Archive for August, 2008

Just a little sound bite of good news today courtesy of Curveballs for Jesus and the Snooze-Slantinel:  Brandon Warren has been cleared by the NCAA to play this fall for the Big Orange!

Now let’s hope there aren’t any other landmines in the road leading up to Warren suiting up for the Vols.

– Go Figure …

After goofing off for the last few weeks with a construction fence across the header here at Gate 21, the fences are finally down.  What should have been a 2-3 day minor renovation has turned into a multi-week exercise in my dragging my feet which has finally come to lackluster fruition.

Thus — although I am still working on updating a few things — Gate 21 is now back open for business without fear of having a virtual crane drop anything on your head.

The primary changes may not immediately be apparent, unless you look closely.  The high points are a wider post area (HT to MoonDog for that idea), wider sidebars, re-schemed colors, improved load times (hopefully), a nametag for Gus, and a completely re-organized blogroll which now lives in both sidebars.

There are still a few more things to be adjusted, but — for the most part — the remodel of the actual site is done and things should be returning to my normal level of questionable quality and poor taste.

Hopefully, Gus will begin the 10-day countdown to kickoff with daily changes to the header here leading up to gameday.  I assure you that each day will be suitable for framing (if you consider a faded bamboo calendar for 1968 hawking Esso gasoline to be fine art, that is).

And to think you all thought I was actually going to change something meaningful…

– Go Figure …

As I indicated last week, Gate 21 has been given the chance this year to participate in the College Football BlogPoll — a clear sign of the lack of good judgment on the part of the BlogPoll brain trust.

I posted my preliminary ballot late last week with my meager attempt to quantify the merits of the various teams from across the country as we sit at the brink of a new season.

Since then, however, Joel at RTT has taken the BlogPoll to a whole new level through the creation of an algorithm-based analytical computer model which quantifies the ranking of the teams based upon a list of indicators.

Owing to the fact that I can hardly add or subtract (which guided my choice of professions) I am not entirely sure that I understand his new ranking model completely.  Still, it is truly impressive and is really worth giving a look if you are a fan of stats.  Needless to say, it makes my method of assigning rankings — based largely on the clever use of chalk, a tape measure, and a set of lawn darts — look … well … very “quaint.”

Man, and I remember the days when I used to just be able to say “That team looks good…”

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: Just Jay It!

I found a really sharp looking Tennessee Wallpaper while putzing around over at SECTalk.com which I felt was worth passing along.  This one is a great Eric Berry Wallpaper, which states simply: “See Ball — Get Ball.”  I imagine Joel from RTT will probably end up printing out numerous copies of this one so he can cover the walls of his office.

Anyway, here it is, courtesy of Crusse10 of SECTalk.com:

Click Image for Full Size version

In other news, I have not forgotten about my remodeling project — it continues, just behind the scenes.  One way or the other, everything should begin to change over a bit next week, as I get done with my tweaks and re-design of the Gate.  Hopefully, I’ll find a little time to finish the last few things up this weekend .

Of course, I’ve always been a lazy sort…

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: Crusse10 / SECTalk.com

Well, given the complete lack of discretion of the powers that be, Gate 21 has been offered the opportunity to participate in the National College Football BlogPoll which is orchestrated by Brian over at the MGOBlog.  I know that some people are not a fan of Brian or his blog, but the BlogPoll sounded like fun, and I am always a fan of riding the coattails of others due to my complete lack of talent as a blogger.  You can read about the philosophy of the BlogPoll over on the MGOBlog.  This year the BlogPoll includes a few other faces from around this neck of the woods who you can also check out from time to time, including:  Fulmer’s Belly and Rocky Top Talk (both of whom will be representing the Tennessee Volunteers along with yours truly) and Crimson Daddy over at 3SIB (who will be representing the Alabama Crimson Tide).

The way that the BlogPoll is supposed to work is that, during the season, ballots are due on Wednesday of each week.  Each of us pollsters have been strongly encouraged, however, to post our preliminary poll a few days before (ideally on Monday) to allow all of you out there in the blogosphere to comment on our vote, tell us what freakin’ morons we are, and generally try to convince us to change our minds.  In my case bribes work best and no reasonable offer will be turned away.

I do consider it a real privilege to participate — especially considering what an incompetent blowhard I am — and therefore will be trying my best to vote free from bias, and will try to be serious in my selections.  That said, I am always willing to listen to differing perspectives and thoughts from either of you out there that actually read this rag.

As a general rule, preseason polls are — in the words of former Vice President John Nance Garner when describing his post as second-in-command — “not worth a bucket of warm piss.“  This is largely due to the fact that such polls are based on speculation, hearsay, rumors, prognostications, and other unreliable and flimsy information.  Given the fact that I am a lawyer (or “evidence manipulation specialist” as my friend  Bryan Grantham refers to it) I feel right at home with the idea of trying to make an argument without a single shred of support.

Bearing that in mind, here it is:

(Preliminary) Preseason BlogPoll Ballot

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Georgia	25
2	Ohio State	24
3	Southern Cal	23
4	LSU	22
5	Florida	21
6	Clemson	20
7	Oklahoma	19
8	Auburn	18
9	Kansas	17
10	Penn State	16
11	Texas	15
12	Missouri	14
13	Tennessee	13
14	Wisconsin	12
15	Oregon	11
16	Illinois	10
17	Colorado	9
18	Alabama	8
19	Arizona State	7
20	Wake Forest	6
21	Boise State	5
22	Florida State	4
23	Michigan	3
24	West Virginia	2
25	South Florida	1

Others Considered: South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Rutgers

Tell me I’m a moron — I’ll probably agree…

– Go Figure …

This Week’s Roundtable is hosted by: MoonDog Sports

Rolling Along We Go!

This week’s Big Orange Roundtable is hosted by the MoonDog, who has served up some great questions for the roundtable.

Here are my laughable thoughts for the week:

Week 6

(Questions in Sort-o-Teal-like color)

1) Let’s assume the worst for a moment and say the Vols finish the season 6-6. Does Fulmer survive? If not, whom do you believe would be the best person to fill the head coaching vacancy? Even if you believe Fulmer survives, feel free to offer your thoughts on the Vols next coach.

As I previously discussed in Week 2 (Question 3), I believe that Coach Fulmer’s new contract (which includes an automatic extension when he wins 8 games or more), while giving the Great Punkin more job-security on one hand, also sets a quantifiable standard of 8 wins which, if not met, could lead to his firing.  It seems to me that it would be next to impossible for Mike Hamilton to keep Fulmer on as head coach if he failed to meet the 8-win mark in a given season.  That said, I think Hamilton would do everything in his power to keep Fulmer in his current position at the helm of the Vols’ football program.  For the record, at present, I would agree with Hamilton’s desire to retain Fulmer.

Independent of Fulmer’s own merits and accomplishments (which are considerable) — one of the reasons I have always questioned the “Fire-Fulmerites’” cries is that I have never heard any meaningful suggestion as to who would replace him.  As I also said in Week 2, I think Fulmer is likely trying to groom Dave Clawson as his replacement down the road, which — depending on how things pan out — may be a great move.  All that said, if Fulmer were to either be fired or retire, my short-list of candidates would include the following (in no particular order):

• Bob Stoops: I agree with MoonDog that Stoops has an impressive record, despite his habit of losing in the bowl games.  My only concern with Stoops is one of persona and style — a little too Spurrier-esque for me, but I could get over that I suppose.
• Jim Grobe: I like what Grobe has done at Wake Forest, which is a tough place to win.  I would somewhat prefer someone who is likely to stay a little longer — since Grobe appears to be roughly the same age as Fulmer, and probably won’t want to coach into his 60s and 70s.
• Brian Kelly: I agree with 3SIB that Kelly could be another good choice in much the same way that Urban Meyer appealed to Florida — an up-and-coming coach on the rise.  Of course, the same would be true for Clawson.
• Brett Favre: I figure he’s been so dying to get back into someone’s game, why not Tennessee’s?  Actually, I think that would be a horrible idea…

This overly short list only goes to show that I am really not sure who Tennessee would tap to take the head job, and only emphasizes why I continue to think that Fulmer is the best coach for Tennessee at present.

2) With the off-field troubles many college football programs have encountered over the past five years, including Tennessee, what actions would you take to prevent players from getting into undesirable situations?

There are a lot of college students that have done some things that are probably prosecutable if the law caught them.  This is true regardless of whether they are athletes or not.  So, on one hand I generally think that miscellaneous bad behavior shouldn’t automatically lead to dismissal from the team.  Being given the opportunity to play at the college level, however, gives great rewards to the players.  Along with those rewards comes increased responsibility — due to the fact that those athletes are on the front-porch of the university.  Finally, I believe that true “criminal” behavior should be dealt with swiftly and strongly.

Bearing all of this in mind, my thoughts are that there should only be three rules of increasing severity — built on the concept that a team lives and dies as a group — for any team, which should be enforced without exception:

• Rule 1:  Never do anything that will embarrass yourself. — In this case I would lump things like not going to class, bad discipline in practices, being late to practices, and potentially recklessness in a game (such as unwarranted personal fouls), etc.  The penalty for infractions would be that the player is publicly reprimanded in very plain and unfiltered terms before his teammates, and the entire team runs or does some other unpleasant drill as a result of the infraction by one of its members.

• Rule 2:  Never do anything that will embarrass your team. –  This would include general bad behavior that falls under Rule 1, if it is repeated.  In other words, repeat offenses of a Rule 1 violation calls into question the cohesiveness of the team, and thus reflects on the team.  This would also include any “minor” entanglements with the local constabulary such as: drunk and disorderly, speeding, underage consumption, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, etc. — essentially anything which doesn’t involve fundamental dishonesty and/or risk to the physical well-being of others.  The penalty for infractions would be a mandatory one-game suspension, being reprimanded openly in front of teammates, all members of the player’s squad losing privileges, the entire team doing twice as many laps or drills as for a Rule 1 violation, and the team captains being required to do an even greater penance — along with the offender.  The offender would also be required to make some sort of public apology or public sign of remorse along with some goodwill public service (i.e. visiting the children’s ward at the hospital, raking leaves for the infirm, etc.).

• Rule 3:  Never do anything that will embarrass your university, its staff, students, and alumni. –  This would be the most serious violation.  This would include any real criminal behavior such as a felony.  The immediate response would be an investigation by the coaching staff.  If it appeared that the offender was not guilty of the charges, then the player would be suspended for the remainder of the season until cleared by law enforcement officials or the Courts, with the assumption that the player will be dismissed if not cleared.  During that time, the offender would essentially serve as the lowest-level trainer and would be given the worst jobs associated with a football team.  If the staff determined that the player was likely guilty, then the player would be immediately dismissed from the team, and a public statement issued explaining why.  Regardless of the guilt or innocence of the offender, the entire team would have a major privilege suspended for at least half of the season.  The members of the offender’s squad and the team captains would be treated as if each of them had violated Rule 1 by not taking adequate steps to prevent the offense or hold their teammate accountable.  Again, the whole team would also be required to perform additional drills.

The goal of this system would be to instill mutual responsibility among team members and to emphasize that when one falls short, all fall short.  I am responsible for my brother and my brother is responsible for me. No coaching staff can ever police or monitor players at all times — no matter how vigilant.  When properly channeled, peer pressure can be a beautiful thing, and is the sort of thing which goes with a player everywhere he goes.  This system is also meant to emphasize that, when you are in a position of honor (being a member of the team) then sometimes guilt by association is all that is required to warrant a penalty — it simply comes with the territory.

3) The Vols have rolled through UCLA, UAB, Florida, Auburn, Northern Illinois and Georgia. We’re No. 3 in the polls and up next is Alabama. With 3:16 left in the 4th quarter the Vols are down 20-17 and it’s 4th and one from the Bama 29-yard line. Do you kick the field goal or go for it?

Barring some sort of absolutely deplorable abysmal collapse by our kicking team leading up to the game, or the development of an absolutely hellacious running game which mows down defenses like the grim reaper with a caffeine buzz, I kick the ball.

The reasons for this are several:

• Three doesn’t play for the win, but it also prevents the loss with time expiring, and I’d just as soon not have to live through another episode of the 1998 win over Arkansas.
• You look like a genius if you convert, but boy do you look like a moron if you turn the ball over on downs.
• Tennessee has been very successful in overtime games, especially in Neyland Stadium, and I’ll take those odds with Orange Nation fired-up.
• If you are looking at the possibility of an undefeated season, you coach with your head, not your balls.
• It’s smart football.

So, ultimately, I take the conservative approach.  Of course, Coach Fulmer rarely seems to care what I think is best, so this is somewhat academic.  After all, I haven’t yet seen the film…

4) What impact, if any, do you believe Stan Drayton will have as the Vols prepare to play Florida?

I think the biggest effect that Stan Drayton may have will not be on the players he is tapped to coach.  I think the biggest thing Tennessee gains from Drayton in this year’s battle with the reptiles is his experience coaching the running game in Gainesville — for the benefit of the Tennessee defense.  The message will probably be that — with the exception of Tebow — there really isn’t much of a run game at Florida.  Good little piece of information to have.  Of course, this is a new season, and you really don’t have to be a genius to figure out that Florida was one-directional last year.

On the flip side, I am desperately hoping that Drayton is able to invigorate our running game which — by my mind — is one of the keys to beating Florida this year, or any year.  I have high hopes for him, and generally think he was a very good hire by Fulmer.

5) We’ve discussed the Vols offense and defense, but what about special teams? Give us your thoughts on Tennessee’s kicking game and special teams in general?

The key to success this season is keeping Britton Colquitt off the sauce…

Actually, that really has nothing to do with our kicking game — or at least it shouldn’t.  Nonetheless, all of the distractions stemming from Colquitt’s off-the-field hijinxs have got to be a concern — especially given his early season suspension.  This unit needs to be sure it understands what it is about before strapping on their helmets.  They need to come prepared to play.

On a more substantive note, I am hopeful that the kick returns will improve this year and that Dennis Rogan will get the chance to really wow the Vol faithful a few times this year.  The key on kick-returns (aside from actually catching the ball without fumbling it) is discipline.  If they can be disciplined, learn to stay in their lanes, learn when to take a knee, and when to block, I believe that the kick-return squad could really be impressive this year.

In terms of the field-goal unit — I’ll take Daniel Lincoln over just about anybody.  Absent him derailing in the near future, I feel pretty good about where we sit when it comes to the uprights.

The Rest of the Roundtable:

Having wasted your time on my largely meaningless and insignificant thoughts for this week, go check out what the other roundtablers (who actually know what they are talking about) have to say (in no particular order):

• 3rd Saturday in Blogtober
• YMSWWC
• MoonDog Sports
• Fulmer’s Belly
• Loser With Socks
• Rocky Top Talk
• SouthEastern Sports Blog
• The View From the Hill

And that’s the way it is….

– Go Figure …

Over the weekend I spent a fair amount of time watching the XXIX Olympic Games from Beijing — taking in all that comes along with the quadrennial rite that is the Olympics.  It was an excellent weekend of competition, celebration, and pageantry.

Bearing all of this in mind, I began to ask myself what is the Olympics “place” in the overall world of sports?  Many would say that the Olympic Games are the single most important competition in sports — the “ultimate” expression of athletic competition.  On the other hand, others would argue that the Olympics really aren’t about sports at all, representing the exercise of diplomacy through other means.  Finally, there are those who would — for various reasons ranging from the lack of their favorite sport from the games to a lack of interest in international competition — say that, while engaging, the Olympics are largely a second-tier sporting event focused more on “ancillary” sporting events.

For me, however, the Olympics hold a special place — if only because of the “amateur spirit” which they embody…

I do eagerly await the Olympics each time they roll around.  They are — for me — a sublime opportunity to view events and competitions that are far beyond the sports I normally have the opportunity to follow.  So too, there is something that is uniquely endearing in the pursuit of achievement in the name of ones homeland, where the accolade is far less tangible than that which accompanies success in modern “big time” sports.  That is the essence of amateur competition — not completely divorced from many of the reasons I so identify with college athletics as opposed to professional sports.

Of course, one can become a little to idealistic when it comes to the Olympics…

Gone are the days of “lily-white” amateurism from the Olympics as an ideal governing the competition between nations.  This was not only the mantra of the international Olympic movement during the first three-quarters of the 20th Century, but was tenaciously enforced by individuals such as Avery Brundage, who served as the President of the International Olympic Committee until 1972.

During that era, any “taint” of professionalism by an athlete would assuredly lead to banishment from the games for life, and could possibly lead to medals being stripped.  The stand of the IOC was clear: Any athlete competing in the Olympic Games must be an amateur.

Of course, things were not always as pure as the powers that be would suggest …

As anyone who witnessed any of the games held during the Cold War, the amateurism of some of the Eastern Bloc countries was perpetually in question.  Furthermore, at times the stance on amateurism often overshadowed the real purpose of the Olympic Games, and placed form over substance with only the individual athlete feeling the pain of the IOC’s censure.

Thus, perhaps, the “good old days” were not always as good as we have been led to believe…

Nonetheless, there is something that has been lost over the years as the Olympics seem to have moved farther and farther afield from the old amateur standards, to the point that — in all sports but boxing — professional players are welcomed.  With this transition came the advent of the so-called “Dream Teams,” peopled with superstar professional athletes from across the globe.  The thought of playing against the greatest that the NBA has to offer is a daunting and discouraging prospect for a team from a smaller country lacking a professional league or an established sports infrastructure.  Still, as the United States Olympic Basketball team learned in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, “David” still has a lot of stones in his sling when it comes to the “Goliaths” of the sports world.

Competition, however, is not always a fair fight, and, perhaps, that reality is part of what makes the Olympics special.  Perhaps it is the “against all odds” mentality or ethos which makes the Olympics beautiful as a spectacle of competition.

The Olympics are not about necessarily winning or losing, but about trying despite the odds…

For me, the single most poignant image of the Olympics is that of Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss completing the marathon in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.  I still remember watching the then 39 year-old competitor for Switzerland come limping into Olympic Stadium — at least twenty minutes behind the winner — barely able to walk.  She had only to complete one lap around the stadium track to finish the race.  As she staggered from side to side, barely able to stand upright, she continued on.  Fearing that she might be suffering from heat stroke, several medical staff actually walked alongside her as she took a heart wrenching 5 minutes and 44 seconds to complete the circuit of the field, before collapsing across the finish line and receiving immediate medical care.

The pragmatist would say that it was foolish for Andersen-Scheiss to continue on when she was clearly suffering and had no hope of winning.  The utilitarian would undoubtedly conclude that she should stop, because the risk to her health far exceeded the benefit to be gained by completing the race.  Sometimes, it is not rational, it is not practical, it is not about winning or losing — it is about heart, determination, and finding what it takes to put one foot in front of the other to finish the journey you have begun.

Sometimes, it is simply a testament to the human spirit…

I suppose that is what still draws me to the Olympic Games.  In this regard, it is still a competition of amateurs, in some ways. For many athletes at the games, the competition is not one of professionals versus the amateurs.  It is not one of one country versus another.  It is not one of winner and loser.

In the Olympic Games — even today — for many athletes it is a competition between heart and head.  It is the battle between self and soul which brings competitors from far and wide who have not a single hope for victory.  They do it not to prove that they can beat any other athlete, break any records, or win any medals, but to simply prove that they can compete…

… and in this battle with self — the battle to find the will to press on — there are no professionals.

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: ZDF.de