Dierks Bentley and Jimmie Allen Slated For CBS Pickleball Tournament

Dierks Bentley and Jimmie Allen will represent country music in a CBS special called Pickled, hosted by late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert. Pickled will feature 16 celebrities competing for a coveted "Colbert Cup" and benefit the non-profit Comic Relief U.S. Stephen said in a press release, "If you love pickleball and you love celebrities, and you love helping people, you're going to love watching these celebrities help people by playing pickleball."  Pickled will debut on Thursday, November 17, at 9 PM ET on CBS.

Other Celebrities taking part in Pickled include Murray Bartlett, Jaime Camil, Will Ferrell, Max Greenfield, Luis Guzman, Phil Keoghan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tig Notaro, June Diane Raphael, Kelly Rowland, Paul Scheer, Aisha Tyler, and Emma Watson. Cari Champion, John Michael Higgins, and Bill Raftery serve as announcers and add commentary.

Pickleball has become a national craze. More than 4.8 million people in the U.S. play the sport — the latest in racket games — which has seen a growth of 39.3%.

According to an official USA Pickleball website, Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, Washington. Three dads – Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum — whose kids were bored with their usual summertime activities — are credited for creating a game. Pickleball has evolved from original handmade equipment and simple rules into a popular sport throughout the U.S. and Canada. The game is also growing internationally, with many European and Asian countries adding courts.

Jimmie posted the show's promo on his Instagram, writing, "GAME TIME!! Get ready to get PICKLED. November 17 on @cbstv."

Several fans reacted to the post, including one who said, it's easier than (bowling emoji), haha." Another fan responded, "We love Pickleball -it's so fun!" One more wrote, "Man, you are on every sport. Nice!"

Allen, currently working on NBC's The Voice as a "Battle Advisor" for Blake Shelton's team, recently hosted a bowling tournament in Nashville, with proceeds going to charity.

Country music has a long history of great beards. In this gallery on National Beard day, we share some of country music's best beards from today and yesterday.