Tennessee
Lions Sign Former Titans LB
The Detroit Lions are adding a former Tennessee Titans draft pick to the practice squad ahead of Week 12.
Detroit announced Monday that former Titans linebacker David Long Jr. has signed with the team’s practice squad after standout linebacker Alex Anzalone was placed on injured reserve due to an arm injury.
Long Jr. started out the season with the Miami Dolphins but was waived on Nov. 13. He sat out due to injury when the Titans beat Miami as Hard Rock Stadium in Week 4. In six starts and eight appearances for Miami this season, Long Jr. totaled 38 tackles (26 solo).
Originally a sixth-round pick by the Titans in the 2019 NFL Draft, Long Jr. spent four years in Tennessee and proved to be a consistent presence for head coach Mike Vrabel’s defense. During his time with the team, he played in 50 regular-season games and made 26 starts while posting 230 total tackles (15 for loss), two forced fumbles, 14 pass breakups and four interceptions.
He also started two of five playoff appearances for Tennessee while tallying 27 total tackles and a sack in the postseason. Long Jr. played in the Titans’ AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2019 Playoffs.
He then signed a two-year, $11 million deal with Miami ahead of the 2023 campaign. Long Jr. immediately became an impact player for McDaniel, finishing his debut season with the Dolphins with a career-best 113 total tackles to go along with one sack and one forced fumble.
Though Miami decided to move on from his this season, Long Jr. now has a chance to eventually contribute to arguably the best team in the NFL. The Lions are currently 9-1 and coming off a 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. This matched their point total from the 52-14 win over the Titans on Oct. 27.
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Tennessee
No more meatballs in Memphis: Lone IKEA store in Tennessee set to close
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WZTV) — IKEA has announced that it will close its Memphis store on May 3, 2026, as part of a broader effort to optimize its U.S. operations and support future growth.
The Memphis location is currently the only full IKEA store in Tennessee.
The state will still have two IKEA pick-up locations, in Nashville and Knoxville, but these are not traditional storefronts and only serve designated, often third-party, sites where customers can pick-up online orders.
The company said the decision followed a comprehensive review of market share, business performance, cost structure, and other factors.
Customers in the Memphis area will continue to shop IKEA products online at IKEA.com/us, with delivery options and FedEx pick-up points available in the Cordova area.
IKEA said it aims to retain as many employees as possible by offering transfers to other locations. Those who do not transition to a new role will receive severance.
The company is investing $2.2 billion in the U.S. to expand its presence, including opening 14 new-format stores in 2025 and planning additional locations in 2026.
IKEA said future efforts will focus on home delivery, pickup services, digital capabilities, and modernizing physical stores.
Tennessee
Two players out for Tennessee-Mississippi State basketball game
Tennessee (16-7, 6-4 SEC) will play at Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7 SEC) on Wednesday in Southeastern Conference basketball play.
Tipoff between the Vols and Bulldogs is slated for 9 p.m. EST at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi. ESPN2 will televise the matchup with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Richard Hendrix (analyst) on the call.
Tennessee leads the all-time basketball series, 91-46, against the Bulldogs. Rick Barnes is 12-4 versus Mississippi State as the Vols’ head coach.
Beginning with the 2024-25 athletics calendar, the SEC made it mandatory for schools to provide public reports on availability of student-athletes to participate in each conference game in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.
A Tennessee-Mississippi State initial availability report is listed below for Wednesday’s basketball game in SEC play.
Tennessee-Mississippi State basketball game injury report
Tennessee junior forward Cade Phillips is out. He will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 basketball season due to a recurring shoulder injury.
“We will sincerely miss having Cade on the court and he is certainly disappointed that he won’t be able to play the rest of the regular season, but it’s essential he gets healthy,” Barnes said on Dec. 8, 2025. “Cade did all he could to play through this injury as long as possible.”
Freshman guard Clarence Massamba is also listed as out for the Vols against Mississippi State.
All Mississippi State players are listed as available.
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Tennessee
What Tennessee Baseball Coach Josh Elander Said About Manny Marin and Levi Clark
Manny Marin and Levi Clark are some of the better returning stars for the Tennessee baseball program. Clark and Marin are returning and will have a bigger role with the Vols, as the new season approaching leads many to believe they will be A+ players.
Josh Elander commented on the players during a press conference this week. Here is what he said.
Manny Marin and Levi Clark’s Importance
“Well, that’s what you hope as a coaching staff, that those guys make a jump. Usually, it’s between freshman and sophomore year. Manny, the one thing I talk with him about is like, if you’re going to play in the middle of the field, you need to run the show. You need to over-communicate it. Also, we need to tell him, like, ‘Hey, be quiet. You’re talking too much.’ So really, that’s never going to happen, but he’s done a great job just kind of commanding the field. And then Levi has been awesome, balancing catching and playing first. I think guys respect those guys because they’ve played in the league. They know what it’s like, but they also were very lucky, where some of our better players are some of our best people, too. It’s easy for our young guys to have an example to look up to. And in our program, we always talk about competition is king. Internal should be every single day. There’s somebody right next to you, behind you, in front of you, that’s capable of doing it at the same level, but at the same time, those guys have been great teammates and making sure this freshman class that is really talented, bringing those guys along too, and making sure they’re getting better along the way.”
Tennessee Baseball’s Preseason Is Closing
“Yeah, we’re just excited to get going. I know the guys — it’s been nice how the NCAA has opened it up. We’ve had a little bit more time. Had to battle the weather a little bit, but had a good weekend. We’re able to get outside for three consecutive days, see those guys compete a little bit. But again, the start of the season is here. We’re excited. But again, this will be a process where I told the guys, hey, Opening Day is right around the corner, but this needs to be a deal, this is just the beginning of getting better and better as we go through the course of the year, and then eventually get into SEC play.”
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