A New Market man is arrested following an investigation into child sexual exploitation.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says 59 year-old Leslie Byrd was arrested after deputies went to a home on Fielden Store Road Thursday for suspicious activity and found evidence of possible child sex crimes.
Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Division and Internet Crimes Against Children were called to help in the investigation.
Byrd is charged with three counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and unlawful photography, aggravated sexual battery and unlawful possession of a child-like sex doll. Byrd is being held on a $500,000 bond.
A New Market man is arrested following an investigation into child sexual exploitation.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says 59 year-old Leslie Byrd was arrested after deputies went to a home on Fielden Store Road Thursday for suspicious activity and found evidence of possible child sex crimes.
Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Division and Internet Crimes Against Children were called to help in the investigation.
Byrd is charged with three counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and unlawful photography, aggravated sexual battery and unlawful possession of a child-like sex doll. Byrd is being held on a $500,000 bond.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 1/1 Tennessee completed its series sweep of South Carolina with a 7-2 win over the Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon at Founders Park in Columbia.
Despite a slow start, the Volunteers’ unrelenting offense got things going in the middle innings and never looked back, finishing with 12 hits on the day.
Hunter Ensley led the way with a four-hit day, recording three singles to go along with his fourth home run of the year while also driving in three runs. Dalton Bargo and Andrew Fischer also finished with multiple hits for the Orange and White.
USC starting pitcher Matthew Becker cruised through the opening three innings, setting down all nine of UT’s hitters in order before running into trouble the second time through the order.
The first four batters all reached base in the top of the fourth as the Big Orange went on to plate three runs on four hits in the inning. Ensley got the scoring started with a two-run single before freshman Manny Marin drove in Ensley with a two-out single later in the frame to put the Vols ahead 3-1.
Tennessee added two more runs in the fifth inning on RBI hits by Bargo and Reese Chapman to extend its lead to four.
Freshman righthander Tegan Kuhns rebounded well from a rocky start. The Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, native, allowed the first three batters of the game to reach base, but recovered well to retire the next three batters and held the Gamecocks to just one run in the frame.
Kuhns was relieved by fellow freshman Brayden Krezel in the top of the fifth after giving up six hits – all singles – and just the one run in four innings of work.
After Carolina scored in the bottom of the sixth to cut its deficit to three runs, the Vols responded immediately with back-to-back solo blasts from Ensley and Andrew Fischer in the seventh to make it a 7-2 game and cap the scoring for the afternoon.
Bargo Stays Scorching Hot in SEC Play
After another big weekend at the dish, Bargo continued his torrid start to SEC play. The junior utility man led the team with a .500 batting average and five runs scored while tying for the team lead with six hits for the series. Bargo is hitting at a team-high .464 clip in league play with a pair of homers and seven RBIs.
Krenzel Impresses Again
The freshman righty put together another impressive outing in relief, tossing a career-high five innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the year. Krenzel struck out four and allowed just one run on four hits.
Another SEC Sweep
UT completed its 18th sweep in SEC play under head coach Tony Vitello with Sunday’s victory. The Vols have now swept multiple conference series in each of the past five seasons.
Up Next
Tennessee will be home for four games next week, starting with an in-state midweek contest against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting Texas A&M next weekend at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 20 Tennessee, seeded No. 5 in the Birmingham Regional, fought tooth and nail with top-seeded and fifth-ranked Texas before falling, 67-59, in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Sweet 16 at Legacy Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Vols (24-10) and Longhorns (34-3) were tied after three quarters, and the Big Orange knotted the score twice in the fourth period. After Texas built a four-point lead with 6:19 remaining, Kim Caldwell‘s squad fought back within one, 59-58, by the 4:53 mark but could not get over the hump.
Texas was led by Madison Booker, who tossed in 17 points, while Jordan Lee added 13 and Taylor Jones and Bryanna Preston chipped in 12 apiece.
Talaysia Cooper started the game with a three for Tennessee, and with buckets from Spearman, Jewel Spear and Spencer, the Lady Vols built a 9-4 lead by the 6:20 mark. Texas cut the gap to one, 9-8, with 5:42 left before an Alyssa Latham pullup jumper sent UT into the 4:37 media timeout possessing an 11-8 lead. A pair of Jillian Hollingshead free throws after the timeout extended the Big Orange lead to 13-8, but Texas stormed back with a 13-0 run to close out the first frame with a 21-13 advantage.
Tennessee ended the Longhorn spree with a steal and layup by Whitehorn to open the second stanza and got a Cooper jumper to trim the gap to four, 21-17, by the 8:46 mark. After Texas responded with a pair of buckets, layups by Spencer, Whitehorn and Spearman capped a 10-4 burst and pulled their team within two, 25-23, by the 4:35 media break. After Texas pushed ahead 28-23, a Tess Darby layup on a back-door pass from Latham and a Whitehorn trey knotted the contest at 28 with 2:07 on the clock. A pair of Jones free throws and a layup by Preston, however, boosted the Longhorns back in front, 32-28, with 1:23 to go. After Preston scored again with 30 seconds left, Whitehorn drove for a layup to send her squad into the locker room trailing by just four, 34-30, after the opening 20 minutes despite being outshot from the field 56 to 38 percent.
Texas extended its lead to seven in the third period, 41-34, with 6:57 left, but three-pointers by Darby, Spencer and Spearman pulled Tennessee within two, 45-43, before the teams caught their breath at the 4:49 media timeout. After a pair of Booker free throws moved Texas ahead, 47-43, with 4:11 to go, a Spearman put-back and Spencer layup tied it at 47, and then a Whitehorn layup gave the Big Orange its first lead since the first quarter at 49-47. A Lee three put the Longhorns back on top, 50-49, with 25 ticks left, but a Whitehorn free throw with a second on the clock deadlocked the teams at 50 heading into the final frame.
The Lady Vols grabbed the lead twice at 52-50 and again at 54-52 in the early going of the fourth period on buckets by Spearman and Cooper. A 6-0 burst by Texas, though, gave it a four-point lead at 58-54 with 6:19 left. A Spencer layup ended the run and trimmed the gap to two, 58-56, with 5:56 remaining before a Booker free throw sent the Longhorns into the 5:00 media break with a 59-56 advantage. A Whitehorn layup cut the deficit to one, 59-58, at the 4:53 mark, but Texas responded with back-to-back buckets to pull ahead, 63-58, with 3:59 to go. A Spencer free throw trimmed the gap to 63-59 at the 3:43 mark, but Texas was able to hold the Lady Vols scoreless the rest of the way and hit four free throws to close out the win.
ROCKIN’ RUBY:Ruby Whitehorn led the team with 16 points against the Longhorns. The junior tallied her 23rd game of the season in double figures and the 61st of her career. Whitehorn also added two assists, a rebound and a steal.
SPEARMAN SOLID IN THE PAINT: Zee Spearman contributed 13 points and a team-leading seven rebounds vs. Texas and helped Tennessee win the rebounding battle, 39-36, and outscore Texas on second chance points, 15-4. The junior was in double figures for the 23rd time this season and the 36th time in her career and paced her team in rebounding for the 11th occasion.
ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE FROM SAM:Samara Spencer produced an all-around effort, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. The senior racked up her 21st game in double-digits and the 94th of her career, and she brought her assist total in 2024-25 to 158 to tie for 10th on UT’s single-season list.
SPEAR FINAL NUMBERS:Jewel Spear concluded her college career scoring 2,217 points (832 at UT) over 154 games to finish seventh on the all-time UT points list, including transfers. She made 77 three pointers in 203 attempts in 2024-25 to post the No. 5 and No. 3 season totals in school history. Her career sums in two years at Tennessee include 146 treys and 388 attempts, placing her 10th and ninth, respectively.
DARBY WRAPS UP FIVE YEARS: Tess Darby concluded her five-year career as a Lady Vol, tying Nicky Anosike (2004-08) for the second-most games played with 146. The Greenfield, Tenn., native finished with 228 three-pointers and 626 attempts during her time on Rocky Top, finishing fifth in makes and tying Shanna Zolman (2002-06) at third for most tries.
COOP ON SINGLE-SEASON STEALS LIST: Talaysia Cooper grabbed one steal vs. Texas to finish her campaign with 105, tying her for sixth all-time by a Lady Vol with Bridgette Gordon (1988-89).
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A pair of late-inning home runs by Andrew Fischer and Cannon Peebles propelled No. 1/1 Tennessee to a thrilling 7-5 victory over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Founders Park.
After three scoreless innings to start the game, Tennessee (25-2, 7-1 SEC) broke the deadlock with a three-run homer by Reese Chapman in the fourth inning. It was Chapman’s eighth long ball of the year and put him in the team lead with 32 RBIs.
South Carolina (17-11, 1-7 SEC) answered by scoring the next four runs of the contest to take a 4-3 lead into the final three innings.
The Big Orange retook the lead on Fischer’s two-out, two-run blast to center field in the top of the eighth. The junior first baseman went on to help turn an impressive 3-6-3 double play in the bottom of the inning to end the frame and keep the Gamecocks from retaking the lead.
Knotted up at five headed into the ninth inning, Peebles provided the game-winning swing, depositing his fourth home run of the season into the USC bullpen in right center to put the Vols ahead 7-5.
UT turned another crucial double play in the bottom of the ninth to help Nate Snead finish off the victory. The junior righthander tossed 3.2 innings of relief to improve to 2-0 on the year after Marcus Phillips gave the Vols another solid start, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out seven batters over five innings of work.
Win Streaks Extend
Saturday’s series-clinching win marked Tennessee’s sixth straight series victory over South Carolina and also extended UT’s incredible streak of SEC series victories to 12 straight, adding on to the program record.
The six consecutive series wins and six straight victories overall against the Gamecocks are both the most in a row for the Big Orange in the series’ history.
Clutch In the Late Innings
Thanks to its four runs over the final two frames, the Vols earned their first win of the year when trailing after seven innings.
Up Next
Tennessee will go for the series sweep in Sunday’s series finale, which has been moved up to a noon ET start with the threat of inclement weather later in the day.
NORMAN, Okla. – No. 9 Tennessee dropped a hard-fought 4-1 decision to No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday at Love’s Field, setting the stage for a decisive rubber match on Sunday.
Tennessee (28-7, 4-4 SEC) tallied four hits in the contest, with redshirt sophomore Taylor Pannell accounting for the Lady Vols’ only run. Trailing 4-0 in the fourth inning, Pannell led off the frame with a solo home run that caromed off the top of the wall. The blast, her team-leading 12th of the season, briefly sparked the Tennessee offense.
Oklahoma (31-2, 9-2 SEC) capitalized on timely hitting and patient plate discipline, scoring all four of its runs with two outs. The Sooners’ offense was fueled by five hits and four walks on the day.
The Sooners struck first in the opening inning, when a fly ball to right field was lost in the sun and dropped for an RBI triple. OU added to its lead in the third, with a two-out, three-run home run to left-center field.
Tennessee had an early scoring opportunity, as Saviya Morgan led off the game with a bunt single before stealing second. Pannell followed with an infield single and then stole second herself, putting runners on the corners with one out. However, Oklahoma escaped the threat with a pop-up and a groundout to end the inning.
IN THE CIRCLE For the second consecutive day, sophomore Sage Mardjetko started in the circle for Tennessee. Mardjetko (8-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on four hits with four walks and a strikeout over three innings of work.
Freshman Erin Nuwer came on in relief to start the fourth inning and delivered a strong performance. Nuwer allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two in her three innings of shutout work.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS Pannell was the standout for Tennessee, going 3-for-3 with her solo home run. She is now 4-for-7 on the weekend and also stole a base in the first inning, her seventh of the season.
Morgan added a hit in a 1-for-3 effort, and her stolen base in the opening frame was her 20th of the season.
DUE UP Tennessee and Oklahoma will meet in the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on SECN+.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating after a student in Sevier County is hit by a car while waiting for their school bus this morning. (Friday)
The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened on East Union Valley Road near Seymour. The student was not hit by a school bus, but a car that was trying to go around the bus.
The juvenile was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,.
Officials say the driver of the car has been charged and the bus was not moving at the time of the crash.
Today (Thursday) marks six months since Hurricane Helene made landfall, moving through East Tennessee and causing unprecedented destruction and taking several lives.
According to the National Hurricane Center, 18 Tennesseans lost their lives at the hands of the storm. Helene, which swiftly became a tropical storm as it made landfall, dumped billions of gallons of rain across not only East Tennessee, but western North Carolina. All that water, whether directly from the storm or from runoff in the Great Smoky Mountains, caused record-breaking crests on waterways like the Pigeon River.
The flooding took not only lives, but infrastructure, businesses and homes with it.
Tennessee is still working to recover, overcoming one of the worst natural disasters in Tennessee’s history.
Just this month, rafting businesses in Hartford started taking guests on the Pigeon River again, bring to life the town’s largest economic driver.
Last week, the National Hurricane Center released its final report on the storm, tallying 249 lives lost at the hands of Helene.
Part of I-40 between Tennessee and North Carolina has reopened to traffic, with one lane in each direction at 35 miles per hour through the narrow lanes.
Hartford, a community in Cocke County known for rafting on the Pigeon River, was one of the hardest hit areas after the floods from Helene.
Ever since the flood, the clock has been ticking for companies to rebuild in time for this year’s season. Crews have faced endless setbacks from crumbling roads and even more unexpected flooding.
Two businesses have been able to reopen so far for this year’s season and several others are expected to open in the coming months.
Hartford Road and Trail Hallow Road are partially crumbled away, still looking the same way they did when Helene initially swept through which is affecting some outfitters.
Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis told WVLT News the county’s highway department is actively working on road projects. He says they need to get design plans approved and secure funding through the state and federal level and says some projects are long-term. He says he hopes all roads will be ready for the 2026 rafting season.
The City of Erwin in Unicoi County is showing some real progress as it works to rebuild after Helene’s devastating floods.
It’s been six months since storms started moving through the area, paving the way for Helene to dump billions of gallons of water on East Tennessee and western North Carolina.
Helene’s waters caused the Nolichucky River to take away people’s livelihoods and even lives.
Riverview Baptist Church suffered some serious damage at the hands of Helene, but the church plans to open its doors for Easter service.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has been working hard repairing and rebuilding roads across East Tennessee after massive flooding caused by Hurricane Helene destroyed numerous roads, bridges and interstates.
Crews have been working on crunch-time for the last six months to get these roads and interstates back open .
Mark Nagi with TDOT tells our news partner WVLT that of the 49 sections of roadway that were closed, which includes bridges that were destroyed, 44 roadways are now reopened.
TDOT recently celebrated I-40’s reopening, at least in part. The state has cleared one lane of the interstate on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains. North Carolina crews have seen similar success, opening one lane of the interstate across the state line.
TDOT has been getting some help from the state and federal governments to speed up the process as much as possible.
In the six months since Helene swept through East Tennessee, Mountain Ways has been giving out money to those most affected.
Lori Moore is the executive director at Mountain Ways. She says the organization had donated more than $2.5 million to more than 500 families who lost their homes to Helene in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Individuals aren’t the only ones getting a hand from Mountain Ways, however. Tuesday, the group awarded grants to six volunteer fire departments in Cocke County that had lost gear in Helene’s floods. Hope House, another group which has been giving tiny homes to those in need, also received some help from Mountain Ways.
Pigeon Forge, TN (WOKI) The City of Pigeon Forge says its city manager of 44 years will soon be retiring.
Earlene Teaster became Tennessee’s first female city manager when she was named to the position in 1980. She was first hired to be the city clerk in 1961.
Pigeon Forge Mayor David Wear says Teaster’s impact on the city is immeasurable. He says they are forever grateful for her unwavering leadership and steadfast support.
Teaster, who is currently Tennessee’s longest-serving city manager, is set to retire on June 30.
Tennessee’s longest-serving city manager is set to retire on June 30. (Courtesy: City of PigeonForge)
99.1 The Sports Animal is proud to announce the return of Sports Animal SportsFest on Saturday, June 28th, 2025 at Knoxville Expo Center!
Sports Animal SportsFest
Saturday, June 28th, 2025
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Knoxville Expo Center
Tickets are $5.00 at door.
*Free Admission for Children 12 and Under
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SportsFest 2025 Vendor and Sponsor Interest Form
Fill out this form for more information about becoming a vendor at SportsFest 2025 taking place Saturday, June 28, 2025 at the Knoxville Expo Center. We are searching for sports related items, activities and businesses.
Join us on Saturday, June 28th at the Knoxville Expo Center for Sports Animal SportsFest! This indoor festival celebrates all things sports! There will be multiple sports personalities doing Q&A’s, autograph signings, an awesome buy, sell, trade card show and more. Exhibitors will be on-site offering a fun-filled day for the entire family.
SportsFest has all your bases covered! Learn, play, watch or just get your picture with a VFL or other notable sports figure. From the novice sports fan to the diehards, SportsFest has something for everyone.
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More details coming soon…
Scheduled to appear…
Erik Ainge– VFL QB from 2004-2007 and spent two seasons with the New York Jets for 2008-2010 after being drafted in the sixth round of the NFL Draft in 2008. Sports Animal host of the Erik Ainge Show Weekdays from 9a-12pm on 99.1 FM.
Jayson Swain– VFL WR from 2003-2006 and NFL WR with the Chicago Bears in 2007. He is currently 6th all-time in UT history with 126 receptions. Swain is also 13th in career receiving yards with 1,721. Jayson also hosts the Josh & Swain show on 99.1 The Sports Animal from 12p-3p as well as his podcast The Swain Event.
