Corn Elder ponders two-sport future at Miami

Former Ensworth star athlete Corn Elder, who is now at the University of Miami, has a meeting scheduled Monday with Hurricanes basketball coach Jim Larranaga.

Elder was back in Murfreesboro over the Christmas break and spent time trying to decide whether he wants to continue to pursue a basketball career at Miami.

His football career is back on track after recovering from an injury last year, and now Elder is reconsidering his original plan to walk on with the basketball team.

"I had a pretty good football season, but I feel like I could have played better," said Elder, a cornerback who recorded 34 tackles, broke up four passes, recovered two fumbles and recorded three tackles for loss and a sack. "I'm looking forward to next season."

In high school, Elder led Ensworth to three football state championships and three basketball state championships.

He went to Miami hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jimmy Graham, who played on the Hurricanes' football and basketball teams and is now a tight end for the New Orleans Saints.

But Elder was injured in his freshman season on the football field and underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus, which prevented him from playing basketball. He was, however, listed as a guard on the 2013-14 basketball roster.

After rehabilitating his knee, Elder played in every football game and started in one this season for the Hurricanes, which went 6-7. Miami lost to South Carolina 24-21 in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl on Dec. 27.

He returned home after the bowl game and has been putting a lot of thought into whether he wants to trade his cleats for high tops and join the basketball team, which visits Duke on Tuesday.

"I'm not sure at this point," said Elder, who plans to return to school Sunday. "I'll see how I feel once I get back. I want to sit down with Coach, kind of take it from there."

Miami's basketball team won its first eight games. The Hurricanes dropped to 10-4 after losing Jan. 3 to No. 3 Virginia 89-80 in double overtime.

"It's a lot tougher playing both sports because the football season is so much longer in college than it is in high school," Elder said. "It's just something I'm going to have to really think hard about."

Ex-NBA owner helping out here

Former Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn now lives in the Nashville area and is making an impact on the community.

On Wednesday, Shinn partnered with Feed the Children and FiftyForward to distribute large food boxes and other basic essentials to 400 Nashville families in need.

Each food box weighed 25 pounds.

The delivery was the first of several planned across the country.

Shinn also has donated shoes to Room In The Inn for the homeless.

"George's dad passed away when George was a little boy, and he knows what it feels like to grow up in a family where even the basic necessities weren't always there, no matter how hard his mom worked," said Denise Shinn, George's wife who serves as president of the George Shinn Foundation.

Vols bowl earns mediocre ratings

The TaxSlayer Bowl, in which Tennessee beat Iowa 45-28 on Jan. 2, was not among the top five most-watched sports events on television in Nashville during the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4.

The game earned a 13.6 local rating, which is equal to 136,381 Nashville households.

It was the sixth-most-watched sports event, finishing behind the AFC wild-card game between Indianapolis and Cincinnati in the NFL Playoffs, which earned an 18.4 rating.

Attendance for the TaxSlayer Bowl, which was played in Jacksonville, Fla., was 56,310.

That was the eighth-highest among the 36 bowls not including the Rose or Sugar, which are now part of the College Football Playoff.

Lipscomb coach meets lofty goal

On Aug. 1, Lipscomb volleyball coach Brandon Rosenthal set an ambitious goal to run 500 miles by the end of 2014.

He made it one day early, finishing Dec. 30.

"I was excited," Rosenthal said. "My body is tired. I am just thankful to be done. The last week was a chore. I was checking off each day."

Rosenthal had prepared for the challenge by running 300-400 miles from January to August.

In one five-day stretch, Rosenthal said, he ran 10, 11, 13, 10 and 10 miles.

Rosenthal told his players what he was doing early on and said it was important for him to follow through because he is the one who usually pushes them to meet their goals.

"I know people might ask, 'Who would really know if you ran 500 miles?' ... I would," Rosenthal said. "I gave my word to a group of girls that I am always asking to trust me. It was not just 500 miles; it was a commitment to them and this program."

Anthony Mason's son playing at Auburn

Antoine Mason is the son of former Tennessee State and NBA All-Star Anthony Mason and is the nation's leading returning scorer in college basketball.

He played last year at Niagara and is now at Auburn as a graduate student. He averaged 25.6 points per game last season and had 12 30-point games.

Mason was in town Tuesday when Auburn played at Vanderbilt. He scored a game-high 16 points, but the Commodores beat Auburn 64-52.

Several Midstate fields named best in state

The Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association Field No.1 at Shelby Park was chosen this week as the Municipal Sports Field of the Year in Tennessee for 2014 by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association.

Donelson Christian Academy was the High School Sports Field of the Year, McCabe was the Public Golf Course of the Year and LP Field was the Professional Sports Field of the Year.

Madison, Hunters Lane coach Collier dies

Longtime Madison and Hunters Lane boys basketball coach Carlton Collier died Friday. He was 77.

Some of Collier's teams were the best in the Nashville Interscholastic League.

He coached at Madison from 1966-86 and became Hunters Lane's first coach in 1987.

Collier, who was twice named coach of the year, retired in 2001.

Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Monday at Spring Hill Funeral Home and the service is 11 a.m. Tuesday.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to FANS (Foundation for Athletics in Nashville Schools). Donations can be made by calling Mark North at 615-319-3057 or visiting thefansinc.com.

Vanderbilt baseball banquet

The 2015 Vanderbilt Baseball Kick-Off Banquet is open to the public and set for Jan. 31.

The Commodores are coming off a national championship season. They open the 2015 season Feb. 13 at Hawkins Field against Santa Clara.

The banquet will be at the Omni Nashville Hotel.

Coach Tim Corbin and the team will arrive at 6 p.m. to sign autographs.

Tickets ($35) are available at the Vanderbilt ticket office, by calling 615-322-4653 or by visiting vucommodores.com.

Dinner and a game at TSU

TSU offers one of the unique events in town each year with its Basketball Courtside Dining.

Fans are treated to a banquet-style dinner court-side while getting to watch the men's and women's teams play.

This year's event, the 16th annual, is Feb. 14 when the Tigers play Eastern Kentucky.

There also will be a silent auction. Tickets start at $40 and are available at the Gentry Center ticket office or by calling 615-963-5841.

Book highlights UT Martin players in NFL

Father Ryan graduate Joe Lofaro recently finished his book "Drafted: When the Elite Rise to Gridiron Glory."

Lofaro served as the sports information director at UT Martin and his book chronicles the players from UT Martin who have been drafted in the NFL since the late 1960s. They include Ron Lewellen, Joe Taffoni, Gordon Lambert, John Burch, William Mackall, Emanuel McNeil and Montori Hughes.

The book is available at amazon.com. Lofaro is planning several book signings in the Midstate.

Litton great Potter dies

Gray Potter, one of the most outstanding athletes to attend Litton High School, died Jan. 3. He was 80.

Potter played football, basketball and baseball at Litton and went on to play football at Georgia Tech.

Potter helped the Litton football team win the 1952 Clinic Bowl and post a 10-1 record.

He was also the most valuable basketball player in the Nashville Interscholastic League in 1953.

Anderson speaking to Cohn group

The Cohn High Alumni group is in for a real treat.

Charlie Anderson, one of the winningest basketball coaches in the state, will speak to the group Thursday at its Knights at Noon luncheon.

Anderson has 1,080 career victories as a coach on the high school and college levels.

After graduating from Cohn in 1952, Anderson coached at Stratford, Bellevue, Hillsboro and Nashville Christian.

He then spent 20 years at Aquinas, where his record was 451-179. He led Aquinas to the 1991 national junior college championship.

Tickets are $12 and reservations can be made by emailing Farrell Owens at farrellowens78@gmail.com.

MTSU QB joins SMU staff

Former Middle Tennessee State quarterback Joe Craddock was hired earlier this week as the offensive coordinator at SMU.

Craddock spent three years at Clemson working under Chad Morris, who was the Tigers' offensive coordinator and is now the head coach at SMU.

Craddock passed for 4,011 yards at MTSU (2004-08) and also spent one season on the baseball team.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter, contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

SPORTS ON NASHVILLE TV

The top five ratings for local sporting events on television for Dec. 29-Jan. 4.

1. Sugar Bowl: Ohio State-Alabama, 24.6 rating

2. NFC wild card: Cowboys-Lions, 22.1 rating

3. Rose Bowl: Oregon-Florida St., 20.0 rating

4. AFC wild card: Ravens-Steelers, 18.7 rating

5. AFC wild card: Colts-Bengals, 18.4 rating

Each rating point is equal to 10,028 Nashville homes.

Source: Mark Binda, WTVF-5 program & research director