Country Stars are Good Sports

Mark Wills photo courtesy of Equity Music Group.

May 29, 2008 — Country artists can get competitive about their chart positions — who doesn't want a No. 1 record? — but they’re also prone to turn it up a notch in the field of sports. At least some of them. And a number of artists are taking part in a range of sports and cooking challenges during the CMA Music Festival June 5-8.

Mel Tillis, Jamie O’Neal, Phil Stacey, Steve Azar and Emerson Drive’s Brad Mates are among the stars who’ll roll up their sleeves in several competitions. Also putting themselves on the line are GAC hosts Mark Wills, Storme Warren and Suzanne Alexander.

Steve Azar hosts the Celebrity Sports Challenge on Friday, June 6, as contestants demonstrate specific skills from several different sports: baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer and golf. Bryan White, Deborah Allen, Chad Brock, Carolina Rain, Jason Meadows, Brad Cotter, James House, Restless Heart’s Larry Stewart, Keni Thomas and Brad Mates are among numerous country stars and soap actors slated to participate.

Mark Wills, who hosts the GAC series The Year, will also take part in an outdoorsman challenge against Bryan White, Jeremy McComb and Carolina Rain’s Rhean Boyer, among others, testing their skills in archery, shooting and fishing.

A Big Air Celebrity Challenge featuring canines and water will also involve Mark Wills, Phil Stacey and Julie Roberts.

Mark is also involved Saturday, June 7, in the Fiesta Celebrity Grilling Challenge, a cook-off that pits him against Jamie O’Neal, Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis and TV personality Lorianne Crook.

The closing day of the festival, June 8, will feature a tractor race involving Mark Collie, Ira Dean, Jimmy Fortune, Ray Scott, Keni Thomas, Trent Willmon, Billy Yates, Zane Lewis and GAC’s Suzanne Alexander, among others.

While the CMA Festival is a ticketed event, the sports competitions are held in a free zone and are open to the public at large.