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• Rick Pitino is a college basketball coaching legend, so one would expect him to be a good judge of talent on the hardwood
• Yesterday Pitino posted a throwback pic of a young Chris Stapleton, who attended one of Pitino's basketball camps back when he was a teenager. How did the future country star do?
• "Told him to go into music instead. Don’t thank me Chris, it’s okay," the coach captioned the pic on Twitter/X
• Source: WhiskeyRiff

• "TMZ" reports that the Internet is unhappy with Blake Shelton, though it may not be his fault
• Blake's performance on New Year's Eve at "Nashville's Big Bash" was billed as "live," but viewers tuning in soon realized it was not live, but pre-recorded
• Also, Blake's fans knew that he was actually getting ready to go on stage in just minutes at a live concert in his home state of Oklahoma
• Source: TMZ

• Zac Brown And Wife Separate After Four Months Of Marriage
• Jason Aldean Top Two Of Google's 2023 "Year In Search" Lists

• This is a “Best Of 2023” Lifestyle story we originally covered on September 18th, 2023. New Lifestyle content will resume tomorrow!
• The cost of raising a child is getting more expensive every year, with new research showing it now costs an average of $237,482 from birth to age 18.
• The study from LendingTree finds the average annual cost increased nearly 20% from 2016 to 2021, when annual expenses were $21,681.
• Lending Tree notes these amounts only include “bare bones” expenses like food, housing, child care, apparel, transportation and health insurance, not activities, classes or college.
• Source: CBS News

• The “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” was a showstopper for the year 2023 on CBS, but one performance is catching some heat
• Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins reunited on the show and performed some of their classics like “Hillbilly Bone,” but actually took the stage live in Oklahoma just a few minutes later
• Social media lit up with people calling Shelton out, with one person posting on X, “He must have one fast a** tour bus”
• Source: TMZ

Study: 81% Of Retailers Now Charge For Returns: Shoppers have gotten used to free returns on items that didn’t fit or they didn’t want, but they may find it’s not an option anymore at many merchants anymore.

• Scotty McCreery Gives Fans Sneak Peek Of New Tune
• Warren Zeiders Asks For Fan Input On Unfinished Song

Your 20s are all about growing and evolving. You may not even realize you’re doing it, but you are! Personal growth can be difficult to recognize, especially as it happens in ways that aren’t always super obvious.

• In an interview with "Taste Of Country Nights," Craig Campbell covered a wide arrray of subjects, including his own mental health struggles, where his career is now, and, interestingly, his take on Oliver Anthony
• When asked whether he ever had to make tough choices based on his ethical and moral beliefs, with the example of Anthony reportedly turning down an $8-million offer from a major label so he could continue to control his own fate, Campbell admitted he was envious
• Not of the offer itself, but that Anthony had the belief in himself that enabled him to turn it down and seek his own path. "I've done a lot of things that..hinged on 'If you don't do this, you won't be successful," Campbell admitted
• Source: TasteOfCountry

• A TikToker says she got rid of her Amazon Alexa after the device would talk to her husband in the middle of the night
• The woman named Jess, who goes by @cozylifewithbless, even says, “I also caught my Alexa at 3 a.m. whispering to my dogs in the kitchen"
• Source: NY Post

• As we told you yesterday, the New Year's Eve programming across the board seemed to experience big year-to-year increases
• One of the best performances on NYE was by CBS' "New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash" which experienced a 75-percent increase in viewership over last year
• On top of that, the broadcast proved to be the biggest country music program ratings-wise over the entire year
• Source: TheMusicUniverse

Minute Maid Gets Boozy With New Spiked Line: Minute Maid is getting into the alcohol biz with a new line of pre-made cocktails.

So you’ve struck up a conversation with your crush, congrats! That’s great! The first step is done.

• The story has been told many times, in film and interviews, but now June Carter Cash is getting her very own documentary
• "June" will feature rare and never-before-seen footage the country legend, and concentrate on her life and legacy as well as her relationship with husband Johnny Cash
• The doc will feature interviews with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves and Reese Witherspoon and premiers on Paramount+ January 16
• Source: Billboard

• Back in November, we told you that country legend Lee Greenwood was wrapping up his career. Now another country star has announced his retirement
• 90's icon John Michael Montgomery announced yesterday that he's calling it a career, saying that his farewell tour will extend through 2025 and that would be it
• In a Facebook post, Montgomery wrote "I’ve been fortunate and blessed to be able to do what I love for so many years so please join me on my journey as I say goodbye to the road life. And thanks so much for your support for the last 3 decades, it’s meant so much me"
• Source: WhiskeyRiff

• This is a “Best Of 2023” GOOD News story we originally covered on March 6th, 2023
• Kayzen Hunter and his family are regulars at an Arkasas Waffle House where Devonte Garner works and the eight-year-old has befriended the waiter and father of two.
• When Kayzen learned that Devonte had been living in a motel with his family and was walking to work, he asked his mom if he could start a crowdfund for his friend.
• They started out with a modest goal of raising $500, but Devonte’s story resonated with people and now the crowdfund has raised over $97-thousand, changing Devonte’s life forever.
• Source: Sunny Skyz

• Brian Kelley Teases New Music Coming Next Week
• George Birge Gets Emotional Over Debut Single Going #1
• Luke Combs Apologizes For All The "Dad Songs"
• George Strait Kicked Parker McCollum's Butt...At Golf

We all deserve self-care. We all deserve that week-long vacation or spa day. But sometimes, whether it be because of work, finances, or something else, those big acts of self-care aren’t possible.

• Zac Brown And Wife Separate After Four Months Of Marriage
• Jason Aldean Top Two Of Google's 2023 "Year In Search" Lists

By all accounts, the Detroit Lions were on the wrong end of referee incompetence on Sunday…and reports say that the same crew will be paying a price.