Mississippi Pastor Wins NBC's The Voice after Singing 'I Can Only Imagine'

MISSISSIPPI PASTOR WINS NBC'S THE VOICE AFTER SINGING 'I CAN ONLY IMAGINE'

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A Mississippi pastor and father of eight won the 18th season of NBC’s The Voice Tuesday, one night after his rendition of MercyMe's I Can Only Imagine moved one of the judges to tears.  

Todd Tilghman, the lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian, Miss., was named the winner over two other contestants in the final seconds of the show. He was surrounded by his family. 

Because of the pandemic, the final weeks of this year’s series were filmed in each contestant’s hometown. 

“I trusted completely in you guys, and in the goodness of God,” Tilghman said in a post-show Facebook Live video. “... It seemed like it worked out.”

Tilghman won a $100,000 cash prize and a record deal. He was coached by country singer Blake Shelton.

Tilghman sang two songs in Monday’s show: I Can Only Imagine and an original song, Long Way Home.

His performance of I Can Only Imagine -- which he sang in an empty church sanctuary -- stirred Kelly Clarkson, one of the show’s four coaches. 

“You’re so moving, and it’s because you’re a pastor,” said Clarkson, who added she was crying during the song. “It’s because you have such a bigger belief inside of you than just yourself. I would love to come to your church to hear you speak. … You’re very special.”

Said Shelton after the performance, “You sing with such passion, such precision. You’re just a special dude.” 

Tilghman, on Facebook Live, seemed surprised he won. 

“I still cannot believe it,” he said. “… I still don’t think I’ve wrapped my mind around the fact that I was even on The Voice.”

He encouraged his fans to go on the social media accounts of the other finalists and “build them up.” He called them “phenomenal.”  

Tilghman’s church has gone virtual during the pandemic. He preached from Matthew 7 on Facebook Live Sunday. His topic: the goodness of God.

“There has never been a time that if my child asked me for bread, I would give him a stone or if he asked me for fish, I would give him a snake,” Tilghman said Sunday, drawing a parallel between the love of a parent and the love of God. “... The gospel has never been about how bad we are. The gospel is always about how good He is.”

Before he preached, he sang Elevation Worship’s Graves Into Gardens.

THE SPORT OF BOWLING SHOW – FRIDAY AT 1 P.M. EASTERN

ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW: BOWLING LEGENDS AND CENTER OWNERS DAVE HUSTED AND MIKE AULBY DISCUSS THEIR STELLAR CAREERS AND DEALING WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THEIR BUSINESSES. Hosted by USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy, with special guests Gianmarc Manzione of Bowlers Journal International and InsideBowling.com’s Mike Flanagan. Show airs live on BowlTV.com, the USBC Facebook page and the BowlTV YouTube channel at 1 p.m. ET Friday.

FREE ON BOWLTV.COM

FREE ON YOUTUBE

FREE ON USBC FACEBOOK

Wendy Mac joins Matt and Daniel on Inside The OC!

PWBA and USBC Hall of Famer Wendy Macpherson is making an appearance Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern on the Inside the OC podcast! Macpherson rolled an 812 series to win Regular Singles at the 2006 USBC Open Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas, becoming the first woman to claim a title in the Regular Division. Tune in as she looks back at that moment and many more with hosts Matt Cannizzaro and Daniel Farish! Watch on all three links above!

Two new shows to wrap up the week!

We’re introducing two more shows this week – only for BowlTV subscribers! Join Emil Williams Jr. on Throwback Thursday Match each week at 4 p.m. Eastern, and we’re excited to introduce Kurtis Von Krueger on The BowlTV Gauntlet each Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Throwback Thursday Match takes a trip down memory lane to some of the best head-to-head matches, and the series is starting off with an all-time classic. We’ll be checking out the semifinal match between Shannon O’Keefe and Liz Johnson at the 2017 PWBA Tour Championship. The BowlTV Gauntlet will bring together some of the top stars in the sport for a challenge that’s just as tricky as a 39-foot Sport oil pattern. Guests will be put through a series of questions and challenges, with only one emerging victorious. Join Kurtis as he welcomes PWBA Tour stars Diandra Asbaty and Dasha Kovalova for the first episode.

JOIN HERE

ICYMI

We already had a great week on BowlTV, so be sure to check the Backstage Channel for any shows or podcasts you may have missed. The PWBA Podcast welcomed Clara Guerrero and Sandra Gongora this week, while Inside The OC featured two-time Eagle winner Matt Weggen on Tuesday. Splittin’ Boards with Daniel Farish dug deeper into Robert Morris-Illinois’ win at the 2019 Intercollegiate Team Championships with Courtney Ermisch and Mattie Brandos, while the first edition of PWBA Replay looked at the stepladder of the 2019 Nationwide PWBA Greater Cleveland Open, with Josie Barnes, Jazreel Tan and Cherie Tan joining in the chat to answer questions from the audience. What a week!

WATCH HERE

BowlTV, 621 Six Flags Dr., Arlington, Texas 76011, 800.514.BOWL

Family to Family emergency food giveaway moves to PNC Field next week

RailRiders hosting drive-thru event for local charities on May 27 in the parking lot of Moosic ballpark

MOOSIC, PA (May 21, 2020) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders will serve as the hosts for the Family to Family Emergency Drive-Thru Food Giveaway on May 27. The event is run by the Friends of the Poor in response to the global health pandemic and will take place in the parking lot at PNC Field from 2:30 to 5:30 PM Wednesday.

The Family to Family Food Basket Program and the Friends of the Poor have partnered with the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank for COVID-19 emergency food drive-thrus since late March. These drive-thrus have taken place each Wednesday in different locations around the Scranton area. The emergency drive-thru on May 27 at PNC Field, however, will be the first one located between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre and expectations are for over 1,000 vehicles to attend.

All attendees must remain in their vehicles for the safety and well-being of all guests and volunteers. Food bags will be placed directly into each vehicle.

This event is open to the public. Attendees will be asked what their zip code is as well as how many adults, children and elderly live in each household.

For more information, visit swbrailriders.com or find the Friends of the Poor on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FriendsOfThePoorScranton.

USBC PROVIDES NEW SAFESPORT AND REGISTERED VOLUNTEER TOOLS TO COMPLEMENT ATHLETE SAFETY HANDBOOK

ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress made noteworthy updates to allow USBC members to easily see their current status for U.S. Center for SafeSport training and Registered Volunteer Program (RVP) requirements.

USBC members now can monitor their athlete safety status through their profile on BOWL.com. Once signed in through the USBC Community Login, members can click on the Athlete Safety/RVP link to see their SafeSport training and Registered Volunteer status.

The Registered Volunteer Program (RVP), created in 2006, requires participants to be a USBC member in good standing, undergo a criminal background screen through the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI) and each season complete online training through the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which became a requirement in 2018.

The Athlete Safety/RVP link will show any missing requirements for adult members who compete with youth and, for those who are in a Registered Volunteer role, your profile will show when you need to complete your next SafeSport training program and when your background screen will need to be renewed.

Each season, a Registered Volunteer must renew their USBC membership and take SafeSport training, and every two years must go through NCSI for a criminal background screen to remain an active and approved volunteer. Adult USBC members who compete with youth bowlers also must take SafeSport training each bowling season.

Any USBC member can find out if a person is a Registered Volunteer through the Find A Register Volunteer function on BOWL.com. It is one of several popular “Find A …” functions, including Find A Member and Find A Tournament, available to USBC members.

The search function allows you to find a list of all current Registered Volunteers in your association or city, or you can use the individual search function to see if a person is an active Registered Volunteer and when the person’s RVP status expires.

Bowlers can also find their Registered Volunteer and SafeSport status through the Find A Member function. Those who are current in SafeSport training will have a SafeSport icon next to their name and those currently a Registered Volunteer, which includes SafeSport training, also will have an RVP icon.

While any USBC member can search for a volunteer through the Find A Registered Volunteer function, only the Registered Volunteer has access to their profile that shows their status related to membership, background screen and SafeSport training.

USBC also has developed a comprehensive handbook that combines policies for the U.S. Center for SafeSport and the USBC Registered Volunteer Program to detail the requirements of adult bowlers who work with, or compete alongside, youth bowlers.

Visit BOWL.com/RVP to learn more about athlete safety, how to become a Registered Volunteer and for the USBC Athlete Safety and RVP Handbook.

United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women's Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 1,638 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.

GOLFZON, LPGA Partner for GOLFZON LPGA Match Play Challenge

Intercontinental match-play competition to feature four major champions:
Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu versus Lydia Ko and Pernilla Lindberg

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 20, 2020) – The LPGA today announced the GOLFZON LPGA Match Play Challenge, an intercontinental match-play competition in partnership with GOLFZON, a leading golf simulator company. On May 25 at 7 a.m. EDT, Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu, based at ZOIMARU, in Daejon, Republic of Korea, will face off against Lydia Ko and Pernilla Lindberg, competing at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla.

GOLFZON's golf simulator system and online network technology will connect the venues in Korea and the United States in real time. It marks the LPGA’s first international golf-simulator tournament, featuring a foursome that holds a combined 12 major titles.

The 36-hole competition will open with an 18-hole foursomes match, followed by an 18-hole four-ball match. The competitors will take to the famed Black Course at Bethpage State Park virtually, with the winning team receiving a $10,000 donation to the COVID-19 charity of their choice.

"While most golf tours around the world are not being held due to COVID-19, I am happy that these LPGA Tour champions will be able to hold screen golf tournaments, with GOLFZON's global technological prowess connecting them across 13 hours of time difference," said Kang Soo Park, CEO of GOLFZON. "I hope this no-contact golf game will bring hope and comfort to golf fans around the world."

"This concept of GOLFZON LPGA Match Play challenge is an exciting new development for the long-term relationship between the LPGA and GOLFZON," said Sean Pyun, Chief Business Officer-Asia. "Through our partnership, we’ve witnessed firsthand the type of impact they have had in the Korean golf industry, from the standpoint of growing the game of golf in Korea. We are proud to present this event to the LPGA audience in partnership with GOLFZON."

Inbee Park, the seven-time major champion who will compete, said: "Since the LPGA Tour stopped due to COVID-19, it's amazing that real-time match play is possible with our fellow players in other parts of the world. I can't wait to entertain golf fans all over the globe through this match."

The event will be held without a gallery to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and with minimal access to the venues other than athletes and officials. The match will air live on GOLFZON's official YouTube channel and Naver TV Live. It will also be aired on a to-be-determined date in June in the United States, as well as on JTBC GOLF and Screen GOLFZON channels in Korea.

About the LPGA

The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla., the association celebrates a diverse and storied membership with more than 2,300 Members representing more than 30 countries. With a vision to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the very best of women’s golf, LPGA Tour Professionals compete across the globe, while the Symetra Tour, the official development and qualifying tour of the LPGA, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. Additionally, LPGA Professionals directly impact the game through teaching, coaching and management.

The LPGA demonstrates its dedication to the development of the game through The LPGA Foundation. Since 1991, this charitable organization has been committed to empowering and supporting girls and women through developmental, humanitarian and golf community initiatives, including LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the LPGA Women’s Network and the LPGA Amateur Golf Association.

Follow the LPGA on its television home, Golf Channel, and on the web via www.LPGA.com. Join the social conversation at www.facebook.com/lpga, www.twitter.com/lpga and www.youtube.com/lpgavideo, and on Instagram at @lpga_tour.

About GOLFZON

In celebration of the 20th year anniversary, GOLFZON is a leading global culture and a bestselling golf simulator company. Awarded four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020 as best golf simulator in Golf Digest’s Editor’s Choice, GOLFZON has a presence in 62 countries with 6,200 sites around the world and 59 million rounds of golf played on the GOLFZON system in 2019. GOLFZON also conducts the world’s first simulation golf tournament, called the G-Tour, with total prize money of more than $2.7 million. Proving the reliability and quality of GOLFZON’s state-of-the-art technology, the Men’s and Women’s G-Tour Championships are broadcast live in Korea. This success is based on a connection to the global community and the highly accurate sensor technology. GOLFZON Live Festival (GLF) is a unique online product that allows all GOLFZON users worldwide the opportunity to participate in the global simulator tournament. In addition, GOLFZON’s cutting-edge sensor technology is internationally recognized so much that GOLFZON VISION and GOLFZON DRIVING RANGE (GDR) systems have been selected as the official training systems of the National Golf Teams of Korea, China, Taiwan and Spain.

About the World Golf Hall of Fame

The World Golf Hall of Fame celebrates golf and honors the legacies of those who have made it great. The Hall of Fame opened in Pinehurst, N.C. in 1974 where a total of 71 members were inducted before moving to its current location in St. Augustine, Florida in 1998. The World Golf Hall of Fame currently recognizes 160 Members. The Hall of Fame is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit institution and is allied with 26 national and international golf organizations, including the European Tour, LPGA, the Masters Tournament, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, The R&A and USGA. To learn more about the World Golf Hall of Fame or to lend support, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org.