Tennessee’s Season to Remember

By Mark Nagi Admit it. You didn’t have high preseason expectations for the Tennessee Volunteers football team. I mean, how could you? You’d seen the Vols lose game after game for most of the last 15 years. They had lost 15 in a row to Alabama, beaten Florida only once...

Road Trip! An international week of sports

By Mark Nagi Long time readers of my articles/columns/poetry know just how much I love going to sporting events. The gluttony, the angst, the tension… There’s nothing better than sports. During an eight-day period in October, me and my girlfriend drove over 4500...

Q&A with author Jeff Pearlman

Q&A with author Jeff Pearlman By Mark Nagi From time to time we like to catch up with a newsmaker in the world of sports. Recently The Knoxville Focus spoke with New York Times best-selling author Jeff Pearlman about his new book, “The Last Folk Hero: The Life and...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year By Mark Nagi I’d say that most Americans believe that the most wonderful time of the year is the span between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  That’s when families come together, gifts are exchanged, and overall, you get a lot of...

Tennessee’s Athletics Comeback

Tennessee’s Athletics Comeback By Mark Nagi Wow… has this been fun or what! Tennessee’s football program is currently ranked in the top 10 in the country, something that hasn’t happened since 2016. The Vols also sit at 4-0 with 2 wins over ranked opponents, something...

Q&A with Webb football coach Dave Meske

Q&A with Webb football coach Dave Meske By Mark Nagi Long-time Webb School of Knoxville football coach Dave Meske has announced that this will be his final season on the Spartans sidelines. Meske has been at Webb for 40 years and the last 38 as head football...