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Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley talks with Peyton Manning during the Vols season opener in 2010 at Neyland Stadium. Manning makes it a tradition to visit the Vols during most home openers.
It must be football time in East Tennessee already. Word is plentiful that the stars are showing up right and left.
At press time, it was not clear if Peyton Manning would be attending the Vols' season opener, set for 6 p.m. Saturday against Montana. Some suspect Manning's recovery from neck surgery means he may not be able to make it.
For the past few years, Manning has attended the Vols' season opener when it's at home. It fits into his schedule, and he's able to meet with the team and give them encouragement.
Look around the crowd, and you may spot "Glee" actress Naya Rivera, who plays Santana. For close to a year now, she's been planning to visit her brother, UT tight end Mychal Rivera, over the Labor Day weekend in Knoxville. The last time she was in town to see him was around Thanksgiving of last year.
When she was here last, she wore a disguise. "I wore glasses and a hat and kept my head down a lot," she told me of the trip.
"I felt so perfectly safe in Knoxville. It was great to just be able to walk the streets after dark and not feel threatened."
Other celebrity possibilities for the game: actor David Keith, whose devotion to the Vols is almost legendary around here; and Kenny Chesney, whose latest tour has just wrapped up.
It's old news now, but Jerry Rice — Hall of Famer and runner-up on "Dancing with the Stars" — attended the Alcoa-Maryville game last Saturday at Alcoa. He told our very own Mike Blackerby that he misses playing the game.
"What I wouldn't give to put a uniform back on again," he told Blackerby.
Rice is a goodwill ambassador for Kellogg's, and was swarmed by fans with requests for autographs and photographs.
He addressed both teams and presented autographed footballs to both Maryville and Alcoa teams.
nKenny vs. Irene. Kenny Chesney of Luttrell would not let a potential hurricane stop him from putting on a show. His two-night concerts at Foxboro, Mass., this past weekend drew 106,000 fans, despite heavy rains.
Chesney marked the close of his 2011 Goin' Coastal Tour with a massive crowd sing-along on "She's From Boston."
Also performing that night were Billy Currington and Zac Brown Band.
Angrycountry.com described the event this way: "Beach balls flew through the air and a sunny spirit prevailed while waves of rain drenched the audience and the performers several times throughout the evening."
The site also reported Chesney made a surprise visit to the Boston College football team and screened his documentary "The Boys of Fall." He also spent an hour practicing with the New England Patriots but was unsuccessful in attempting to catch passes from quarterback Tom Brady.
nScat tatt. Actress Megan Fox, who is Rockwood's most popular sex symbol, is getting rid of one of her tattoos because the image is too "negative."
The 25-year-old star told Italian fashion magazine Amica that she wants rid of her Marilyn Monroe tattoo.
"I'm removing it," Fox is quoted as saying. "She was a negative person. She was disturbed, bipolar. I do not want to attract this kind of negative energy in my life."
Monroe died of a drug overdose in 1962 at age 36.
Terry Morrow may be reached at 865-342-6445 or morrowt@knoxville.com.
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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