon Kemmer in the third to take a 2-0 lead.

Granite’s RBI single in the bottom of the third trimmed the deficit in half. In the fourth, Scott Heineman tripled, Andy Ibanez doubled, and Christian Lopes singled to spark a rally. The three consecutive hits plated a pair of runs to give the Sounds a 3-2 lead.

As they did all night long, Oklahoma City answered. Cameron Perkins drilled a two-run homer off Nashville starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx in the fifth to regain a 4-3 lead.

Nashville tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth and 5-5 in the seventh but never led after Perkins’ two-run homer.

Granite and Lopes had multi-hit games for Nashville.

Game two of the five-game series is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander (5-6, 4.23) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Dustin May (0-0, —) for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 10-7 loss, the Sounds dropped to 35-46 on the season.

– Nashville’s season-best five-game winning streak was snapped tonight.

– Outfielders Zack Granite and Scott Heineman extended their respective hitting streaks to nine games. Granite singled in the third inning and Heineman tripled in the fourth.

– Nashville pitchers matched a season-high by issuing 10 walks.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.