DS Talk » The city of Nashville won’t cut down 21 ornamental

NASHVILLE Trevon Wesco Jersey , Tenn. (AP) — cherry trees to make space for an NFL draft stage, Mayor David Briley said Saturday.In a news release, Briley said he had informed the NFL and Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. that they will have to remove the trees intact and replant them in the city. Any trees that are diseased or near death will be replaced with new, healthy trees.The trees were to be cut down on Monday, just ahead of Nashville’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival includes a walk along the cherry tree-lined downtown riverfront on April 13. The 2019 NFL draft takes place in Nashville April 25-27.The Tennessean reports the NFL and Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. had previously said they would donate 200 cherry trees each to Metro Parks for planting throughout the city.After plans to cut the cherry trees were made public, Nashville Tree Foundation Board President Noni Nielsen called the removal “incredibly short-sighted” for a one-time event that will last only a few days.Tracey Shafroth, an advocate for tree planting across the city, said the new trees were not a replacement for the old ones because it would take many years for them to reach maturity.“We don’t plant trees for ourselves, we plant them for our grandchildren Shareef Miller Jersey ,” Shafroth said. “They take a long time to grow, and their benefits grow as they grow.”According to city officials, Briley’s office discussed removing the trees with Metro Parks Horticulturist Randall Lance after learning that the size of the NFL draft stage and other structures would require it.Lance planted the majority of the trees a number of years ago. He said some of the trees in the area are dead or compromised and should be replaced. The city had planned to use their removal as an opportunity to restore the soil and replant new, healthy trees.On Saturday, Briley said in the news release that in addition to the 21 trees that will be relocated, the NFL and Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. will plant 17 more cherry trees at downtown’s Riverfront Park in previously vacant and new locations.Along with the 200 trees to be planted in other parts of the city, the plan will allow Nashville to “continue to honor our relationship with Japan and long-time partnership with the Cherry Blossom Festival,” Briley said. ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP)Jim Caldwell is not looking too far ahead. That’s also the advice the Detroit Lions coach is offering to his team as they prepare for the Thanksgiving Day matchup with the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. The Vikings (8-2) lead the division by two games over Detroit (6-4). But don’t try telling Caldwell that this next game is more significant than any other. ”They’re all big Zach Brown Jersey ,” Caldwell said. ”Every single one of them’s a factor in the grand scheme of things. The most important one is the next one. ”Someone else might have a different philosophy. I don’t believe in functioning that way. My experience has been it can work against you more than it works for you when you start looking at the grand scheme of things. ”You can’t act as if one game is going to make a complete difference in the season, because you don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the season. You have no idea.” The Lions only need to look back to the 2016 season to understand how looking ahead can lead to disappointment. Last Thanksgiving, the Lions and Vikings also met, and Detroit’s 16-13 victory improved the Lions to 7-4 and gave them the NFC North lead by one game over the Vikings. However the Lions dropped their final three games of the regular season, while the Green Bay Packers, 5-6 after 11 games, ran off five wins in a row to grab the NFC North title from Detroit. Examples such as last season, and others he’s encountered over his coaching career, convinced Caldwell to narrow his focus and avoid looking beyond what’s next. ”I fight against it with everything I have Devin Bush Jersey ,” Caldwell said. ”That’s part of my DNA. I’m not going to change. ”I can only tell you that we look at them one game at a time. We look at these guys for who they are. They’re a very good team. They’re on a roll.” The Lions’ 27-24 win at Chicago on Sunday gave them a 3-0 road mark within the division for the first time in the Super Bowl era. ”Anytime you win on the road in this league it’s a huge bonus,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. ”On the contrary, we haven’t done a great job at home.” The Lions have a solid 4-1 road record, but are only 2-3 at Ford Field. ”We’ll have a big opportunity this Thursday at home against a division opponent, against a really good team and we’ve got to come out and play well,” Stafford said. Despite being one game out of a playoff position, the Lions still face a tough climb to qualify for postseason play. Seeded seventh at the start of the day Monday, the Lions would drop to the eighth seed if the Atlanta Falcons (5-4) defeat the sixth-seeded Seattle Seahawks (6-3) on Monday night, because the Falcons beat the Lions earlier this season. The Lions also lost to the Carolina Panthers (7-3) and New Orleans Saints (8-2) and would lose any tiebreaker to either of those teams. Not that Caldwell is worrying about all those possibilities. ”We’re not worried about ramifications Diontae Johnson Jersey , we’re not worried about all of the buildup and things of that nature,” Caldwell said. ”We’re worried about how we play. That’s what our goal is, to get focused in on our preparation and get ready to play a tough, hard-fought game.” —