Connect with us

Tennessee

‘Run, Gloria, Run!’ Tennessee Three Democrat Urged to Challenge Sen. Blackburn in 2024

Published

on

‘Run, Gloria, Run!’ Tennessee Three Democrat Urged to Challenge Sen. Blackburn in 2024


Politico‘s Friday reporting that one of the “Tennessee Three”—Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson—is considering a run next year for the seat held by GOP U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn generated excitement across the Volunteer State and throughout the country.

Welcoming the “amazing news” that the Democrat may try to challenge the first-term Republican, Victor Shi, the youngest elected delegate for President Joe Biden in 2020, tweeted that “Tennessee deserves so much better than Marsha.”

Johnson, who represents District 90, “is a friend, she has fought time and time again for Gen Z and young people (as both a teacher and state rep.),” Shi added. “She is the perfect person to be the next U.S. senator from Tennessee.”

Kyle Tharp of the newsletter FWIW simply said, “Run, Gloria, Run!”

Advertisement

“I’m taking a serious look at the race and having conversations with folks that are hungry for better leadership in Washington,” Johnson told Politico. “Honestly, Tennesseans deserve someone who will stand up to corrupt special interests, fight for lower costs so that every family can build a good life, and that’s not Marsha Blackburn.”

Johnson is expected to make a decision about whether to run by the end of the summer. Politico noted that she would not “have the primary field to herself. Marquita Bradshaw, an environmental activist and her party’s 2020 Senate nominee, has filed to run again. Three years ago, she bested James Mackler, the candidate preferred by national Democrats, and then lost to incumbent Bill Hagerty by 27 points.”

The former teacher has previously confirmed she is weighing a Senate run, telling the Chattanooga Times Free Press in late May that “there have been a whole lot of people, very serious people, asking me to do it. And so I told them I would seriously consider doing it.”

“It needs to be done. People want somebody who will stand up for Tennessee families, and they just don’t feel Marsha’s doing the job. There’s a lot of issues with Marsha, I believe. Mainly, what I hear is she’s not voting for Tennessee families,” Johnson added.

In April, Johnson and two of her Democratic colleagues in the Tennessee House of Representatives faced a GOP-led expulsion effort over the trio’s protest for gun control legislation on the chamber floor in the wake of the Covenant School shooting.

Advertisement

Tennessee Republicans ultimately declined to oust Johnson, a white woman in her 60s, but they expelled Reps. Justin Jones (52) and Justin J. Pearson (86)—though local councils swiftly voted to send both younger Black men back to the chamber.

The multiday battle garnered intense media attention and elevated the Tennessee Three to national platforms. Asked by reporters at the time why she was spared expulsion, Johnson said: “I’ll answer your question; it might have to do with the color of our skin.”





Source link

Tennessee

Potential mass shooter fatally shoots self after causing lockdown in Tennessee

Published

on

Potential mass shooter fatally shoots self after causing lockdown in Tennessee


A suspect fatally shot himself after entering an office building near a shopping mall and causing a lockdown, local cops in Tennessee said Monday.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. local time when the man went into the building near the Hamilton Place shopping mall in Chattanooga.

Several businesses in the area went into lockdown.

“A shooter was inside the building and was attempting to execute a plan. That failed,” Chattanooga Police Department Sgt. Victor Miller told reporters. “We found that he shot himself, and he is deceased.”

Advertisement

No other injuries were reported. Police did not say how many shots may have been fired. The incident occurred in an office park with multiple business and agencies, but it’s unknown where exactly the shooting unfolded. No other details about the man’s plan were made available, and his identity was not immediately released.

The situation — which was originally reported as a mass shooter event — remains under investigation, police said. The lockdowns were lifted after about two hours, when cops determined there was no more threat to public safety.

Miller said more information would be made public at a later time.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Tennessee

Texas A&M College World Series Finals Game 3 vs. Tennessee: How to Watch, Betting Odds

Published

on

Texas A&M College World Series Finals Game 3 vs. Tennessee: How to Watch, Betting Odds


The Texas A&M Aggies are just one away from their first-ever national title in baseball.

After opening up the final series vs. the Tennessee Volunteers with a resounding 9-5 win, the Aggies fell 4-1 in Game 2, evening the series at 1-1, and setting up a decisive Game 3 on Monday night.

“Close ball game, just exactly what you’d expect with these two teams,” Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle said after the Game 2 loss. “To think you’d roll right through it in two games, that would’ve been nice. We get to play the last college baseball game of the season and that’s awesome.”

Taking the mound for the Aggies will be starter Justin Lamkin who currently sits at 3-2 with a 5.00 ERA, and averages 12.3 strikeouts per game.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, for the Volunteers, the ball will go to Zander Sechrist, who sits at 5-1 with a 3.22 ERA.

So can the Aggies overcome the odds and upset the favored Volunteers to capture their first ever baseball national title?

Here is how you can tune in to the matchup, as well as the betting odds (via Fan Duel):

WHAT: Texas A&M Aggies vs. Tennessee Volunteers – College World Series Final

WHERE: Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, NE (Capacity: 24,000)

Advertisement

WHEN: Game 3 – Monday, June 24- 6 p.m.

TV: Game 3 (if necessary) – ESPN/ESPN+

RADIO: 1150 AM/93.7 FM, TAMU Sports Network

SPREAD: Tennessee: -1.5 (-140), Texas A&M: +1.5 (+108)

MONEY LINE: Tennessee: -260, Texas A&M: +196

Advertisement

OVER/UNDER: 10.5 (Over -108/Under -122)



Source link

Continue Reading

Tennessee

Replacing Derrick Henry doesn’t end with Spears, Pollard: Tennessee Titans search for RB3

Published

on

Replacing Derrick Henry doesn’t end with Spears, Pollard: Tennessee Titans search for RB3


Replacing Derrick Henry won’t just be the job of two men.

In Henry’s five healthy seasons, from 2018 to 2023, the Tennessee Titans handed the ball to their No. 3 running back an average of 0.75 times per game. Their No. 3 running back in 2023, Jonathan Ward, carried just three times all season.

For comparison, the average No. 3 NFL back in 2023 carried 32 times. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only team that used a third tailback less frequently than the Titans.

Advertisement

Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard are taking over Henry’s mantle atop the depth chart, but without a Henry-like presence touching the ball 30 times per game, the Titans need more bodies.

MEET THE COACH: Melting cleats, walking dogs: Inside Lori Locust’s journey from women’s football to NFL, Tennessee Titans

“You’re not just going to have two backs. You’re actually going to have to platoon about three of them,” Titans running backs coach Randy Jordan told The Tennessean. “That third guy’s got to be a special teams guy. He’s got to be a guy we can count on. I really look for that third guy to be able to play on first, second and third down and be able to be a plug-and-play guy. It’s a really, really big decision.”

The Titans’ options beyond Spears and Pollard are: 2022 fourth-round pick Hassan Haskins; two-year practice squad player Julius Chestnut; and undrafted rookies Jabari Small and Dillon Johnson. The four players have 34 NFL carries combined, and none since 2022.

Advertisement

No player in that bunch should be expected to replace Henry, but Jordan has various reasons for why he’s excited about the depth of his room.

Tennessee Titans’ running back depth, analyzed

The biggest question mark about the Spears-Pollard tandem is to whom the Titans will turn in situations that call for a bigger back. This is where Haskins can stake his claim to the No. 3 job.

“Hassan, he’s one that I’m really intrigued with,” Jordan said. “Big backs, I kind of like coaching those guys. They have a different type of skill set. I call it being a bully. I say, ‘Look, God made you that size. Let’s make sure we let people know that you’re the bully on every play.’ “

Jordan says the 6-foot-2, 228-pound Haskins is doing a good job of absorbing information and executing plays. Haskins hasn’t played since 2022, though, and he’s not the Titans’ only bigger option. Chestnut measures in at 5-11, 228 pounds, and Johnson is 5-11, 217 pounds.

Advertisement

More than filling one specific role, though, Jordan says the main thing he’s looking for from a No. 3 back is consistency. He doesn’t want players who know the protections on Wednesday but forget them by Friday, or players who have energy on Thursdays but not Mondays.

With regards to consistency, he has been pleased with his two rookies. Small, the Tennessee product, and Johnson, the Washington standout, roomed together throughout OTAs and minicamp, helping each other learn the offense. Both have significant learning curves coming from wide-open college passing attacks, starting even with huddling for the first time.

But both expressed confidence in their fit with the Titans.

“I think it complements me,” Johnson said. “I played at Washington where we threw the ball a lot, but we also ran the ball a lot. So that’s kind of a balanced attack.”

“It’s definitely a learning curve as far as what I’ve been doing the past three years, but football is football,” Small added. “Everybody runs the same things. It’s just different formations, different terminology.”

Advertisement

Jordan called Small the team’s “tweener.” Come training camp, Jordan is excited to see how Small responds in pass protection, because he’s already fairly confident in his pass-catching ability and versatility.

Between the practice squad and active roster, it’s plausible the Titans could hold on to Haskins, Chestnut, Johnson and Small, especially with the added value running backs provide under the new kickoff rules. But given the need for balanced depth everywhere, it’s most likely the player who makes the 53-man roster as the No. 3 running back will have to be dependable as a runner, receiver, blocker and tackler.

Figuring out who that should be will earn Jordan his paycheck.

“It’s probably one of the most important things as a coach that I’m going to have to do this year,” Jordan said.

BETTER WITHOUT THE KING? Here’s case Tennessee Titans can be better with Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears than Derrick Henry

Advertisement

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending