Connect with us

Tennessee

Tony Vitello explains why Blake Burke was ejected from Tennessee baseball’s game vs Illinois

Published

on

Tony Vitello explains why Blake Burke was ejected from Tennessee baseball’s game vs Illinois


Blake Burke was ejected following a fifth-inning home run in Tennessee baseball’s 8-3 win against Illinois at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Sunday.

It is unclear what Burke did to warrant an ejection following his home run, which pulled the Vols within 3-2 against Illinois.

Tennessee coach Tony Vitello told reporters after the game both teams were warned after “both catchers were talking to each other during (Illinois’ Camden) Janik’s at-bat.”

Advertisement

“Blake hit the home run, and as he crossed home plate, I don’t know what he said, but he was clearly talking to the catcher about the home run or telling him about it,” added Vitello. “Which he’s a smart enough guy. He can see where the ball landed. There’s no need to do that.”

 The first baseman will miss UT’s home game Tuesday against Eastern Kentucky.

The No. 8 Vols (16-1) swept Illinois (5-9) for the third straight weekend series sweep and 14th straight win.

“We’ll come out of today being the bad guys, and maybe something gets posted or you hear ‘Blake Burke got thrown out. He’s a bad guy.’ But I used to coach pitchers. I don’t remember back then anybody throwing a baseball, 90 mile-an-hour objects at guys when they’re not looking at it. But it started about six years ago. Our guys are guilty of doing it. I’m not calling our their guy. He’s doing what he’s got to do,” said Vitello. 

Advertisement

BIG NIGHT FOR FRESHMAN: Dean Curley becomes first Tennessee baseball freshman to have three-homer game

Dalton Bargo replaced Burke at first base following the ejection, which was UT’s first for a player since Christian Moore was ejected against Vanderbilt on April 22 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Burke’s homer was his sixth of the season as he has been on a tear of late. The junior was hitting .367 entering Sunday.

Gentry Estes of The Tennessean contributed to this story.

Advertisement



Source link

Tennessee

Flag Day: East Tennessee couple builds wooden American flags by hand

Published

on

Flag Day: East Tennessee couple builds wooden American flags by hand


SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Dennis and LaNelle Fawver don’t wave a fabric flag. They build them by hand out of wood.

Six years ago, the couple made their very first wooden American flag — not to sell, but to give to Dennis’s younger brother, who had just been diagnosed with stage four cancer.

“So, we were in the middle of making our very first one when we got a call that my younger brother had stage four cancer and he was about to pass,” Dennis Fawver said.

They finished that flag, put his name on it and a cancer awareness ribbon and took it back to him for a surprise.

Advertisement

“As soon as we gave it to him, you know, he just smiled and got bright and seemed happy,” Dennis Fawver said.

His brother, Randy Behrends, later passed away. But that moment of joy sparked a business, and Dennis says it still drives every flag he makes.

“It just shows patriotic. I mean, just red, white, and blue,” Dennis Fawver said.

The Fawvers make flags for every branch of the military, law enforcement, medical workers, corrections officers and even fully custom flags with names and sayings.

For LaNelle, a former nurse, the reward is different — it’s the moment someone unwraps one.

Advertisement

“I just like seeing people’s faces when they get them. We make a lot of birthday presents, a lot of anniversaries, Father’s Day presents. That’s a biggie for us. And to see the dads and the reactions on their faces when they see it, that’s the best part. I enjoy making them happy when they see. They get something that means something to them,” LaNelle Fawver said.

That joy — the same joy his brother showed — is what keeps Dennis going.

“So that kind of inspired us like, well, if he liked it that much, you know, and other people commented. So we just started making them and would give them away to friends and family,” Dennis Fawver said.

The Fawvers sell their wooden flags at the Great Smoky Mountains Flea Market and online.

Copyright 2026 WVLT. All rights reserved.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Tennessee

Tennessee Football Hosted SEC Cornerback Commit on Official Visit This Weekend | Rocky Top Insider

Published

on

Tennessee Football Hosted SEC Cornerback Commit on Official Visit This Weekend | Rocky Top Insider


(Photo via Ryan Sylvia | RTI)

Tennessee football is continuing to make pushes for top targets on its board despite prospects’ commitment status. On Saturday, the Vols flipped Alabama commit Kenneth Simon II to join the 2027 class. On Sunday, Dayon Cooper decommitted from Florida State after his official visit to see the Vols.

UT has its eyes set on another currently committed target, as well. Mississippi State commit Brandon Allen Jr. just completed his official visit to Knoxville this past weekend, according to his Instagram story.

Allen ranks as a three-star recruit, according to 247 Composite. He is the No. 627 recruit in the nation, No. 65 cornerback and No. 76 player from the state of Georgia. He plays for Westlake High School in Atlanta. That’s the same school that current UT receiver Travis Smith Jr. played for.

More From RTI: Five-Star Recruiting Target Took Official Visit to Tennessee Football This Weeekend

Tennessee isn’t the only team trying to flip Allen, though. According to 247, along with the Vols and Mississippi State, Allen is also taking official visits to South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. Ironically, UT will face all of those teams, except the Hokies and MSU, next season on its 2026 schedule, with each being played on the road.

Advertisement

Tennessee is a bit late to join the recruitment of Allen, but it could make a big enough impact to reel him in. UT offered him on May 7 of this year. This came from new cornerbacks coach, Derek Jones, who was hired to join the staff of newly hired Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles this offseason.

Tennessee currently holds 15 commitments in the 2027 class and sits outside the top 25 nationally in both 247 and Rivals rankings. However, with official visits continuing to be held, the Vols are putting themself in a position to bolster the group and climb the rankings.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Tennessee

Indiana man found after going missing in Nashville

Published

on

Indiana man found after going missing in Nashville


NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An Indiana man who traveled to Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been found after he was reported missing for over 48 hours.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department previously issued a statement asking for the public’s assistance in locating 28-year-old Trevor Lines.

28-year-old Trvor Lines, provided by MNPD

Lines reportedly left a short-term rental on Douglas Avenue, where he was staying with friends early Thursday and never returned.

Lines’ friends told law enforcement that they left around 5 a.m. to search for someone’s phone, when they returned within an hour, Lines and his vehicle were gone. His phone and medication were left inside the residence.

Advertisement

His 2016 Lexus with a Purdue University plate was picked up by license plate readers east of Nashville in Mt. Juliet around 7:30 a.m. on Friday and later at 4:30 p.m. in Goodlettsville, which is north of Nashville. Although Nashville does not use LPRs.

Lines had reportedly been visiting Tennessee for the Bonnaroo festival in Coffee County. Nashville police have alerted the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Coffee County authorities to be on the lookout for Lines.

Lines’ older brother, Kyle Smith, told FOX59/CBS4’s sister station, WKRN, he’s worried. Lines is reportedly from the northern part of Indiana, so he’s unfamiliar with Middle Tennessee.

“We’re hoping that maybe he ended up in a local hospital somewhere… The doubts are definitely creeping in, and it feels more and more likely that something bad has happened,” Smith said.

However, shortly before 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, the MNPD announced Lines was discovered in his car outside the Goodlettsville Skate Center, adding that he’s being reunited with his family.

Advertisement

No additional details have been made available at this time regarding the circumstances surrounding Lines’ disappearance or his discovery.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending