ESPN

You can admit it: When Darius Rucker left Hootie And The Blowfish behind to pursue a country music career, you weren't sure it was going to last. After all, "Cracked Rear View" sold a zillion copies, won a Grammy award (for "Let Her Cry") and spawned hit after hit. Why mess with success?

Ahh, but when Rucker performed a short acoustic set at the ESPN cafeteria on Wednesday, the song that got employees singing along was "Wagon Wheel," the first single off his third country album, "True Believers." His performance of “Wagon Wheel” with Lady Antebellum at the CMT Awards on June 6 brought the audience to its feet, and both the single and the album have hit No. 1 on Billboard’s country charts. The Old Crow Medicine Show song, based on a Bob Dylan melody, is at No. 3 and has been on the Billboard Hot Country chart for 22 weeks.

"I love the music," Rucker said Wednesday in a SportsNation chat on ESPN.com. "I said from the late 80s that I would go to country. I think it's going awesome, probably 100 million times better than I thought it would."

The response to the album so far has been "awesome," he said. "It's been huge. Really better than we thought it would be. Surprisingly, critically acclaimed. It's been great."

While Rucker is gearing up to tour behind "True Believers," he's also keeping an eye on the NFL and working on his golf game as much as five days a week. "I shot even par at my home course. It's the best score I've ever had," he said. "I'm going low someday, real soon."

During his chat with SportsNation, Rucker was asked about the two teams closest to his South Carolina roots -- the Panthers and the Dolphins.

On Miami: "I expect to see a better season than last year. Hopefully [they'll] sneak into the playoffs at 10-6. But [they're] still a couple of years away from the Super Bowl."

As for the Panthers? "They have to go up from last year, so I hope they have a good year," Rucker said. "I have a bunch of friends in the organization, so I'm hoping. Cam (Newton) is a good QB, so I hope for good things."

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s NBA draft programming, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

Nicole Atkins

“Star In My Show" single: (iTunes | Amazon)

Rising country star Granger Smith certainly knows to use his Texas A&M connections.

Smith, a 2002 A&M grad, was already a star in Aggieland for an ode to his alma mater called "We Bleed Maroon," which has played on the video board before football games at Kyle Field. Last year, in College Station, Smith was joined onstage by A&M players including Johnny Manziel during a performance of the song.

Now, Smith has enlisted the help of Manziel for his new video, "Silverado Bench Seat" about the most Texan of themes: a boy hanging out with a girl in his Chevy pickup. The Heisman winner appears with his longtime girlfriend, model Sarah Savage, as well as Ryan Swope, Manziel's former A&M teammate who was recently drafted by the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith's new album, "Dirt Road Driveway," was released in April and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Country Album chart.

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s IRL programming in June, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

Black Stone Cherry

"Like I Roll" from the “Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Rocco DeLuca & The Burden

"How Fast" from the “I Trust You To Kill Me” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Lenny Kravitz

"Where Are We Runnin’?" from the “Baptism” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Pop Evil

"Trenches" single.
(iTunes | Amazon)

The Blue Van

"Man Up" from the “Man Up” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Halestorm

"Don’t Know How To Stop" from the “The Strange Case of…” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Imagine Dragons

"Round and Round" from the “Night Visions” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

POD

"Alive" from the “Greatest Hits- The Atlantic Years” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Thousand Foot Krutch

"The End Is Where We Begin" from the “The End is Where We Begin” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Matt & Kim

"Let’s Go" from the “Lightning” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Toby Keith

"American Ride" from the “The End is Where We Begin” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Linkin Park

"Lost in the Echo" from the “LIVING THINGS” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Stone Temple Pilots

"Out of Time" not available for sale.

OAR

"Wonderful Day" from the “Stories of a Stranger” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Goo Goo Dolls

"Rebel Beat" from the “Magnetic” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s "First Take" programming in June, links to the artists' websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Fortunate Son RAC Remix" from the “Willy and the Poor Boys” album.
(iTunes | Amazon)

Ernie Halter

"I’m Getting Ready" single not available for sale.

Franc Whyte

“What I’m Talkin’ Bout" single not available for sale

Kera Dangerous ft. Izzy the Egyptian Vulture

"Whose House Is This" from the “Someone For You” album.
(iTunes)

Soundsci

"Understand The Message" single.
(iTunes)

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s "Numbers Never Lie" programming in June, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

June Music on "Numbers Never Lie" programming

Queen Latifah

"Ladies First" from the “All Hail the Queen” album. (Amazon)

Public Enemy

"Can’t Truss It" from the “Apocalypse 91… the Enemy Strikes Black” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s SportsNation and Nacion programming, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

June Music on SportsNation programming

DJ Raff

“Outrollage" from the “Latino & Proud” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Astro

“Manglares" from the “Astro” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s "UNITE" programming in June, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

Coe 24K

"Attention" not available for sale

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN’s X Games programming in June, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

"Gold" from the “The Heist” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

"Victory Lap" from the “The Heist” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

"My Oh My" from the “The Heist” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Demograffics

"Get The Job Done" from the “Cheese” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

"Take a Look" from the “Cheese” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

"Up To You" from the “Cheese” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

Here's a list of songs from performers featured on ESPN programming in June, links to the artist’s websites and links for you to download and buy the songs and/or albums:

Echosmith

"Come Together" not available for sale.

"Let’s Love" not available for sale.

"March Into The Sun" not available for sale.

Clorofila

"Discoteca" from the “Corridos Urbanos” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

"El General" from the “Corridos Urbanos” album
(iTunes | Amazon)

In the hours before starts, most major league pitchers are silent and stone-faced. They forgo interviews and avoid teammates.

A.J. Griffin is not most major league pitchers. Before four of his first nine starts this year (4-3, 3.59 ERA), the Oakland Athletics' No. 3 starter strummed and serenaded teammates minutes before taking the mound.

"You don't really see that with starting pitchers very often, but I'm kind of a weird, quirky guy," the 25-year-old right-hander says. "I just like to have fun and enjoy life and not take anything too seriously. We’re playing a game, so we might as well have a good time and enjoy it."

His guitar "routine is not a set routine" and therefore supersedes superstition. He can do one well without the other, he says. “I just play it by ear.” Proof: He won 11 of his first 15 MLB decisions while compiling a 3.28 ERA in 24 outings.

How did this all get started?
In the minors, I was without my guitar a lot because I moved from team to team so much. So before games, I would just put on some crazy dance music and jump around and get pumped up and try to have some fun, try to make a couple guys laugh before we go out and play a game. It has kind of evolved since then.

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Editor’s note: Drummer Stefan Marolachakis is traveling the country in a black van with tinted windows, touring for his band Caveman’s eponymous second album. Every week, Marolachakis will hunt the nation to gather musicians and athletes to discuss the link between the two clans. This week, our caveman reflects on his grief for his beloved Knicks and offers some tracks for respite.

Sometimes it feels like being a Knicks fan is simply the most painful thing a sports fan could be asked to endure, unless you live on the wrong side of Chicago or anywhere in Cleveland.

This Knicks season was, at many points, glorious to behold: they beat the Heat three out of four times; the defense was mugging; Carmelo was an offensive genius, and J.R. Smith was his wild-eyed wing man in the clutch. But the run is over, and I’m left to sit in shock, parsing out what exactly happened.

Sadly appropriate, when the Knicks ultimately fell to the Pacers in the second round, I was in a hotel room in Mississippi, mere miles away from the Delta, the cradle of the blues. And since all know that when the going gets tough, the tough turn to their record collection, I have been using music to cure my NBA-PTSD and creating a soundtrack of new music (and one very old song) as I climb through the classic Five Stages of Grief.

1. Denial

During this stage I blamed the refs, almost exclusively. My dad pointed out to me after the Game 6 that in the final six minutes of play, there were a total of nine fouls called, eight of which were called on the Knicks. Eight! Yes, I realize that the Pacers were too big, they killed the Knicks under the boards, etc. But eight fouls to one? And 46 free throw attempts versus 18 for the Knicks on the game? For shame! It felt like the Knicks had no chance of moving forward in the playoffs with a crew of whistle-happy refs.

Soundtrack: Tame Impala, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.”

(Read full post)

Rockers Jimmy Eat World, set to release their seventh album, "Damage," on June 11, kicked off a world tour Friday on the West Coast before heading to Europe.

"Touring is the best part of it all," said the band's drummer, Zach Lind. "Playing live is kind of extension of the musical process but one of the things we’ve always lived for.”

Jimmy Eat World played their first show of the 2013 tour at House of Blues in San Diego and are set to hit the Netherlands, England and Luxembourg before coming back to the States and Canada next month.

Along with the kick that Lind and his bandmates -- guitarist/vocalist Jim Adkins, guitarist Tom Linton and bass player Rick Burch -- get from the live experience, there are other experiences that helped Lind learn his craft.

"Basically I grew up in baseball,” Lind said. "I feel like my background in baseball has helped me as a drummer."

Lind notes that the time he spent playing on the baseball diamond and in batting cages affected his drive and technique as a musician.

"Not only hitting a drum, but hitting it a certain way. There's the timing and the leverage in the swing. It's hard to pinpoint, but it's like there's a consistency as a drummer that's like looking for the right pop in [swinging] the bat."

Interestingly enough, for Lind, baseball was in the blood. His father, Jack Lind, played for the Arizona State Sun Devils team that won the 1967 World Series, crushing Houston 11-2. Jack Lind also went on later to play a few years as an infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers before retiring and spending time as a scout for the Houston Astros, then was a minor league baseball coach for more than a decade.

(Read full post)

Music has been part of the sports experience for more than 100 years, with marching bands and ballpark organists and blaring rock filling the air during breaks in the action. But the latest incarnation blends the human element and the latest in tech in a new way as DJs take their skills from the clubs to the stadiums.

One of the leaders of this new movement is Brooklyn Nets music supervisor J. Period, a mixtape DJ who has worked with The Roots and Common. The team hired him for more than your standard playlist of jock-jam favorites; they wanted him to create a soundtrack for games at the Barclays Center.

For his first season, J. Period created more than 150 remixes and edits of classic and new hits, each tailored to very specific game situations. A remix of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" captures the feeling of anticipation before the players take the floor. A fresh combination of Carmina Burana with Nas' "Hate Me Now" stirs up feelings of battle, so it's well suited to bring the crowd back into the game after halftime. And an edit of Jay-Z's "U Don't Know" in the fourth quarter of a close game never fails to rouse the Brooklyn fans.

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It's probably too strong a statement to say that without exercise, Chris Cornell -- lead singer of 1990s grunge band Soundgarden -- wouldn't be around anymore.

But it's pretty close.

"For years, I wasn't feeling good about myself," said Cornell, who formed the Seattle band in 1984. "My head wasn't clear. I was doing nothing productive."

When Soundgarden hit it big with the 1994 album "Superunknown," Cornell lived the typical rock star lifestyle: drugs, alcohol and no sleep. That was no different from other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam.

Then, as with other bands, internal strife torpedoed Soundgarden in 1997.

"I decided I needed to work on my brain and not just my body," said the 48-year-old Cornell. "I figured if I focused on my brain, that everything else would fall into place."

It wasn't an easy road as Cornell struggled to give up drugs and alcohol and focused on solo work and creating Audioslave (2001-2007). He then went solo again and reunited with Soundgarden in 2010.

These days, the band is touring off its sixth studio album, "King Animal." Tuesday night, Soundgarden is performing in New Jersey.

Cornell, who rarely gives interviews, talked exclusively with Playbook about exercise, music today and life on the road.

What does being physically fit mean to you?

"It means I can do whatever I want without having to worry about it."

(Read full post)