Inspiration speaker and former UT Vols football player Inky Johnson addresses the United Way of Bradley County 2014 campaign luncheon at Whirlpool in Cleveland, Tenn.Inky Johnson, the inspirational former University of Tennessee football defensive back who had his career cut short by a gruesome injury in 2006, will be the guest speaker for the elaborate opening ceremonies of the annual Bradley County Youth Basketball All-Stars weekend at Ocoee Middle School. The opening festivities are set for 5:30 p.m. Friday. The tournament itself will start after Johnson's motivational address, projected from 6 to 6:20, but individual free-throw, 3-point and modified-goal slam-dunk contests will be held Thursday evening along with a coaches' game. Admission for each day of the tournament costs $5 for adults and $3 for high school and middle school students, with elementary students admitted free. Weekend bands cost $15 for adults, $10 for students. The tournament includes six boys' and six girls' grades-2-3 teams and six boys' and six girls' grades-4-5 teams. Former Lady Vols basketball star Chamique Holdsclaw was the special speaker last year. After running from 8 a.m. until probably after 10 p.m. Saturday, the tournament will wrap up Sunday after an 11:30 a.m. church service on site.
Basketball
* Dalton State moved up two spots to sixth in the NAIA Division I men's basketball poll this week after taking over first place in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings with its second win of the season over Martin Methodist, which dropped from 12th to 13th. Tennessee Wesleyan lost at Bryan and fell one spot to 10th in the Division II women's poll.
Golf
* Hunter Cornelius from Heritage High School was one of four Coastal Georgia golfers tying for fourth or better in the Brunswick school's Winter Invitational tournament Monday and Tuesday at Sea Island Golf Club's Retreat Course. It included 18 teams. The Mariners overtook Johnson & Wales on Tuesday and won by 17 strokes with a 577 for 36 holes. Coastal Georgia's Alastair Tidcombe and Allen Bradford were first and second individually at 142 and 144, and Cornelius and teammate Alan Barnhardt shared fourth at 146.
Baseball
* Covenant College junior relief pitcher Alec Mitchell was named to the first D3baseball.com team of the week for 2015. It includes all games played by NCAA Division III teams through this past Sunday. Mitchell is 1-0 with two saves for the 5-1 Scots, with five scoreless innings and one hit allowed, plus four strikeouts.
Boxing
* New World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder of Tuscaloosa, Ala., whose first tournament championship was in Chattanooga, was announced Tuesday as the grand marshal of this year's Honda Indy Grand Prix race weekend April 24-26 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. "We are honored to have an Alabama native and a world champion as our grand marshal," ZOOM Motorsports president George Dennis said in the announcement release. "Deontay's energy and presence will add to the fun-filled weekend." Wilder is the first United States fighter to be the WBC heavyweight champ since 2006.