WWE’s Ted DiBiase Jr. Launches ’16 Creative’ With Jared Ashley, David Keller

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Former WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. along with music industry veterans Jared Ashley and David Keller are launching a strategic marketing and branding company titled 16 Creative.

The venture’s mission is to execute strategic marketing and e-commerce campaigns for a growing list of iconic professional wrestlers, athletes, veterans, and military organizations.

“This will set the tone for The Wrestling Collection to help other legendary performers use their brand to create additional revenue streams and cement their legacy with wrestling fans worldwide,” says DiBiase Jr.

16 Creative offers a start-to-finish solution, including website and e-commerce development, merchandising, digital marketing, and order fulfillment. The company is comprised of two specialized divisions, The Wrestling Collection and The Military Collection.

“Our goal was to establish Ted as a brand, so it was important that we take a step past simply offering t-shirts. Through our partnership with Ted, we have created his own line of ‘Million Dollar’ products for the fans, starting with coffee, hot sauce, and wing sauce. Our goal is to do the same thing with other iconic wrestlers,” says Keller.

For more than 15 years, Ashley and Keller have worked with an impressive list of veterans & military organizations including the Navy Exchange, USAA, Mark Geist’s “Shadow Warrior Project”, and Operation Cherrybend. Through individual partnerships, 16 Creative and The Military Collection continue to honor our heroes, veterans, and organizations that support them by providing a platform to achieve their missions and increase revenue.

“It’s about giving back!  That’s why we have strategically partnered with Veteran-owned companies to help us create products that not only taste great but give back to our heroes who have given so much to this country.  David and I are both Veteran’s so we bring a “leave no one behind” mentality to the table,” says Ashley.

The DiBiase family has a long celebrated history in the sports entertainment industry; three generations of superstars including “Iron” Mike DiBiase, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, and Ted DiBiase Jr. 16 Creative is set to launch The Wrestling Collection with WWE Hall of Fame wrestler DiBiase as their flagship client.

First Horizon Park To Host Celebrity Softball Game

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The Nashville Sounds and Folds of Honor will host the Rock-N-Jock Celebrity Softball Game at First Horizon Park on Thursday, June 3.

The event, presented by Budweiser and Bradshaw Bourbon, will feature both star athletes and country singers. Tennessee Titans players, including A.J. Brown and Taylor Lewan will also participate as well as Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Additionally, country singers Riley Green, Luke Pell, Russell Dickerson, Walker Hayes, Chris Lane and Lacy Cavalier will be participating in the charity event.

“We’re excited to welcome Folds of Honor to First Horizon Park along with many of Nashville’s biggest stars,” says Sounds Co-Owner Frank Ward. “The Rock-N-Jock Celebrity Softball Game is a fun and unique way to showcase our great ballpark.”

Additional participants include former Titans linebacker Will Compton, Cy Young Award Winner and former Sound Barry Zito and comedian Jeff Dye. Other celebrities will be announced in the coming weeks.

Fans can purchase tickets now for $25 or $35 where all net profits will go directly to Folds of Honor.

Milk & Honey’s New Sports Agency Hits The Ground Running [Interview]

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Pictured (L-R): Rawleigh Williams, Lucas Keller, Jacob Presser, Dave Frank, Alex Harrow. Photo: Courtesy of Milk & Honey

Milk & Honey has grown into a successful international music agency representing artists such as J. White Did It, David Hodges, Oak Felder and many more. In January of 2021, Founder and President Lucas Keller announced their expansion into the sports world with the Milk & Honey Sports Division which already has 15 NFL players on their client list.

This idea of starting a new sports agency came to fruition after conversations between Keller and Dave Frank, co-head of Artist Management/Sports Advisor/Manager, where they both agreed that the sports world and music world shares a lot of similarities. The duo also felt that they already had a foot in the door with the success of their music and entertainment agency.

“Frank said, ‘Man, what about starting a sports division?'” says Keller. “I didn’t totally get it at first, because we were so focused on music. I didn’t really understand what the intersection was to have both. Then the more we talked about it, the more I realized there’s all this overlap and these relationships.”

Frank, along with longtime agents Jacob Presser (sports division co-head) and Rawleigh Williams,  (Client Development, Head of Dallas Office, Sports Division) lead the new sports agency and helped build the new division from last October up to its launch in January of 2021.

Presser, a graduate of Indiana University and New York Law School, has been an agent in the sports industry for 10 years. NFLPA certified, he had always dreamt of being a sports agent since he was young.

“I knew I wanted to be an agent since I was 13 or 14 years old,” says Presser. “All anybody wanted to say is how hard it is to get into and that I should find something else–go be a doctor, go be a lawyer, go get into finance. But for me, I knew I’d be great at it and when I’m doing something I’m passionate about you get a great version of me. I think that’s where I’m at right now.”

When approached with this idea, Presser knew it was the right move and that Milk & Honey had already proven themselves as a music agency. The transition from music to sports was also a point of interest for him. After making the move to Milk & Honey, Presser found little to no resistance from his current clients to come with him.

“The support of of all of my clients has never wavered,” Presser shares. “I think they were excited about the new opportunities that were going to come. I think they also saw the value in coming over here. They saw that now there’s other doors that are going to open for them and there is going to be an opportunity for them to build their brand off the field, meet new people, network, and see the support that we have.”

On the other hand, Keller’s experiences in sports have been relatively scarce. Growing up in Wisconsin, he was a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan. However, outside of that Keller’s mind was on anything but sports. Over time, though, he began to feel that being an agent in the music industry was not all that different from being one in the sports realm.

“One of the similarities is that we’re committed to development,” says Keller. “A huge part of what we’re going to do on the sports side is invest in young athletes. Funding development is something that we’ve been doing on the music side for a long time. We develop people on the master and publishing side and develop young artists, songwriters, and producers. It’s important for us as a company to always be developing the next step.”

As of right now, Milk & Honey Sports will be focusing on football, but with offices in L.A., New York, Atlanta and London, Keller sees room for expansion in the future.

“It would make sense for us to scale a little more in football. I think there’s no question that when we meet the right athlete that wants to be part of what we’re doing, we will staff around that athlete and create something. I think what’s more realistic is to meet an agent, like Jake and Raleigh, that already have a business and they come in and be a part of us,” Keller explains. “The idea is that when you start a business in your first couple of years, you stay really sharp and focused on one thing, and we have a lot to do in football. We’d love to expand into other sports, but we realize that it’s going to take some time. We’re really committed and not impatient in the slightest because we understand that this will take a while to build. But we have a long-term plan to be in other sports, for sure.”

Keller and Presser are excited to bring the Milk & Honey Music model into sports, offering both sports marketing and management.

“One of the things that is unique is that we’re going to do all of the marketing and all of the branding–we’re going to build intellectual property for athletes just like we do with our songwriters, producers, and artists,” says Keller.

“It will be full service at its finest,” adds Presser.

John Alexander Reflects On Country Music, Wrestling, Baseball In New Memoir [Interview]

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John “Alexander” Arezzi

Former country music executive John Alexander has lived a fascinating life working in various different industries from baseball, radio, professional wrestling and country music. Readers can get a glimpse of his life in his new memoir Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music and With The Mets which is available now. The audio book is now available on Amazon.

“The process [of writing the book] really started for me over the past several years because I’ve done so many different things in my professional career,” says Alexander. “But it really wasn’t until a couple of years ago when I thought seriously about the opportunity to write my story.”

The book, published through Canadian publisher ECW Press, and co-written alongside Greg Oliver, offers a look into Alexander’s past career that some in Nashville may not have known. Oliver has written over 17 books, mostly about wrestling. “I felt that I had a book in me and now it’s here, so I’m very excited about it,” says Alexander.

Alexander, born John Arezzi, has worked at GAC, Black River Entertainment and most recently Bandtwango, and has managed and discovered artists like Patty Loveless and Kelsea Ballerini throughout his 20 years in the music industry. But this book goes deeper and takes a look at his years working with his two other loves, baseball and professional wrestling.

Alexander worked for the Single A minor league affiliate of the New York Mets, his favorite baseball team. Alexander loves baseball and could’ve seen himself working in baseball for the long run. The original name of his memoir was, I Shoulda Stayed in Baseball: My Wild Ride in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets.

John “Alexander” Arezzi with New York Met Cleon Jones in Shelby, NC 1981

“I’ve always loved baseball and it was a lifelong dream of mine to work for the Mets,” says Alexander. But he would only spend one season with the Mets minor league team after discovering a country singer by the name of Patty Lovelace, later changed to Loveless, in a small, seedy bar in North Carolina.

“She just blew me away and I wondered why she was in this club,” says Alexander. “I introduced myself and I thought she was incredible. She told me her backstory about being a teenager in Nashville, being mentored by Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, and working with the Wilburn Brothers.”

Alexander says he felt that Loveless was too talented to be playing in small bars throughout North Carolina so he dropped his baseball job and decided to become her manager. “It was a labor of love but I knew she was a star and I tried to help her get there,” says Alexander. “If she didn’t need me and if I didn’t need her, both of our lives would’ve been much different.”

Loveless later would go on to sign with MCA Nashville and become a country star winning two Grammy Awards and becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Alexander then moved back to New York and felt confident he could help discover other artists so he, along with a few partners, started Straight Up Management in the late 1980s.

Patty Loveless with John “Alexander” Arezzi at Madison Square Garden, 1994

The management company only lasted a few years. Alexander decided to dabble in the world of professional wrestling, his first love since he was a kid growing up on Long Island.

“I was a wrestling fan since I was a young kid. I started watching it at 7-years-old and then later on as a teenager. I started my own little fan club and got a press pass to be one of the ringside photographers at Madison Square Garden,” says Alexander. He even threw himself in the ring when he was a young adult under the name “John Anthony.”

Alexander started his own wrestling radio talk show in 1989 called Pro Wrestling Spotlight, and even started promoting wrestling fan conventions.

“There had never been anything like that in pro wrestling before and I felt that there was a market for it. I started it and it became the first of the wrestling fan conventions. I did that for several years,” says Alexander.

Alexander admits the wrestling world became too toxic and exhausting. Having to cover tons of steroid abuse stories, as well as, sexual assault allegations by wrestlers, Alexander felt he needed to switch gears yet again.

“I fell in love with country music because of [Loveless], listening to her on the radio and seeing her on outlets like TNN,” says Alexander. “When the wrestling part of my journey was getting old and weary to me and I had no stability, I tried to venture into the country [market] and got a job at a little startup station on Long Island called WMJC.”

After years at multiple country radio stations in the New York Metropolitan area, Alexander made his way to Nashville to work for GAC. He had already been visiting Nashville while working for the various radio stations in New York and was in love with Music City.

“When given the opportunity to go to country music and open up this office [at GAC] and work with all the labels on their marketing of artists whether they were A-listers or emerging, it was a dream come true for me. And I wound up to this day being in Nashville, it’s my home now.”

He would go on to spend 10 years with GAC and then move to Black River Entertainment, where he worked with artists like Sarah Darling, who he is still close friends with today, and then later discovered Ballerini who approached him one afternoon at a Mellow Mushroom.

“Even though I discovered her it’s not talked about a lot and not many people know the true story of how Kelsea got into Black River and all the help that was given to her before she exploded,” says Alexander. “All I can say is that I’m proud of her because I knew how driven she was when I was involved with her, I knew that she was going to find a way to make it.”

Pictured (L-R): John “Alexander” Arezzi under the name “John Anthony” with WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes in 1978. Photo: George Napolitano

Alexander has lived his life by going with the flow, taking the opportunities as they come, and not being afraid of change or new challenges. “You don’t know what’s going to happen day to day and you don’t know what opportunities will happen. One thing I know about myself is that I’ve never been afraid to blow the house up and start again, I’ve always been open to any opportunity that I would have a passion for.”

After resigning from Bandtwango as its CEO in May of 2020, Alexander is now back working in wrestling with a new podcast called Pro Wrestling Spotlight: Then and Now where he goes through and revisits every episode of his original wrestling radio show. “Each and every week we highlight what the show was 30 years prior in chronological order,” says Alexander.

Now with his memoir out, Alexander is excited for fans to get a glimpse into his crazy life and how he was able to find success. “I’m excited for people to read the whole journey especially the little twists of fate like sitting in a restaurant and you meet a Kelsea Ballerini or randomly going into a night club and you meet a Patty Loveless,” says Alexander.

“The thing I want people to know about the book and my story is that it’s inspirational. If you have a dream, if you have a goal, you don’t give up. And even if you fail, you can reinvent yourself and try again.”

Music City Tennis Invitational Set For June 18-20

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The 2021 Music City Tennis Invitational (MCTI) is set for June 18-20 benefiting the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition (TBCC).

This charitable event, founded by the Nashville music community, is the longest-running music-related tennis tournament in the country.

The TBCC pays expenses for qualifying breast cancer patients living in Tennessee through their Emergency Access Fund. In 2020, TBCC’s fund assisted 29 families with dependent children living at home and 13 families who lost income and health insurance due to COVID.

This year’s tennis PRO-AM will play from 2:00-5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 18. Each “amateur” will be partnered up with a local tennis professional and play in a round robin format with modified scoring.

The Pro-Am is open to all levels of ability for men and women and teams are paired up accordingly. Winners in each division will be the team with the most total games won. Everyone in the two day team event is guaranteed two days of tennis.

The tournament is accepting registration for teams of eight people. People who are interested in participating and looking to find more information can register on Eventbrite.

Nissan Stadium To Open At Near Full Capacity For Nashville SC Matches

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Nissan Stadium. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

Nashville SC has announced that fans will be allowed at Nissan Stadium in a near full capacity setting starting Sunday, May 23 when Nashville SC hosts Austin FC.

This decision comes after Mayor John Cooper’s recent reopening announcement, and with approval from Major League Soccer. Masks will also no longer be required while outdoors at Nissan Stadium. However, face coverings are strongly encouraged in this new layout in accordance with Metro Public Health and per MLS’ COVID-19 protocol update.

“As we welcome more fans into Nissan Stadium, we are committed to finding the right balance between allowing people to return to soccer in as normal an environment as possible, whilst at the same time respecting that some people’s choices may differ from others,” says Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre. “Equally we have to work with the space and options available to us to try to provide as much choice as possible within a changing environment.”

The reopening will allow the majority of season ticket holders, who were originally relocated due to COVID-19 restrictions, to return to their original seat locations in a non-socially distanced environment. Per MLS’ COVID-19 restrictions, seats located in the lower bowl behind designated media positions and player areas, such as benches, tunnels and warm-up areas will remain unavailable.

For those season ticket holders who prefer to remain in a masked and socially distanced environment, Nashville SC will work with them to provide alternative seating options where social distancing and masks will be mandatory.

Fans interested in securing their seats at Nissan Stadium for the first match in a near full capacity setting against Austin FC can visit NashvilleSC.com/Tickets. For more information on Nashville SC’s matchday policies, visit nashvillesc.com/matchday.

TN Lottery Named Title Sponsor For Superspeedway’s Xfinity Series Race

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The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has officially been named the title sponsor of Nashville Superspeedway’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race which will be held on Saturday, June 19.

The race, now named the “Tennessee Lottery 250,” will be the second of the weekend prior to the highly anticipated Ally 500 Sprint Cup Series race at 2:30 p.m. on the following Sunday.

“We are thrilled to sponsor this fantastic Father’s Day Weekend event at the Nashville Superspeedway and engage with drivers and fans in a whole new way,” says Tennessee Lottery President and CEO Rebecca Paul Hargrove. “We want to thank NASCAR and the Superspeedway for this great opportunity. The excitement of this race and our Lottery games make this a perfect combination for fans and drivers – and dads – alike.”

The Tennessee Lottery has raised nearly $6 billion to fund education programs in the Volunteer State since its inception in 2004 with more than 1.5 million scholarships and grants awarded. Tennessee Lottery players win on average more than $3 million every day.

The “Tennessee Lottery 250” is the 22nd NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Nashville Superspeedway’s history, which dates back to 2001. The 1.3-mile concrete track hosted two NASCAR Xfinity Series races per year from 2002-2011 with winners including current NASCAR Cup Series stars Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.

“The Xfinity Series is an essential part of our track’s history and that tradition continues on Father’s Day Weekend with the Tennessee Lottery 250,” says Erik Moses, Nashville Superspeedway’s president. “The Tennessee Lottery is a difference maker to thousands of students and Tennessee families through the funding it generates for education, and we’re fortunate to have them as a race sponsor and partner this June and into the future.”

The “Tennessee Lottery 250” which starts at 2 p.m. CAT on NBCSN will be the 15th race of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the second race of Nashville Superspeedway’s Father’s Day Weekend triple-header. The first will be the “Rackley Roofing 200” NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Fox Buys Clay Travis’ Website Outkick

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Fox Corporation has acquired former Nashville attorney Clay Travis‘ sports website Outkick.

Travis, a Nashville local, has been running his website for 10 years which covers sports, pop culture and politics through blogs as well as multiple podcasts. Nashville sports talk radio favorites Jonathon Hutton, Chad Withrow and Paul Kuharsky left their midday show at 104.5 The Zone and Cumulus for Outkick in January.

“As FOX further diversifies our growing digital portfolio and broadens our position in the sports wagering ecosystem, there could be no better acquisition than Outkick,” Fox Corporation Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch says. “Clay and his team have quickly made Outkick a content powerhouse with a very large, loyal and engaged audience. We expect the synergies presented across FOX’s existing portfolio of assets will turbocharge this exciting business.”

Travis’ sports radio show on Fox Sports reaches more than 10 million monthly listeners and is the No. 1 daily sports radio show in the mornings in the U.S. while the Outkick podcast network, which launched in September of 2020, already notches more than four million monthly episode downloads. Outkick also draws millions of users monthly to its website, video posts and social media channels.

Outkick has also created highly compelling sports wagering content and currently has a successful, exclusive marketing arrangement with FanDuel. The Outkick platform is one of FanDuel’s attractive sources of wagering leads.

“Outkick has grown out of my passion for producing bold, well-informed, and entertaining content about sports, current events and, more recently, sports wagering,” says Travis. “With the power of FOX behind us, we look forward to maintaining Outkick’s unwavering commitment to that mission, as well as further accelerating the growth of our audience, and continued leadership in the sports wagering affiliate category.”

FOX plans to operate Outkick as an independent brand and leverage its content across its existing platforms. Travis will remain integrally involved at Outkick and serve as its president.

Outkick Media is jointly owned by Clay Travis and Savage Ventures.  Savage Ventures will continue having an operational role in the business going forward. Methuselah Advisors served as the exclusive financial advisor to Outkick for the transaction.