A fisherman on Norris Lake with a very unusual catch.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency says an alligator was caught yesterday (Monday) afternoon after an angler called authorities after he caught the gator in Dotson Creek, also known as Butcher Hollow.
TWRA says it’s illegal to possess an alligator in Tennessee and releasing them into the wild poses safety and biological threats to humans and the ecosystem.
While the origin of the alligator is unclear, TWRA officials say it is evident that it was being illegally held in captivity and possibly released into Norris Lake.
TWRA took the gator to Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue in Anderson County.
Alcoa, TN (WOKI) Operations at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Alcoa are suspended temporarily following a fire that broke out on Friday, March 15.
An Amazon spokesperson confirming that a small fire occurred Friday night and that the facility is closed while an investigation is conducted and repairs are made.
Officials say all employees are currently receiving pay for missed shifts, and no injuries were reported.
Information on what sparked the fire or when the facility would reopen has not been made available.
Crossville, TN (WOKI) A Crossville man is arrested after a baby is taken to the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for treatment.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office says they were contacted by the Department of Children’s Services to investigate 25-year-old Curtis Hood in December after the baby was treated for injuries.
Hood was arrested Thursday, March 14 and charged with aggravated child abuse.
He is being held on a $250,000 bond with a court date set for April 5.
The Metro Nashville Police Department says missing college student Riley Strain’s bank card has been found near the Cumberland River.
Police say his card was found yesterday (Sunday) afternoon on the embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River.
A woman helping in the search for Strain says it wasn’t easy to find that card. She says there is so much trash and debris along the bank of the river.
A body was found in the Cumberland River in Nashville yesterday (Sunday) but it is not Strain or missing autistic teen Sebastian Rogers.
The search for 22-year-old Riley Strain continues over a week after he went missing on March 8th.
The University of Missouri Student was last seen on security footage stumbling around downtown Nashville, at one point falling and clutching his head.
His cell phone last pinged off near the James Robertson Parkway bridge close to the Cumberland River which is where law enforcement has been focusing their search efforts.
On Saturday, Nashville emergency officials used two sonar boats, four canines, one Nashville Fire Department boat and crew, one dive team and one drone and operator. Crews used the canines to narrow down an area near the Riverfront Park. They sent a team of divers into the water.
Nashville Office of Emergency Management public information officer Kendra Loney said during their search nothing conclusive was located.
Emergency officials wrapped up their search around 2:30 p.m. Officials said they would not continue their search tomorrow unless they were requested by the Metro Nashville Police Department to do, Loney said.
In addition to law enforcement and emergency officials, locals in the area have deployed their own teams to help search. Story courtesy of WVLT
A man is arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty.
The Cocke County Sheriff’s Office arrested 66 year-old Michael Miller following an animal cruelty complaint Saturday after finding several dogs that were neglected and abused.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: The Knoxville Police Department Monday afternoon shared that a fourth teen, a male, was taken into custody Monday morning.
KPD officials say the teen had a backpack that “officers retained from the scene of the shots fired incident, which upon further investigation contained suspected marijuana and a gun that was reported stolen in Knox County in 2023.”
The department shared that there are additional charges possibly pending for others who were detained at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing.
ORIGINAL STORY: Knoxville Police are investigating after shots were fired near West Town Mall.
KPD says it appears the shots were fired on Gleason Drive near Belk Saturday night.
Three juvenile males were detained by officers, one 15-year-old was found in possession of marijuana and a loaded handgun that was reported stolen in Knox County, he is facing charges.
The other two juveniles, both 16 years old, one was found in possession of a loaded handgun and suspected burglary tools, and the other was charged with evading arrest.
KPD says additional charges may still be pending for other individuals who were detained at the scene.
The only program to appear in every NCAA Tournament, the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team received confirmation that it had earned its 42nd consecutive postseason bid Sunday night when the bracket was revealed on ESPN.
The Lady Vols (19-12) received a No. 6 seed in the Portland 4 Regional and will play in the NCAA First & Second Rounds in Raleigh, N.C. Eleventh-ranked North Carolina State, the No. 3 seed, will serve as the host for games on March 23 and 25 at James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum.
UT will face No. 11 seed Green Bay (27-6) in the first round on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN. This will mark the third meeting between these programs, with UT defeating the Phoenix in Tempe, Ariz., in the NCAA First Round on March 18, 2016, 59-53, and prevailing, 71-36, on Nov. 26, 1996, in Knoxville.
No. 3 seed NC State (27-6) will meet No. 14 seed Chattanooga (28-4) in the other first-round contest in Raleigh on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winners of the first-round match-ups will face off on Monday in the second round. Time and TV info. for that contest will be announced later as well.
“We are excited for our program to once again be playing in the NCAA Tournament,” fifth-year Lady Vol head coach Kellie Harper said. “We have an experienced group that has grown tremendously as a team throughout the course of this season, and we look forward to taking the next step of our journey together. I’m especially happy for Tamari Key to get an opportunity to play basketball back in her hometown.”
The Lady Vols, who are 130-33 all-time in NCAA play, are the only school to appear in all 42 tournaments, winning eight national championships. They also have recorded the most games played (163) and second most victories (130) in tournament history.
Green Bay, meanwhile, is making its 19th NCAA appearance. The Phoenix, who are coached by Kevin Borseth, earned the Horizon League’s automatic NCAA bid this season by winning the league tournament with a 64-40 victory over Cleveland State in Indianapolis on March 12.
GB finished second behind Cleveland State in the Horizon League in 2023-24 at 17-3 before winning the conference tourney. UT is 6-0 all-time vs. schools currently in the Horizon, defeating Wright State, 96-57, in the most recent match-up on Dec. 11, 2022, in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols are 33-2 in NCAA First-Round games, including 25-0 at home, 0-1 away and 8-1 at neutral sites. The only blemishes are opening-round losses to Ball State (71-55) in Bowling Green, Ky., on March 22, 2009, and to UCLA (89-77) in College Park, Md., on March 23, 2019.
Tennessee is making its fourth NCAA appearance under Harper. The 1999 UT graduate and LVFL is making her ninth trip to the tourney as the leader of a program. She would have added another UT and overall appearance in 2020 had the tournament not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harper is one of only two coaches to lead four women’s programs to the NCAA Division I Tournament. She did so at Western Carolina, NC State and Missouri State before checking that box in Knoxville four seasons ago. Harper joined Jim Foster (St. Joseph’s, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Chattanooga) in that rare company, but she was the first to do so at her alma mater.
Tennessee, which is receiving votes in both polls, tied for fourth in the SEC during the regular season at 10-6 and advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the fourth straight season before falling to No. 1/1 South Carolina, 74-73, on March 9 via a buzz-beater. UT has played the nation’s toughest schedule according to at least one rating service, and it did so as injuries to Rickea Jackson, Destinee Wells and Jillian Hollingshead as well as a gradual return by Tamari Key from a medical condition impacted the team’s continuity and success during the early going.
Tennessee wound up playing 18 games vs. teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament field, including South Carolina (0-3) three times and Alabama (1-1), Texas A&M (1-1) and Vanderbilt (2-0) twice each. It also had single contests vs. Auburn (W), Florida State (L), Indiana (L), LSU (L), Ohio State (L), Oklahoma (W), Ole Miss (L), Middle Tennessee (L) and Notre Dame (L). It has a 6-12 record against those schools, including four with Jackson sidelined, but it has played South Carolina closer than any other squad this season after hitting its stride over the past nine games.
PLAYER REACTION
“I’m really excited. We’re playing in North Carolina, obviously where I’m from, so it’ll be a fun homecoming game. Also, I just think we’re a team in stride now. We’re in a really good spot, and we’re just going to keep peaking at the right moments.”
“I think we’re in a really good spot. We’ve shown a lot of growth over the past few games, and we’re peaking at the right time. This group has experience with the tournament, so we’re just really excited for what’s ahead.”
“I’m excited about where we are in the tournament. I’m glad we’re in, and we really just have to take it game by game. I hope Lady Vol Nation will come out and support us over in North Carolina.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the 26th time in program history, including the sixth in a row, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will compete in the NCAA Tournament.
Fifth-ranked Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) earned the second seed in the Midwest region, as revealed Sunday night on the NCAA Selection Show, live on CBS. The Volunteers will begin play Thursday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., versus No. 15-seeded St. Peter’s (19-13, 12-8 MAAC) in the Round of 64.
In the lone prior meeting between the Volunteers and Peacocks, Tennessee registered a 54-40 decision on March 14, 1984, in Knoxville in the opening round of the NIT.
Joining the Volunteers and Peacocks in the pod is seventh-seeded Texas (20-12, 9-9 B12) as well as the “First Four” victor in the matchup between No. 10-seeded Colorado State (24-10, 10-8 MWC) and No. 10-seeded Virginia (23-10, 13-7 ACC). The winner of the Tennessee/St. Peter’s game will face the advancing team between Texas, Colorado State and Virginia at a to-be-determined time Saturday in the Round of 32.
Tennessee is 25-26 all-time in NCAA Tournament action, including 6-5 in its first five appearances under ninth-year head coach Rick Barnes. The No. 2 seed for the Volunteers matches the program record set in 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2018-19, the latter also under Barnes’ guidance.
Additionally, this is the second time Tennessee has reached the NCAA Tournament six times in a row, joining a streak from 2005-06 through 2010-11. In each of its six NCAA Tournament trips during Barnes’ tenure, Tennessee has garnered a seed of fifth or better; it had done so just six times before his arrival, since seeding began in 1978-79.
The Volunteers’ streak of six consecutive NCAA Tournament bids is tied with Houston and Kansas for the fourth-longest active mark in the nation, trailing only Michigan State (26), Gonzaga (25) and Purdue (nine). The only other schools at even five are Baylor and Colgate.
This is the 28th NCAA Tournament selection for Barnes in his 37 seasons as a head coach, tying Bob Knight for fourth-most all-time at the Division I level. Only Mike Krzyzewski (36), Jim Boeheim (35) and Roy Williams (30) amassed more bids.
Game times and TV designations for the first round of the NCAA Tournament will be announced at a later point.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A ninth-inning rally fell just short as No. 5/5 Tennessee dropped a back-and-forth contest at No. 12/14 Alabama, 7-6, in Sunday’s series finale at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Volunteers (18-3, 1-2 SEC) were able to manufacture a run in the top of the seventh inning to take a late 5-4 lead, but a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth from Gage Miller proved to be the difference as the Crimson Tide held on for a series-clinching win to open SEC play.
The Vols scored four of their five runs in the third inning after loading the bases with no outs following a single and a pair of walks. After two quick outs, Dylan Dreiling came through with a clutch double to left-center field to clear the bases. The sophomore scored one batter later on an RBI double from Robin Villeneuve to spot UT a 4-1 lead.
Dreiling also drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth inning for his fourth RBI of the day to pull the Big Orange within a run.
Alabama (17-3, 2-1 SEC) responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to one and tied the game with another run in the fourth to make it 4-4.
AJ Russell made his return to the mound after missing the last two weekends with soreness and looked good in a short starting stint, retiring the side in order in the second inning after giving up a run on a pair of hits in the first. The talented sophomore struck out two batters in his two innings of work, as well.
Sophomore righthander Nate Snead pitched 5.1 innings of relief was suffered his first loss of the season after giving up four runs on eight hits, including Miller’s go-ahead homer in the eighth inning.
Christian Moore posted his second straight multi-hit game with a pair of singles while Billy Amick led the team with three base knocks, including a double.
Braylon Myers tossed three scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Crimson Tide while Matthew Heilberger earned the win after allowing one run on two hits in two innings of work. Aidan Moza recorded the final two outs in the ninth inning with two strikeouts to strand the bases loaded and earn his first save.
UP NEXT: Tennessee returns to Knoxville to begin another lengthy homestand as they host Xavier on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. to begin a stretch of eight consecutive games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
STATS OF THE GAME: A pair of impressive streaks came to an end in Sunday’s loss, as Kavares Tears did not record a hit for the first time since UT’s season-opening win over Texas Tech, ending his 18-game hitting streak.
The Vols’ home run streak also ended after failing to hit a long ball on Sunday, marking the first game this season they’ve been unable to do so.
