CMT Blog: Archive

Josh Turner loves playing basketball on the road with his band and crew – but not as much as he used to. "We try to play as much as we can," he says, "but here lately, everybody's been getting hurt, so it's slowing us down."

Turner sprained his ankle in early April, but he's ready for another try, now that he's able to walk without lingering pain. "I was on defense and my lead guitar player had the ball," he says. "I was guarding him, and I went to try to steal the ball, and when I did, he went to drive past me. I tried to change direction really quick, and my ankle gave way. I just flipped over and laid there on the floor for a little while. But luckily I walked it off and played three or four more games."

Turner will spend May on the road with Carrie Underwood before hitting the summer fair and festival circuit on his own. With so much time away from home, some country stars kill an afternoon on the golf course, while others carry their bicycles on the back of the bus. So, why basketball? "It's exercise, and you don't look at it as exercise," he says. "You look at it as a game, and it's a lot more fun. You accomplish just as much, if not more, by playing basketball than you do by exercising."

But you won't find his wife on the court. "She tries to find the gym or the workout room," Turner says. "She doesn't want to get hurt by us."