My wife and I recently visited Nashville. She had never been to Nashville before. I’d been there a few times, but it had been a while and we wanted us to attend the Grand Ole Opry among other opportunities, so off we went. It turned out to be one of our better trips.

Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and is its largest city with over two million in population. The Grand Ole Opry is northeast of the downtown area and is right next to a mall called Opry Mills. (The old location of the Opry is the Ryman Auditorium which is downtown. You can tour the Ryman.) Very briefly, the show we saw at the Opry was outstanding. Even if you are not a country music fan, all the acts were excellent and we got the see Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill. The Opry is truly a piece of Americana. I would also recommend taking the backstage tour if you get a chance. The different rooms where the performers stay are interesting and you get to go on stage and get your picture taken.

There are plenty of other sightseeing options in the area. If you are a history enthusiast a visit to The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home, is a must. Jackson had a number of concerning actions as president, but I was reminded of the importance of his presidency by one of the displays in the visitor center. It reviewed how presidents were chosen before 1828 and what changed from 1824. (The 1824 election was controversial because John Quincy Adams won the presidency despite losing the popular vote.) Specifically, “Between 1824 and 1828, laws governing presidential elections changed as more states allowed voters to directly elect the electors and a greater number of eligible voters decided to cast ballots.” Too long to go into here on presidential election history, but the key point was Jackson was considered a people’s president and represented the “common man.” (Quiz for the history buffs: What do Andrew Jackson, Samuel Tilden, Grover Cleveland, Al Gore, and Hillary Clinton have in common?)

We also visited Civil War locations in Franklin, which is about 20 miles south of Nashville. The November 1864 battle at Franklin was a disaster for the Confederates and was particularly bloody. According to the American Battlefield Trust, “The scale of the charge at Franklin rivaled that of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg.” There are two locations (among several possible) I recommend you visit from the conflict. The first is the Carter House, which was in the middle of the battle. Incredibly, Captain Tod Carter, who grew up there, was in the Confederate Army and was mortally wounded during the battle about 200 yards from his home. He was brought to the house and died in the parlor.

The other location I highly recommend visiting is Carnton Plantation. Carnton was one of the premier farms in middle Tennessee and was on the eastern flank of the battle. The home and grounds around the home were used as a hospital afterward. The home was completely inundated with wounded—literally every floor was covered. You can still see the blood stains on the floors. Six Confederate generals died in the battle and four were laid out on the back porch of the home for soldiers to file past and pay respects. Right next to the home is the family cemetery and the McGavock Confederate Cemetery, the final resting place for about 1,500 killed during the battle.

See www.boft.org, the Battle of Franklin Trust website, for specifics on how to visit.

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Doug McCormick is retired from the Air Force after spending 21 years as a space operator. He spent 14 years as a defense contractor supporting Air Force Space Command. He is now a tour guide and has started his own business, American History Tours, LLC, specializing in taking people to see locations associated with significant American history. His email address is doug@historytoursamerica.com.

AJ Russell threw a bullpen Tuesday as the Tennessee baseball pitcher works back from injuries that have sidelined for nearly two months.

Vols coach Tony Vitello said the bullpen went well and the next step is to see how Russell feels Wednesday.

“In an ideal world, it is time to start strategizing when would he throw in a game for us,” Vitello said after No. 1 Tennessee run-ruled Belmont 10-0 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Russell has not pitched since March 23 against Ole Miss. He departed in the ninth inning with tightness in his forearm, the second time this season the sophomore pitcher departed with an injury issue. The sophomore has a 5.11 ERA in four appearances. He has 19 strikeouts in 12⅓ innings. He has allowed seven runs on 10 hits and eight walks.

Tennessee (43-10, 19-8 SEC) hosts South Carolina in the final regular-series starting Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).

When could AJ Russell return for Tennessee baseball?

The 6-foot-6 Russell has thrown off a mound a couple times recently. The next step is for Russell to throw to live hitters, if he feels good after the most recent bullpen session. That would be the final stamp of approval in Vitello’s eyes in order to get Russell back in the fold.

“Our guys want him back,” Vitello said. “I’d like to see him out there. So it is kind of where does it all meet? We are kind of to that point now where it’s time to decide what is the best way for him to get back out there.”

Russell left his second start of the season with side soreness, missed multiple weeks and returned for two outings before forearm tightness put him on the self again.

Vitello said Russell has had to stop, at times, in his work to return and had to “even kind of backpedal.” Tennessee’s staff has pitched well enough to allow Russell to take his time, Vitello noted.

“The one thing I can tell you with 100% conviction, everyone has to heart his future,” Vitello said. “The microscope of it or the shorter term of it is next year, where he will be the leader of a staff and be a huge part of it on the mound. Also we all know what he has shown, he can play for a long time.”

What is AJ Russell’s injury for Tennessee baseball?

Russell left his second start of the season against Albany on Feb. 23 with side soreness. He did not return until March 17 against Alabama, then was injured against a week later against Ole Miss.

Russell took over Tennessee’s Friday night starter spot as a sophomore. He struck out 10 in 4⅓ innings on Feb. 16 against Texas Tech, including getting the first eight outs of the game via strikeout. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk.

OPS: The wild dash to get Billy Amick his No. 11 jersey for Tennessee baseball vs Vanderbilt

The Franklin, Tennessee, native struck out four in three innings against Albany before leaving the game. He allowed three hits and walked one.

Russell started against Alabama in his return, striking out two and allowing one run on two hits in two innings. He struggled against Ole Miss in his last outing before departing with arm issues. He walked six, allowed two hits and surrendered four runs. He struck out three in three innings.

Russell was 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA in 30⅓ innings with 47 strikeouts as a freshman. He made 24 appearances with one start.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

The Tennessee Titans are hoping that second-year quarterback Will Levis will continue to blossom now that he has an offensive-minded coach in Brian Callahan.

After serving as the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator for the first part of Joe Burrow’s career, Callahan has the track record of how to develop a quarterback, and he has nothing but good things to say about Levis so far.

“He’s been great,” Callahan said. “Really, really happy with the work that he’s put in, what he’s learned. There’s a lot of information coming at him. A lot of technical things, a lot of mental things, a lot of physical things as far as fundamentals, techniques, how we teach, what we teach. He’s attacked it with really awesome enthusiasm. … I think he’s really gotten better in a short amount of time because of the way he approaches his job, and that’s all you can ask for at this point in the year.”

Levis has an entirely new offense to learn and new personnel to work with. Derrick Henry left the team after eight seasons to join the Baltimore Ravens, and former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is in his place. The team also added Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd, giving Levis two proven receivers to work with.

It’s almost as if Levis is undergoing a second rookie season, but the work he put in last year won’t go unnoticed. Now, it’s officially the Levis era and the Titans have him in position to succeed with his new head coach right behind him each step of the way.

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