Sports

The Nashville Sounds were named Minor League Baseball's Organization of the Year at the annual baseball winter meetings in San Diego yesterday.

Why it matters: The honor recognizes the Sounds' excellent overall attendance this season as well as their record-breaking season ticket sales.

• The Sounds led all the minors in reported attendance with 555,576 fans, an increase of more than 118,000 from 2021. The team topped its season ticket sales revenue by more than $700,000

It's the first time winning the award in the franchise's 45-year history.

What he's saying: “I’m so proud of our whole organization, because people make an organization and it’s a total team effort to win an award like this,” Sounds general manager and chief operating officer Adam English said in a press release.

College basketball is back in full force. To celebrate, we made a short list of some of the most intriguing men's basketball games coming up in Tennessee.

Flood damage from a broken water main at Bridgestone Arena was so extensive it could have shuttered the building for more than a month, Predators CEO Sean Henry told reporters Tuesday.

• But he said an "army of people" working around the clock cleared the way for events to resume this week.

Catch up quick: A torrent of water rushed through the arena after the main broke early Friday morning. Water flooded the concourse, seats and event floor.

State of play: The damage was extensive. Henry estimated it could take three to six months to complete behind-the-scenes repairs to the venue's electrical system, among other fixes.

• Henry told reporters he only began to grasp the scope of the problem when he saw a river of floodwater raging across Demonbreun Street on Friday.
• "Millions of gallons of water cascaded throughout the concourse, the whole thing, through the box office, down aisles, down through the electrical rooms, the water system, you know, everything that we have," Henry said.

What he's saying: Henry said about 300 people were in the building helping within hours of the main break, between city agencies, private contractors and team officials. Over the weekend, they deployed more than 1,000 box fans to dry out the building.

• "What's really nice is the sheer volume of people that are helping us," he said.

• "Everyone responded so, so quickly. … Everyone gave up their holiday weekend."

Between the lines: While no one named a specific cause for Friday's main break, Scott Potter, Metro Water's director of water services, said drought conditions and temperature shifts cause the ground to shift, which can cause breaks.

• "The ground's been moving a lot in the last couple of months," Potter said, noting an "unusual" number of main breaks during this fall's drought conditions.

What's next: The Preds won 2-1 against the Anaheim Ducks at Bridgestone on Tuesday night. A Maren Morris concert will go on as scheduled Friday.

The United States advanced in the FIFA World Cup, and the country has Nashville to thank for it.

Threat level: The U.S. led 1-0 in the final moments of Tuesday's must-win match against Iran when the ball slipped past goalkeeper Matt Turner and trickled toward the open net. Had Iran scored and held on for a draw, the U.S. would've been eliminated from the World Cup.

The complexion of the Vanderbilt-Tennessee football game has certainly changed in the last few weeks.

• What seemed like a throwaway game between a national title contender and an SEC doormat has suddenly taken on much more significance.

Mayor John Cooper unveiled a plan Wednesday to refurbish 15 Metro Nashville Public Schools sports fields, including committing $5 million in city funds.

Why it matters: Cooper's sales pitch is that by the time the Titans have a new stadium, the MNPS athletics programs will have new fields, too.

Tennessee is on the brink of an epic football weekend featuring the Volunteers and Titans matched up against fellow title contenders.

Why it matters: This will be a great weekend to spend on your couch.

NHL team valuations are surging, and the Nashville Predators are Exhibit A, cashing in at $775 million, per Sportico's annual valuations.

Why it matters: This latest valuation comes as former Gov. Bill Haslam joins the Predators' ownership group.