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UT fans left to wonder what could have been
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Sausage Links pt. 2
Monday, ctober 31, 2011 Issue 51 I N D E P E N D E N T
PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://utdailybeacon.com
Vol. 118 S T U D E N T
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Vols’ offensive woes continue in 14-3 loss Tennessee can’t capitalize on three forced turnovers against No. 14-ranked Gamecocks Clay Seal Assistant Sports Editor Tennessee’s strife continued Saturday night, but it had nothing to do with a second-half collapse. On the scoreboard, the Volunteers stayed in it, but things felt the same as they have all of October, as they lost to No. 14 South Carolina 14-3 at Neyland Stadium. “I told them we fought hard and they should be commended for that,” UT coach Derek Dooley said. “We kept fighting the fight and created some opportunities that we haven’t done on defense. We hadn’t had many takeaways and we got them at some critical times and created opportunities. “Those were some good things — they were. But we are not good enough right now. We really are not very good to beat anybody unless we get some things corrected.” South Carolina (7-1, 5-1 SEC) has won three of the past four games against Tennessee. The Gamecocks remain in first in the SEC East, while the Vols (3-5, 0-5) settle in last place. Freshman quarterback Justin Worley was 10-of-26 for 105 yards, but threw two untimely interceptions in his first career start before being replaced by Matt Simms on UT’s last drive. “He did some good things and struggled at some things,” Dooley said. “I expected that to happen. It’s his first time and he just hasn’t had the work. He has been the three — that’s what we forget. For eight months he has been a three, and then for two weeks he has been a two. It’s tough. He’s going to be fine. He will learn from it and get better.” South Carolina was without star running back Marcus Lattimore, who is out for the season with a knee injury, but Brandon Wilds did fine as his replacement, rushing for 137 yards on 28 carries. He also led the Gamecocks with 31 receiving yards.
Wilds had just 75 yards on 13 attempts before Saturday’s game. Tennessee held Gamecocks’ leading receiver Alshon Jeffery to a season-low 17 yards on three catches. The Vols only amassed 186 offensive yards (151 passing, 35 rushing). The offensive woes began on their first possession. South Carolina forced Tennessee into a three-and-out, but Ace Saunders fumbled the punt and UT reserve linebacker John Propst recovered it at the Gamecocks’ 18yard line. After getting a first-and-goal at the Gamecocks’ 4, the Vols settled for a 22-yard field goal from Michael Palardy for their only score of the game. Da’Rick Rogers dropped what would have been a 44-yard touchdown in the second quarter after South Carolina had gone up 73, which was the score entering halftime. An issue facing the Tennessee defense entering the game was that it hadn’t created many turnovers, but it forced three South Carolina turnovers (one interception and two fumble recoveries). It was a matter of the offense not taking advantage. Prentiss Waggner had his first interception of the season in the third quarter and returned it 54 yards to the South Carolina 2yard line. Two plays later, Worley tossed an interception to South Carolina’s D.J. Swearinger. “I think that was a real turning point in the game,” tight end Mychal Rivera said. “It was really difficult when that happened. It was really unfortunate and disappointing.” On the ensuing drive, South Carolina converted six third downs and took 11:42 off the clock on a 20-play, 98-yard touchdown drive to go up 14-3 with under a minute left in the third quarter. “We were getting beat on first and second down,” middle linebacker Austin Johnson said. “They were getting big runs on us, then creating third-and-one every first down. So it kind of just put us in a bad position and that’s our fault.”
George Richardson • The Daily Beacon
Maurice Couch and a host of Vols haul down a South Carolina player during a game on Saturday, Oct. 29. Despite multiple forced turnovers by the defense, the offense couldn’t capitalize, producing only three points from four trips inside the South Carolina 30-yard line and falling 14-3 to the Gamecocks.
Ambassador stresses energy security Knoxville haunting still lives on Taylor McElroy
presented here, and he views Eastern Europe as a centrally important piece of Europe as it relates ultimately to U.S. security interests and friendship interests,” Pierce said. Pierce also explained the reasoning behind speakers such The Romanian Ambassador to the U.S. came to UT Wednesday night to discuss security cooperation and shared as Vierita and Ash at the Baker Center. “We have a number of policy programs, and one is global issues with students at the Baker Center Toyota Auditorium. security,” Pierce said. “The other is energy and the environAmbassador Adrian Cosmin Vierita said that there has ment, and the third is what we call governance studies, and been a friendly partnership between the U.S. and Romania a part of that is an interest in diplomacy and international for 131 years with the exceptions of the World War II and relations. This particular visit and presentation fit right into U.S.S.R. occupation periods. The most recent diplomatic issue between the two coun- the ambassadorial lecture series The Global Security tries occurred when Romanian President Traian Basescu Program, and, as it turned out in the conversation, the energy and environcame to the U.S. ment program to sign a ballistic as well.” missile defense The subject agreement where of conversation an American misthat relates to sile defense facilithe energy and ty will be located environment on Romanian program that soil. Pierce referred “It was a good to is what occasion also to Vierita called sign the agreeenergy security. ment on hosting Vierita elements of (the) described enermissile defense gy security as system, and also the goal of we have adopted r e d u c i n g to declaration on dependence on the strategic partn a t u r a l nership between resources for the United States energy needs. and Romania in Romania is the 21st century,” abundant in natVierita said. ural resources Carl Pierce, such as steel, Baker Center Madeline Brown • The Daily Beacon oil, natural gas director and for- Romanian Ambassador to the United States Adrian Vierita speaks with and coal, but it mer law profes- attendees at the Howard Baker Center on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Vierita disis attempting to sor, said the U.S. cussed the importance of security for the U.S. as related to his work in work out various values Romania’s Romania. scenarios with cooperation in the controversial agreement, which is not supported by all of other countries in the region to construct an international natural gas line. Vierita explained the importance in using Europe. “I just found it very interesting to see how a bilateral rela- more than one solution. “I think that it’s wise to give priority to all of them and tionship between a country as large as the United States and see at the end of the day, who and what has more chance to one that’s not quite as large as Romania can be so important be materialized,” Vierita said. “We will continue to support in such a major international issue,” Pierce said. He went on to describe the importance of diplomatic rela- any project, any concept, and we are ready to partner with everybody in the region and the United States in order to tions with Eastern European countries. “The former ambassador to Poland is Victor Ash, who find a solution for this issue … to ensure that the region will lives here in Knoxville (and) was formally our mayor, and he have enough energy in the future.”
Steele Gamble
Staff Writer
Staff Writer Knoxville is home to many fabled haunted attractions including Copper Ridge Baptist Church, Bijou Theater, even UT, but one location that stands out is Baker Peters Fine Dining & Lounge. The story dates back to 1840. The restaurant was then home to Dr. James Harvey Baker, who used his home to care for confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Union soldiers broke in and demanded the release of the confederate soldiers. When Baker refused, he was chased through his house to his bedroom where he tried to barricade himself. Still, the soldiers managed to shoot and kill him though his closed bedroom door. When his son, Abner Baker, returned home to find his murdered father, he sought vengeance on the informant, postmaster William Hall. When the postman’s friends discovered this alleged injustice, they hung the surviving Baker from a tree located just outside the house. Abner Baker’s attachment to the house, the door with the bullet holes and the insult of being hanged outside his house left his spirit lingering throughout the restaurant. “Bar glass shoots across the room into the opposite shelves about four times a year,” general manager Wade Morris said. That is just one of the many stories told by not only staff, but also by loyal guests who have played witness to such events. Some of the most interesting stories were told by Morris. “We have this bar sink that even when you turn the water pressure all the way up, it merely drips water,” Morris said. “We use it to dump the
used ice. One night at around 4 a.m., I was closing with one of the servers when we heard a flowing noise and went upstairs to find the sink completely overflowing and running onto the floor. When I turned off the water it drained immediately and continued dripping the way it always has.” “Upstairs in ‘Abner’s closet,’ (called that only because it is a bit spooky) is where we keep our coke machine and CO2. One night about 9 p.m. the bartender needed CO2, so I went to the closet and I thought ‘man that is really heavy to be empty.’ So I turn the knob, it had been off — this is strange considering we had been open for hours using it and you have to turn the knob all the way around to turn it off.” Unexplained events happen throughout the immediate property, not just inside. “One time we were getting a new contract with the pest control people and two of them went under the house to check it out, when suddenly both inspectors’ flashlights quit working at the same time, until they exited and both were lit perfectly,” Morris said. While Morris finds the events odd, he still does not necessarily believe in ghosts. In fact, that seems to be the consensus for a lot of the staff. “Nothing too creepy really goes on here — I mean Wade’s creepy, but that’s about it,” bartender Ben Halseth said. “For me it’s just a laid back environment with a great history of a building.” Haunted or not, Baker Peters is still one of the most original legends of Knoxville. Despite one’s personal belief in the lingering spirits or not, many locations around Knoxville have been the sight of unexplained mysterious events that have perpetuated terror for years.