KNOXVILLE --Tennessee began its game week preparations a few days early during the team’s two-hour workout Thursday at Haslam Field. The Vols host California on Sept. 2 at Neyland Stadium to begin the 2006 football season.
“It was a beautiful day and we got started on Cal for real on both sides,” head coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We tried to get a little bit ahead with some things we’ve been looking at, including work on goal line and short-yardage situations.”
Fulmer and the entire team were headed to his home in Maryville after practice last night for their annual preseason cookout.
“It’s a chance for us to relax a little bit and then come back to work Friday,” he said.
LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR UT-CAL
UT Athletics has released a few hundred tickets for the Vols’ Sept. 2 season opener against California. The tickets became available once Neyland Stadium construction was completed and a final manifest created.
Tickets also remain for Big Orange home dates against Air Force (Sept. 9), Marshall (Sept. 23) and Kentucky (Nov. 25). Purchases can be made through the UTSports.com Web site or by calling 656-1200 in the Knoxville area and toll free 800-332-VOLS (8657).
‘INSIDE THE ORANGE’ -- VOL NETWORK TV SPECIAL
The Vol Network officially kicks off "Football Time in Tennessee" this weekend with its annual "Inside the Orange" preseason football special across the state of Tennessee and the Southeast.
This one-hour show, hosted by Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer and the Vol Network's Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Jeff Francis, takes an in-depth and inside look at the 2006 Tennessee Volunteers. In addition to entertaining interviews and features with UT assistant coaches and members of the team, fans get a sneak peak at some of the renovations taking place at Neyland Stadium.
"Inside the Orange: Tennessee Football 2006" is presented by the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
"Inside the Orange: Tennessee Football 2006" airs in the following markets across the state of Tennessee: Knoxville -- Saturday on WBIR-TV at 7 p.m.; Chattanooga -- Sunday on WTVC-TV at 1 p.m.; Nashville -- Sunday on WUXP-TV at 8 p.m.; Tri-Cities -- Sunday on WKPT-TV at 11:30 a.m. and WAPK-TV at 7 p.m. All times are local.
The show also airs regionally on CSS (Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern) and FOX Sports Net-South (Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. Eastern).
UT-AIR FORCE AVAILABLE ON PAY-PER-VIEW
The Tennessee-Air Force football game Sept. 9 in Knoxville will be televised on a pay-per-view basis across the state of Tennessee. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time and 6 p.m. Central.
The announcing team for the game telecast will be Randy Smith on play-by-play and former Vol and NFL quarterback Pat Ryan handling color analysis.
Smith is the sports director at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga and is remembered by many as the long-time scoreboard host for the Vol Radio Network, a position he held throughout the 1980s and 1990s. For the past seven seasons, has been the play-by-play announcer for Tennessee basketball games on CSS.
Ryan played quarterback at Tennessee from 1974-77 and then went on the play in the NFL with the New York Jets from 1978-89 and with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1991. Ryan has extensive experience in the broadcast booth, serving as the color analyst on the Tennessee Titans radio network from 1999-2004.
Cable systems across the state of Tennessee are scheduled to carry the telecast from the VideoSeat pay-per-view service. Fans may begin contacting their local cable systems Monday to order the game and receive price information. The game also is expected to be made available to Tennessee Dish Network and DirecTV subscribers as well as C-band dish owners. Channel numbers and more information about the pay-per-view telecast will be released at a later date. Dish Network and DirecTV customers will order/purchase on the day of the game.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)