Dierks Bentley And His Partner Crowned Pickleball Champs
Dierks Bentley and his Pickleball partner, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, who played in Stephen Colbert’s Pickleball Tournament that aired on CBS this week, are the event’s champions. Dierks and Phil…
Dierks Bentley and his Pickleball partner, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, who played in Stephen Colbert's Pickleball Tournament that aired on CBS this week, are the event's champions.
Dierks and Phil appeared together on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to discuss their victory. Bentley told Colbert, "Our plan was just to win; you know this is show business, but it's not called 'show friends,' it's called 'show business.' We were there to take care of business."
Dierks' partner Phil said that Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, whose partner was boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard, was the most competitive and tried to intimidate them by having a coach. Bentley joked that he still has nightmares about Emma's evil eye. He said, of Watson, "Emma Watson like method acted her way through the whole thing; I don't think she played pickleball at all. She was scary."
Dierks admitted that he has been playing on the road setting up courts backstage in venues where he has played this year, and both he and Keoghan admitted that they were nervous about the competition.
The two-hour special that aired on CBS on Thursday (11/17) featured 16 celebrities playing in a charity pickleball tournament. Proceeds will benefit Comic Relief U.S., which strives to end poverty in the U.S.
Bentley told us before the show that his band and crew started playing pickleball on the road to pass the time between soundcheck and the show. "We would just put some masking tape, duct tape, down on the parking lot behind the busses and start playing and got into it, a fun thing to do out there on the road. Since then, I've had a lot of people reach out to me about starting a pickleball team or being part of pickleball specials, and one of the cool things is doing this Stephen Colbert TV special. It involved playing pickleball with a bunch of great people like Will Ferrell and Jimmie Allen."
Dierks Bentley celebrates his 44th birthday today (11/20). Not only is he a major country star, he just opened yet another of his clubs called Whiskey Row in Colorado and he's also his own pilot flying himself from show to show as he tours.
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 07: Recording artist Dierks Bentley performs onstage during ACM Presents: An All-Star Salute To The Troops at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 7, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ACM)
Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 10: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Dierks Bentley performs onstage during the 2018 CMA Music festival at Nissan Stadium on June 10, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Mike Coppola/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 06: Dierks Bentley and family attend the 2018 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 6, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CMT)
Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 06: Singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley attends the 55th annual ASCAP Country Music awards at the Ryman Auditorium on November 6, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Terry Wyatt/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 30: Singer Dierks Bentley attends the 10th Annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium on August 30, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for ACM)
Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 10: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Dierks Bentley performs onstage during the 2018 CMA Music festival at Nissan Stadium on June 10, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
John Shearer/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 12: In this handout photo provided by The Country Rising Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, singer Dierks Bentley performs onstage for the Country Rising Benefit Concert at Bridgestone Arena on November 12, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Shearer/Country Rising/Getty Images)
Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 03: Musicians Dierks Bentley (L) and Luke Bryan attend Dierks Bentley's 8th annual Miles & Music for Kids at Riverfront Park on November 3, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 06: (L-R) Dierks Bentley, John Osborne and T.J. Osborne perform onstage at the 2018 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 6, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)
Terry Wyatt/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 13: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Dierks Bentley (L) and Sheryl Crow perform onstage during the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images,)
