Category: Sports

The one thing for sure about the District 8-AAA basketball tournament is this – the Central High School Red Raiders and Lady Raiders will not be playing Thursday and Friday as originally planned.

But when they will play is still up in the air.

With the Raider boys placing second and the Lady Raiders placing first, both teams received a bye into the semi-final round of the district tournament. However, the quarterfinals have been pushed back to Friday, meaning it will be at least Saturday before semi-final games can be played.

When dates are set, Thunder Radio will keep you informed. Both Raiders and Lady Raiders will be playing at home at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium and tickets will be available digitally at www.gofan.co. The general public is welcome to attend the game. Masks are required or entry.

The Braves won their arbitration decision involving shortstop Dansby Swanson, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Swanson will earn a $6 million salary in 2021 after he had filed for $6.7 million.

This was Swanson’s second year of arbitration eligibility. The 27-year-old is coming off a solid campaign for the Braves that saw him post a career-best slugging percentage (.464) and OPS (.809), while knocking 10 homers and helping Atlanta get to within one game of the World Series. Swanson received one 10th-place nod in the 2020 National League MVP Award vote.

Swanson, the first overall selection in the 2015 MLB Draft, is set to enter his sixth Major League season. He’s a career .249 hitter with 50 home runs across 2,038 plate appearances.

The Atlanta Braves can be heard live on Thunder Radio all season.

 Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the team has assigned defenseman Frederic Allard to Chicago (AHL).

Allard, 23 (12/27/97), spent the beginning of the 2020-21 season on loan with Villacher SV of the ICE Hockey League, Austria’s top professional league. The 6-foot-1, 179-pound blueliner posted four goals and 13 points – the third-most among team defensemen – in 25 games for Villacher to kick off his fourth professional campaign. Last season, he finished fourth among Milwaukee (AHL) defensemen in points (21) and assists (19) and tied for fourth in goals (2), helping the Admirals earn the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s regular-season champions. Allard also established a career high in plus-minus at +24, the third-best mark among all Milwaukee skaters and tied for the fifth-best in the AHL.

Originally drafted by the Predators in the third round (78th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Allard has posted 74 points (14g-60a) in 181 career AHL contests – all with the Admirals – including a career-best 29 points (4g-25a) in 2018-19. Prior to turning pro, the Saint-Sauveur, Que., native skated four seasons for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, tallying 177 points (34g-143a) in 250 games while serving as an alternate captain in his final two campaigns.

Of all sports to be postponed due to wintry weather, you would think hockey would not be one of them.

The Nashville Predators games on Monday and Tuesday were both postponed. The next Predators game is set for 6 p.m. Thursday. You can hear the Nashville Predators on Thunder Radio, presented by Charlie Gonzales, realtor with Weichert Realtors, Joe Orr & Associates.

The Coffee County Raider basketball team is set to play in the semi-finals of the District 8-AAA tournament Thursday, with the Lady Raiders set to do the same on Friday.

However, weather could push those games back.

Games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday this week have already faced postponement. This could lead to the CHS games that are set for Thursday and Friday being pushed. Thunder Radio will let you know about any changes.

As of now, the Raiders are set to host at 6 p.m. Thursday with the Lady Raiders hosting at 6 p.m. Friday. Tickets will be available at gofan.co. However, as of now tickets have not been posted.

A significant portion of our state has been impacted by snow and ice making travel extremely hazardous and, in some cases, impossible. As a result, the tournament has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 24th – Friday, February 26th at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

Temperatures in Middle and West Tennessee are not expected to reach freezing over the next couple of days so it is unlikely that conditions will improve this week. Additional ice and snow is in the forecast for these areas on Wednesday and Thursday, which makes it very likely that many participating schools would not be able to attend the TSSAA Wrestling State Championships. The revised schedule can be found at TSSAAsports.com

The Coffee County wrestling team will be on the Coffee Coaches Show this Saturday, Feb. 20 on Thunder Radio from 10-11 a.m.

The final Tennessee Associated Press Poll of the 2020-2021 basketball season has been released – with the Central High School Lady Raiders planted firmly in third place in the state.

At 24-1, Coffee County is tied for the most wins in the top 10 grouping of the state’s AAA teams. The Lady Raiders received 104 first place votes, behind Bearden (128) and Bradley Central (130).

Here is the complete AP Top 10:

1. Bradley Central, 21-1
2. Bearden, 23-1
3. Coffee County, 24-1
4. Blackman, 15-3
5. Brentwood, 19-4
6. Stone Memorial, 20-4
7. Lebanon, 21-4
8. Maryville 21-4
9. Riverdale 16-3
10. Sevier County, 24-4

The Lady Raiders are scheduled to play in the semi-finals of the District 8-AAA Tournament at 6 p.m. Friday in Manchester. This is weather permitting. If games are postponed, Thunder Radio will keep you up to date.

The Lady Raiders will host the semi-finals of the district tournament and, if they win, will host the championship game. If they lose the semi-finals, they will host a third place game. Regardless, they will advance to the Region 4-AAA tournament. But winning the district tournament is a top priority for the Lady Raiders in hopes of playing at home in the Region tournament.

For the 19th consecutive year, Thunder Radio will be your home for Coffee County Central High School Red Raider baseball and Lady Raider softball games on the radio.

Thunder Radio will also broadcast select CHS soccer games, as well as baseball, softball and soccer for Coffee Middle School and Westwood Middle School. See the schedule for middle school broadcasts here.

“Unlike basketball, we obviously cannot broadcast every single game because of scheduling conflicts,” explained Josh Peterson, Thunder Radio co-owner. “But we have carefully selected over 30 games that we will broadcast through the spring. This doesn’t include postseason tournaments which we will, of course, be there to broadcast on Thunder Radio.”

Peterson will handle play-by-play duties for most Central High School baseball games. Meanwhile, CHS Lady Raider basketball head coach Joe Pat Cope will trade in his whistle for a headset and serve as the primary play-by-play voice for CHS Lady Raider softball this spring. Courtney Steere, who served as host of Friday Night Thunder in the fall and color commentator during basketball season, will fill in as play-by-play voice for select games, as well.

Spring sports broadcasts on Thunder Radio are made possible by title sponsor Al White Ford-Lincoln. Other sponsors include: Hullett’s Service Center, Elk River Public Utility District, Garner’s Furniture & Appliance, Shanelle Gray with RE/MAX 1st Realty, Mid Tenn Turf, Coffee County Bank, Stone Fort Mortgage, A Winning Attitude, Char El Apartments, Powers Storage, First Vision Bank, Gilley Crane and Garretson Stone.

See the complete broadcast schedule below (subject to change):

Thunder Radio is once again proud to partner with Peoples Bank & Trust company to present the Spring Hometown Sports Series of broadcasts on Thunder Radio!

Every spring sports season, in addition to high school baseball, softball and soccer (see high school spring sports broadcast schedule here) , Thunder Radio makes an effort to broadcast athletic events for Coffee County and Westwood middle schools.

“Thunder Radio is your sports in Manchester, Tennessee,” said Thunder Radio co-owner Josh Peterson. “The spring hometown sports series was an effort launched by our former sports director Dennis Weaver before he passed away. We come to work every day thinking of how we can make him proud, and continuing this great tradition forward to give unparalleled exposure to our local athletes is the best way to do that.”

Thunder Radio has selected 13 games – a mix of baseball, softball and soccer from CMS and WMS to broadcast. This schedule is subject to change based on weather and other circumstances. Updates will be posted at thunder1320.com and on the Thunder Radio “on-air schedule”, which can be found on the Thunder website.

The hometown sports series is made possible by Peoples Bank & Trust company. Other sponsors include attorney Shawn Trail, Eagle Door Service, MidTenn Turf and Elk River Public Utility District.

Below is a tentative schedule: