Category: Sports

P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators [Photo by nhl.com]

Three different Predators found the back of the net as Nashville defeated the New York Rangers by a 3-2 final on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. It’s exactly the result the Preds were hoping for on night one of the 2018-19 regular season, in a contest that saw Colton Sissons’ empty-net tally turn out to be the game-winner.

Goals from Filip Forsberg and P.K. Subban helped them earn the win as well, and all things considered, it was a quality start to the new season.

“We did some good things, and there are things we can be better at,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I said coming in here, we’ll see where we’re at. I thought we were competitive. We turned the puck over a little bit too much. Some of it was decisions, some of it the puck was bouncing on a us a little bit too much. It seemed like when we turned it over they were quick to get offense going back the other way. [Pekka Rinne] made the saves when we needed it, and the guys did a good job of just staying with it.”

After a scoreless opening period, Forsberg scored the first goal of the new season when he snapped a shot past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Preds a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the middle frame. However, Jesper Fast tallied on one of 17 Rangers’ shots in the second period to even the score after 40 minutes.

Less than four minutes into the third, it took all of about two seconds off of a faceoff for P.K. Subban to one-time his first of the season into the twine to give Nashville the lead once more, exactly what his head coach wants him to do.

“Lavi, the one thing that he tells me before every season is, ‘You’ve got one of the best shots, just get it though like you always do and find a lane,'” Subban said. “We’ve got guys that are just tenacious around the net, so it’s really easy for me.”

The Rangers continued to press in the third, but it was Sissons who flung it into an empty cage with just over a minute to play. New York got one late, but it didn’t matter as Rinne made one more of his 34 stops on the night before the final horn sounded – sealing the first of what the Preds hope will be plenty of celebratory finishes this season.

“It was a great win,” Rinne said. “Anytime you start the season, you always feel the butterflies, and you’re a little nervous before the game. You wish you get off to a good start, so it was a good game for us.”

Scoresberg:

Is it too corny to write Filip Forsberg is on pace for 82 goals this season?

Probably, but if he keeps playing the way he did on night one, it might not be that far fetched.

Forsberg potted the first of what is likely to be a whole lot in the coming months, picking his spot on one of the best goaltenders in the world like it was nothing. He could have had at least another as well, and the otherworldly creativity was on display, too.

He’s worth the price of admission, but that’s nothing new for those on the Nashville bench.

“I don’t know that we marvel anymore, we expect him to do it,” Laviolette said with a grin when asked of Forsberg’s ability. “He’s a terrific player. He’s a guy that if he gets a chance, he can make a difference in a game.”

He certainly did on Opening Night, and even though the silky-smooth, highlight-reel plays have become commonplace, Forsberg’s teammates still don’t mind the show.

“In my opinion, when he’s playing like that, he’s the best player in the League,” Subban said of Forsberg. “He has that ability. He can elevate to that level and very few guys can… At his age, it’s just scary to think about the years to come, so it’s a great first game for him. I know he’s feeling confident after you get the first one, but we’re going to need that from him game in and game out.”

Notes:

Mattias Ekholm dished out two assists on the night, while Sissons, Kyle Turris, Ryan Ellis and Craig Smith each recorded one helper. Smith paced the club with six shots, followed by Subban and Forsberg with four apiece.

Ryan Hartman was activated off of Injured Reserve prior to Thursday’s season opener and dressed for Nashville, poisting one shot and one hit in 15:13 of ice time. Zac Rinaldo was also in the lineup, participating in his first game with the Predators and was a +1 with two shots and two hits.

Nashville concludes their two-game trip to New York on Saturday night in Brooklyn when they face the Islanders at Barclays Center. The Preds then return home for a four-game stand at Bridgestone Arena, beginning on Tuesday night when the Calgary Flames come to town.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

The Lady Raider volleyball team will square off against Columbia on Thursday in the District 8AAA semifinals at Shelbyville Central High School.  A win there would advance the Lady Raiders to their 6^th straight district finals.  The district final is scheduled for 7:30 on Thursday at Shelbyville against the winner of the 5 PM game.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of the district tournament semifinal match as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.

Following the volleyball semifinal, Thunder Radio will bring you Nashville Predators hockey as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.  Predators radio broadcasts are brought to you locally by the law offices of Burch and Lockhart.

If the Lady Raiders advance to the district tournament finals, Thunder Radio’s coverage of the volleyball final will be available on the Thunder Radio App and streaming at WMSRradio.com.

Coffee County’s Elementary Basketball League is set to begin its 46^th season later this month.  The 8 team league, originally contested among Coffee County School System teams began in 1972 with 6 teams.  With the addition of the Manchester City School System elementary teams, the league features 8 boys’ teams and 7 girls’ team representing the 8 schools.   The league is hosted by the Coffee County Central High School basketball teams and games are played at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  This year’s games begin on Saturday, October 13^th at 9 AM.  The regular season will end on December 1^st.  This year’s postseason will be completed prior to Christmas as the championship games are scheduled for December 15^th.

Marcus Mariota [Photo by Getty Images]

It’s the fourth Player of the Week award for Mariota in his career, tying Steve McNair for the second-most by a quarterback in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Warren Moon (6).

With the Titans trailing in overtime against the defending Super Bowl champs, Mariota engineered a game-winning drive that was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Corey Davis on the final play of the game in a 26-23 overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mariota completed 30-of-43 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns in the game, and he ran for 46 more yards, including a two-yard touchdown run. Mariota’s touchdown pass to Davis came on third down, with just five seconds left.

Mariota engineered a 16-play, 75-yard drive in 6:14 in overtime, and he found Davis on a third-and-goal play from the 10. The Titans converted three fourth downs on the drive, as Mariota and the Titans didn’t flinch.

“It is hard to describe,” Mariota said after the game. “I don’t think there is a feeling in the world similar to it. … Countless guys made big plays today, and that’s why we were able to win.”

It was the 11th game-winning drive of Mariota’s career.

The 390 combined yards for Mariota topped his previous career high of 380 yards (268 passing, 112 rushing) against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 6, 2015.

In addition to the touchdown pass to Davis, Mariota also threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tajaé Sharpe in his sixth career 300-yard game. His passing yardage total against the Eagles ranked third in his career, while his completion total topped his previous career high of 28 completions at New Orleans on Nov. 8, 2015.

Mariota didn’t throw an incomplete pass in the third or fourth quarter, and his string of 15 consecutive completions was broken in overtime. In the second half and overtime combined, he was 19-of-25 passing for 198 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 125.1.

In the contest, Mariota went past the 10,000-yard passing mark (10,023) and the 1,000-yard rushing mark (1,025) in the game. He joined Warren Moon (33,685 passing yards and 1,541 rushing yards) and Steve McNair (27,141 passing and 3,439 rushing) as the only players in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Mariota’s play against the Eagles was “phenomenal.”

“I’m just proud of him to execute in the most critical situation in the game,” Vrabel said.

Mariota credited the “Aloha Spirit” for his poise.

“I probably have to credit where I come from,” Mariota explained. “Back home in Hawaii, there are so many ups and downs, you just kind of go with it. They call it the ‘Aloha Spirit’, and I think that is something that has been a part of me since I was a kid, and it’s why in certain situations I handle it that way.”

The Titans face the Bills on Sunday in Buffalo. You will be able to hear that broadcast here on Thunder Radio as we celebrate our 20th year as a member of the Titans Radio Network. Live coverage will begin at Noon.

With the regular season ended for the volleyball and soccer teams at Coffee County Central High School, first round pairings for the upcoming District 8AAA tournaments have been announced.  The Lady Raider volleyball team opens district tournament play on Thursday night at Shelbyville.  The Lady Raider soccer team will open play on Tuesday also in Shelbyville.

The Lady Raider soccer team will open against the Eaglettes of Shelbyville on Tuesday night.  That match will get underway at 6:30 PM on the Eaglettes home pitch.  A win on Tuesday would advance Coffee County to Thursday night’s semifinals.

The Lady Raider volleyball team will square off against Columbia on Thursday in the District 8AAA semifinals.  A win there would advance the Lady Raiders to their 6^th straight district finals.  The district final is scheduled for 7:30 on Thursday against the winner of the 5 PM game.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of district tournament action as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series broadcast.

Nick Baptiste[Photo courtesy of NHL.com]

Baptiste, 23 (8/4/95), split the 2017-18 season between the Sabres and the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans. He had four goals and six points in 33 games with the Sabres – his second NHL season – and an additional 18 points (7g-11a) in 36 contests with the Americans. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound right wing has suited up in 47 NHL games and has posted 10 points (7g-3a) since making his League debut on Oct. 18, 2016. In 157 career AHL games – all with Rochester – Baptiste has tallied 45 goals and 87 points, including a career-best 41 (25g-16a) in 2015-16.

Originally drafted in the third round (69th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Sabres, Baptiste played four seasons of junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League, appearing in 248 contests with Sudbury and Erie. He led Sudbury in scoring in 2013-14 with 89 points (45g-44a) and captained the team the next season until he was traded to Erie where he helped the Otters to the OHL Final. The Ottawa, Ont., native won a gold medal with Canada at the 2013 IIHF U-18 World Championship, recording eight points (3g-5a) in seven games.

The Nashville Predators games can be heard on Thunder Radio as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.  Predators radio broadcasts are brought to you locally by the law offices of Burch and Lockhart.

Pete Weber’s Predators Report

The Motlow State Community College women’s soccer team took another step towards the first TCCAA/Region VII regular season championship with a dominating 5-0 victory over Dyersburg State Saturday in Dyersburg.

Motlow (3-0, 7-2-2) has now won four consecutive games and has not lost in its previous seven contests. The Lady Bucks host a rematch with Dyersburg State Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Smyrna High School, then welcome non-conference opponent Gordon State Monday at 4 p.m. at Shelbyville Central High School.

The TCCAA/Region VII Tournament will be held Oct. 26-27 at St. Benedict High School in Memphis. The tournament winner will advance to the NJCAA Central District tournament, scheduled for Nov. 1-2 at the home field of the Region 24 champion.

Sophomore Tyler Feaster got the scoring started for the Lady Bucks as they built a 3-0 halftime lead against Dyersburg. Feaster scored at the 12-minute mark on an assist from Keely Smith, assisted Emily Vallejo on a goal two minutes later, and then scored her second goal at the 18-minute mark. Paige Loveless assisted on both second half goals, including one by Smith with two minutes remaining.

Motlow was dominant in all phases of the contest, out-shooting the Lady Eagles 21-6 and holding an 11-0 edge in corner kicks. Emily Bryant and Ashley Woods split time as goal keeper, with each playing a half and only needing to make one save apiece thanks to Motlow’s smothering defense.

Vallejo, a freshman from Nashville, is currently second in the TCCAA with seven goals and 16 points on the season, while Feaster is third in both with six and 15 respectively. Motlow’s April Gillespie leads the league with six assists, and Woods is the top goal keeper with a 0.96 goals-against average and a .857 save percentage.

As a team the Lady Bucks are dominating the conference statistics. Motlow has 33 goals with the next closest at 19, 95 points with the runner up at 52, and the Lady Bucks have outscored their conference opponents 10-1 in their three TCCAA wins.

Rachel Butler of Temple Baptist

A sluggish start gave way to a strong comeback as the Temple Baptist Christian School volleyball team defeated Victory Baptist Academy of Shelbyville on Monday night at the E.C. Bailey Gym.  In a match you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Lady Eagles committed several unforced errors to drop the first set.  They rebounded to win the next 3 sets and take the match 3 sets to 1.

Temple won by set scores of 21-25, 25-10, 25-14 and 25-19.  Lady Eagle senior Rachel Butler had a phenomenal performance as she scored 39 kills.  Rachel also served a pair of aces in the match.  Sister Grace Butler finished with 11 kills, 3 aces, a block and 2 assists.  Lexie Stewart led the team in assists as she had 27 while adding 2 kills and an ace.  Lauren Davis added 22 assists.

Temple will travel to Alabama next Tuesday to take on Madison Baptist Academy.  The varsity match gets underway at 5:30 PM.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Coffee County Central High School athletic department has partnered with Jiffy Burger restaurant to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that our student-athletes put into their sports. At the end of each month, each in-season head coach will be able to submit the name of one athlete who had a standout performance and demonstrated excellent leadership during that month. The head coaches and the administration will be given the opportunity to vote for one male and one female athlete to be named athlete of the month.

Last week, the CHS athletic department announced the selection of Keri Munn and Samuel Prater as the Athletes of the Month for August.  Munn, a sophomore, is among the team leaders for the Coffee County volleyball team in kills and blocks.  Prater, a senior, was consistently one of the best scorers match after match for the Coffee County golf team.

Congratulations to Keri and Samuel.

2018-2019 mask for Predators Pekka Rinne [Photo courtesy of DaveArt.com and NHL.com]

It’s one of the top perks of being a goaltender in the NHL – the ability to wear a custom helmet painted with just about anything they can dream up.

In Pekka Rinne’s case, he’s been turning to David Gunnarsson, better known around hockey circles as DaveArt, to churn out a fresh mask every season decked out in navy and Gold. The Predators netminder teamed up with Gunnarsson once again this summer, and the result? Something Rinne calls “Iron Pred.”

“It’s all DaveArt,” Rinne said as he held the new masterpiece in his hand. “A lot of times he has the ideas, and it’s pretty much the same theme I’ve had for the most part of my career, kind of the Predators head wearing something his face. Then on the back, I have the Finnish crest and little something for my grandpa that I always have. But I’m very happy with it, I think it goes well with our both home jersey and away jersey.”

Rinne does have input throughout the process each year, but admits he’s not the most creative person. Instead, he relies on Gunnarsson to fill up the canvas.

“He’s pretty wild with his ideas, so mostly I just try to like settle him down a little bit,” Rinne joked of working with Gunnarsson. “But he’s so creative and a very easy guy to work with. It helps me a lot that he comes up with ideas.”

Does Rinne have a favorite from over the years? He says the success he has while wearing it certainly plays a part, but the netminder has high hopes for the new design. Work your magic, Iron Pred.

“I have a couple of my favorites, but it’s always hard to say,” Rinne said. “But I think this is going to grow on me to the top of my list.”