The 2018 Bradley County Youth Basketball All-Stars tournament is set for Feb. 15-18 at Ocoee Middle School, and true to its tradition of the past five years another nationally known speaker is lined up for the opening ceremony that Friday evening. Only this one, Lil Dee Dee, is much closer in age to the second-to-fifth-grade boys and girls playing in the tournament. Lil Dee Dee (Donielle Hansley) is a 13-year-old protege of superstar and Chattanooga native Usher Raymond - with whom he appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" - and has starred in reality TV shows "Dancin the Dream" and "Dance Kids ATL." Other shows he has been in include "Containment" on Netflix and Tyler Perry's "If Loving You Is Wrong" on OWN.
Earning his initial fame as a dancer, Lil Dee Dee became an emcee/co-host on "Lipsync Battle Shorties" on Nickelodeon, and his voice is featured in the animated movie "The Snowy Day." His talk presented by TriStar Athletic Ministries is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 16. Previous speakers have been former Globetrotters showman Paul Gaffney, Chamique Holdsclaw, Inky Johnson, Michael Burt and Tasha Schuh. Sponsorships for the tournament start at "entry level" and range beyond that from $1,000 to $5,000. That helps not only with tournament expenses but the project of building outdoor courts at elementary schools in Bradley County, in partnership with Caldwell Paving and Bradley Concrete. Anyone interested should contact organizer Bartlee Norton at Bartlee.norton@gmail.com or 423-618-2846.
-The Sewanee men beat visiting Millsaps 67-52 after the Sewanee women fell 64-51 in their Southern Athletic Association basketball doubleheader Friday night. McCallie School graduate Adrian Thomas scored 16 points and Cam Caldwell had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sewanee men, who got 11 points and seven assists from Luke Smith. Bella Bombassi led the female Tigers with 11 points off the bench, and Bella Taylor had four steals and four assists with nine points.
Swimming
-The Baylor Swim Club has been honored by USA Swimming as a Silver Medal Club of Excellence for the 2018 season, joining the Nashville Aquatic Club and Knoxville-based Tennessee Aquatics from the Volunteer State. Headed by Dan Flack, Baylor Swim Club has earned silver or bronze status in the Club of Excellence program nine of the last 11 years, based on "organizatonal professonalism and athletic performance," according to a release. The designation requires an extensive, documented report sent to the national body, and the top 20 clubs earn gold status. Clubs 21-100 are silver honorees, and the next 100 receive bronze awards.