The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile will be making several stops in East Tennessee this weekend at various Kroger stores.
You can see the iconic 27-foot hotdog on wheels at the following dates and times:
Friday, Jan. 24 Knoxville Kroger, 9501 Northshore Drive from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Maryville Kroger, 507 N. Foothills Plaza from 2-5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25 Pigeon Forge Kroger, 220 Wears Valley Road from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sevierville Kroger, 702 Winfield Dunn Parkway from 2-5 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 26 Powell Kroger, 234 E. Emory Road from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Knoxville Kroger, 6702 Clinton Highway from 2-5 p.m.
Guests will have the opportunity to take pictures with the Wienermobile and interact with the Hotdoggers, the official Wienermobile drivers. All of the events are free and open to the public!
The game time and television network for the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball game between Tennessee and Texas in Austin on Thursday night have been changed.
The Lady Vols and Longhorns will now meet at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. CT Thursday at the Moody Center in a contest televised by ESPN.
The changes occurred after the game between No. 5/4 LSU and No. 2/2 South Carolina was moved to Friday, Jan. 25, at 5 p.m. ET due to travel issues brought on by Winter Storm Enzo. The LSU-USC game will be on ESPN as well.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee will host its annual “We Back Pat” game on Thursday, as Mississippi State comes to Food City Center and joins the Lady Vols in commemorating the 13th anniversary of the initiative, which is a partnership between the Pat Summitt Foundation and the Southeastern Conference.
UT (14-2, 2-2 SEC) and MSU (15-3, 2-2 SEC) are slated to meet at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, with the contest televised on SEC Network and carried by Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.
Orange Mountain Designs, located in The Gallery shopping center at 7240 Kingston Pike in Knoxville, is selling “We Back Pat” shirts, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Pat Summitt Foundation.
The Pat Summitt Foundation was launched on Nov. 27, 2011, by the late, legendary Lady Vol head coach Pat Summitt after her diagnosis of early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, at the age of 59. Each year, “We Back Pat” games are held around the nation to create awareness and help raise funds for research that can lead to more effective treatment and a cure for the disease.
Summitt, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and an inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, produced a 1,098-208 record in 38 seasons at the helm of the UT women’s basketball program. She led her teams to eight NCAA national championships, 18 NCAA Final Fours, 16 SEC regular season titles and 16 SEC tournament crowns. The program maintained a 100 percent graduation rate for every player who completed her eligibility at UT, with 122 players under her leadership earning degrees.
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team claimed a hard-fought 74-70 road victory Saturday night at Texas.
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler paced top-ranked Tennessee (15-1, 2-1 SEC) with 16 points and a game-high eight assists in triumph during which neither side led by greater than seven in front of a near-capacity crowd of 10,195 the Moody Center.
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, but the Volunteers used a 9-0 run in 2:42 to grab a six-point edge, 17-11, at the 8:51 mark of the first half. They held Texas (11-5, 0-4 SEC) scoreless for three-plus minutes, their second time doing so in the opening stanza, along with the initial 3:11.
The Longhorns countered with a 13-2 burst in 2:17, capped with eight straight points in 67 seconds, to go ahead by five, 24-19, with 6:15 left in the frame. Tennessee answered soon thereafter by holding the home team without a point for three-plus minutes yet again, a stretch during which it tallied eight consecutive points in 2:03 to grab a 30-26 advantage with 1:48 left before the break.
After the Longhorns beat the shot-clock buzzer with a basket, senior guard senior guard Zakai Zeigler hit a 3-pointer to make it an 11-2 surge in 3:14 and put Tennessee up by five, 33-28, with 37 ticks to play in the frame. Texas freshman guard Tre Johnson then drilled a 3-pointer of his own, cutting the margin to two, 33-31, at the intermission.
The Volunteers went 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from deep in the opening 20 minutes, with one of the misses coming at the horn, while the Longhorns tallied a 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) clip. The visitors, though, committed 10 turnovers and forced only four.
Following back-and-forth action early in the second half, Texas matched its largest lead of the evening by going in front, 54-49, with 9:22 remaining. The Longhorns then missed eight field goals in a row and Tennessee leveled the score at 56 on a putback dunk by fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar with 6:24 to go.
Shortly thereafter, Dubar drilled a corner 3-pointer with 3:57 on the timer to put the Volunteers up by one, 61-60. Junior forward Felix Okpara slammed home a second-chance dunk on the next possession, 48 seconds later, to make it 63-60. Senior guard Jordan Gainey then knocked down a corner 3-pointer 28 seconds after that to push the margin to six, 66-60, with 2:41 left, concluding an 8-0 surge in 78 seconds.
Texas sliced the deficit down to three, 66-63, with 1:30 to play, but Zeigler responded with a buzzer-beating layup and then, after a defensive stop, a pair of free throws to give the Volunteers a game-high seven-point lead, 70-63, with 32.2 seconds remaining.
The Longhorns twice closed the deficit to five, but Tennessee went 6-of-8 at the line in the final 33 seconds and maintained a seven-point lead in the closing moments. Texas hit a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left to cut it to four and did not foul after the Volunteers inbounded, sealing the decision.
Zeigler scored 13 of his 16 points in the final 15 minutes, including six in the last minute. The Long Islabd, N.Y., native went 6-of-7 at the stripe and had twice as many assists as any other player on either side.
Dubar finished one point shy of his season high with 12, nine of which came in the last 14 minutes, and he added a season-best six rebounds. He shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range, his first time making multiple long-range shots as a Volunteer, and played a season-high 17 minutes, finishing with a game-best plus-eight margin.
Gainey logged 12 points, while fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier added 10 in the victory. Okpara totaled seven points to go along with game highs in rebounds (nine) and blocks (three), the latter of which all came in the last 10 minutes.
Johnson paced all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting for the Longhorns. He started with 24 points on 10-of-13 through 29 minutes, at which point the rest of the team had 26 points on 10-of-30 shooting. Tennessee held him to a 1-of-4 mark the rest of the way to turn a then-four-point deficit into a four-point win.
Graduate student guard Tramon Mark posted 17 points for Texas, while junior guard Jordan Pope chipped in 10.
Tennessee went 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) from 3-point range, including 8-of-14 in the first 27 minutes before missing six straight and then hitting two of its last three in the last four minutes.
At the other end, the Volunteers held limited Texas to a 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) long-range ledger, including a 3-of-17 mark by everyone other than Johnson.
The victors recorded a 28-9 margin in bench points, a 28-16 cushion in paint points and a 17-10 tally in second-chance points to counteract the Longhorns’ 21-8 mark in points off turnovers.
With Tennessee’s largest lead seven and Texas’ just five, the entire game was played within a 12-point window. It marked just the eighth time this season, per KenPom, a Power Five conference game was played within a dozen points from start to finish.
After back-to-back road games, the Volunteers now host Georgia, with tip-off slared for Wednesday at 8 p.m., live on SEC Network from Food City Center.
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.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES • Saturday marked the 18th game in program history with Tennessee ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, as it improved to 15-3, including 14-2 in head coach Rick Barnes‘ tenure. • Tennessee remained undefeated against unranked foes, moving to 14-0, while ranked first in the AP Poll. • The Volunteers also improved to 29-5 all-time while ranked top-three in the AP Poll, including 25-3 under Barnes. • Tennessee moved to 6-4 all-time against Texas, including 5-2 in the last seven matchups, with this the fourth consecutive year the teams have met—each at a different venue—and their first conference clash. • Barnes, who served as Texas’ head coach for 17 years, upped his record to 5-3 in Tennessee/Texas matchups, as he is now 3-1 with the Volunteers after going 2-2 with the Longhorns. • Saturday marked the first time Barnes has defeated Texas as a visitor, as he previously did so at home (Jan. 28, 2023) and at a neutral site (March 23, 2024.) • Barnes, one of seven coaches—four active—to lead two Division I schools to an AP No. 1 ranking is now 16-4 atop the poll in his career, as he went 2-2 in January 2010 while leading the Longhorns. • In the second half alone, Tennessee amassed a 13-4 margin in second-chance points behind a 13-7 lead on the offensive glass. • Johnson’s 26 points marked the most by an opponent on his home floor versus the Volunteers since Tyrece Radford of Texas A&M posted 27 on Feb. 10, 2024. • This is the sixth time in the last seven years, with 2021-22 the lone exception, Tennessee has won at least two of its first three SEC games. • The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in 14 of their 16 outings this season, including a margin of seven-plus points 11 times, double digits nine times, 12-plus seven times, 14-plus six times and 23-plus thrice. • Tennessee has conceded 35 or fewer first-half points in 15 of its 16 outings thus far, including 29 or fewer on nine occasions and 21 or fewer four times. • Per KenPom, Saturday’s contest marked the first one in SEC play in 2024-25 that was played within a 12-point window. • Okpara recorded a career-high-tying two assists, his first time hitting that mark at Tennessee and his seventh time doing so as a collegian. • Dubar’s 12 points trailed only the 13 he scored Dec. 17, 2024, against Western Carolina, with this his second time reaching double figures as a Volunteer. • Gainey has scored at least 12 points in seven of the first 16 games this season after doing so seven times total in 36 outings in 2023-24. • Lanier has recorded double-digit points in 15 of his first 16 games as a Volunteer, including each of the last 12, dating to Nov. 21, 2024, against Virginia in Nassau, Bahamas.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Knoxville Police Department activated its snow plan Friday afternoon.
“While in the snow plan, Field Operations officers will be paired up in two-person cars to guarantee at least two officers make it to priority calls,“ KPD officials said. ”Supervisors will continue to closely monitor calls for service.”
As for the surrounding area, Knox County officials said Thursday that crews had been pretreating roads ahead of the snow.
“We’ll have folks staged up in their districts with those plows on,” Public Works Senior Director Jim Snowden said Thursday. “We’ll try to get that snow off the road as soon as it comes.”
KPD’s action came as Knoxville Area Transit, the city’s bus operator, announced that drivers would be operating on snow routes. Click here for more information on the slightly altered routes which began running around noon on Friday.
Knox County officials said Thursday that crews had been pretreating roads ahead of the snow. (Courtesy: KPD)
Loudon, TN (WOKI) Loudon is getting a new Safe Haven baby box later in the month.
The city has planned an unveiling and blessing for the box, located at the city’s police and fire department at 100 Cedar Street, for January 16.
A Safe Haven Baby Box is a temperature-controlled drop-off location for parents to anonymously surrender newborns in crisis. The boxes are a safe and legal alternative to abandoning babies
In addition to baby boxes, the organization provides a confidential national hotline, 1-866-99BABY1.
New Safe Haven Baby Box (FILE) (Courtesy: WVLT / KWCH)
Knoxville, Tenn – On Sunday, January 19, Knox County Public Library will host a celebration at the Tennessee Theatre in honor of Dolly Parton’s birthday and 20 years of Imagination Library in Knox County. The free event, Books, Birthday Cake, and Dreaming Big presented by Verizon, will take place between 1:00 and 6:00 with craft activities, cupcakes, and live music in the lobby. Ladybug Girl and Corduroy will be on hand for photos. Kids of all ages are encouraged to dress as a character from one of their favorite Imagination Library books. There will be a parade, a dance party, a video story time by Dolly, music by the Holston Middle School Show Choir, Dolly-themed trivia and a screening of Dolly’s iconic movie, 9 to 5.
Schedule of events:
1:00: Lobby opens | Send Dolly a birthday wish, take a photo with Corduroy or Ladybug Girl, enjoy crafts, cupcakes and more!
1:30: Happy Birthday, Dolly | Kids and families, join the story book parade and have a Dolly dance party! Watch a big screen storytime, then sing “Happy Birthday.”
2:30: Celebrate 20 Years | Enjoy a medley of favorite Dolly Parton songs by the Holston Middle School Show Choir and hear from participants about the impact of 20 years of Imagination Library in our community.
3:00: Dolly-themed Trivia and a screening of 9 to 5 | Play Dolly trivia for prizes before watching Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin deal with a horrible boss in 9 to 5.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Knox County was launched on January 15, 2005, with 1,500 children enrolled. Today, the program, which is administered by the Library, mails out free books every month to 19,000 children under the age of five. Since the Knox County program began, they have mailed out 4.1 million books to 100,000 children.
Having access to books is a critical first step in learning to read. Research shows that 90% of a child’s brain is developed in the first few years of life. Reading aloud to children helps forge synapsis, builds vocabulary, and prepares a child to learn to read when they enter school. Time spent reading together also nurtures the parent-child bond.
“We’re excited to celebrate 20 years of the Imagination Library and Dolly’s birthday. This is more than just a feel-good program,” commented Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. “Early literacy can make the difference in whether a child succeeds in school, and having books in hand is the beginning of that journey.”
The event is free and open to the public through generous support from Verizon, the Lantry Family Foundation, and the Tennessee Theatre.
“At Verizon, we believe in the power of community and the importance of supporting initiatives that create lasting impacts. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library embodies the values we hold dear, fostering literacy and empowering young minds,” said Leigh Anne Lanier, Atlantic South Market President. “By sponsoring this event, we’re not only helping to put books into the hands of children but also strengthening the bonds within our local communities. Together, we can inspire the next generation and make a meaningful difference in the lives of families in the communities we serve.”
More information about Books, Birthday Cake and Dreaming Big can be found at KnoxCountyLibrary.org/IL.
One of the top play-by-play radio announcers in sports, Hall of Fame radio voice and VFL Mike Keith, is returning to Rocky Top as the next “Voice of the Vols,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White announced on Thursday.
Keith just completed his 27th season with the Tennessee Titans in 2024, including the last 26 years as “The Voice of the Titans.”
“When we discussed potential candidates, one name topped our list without question: bringing Mike and his family back to Rocky Top,” said White. “He is a true icon in the broadcasting industry, and we are excited to harness Mike’s exceptional skill set to further elevate both the Vol Network and Tennessee Athletics in bold, innovative ways.”
Keith will be the lead play-by-play announcer for Tennessee’s football and men’s basketball games. He will also be involved in various new programming initiatives that will be unveiled later this year, promising fans an engaging and dynamic experience.
“While it is very hard to say goodbye to the Tennessee Titans, it is not hard to say “yes” to a return to the University of Tennessee and the Vol Network,” said Keith. “Alicia Longworth laid out a very exciting plan for how I can assist the talented VFL Films content team. Steve Early has continued to make me feel a part of the Vol Network family since I left Knoxville in 1998—it was like I never left. Everyone associated in this process has been very professional, very impressive and very kind. This continued a theme from a series of experiences that I have had over the last five years when dealing with anyone—athletics, University and Campus leadership, staff, faculty, students, etc.—-from the University of Tennessee. Everyone is just top-notch, and I mean EVERYONE. I am excited to join this entire team in hopes that I can add a solid contribution. It is great to be a Tennessee Volunteer, especially in 2025!”
Describing one legendary NFL play on January 8, 2000, put him on the map. Keith accurately and enthusiastically called the play that he later dubbed “The Music City Miracle,” a last-second touchdown that gave the Tennessee Titans a playoff win over the Buffalo Bills. ESPN named Mike’s description of “The Music City Miracle” as one of the 10 Best Radio Calls in American Sports History.
“The Vol Network prides itself on being a broadcast pioneer and industry leader, and Mike’s appointment assures our quality and innovative approach will continue for the next generation of Vol fans,” said Steve Early, Vice President and General Manager of Learfield-Vol Network. “Mike is Vol Network to the core, and both his knowledge and appreciation of our athletics history is invaluable. We celebrate a continuum of legendary announcers at this University so Mike will fit right in.”
With that signature call and scores more since 1999, Keith earned a spot on the “Top 100 Local Voices in the First 100 Years of Sports Broadcasting” list by Sports Broadcast Journal in 2021.
Along with being named Tennessee’s Sportscaster of the Year 12 times and winning 20+ Associated Press awards, Keith owns a 1997 Edward R. Murrow Award for nationwide excellence in reporting. He is a member of five Halls of Fame, including the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, TSSAA Hall of Fame, BGA Hall of Fame and the University of Tennessee Baseball Hall of Fame.
Keith became WUTK’s sports director on his third day on campus in Knoxville in 1986. Within months of that appointment, at only 19, Keith was hired by the legendary John Ward with the Vol Network. He would work in various roles with the Vol Network from 1987-98, including being “The Voice of the Baseball Vols” from 1992-98.
Keith also hosted one of Tennessee’s first daily sports talk shows from 1989-98 for WIVK/WNOX Radio in Knoxville. His four-hour show was named Tennessee’s best in five of the first six years that awards were presented in AP’s sports talk show category in the 1990s.
Keith was born in Knoxville and raised in Franklin. He and his wife, Michelle, have two children, Abby and Matthew. Both his wife and daughter graduated from the University of Tennessee, while Keith’s grandfather, C.L. McPherson, played for General Neyland and lettered in 1932.
