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Saints hosting Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker on official facility visit

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Saints hosting Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker on official facility visit


Effectively that’s one thing: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints are flying in Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker for an official go to on Tuesday, making him one of many 30 prospects within the 2023 NFL draft that the Saints are allowed to host for personal conferences on the staff facility in Metairie.

You’d suppose the Saints wouldn’t be concerned about drafting one other quarterback extremely after signing Derek Carr to an enormous contract in free company, however they designed that contract with an exit ramp simply two years into the four-year deal. If Carr doesn’t meet expectations, it might be worthwhile to have an skilled backup quarterback able to go within the close to future.

Hooker is among the most prolific passers on this draft class, even when he’s going to want a while to adapt to NFL requirements after operating a timing-and-spacing based mostly offense that took benefit of some quirks to the faculty sport. He’s additionally an ready menace to make performs on the bottom along with his legs.

However there are some warts on his scouting report. For one factor, Hooker is coming off a season-ending ACL damage, although he’s stated he expects to take part in coaching camp wherever he’s drafted. For an additional, he’s one of many older prospects on this 12 months’s rookie class, and if he doesn’t play till 2025, he received’t see significant snaps till he’s 28 years previous.

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Nobody cares about that if he performs at a excessive stage for a decade as soon as he’s within the lineup, however it might be actually robust to justify passing on gamers who might assist the Saints proper now within the prime two or three rounds. We’ll see the place he finally ends up on draft day.





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Archibald: Let’s rename the world, but start with Tennessee

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Archibald: Let’s rename the world, but start with Tennessee


This is an opinion column.

Who knew it was an option to simply change the names of things that don’t belong to us?

The possibilities are endless. You don’t have to actually change anything. You just have to call it something else.

For personal reasons, I’d like to rename Tennessee “Dorkland.” No offense to actual dorks. For personal reasons, Tennesseans have called me worse.

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I’ve never understood why Alabama, which presumably dares defend its rights of way, allows the Dorkland River to flow freely in and out of its borders. Maybe we should just call it the River Sticks. Because you cross it to get to hillbilly hell.

It’s freeing to rename things that annoy you. There’s a president, I mean precedent, for it. And bodies of water are a good start.

Lake Superior is in the state of Canada, for Pete’s sake. It should rightly be called Lake Inferior. And the Pacific Ocean sounds like some hippy dippy draft dodger with “bad feet.” Let’s call it the Ocean of American Might. That’ll make waves.

Most rivers in Alabama are named for Native American culture, and I like that, except in the case of the one mentioned above. Lakes, on the other hand, are generally named for Alabama Power execs or their mothers, lawyers, engineers or friends. I’d change them in a Reddy Kilowatt, to Atlantic, Ventnor and Marvin Gardens. Park Place and Boardwalk. You know. Monopoly properties.

I guess New Mexico has to change. But I’m sure smart people are already thinking that.

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I’m curious, too, why we never bothered to name the moon. It’s there every night and it’s just … moon. It’s like calling your dog “Dog” or your kid “Kid.” We planted a flag in that thing, so give it a fitting name: Yankee Doodle Flashlight. Or is it a gaslight?

But before you can change the heavens you have to change the wrongs closer to home.

There’s an Alabama town called Cuba 11 miles west of Intercourse. Of course we can’t have that. Cuba, I mean. We’ll call it Foreplay instead.

An hour northeast of Needmore, a little less than an hour northwest of Smuteye, is the community of Little Texas. There are only about 1,200 people there, but they need to own it. Forget the Little, and just call them Texas. The state of Texas? We’ll call it West Smuteye.

Marshall County has an Egypt and an Arab (rhymes with Ahab). It’s probably why the county has the third-highest immigrant population rate in the state. Alabama has a Berlin, a Havana and a Rome — where all roads do not lead.

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There’s the Abel community in Cleburne County, just across the Talladega National Forest from Waldo, if you know where to find Waldo. As the Bible tells us Abel was a loser, so that has to change. Just call it Cain.

For that matter, why don’t we change the names of names.

Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan has not earned the right to be Tuscaloosa’s Nick S. (or a paycheck 22 times the median household income in the state, but that’s another story). Let’s just call him Temp.

That singer from Alabama, India Ramey, is tearing up Nashville these days. She’s great. But I’m afraid we’re going to have to call her Indiana. For America’s sake.

Cuba Gooding Jr. must be Cuba Not-so-Gooding. And while I hate it for Tennessee Williams, he will now have to be Dorkland Williams. It’s not even fair.

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But hey, I’m just calling ‘em what I see ‘em.

In a world where greed is godly, thought control is liberty and theocracy is religious freedom, a rose is whatever you want to call it.

John Archibald is a two-time Pulitzer winner who, in actuality, has nothing at all against the great state of Tennessee. Or Dorkland.



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The 2025 Tennessee legislative session begins on Tuesday. Here's what to know

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The 2025 Tennessee legislative session begins on Tuesday. Here's what to know


The first bill filed ahead of the start of the Tennessee legislative session reintroduces universal school vouchers, a topic that failed to find support last year.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tuesday marks the start of the 2025 Tennessee legislative session — an annual process that brings state lawmakers to Nashville to discuss and decide on proposals that can impact all of the state’s 7.2 million residents.

This will be the 114th General Assembly, meaning it will be the 114th group of lawmakers to gather in the capital — whether it be located in Nashville, Knoxville, Kingston or Murfreesboro — to pass laws. The first General Assembly was on March 28, 1796.

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There is a Republican supermajority this legislative session, as there has been in the previous years. This means that Democratic lawmakers could effectively not show up and there would still be enough lawmakers to pass laws. There will be 27 Republicans in the Senate with six Democratic members. The House of Representatives has 75 Republicans and 24 Democratic members.

Effectively, nothing changed in the makeup of this session compared to the previous one. However, some previous Republican lawmakers had their seats taken by new Republican members. Some of those members, such as Republican Representative Rick Scarbrough, were voted into their seats after collecting donations from a PAC that supports universal school voucher proposals.

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The first bill filed of this session reintroduces the program, which drew the ire of educators and community members across East Tennessee. Its mostly Republican supporters argue that the proposal increases school choice for Tennessee families. However, educators and advocates condemned it for using public money to fund private school expenses.

Last year, the proposal failed after three competing bills were introduced, each with different rules for the program. This year, there is a single bill to start the program. It includes a $2,000 bonus for teachers and requirements for private schools to be accredited. It also bases scholarships for families on the amount of money students generate for schools, according to the state’s TISA formula.

Democratic lawmakers and advocates contend that despite the changes, the core of the proposal remains the same — using public money to pay for private school expenses. They say that it effectively removes funding for public schools, which already face tight budgets. They also argue that the proposal leaves out rural families who may not have private school options, and said the funding will only subsidize private education costs instead of outright paying for them.

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Abortion also promises to be a contentious topic, as it has been for several years. This year, Republican lawmakers proposed banning abortion care medication from being sent in the state’s mail system, further restricting abortion care access in a state already known for having one of the country’s most restrictive abortion care bans.

Democratic lawmakers proposed abolishing the state’s grocery tax as a way to help families save money while prices continue to rise nationally for most goods. Republican leaders said they hope to refine the proposal to keep the tax in place, in some form.

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Proposals that expand police powers to detain undocumented immigrants and require different IDs to be given to immigrants have also been introduced, along with a proposal that could effectively expand the state’s anti-transgender bathroom rules.

This legislative session will also be held during the first term of President-elect Donald Trump, who many state lawmakers and leaders including Governor Bill Lee have met and expressed support for in the past. Lee signed onto a pledge with 25 other Republican governors in December to support Trump’s immigration policies, which he said include plans for mass deportations.

The legislative session will also begin with a lawsuit continuing to go through the courts that Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) filed against Lee. In it, he said his constitutional rights were violated when leaders tried to stop his dissent on issues like gun restrictions by expelling and silencing him.

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Usually, legislative sessions last until late April or May of each year.



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Tennessee Department of Human Services sued on its handling of SNAP

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Tennessee Department of Human Services sued on its handling of SNAP


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) is facing a legal battle with the handling of its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The class action lawsuit accuses DHS of failing to process applications on time.

The lawsuit claims this caused hunger, malnutrition and financial hardship for applicants and participants.

The contributor joined the lawsuit filed by the Tennessee Justice Center.

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Read the full lawsuit below:



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