In addition to all of the “obvious” landmark events that have or will occur as part of the 2009 football season, there is one more that may go unnoticed by many.  Though it hardly seems possible, the 2009 season marks Bob Kesling’s tenth year as the “Voice of the Vols.” Since the kickoff of the 1999 football opener against the Wyoming Cowboys, Kesling along with color-commentator Tim Priest, and sideline reporter Mike Stowell (who succeeded Jeff Francis in 2007), have brought the sounds of Big Orange football into our homes via the “Statewide Stadium” that is the Vol Network.

As have I pointed out in previous posts, since I was a child, I have always been a dedicated fan of live sports radio broadcasts.  I learned at an early age that television broadcasters, no matter how good they may be, simply cannot match the style, flair, color, or excitement that a gifted radio sportscaster can bring to a game.  There are few on television that come close—Ron Franklin and Mike Gottfried being pretty much the best—but even they cannot quite stay in step with the great radio broadcasters of the game.  Of course, for every Franklin and Gottfried, there are a bevy of lackluster talking suits which do little more than get in the way of the game rather than actually improving your understanding of what is taking place.

Thus is the curse of television…

It is one thing to verbally recount what viewers just saw on their screen; it is an entirely different thing to narrate—paint a word picture—that which listeners depend on the broadcaster to pluck from the ether and make real.  It is remarkably easy to be sloppy and boring when broadcasting a game on television—the images speak for themselves.  With radio, however, the broadcaster creates those images and the world in which they exist.

That is why I will always be a fan of radio play-by-play broadcasters…

Thus, for the past ten years, we in Orange Nation have depended upon Bob Kesling to paint those pictures and to create those images—he has been the one to guide us through every play of every game.  On the whole, I have to say that Kesling has done a good job.  While I will be the first to admit that Kesling’s early broadcasts seemed to me a bit “sterile” and deadpan, over the past decade he and his gameday cohorts have steadily improved and I think they do a fine job of broadcasting Tennessee Football.  Suffice it to say that I listen each week, even if the game is on television or even if I am in Section Y7 watching it for myself.

This decennial milestone, however, is less about the ten years that Kesling has served as the chief broadcaster for Tennessee, and more about the man he replaced.  I still can hardly believe that it has been ten years since last we heard the inviting and familiar baritone sounds of John Ward as the “Voice of the Vols.”

Though Bob Kesling does a fine job, I still miss John Ward.

John Ward & Lowell Blanchard

John Ward served as the Voice of the Vols in some capacity from 1963 until 1998, starting out as the host of the Tennessee coaches shows and as the PA announcer in Neyland Stadium.  Ward first began Vols play-by-play announcing when he began broadcasting Tennessee basketball games, along with the late Lowell Blanchard, in 1965.  Then, in 1968 veteran Vol Network broadcasters George Mooney (who started the Vol Navy) and Bob Fox decided to pursue other endeavors, paving the way for Ward and color-commentator Bill Anderson to assume their position behind the microphone.

I first heard Ward when he broadcast the now legendary 1985-86 Sugar Bowl—where an underdog Tennessee Volunteers squad bested the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes by 28 points.  That game was, and remains, one of the most significant Tennessee football games of all time.  Ward, however, made it even better.  After hearing just one broadcast by John Ward it is fair to say that I was hooked.

After that first experience, I could be found crowded around a radio whenever the Big Orange took the field.  I longed to hear John Ward and Bill Anderson relay the plays to me and the thousands of others out there in their own distinctive style.  To this day, I am a religious believer that if I am watching Tennessee play on TV, the sound goes off and the radio turns on.  However, in the era before satellite radio and internet webcasts, tuning in the Vol Network from my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina was not always an easy proposition.  There was no Vol Network affiliate serving my area.  Still, I found that if I was lucky, and if the game was at night (when the ionosphere makes radio signals carry farther) I could pick up the scratchy signal of the broadcast emanating from a station near Murphy, North Carolina.  Though my mother thought I was crazy constantly trying to tweak the radio to get just a bit more clarity, I always tried to find the broadcast.  She also thought I was about half-cracked when, as a student at Tennessee, I figured out a way to mount a tiny radio inside my marching band hat while I was in the Pride of the Southland, thus enabling me to listen while in the stands.  John Ward made it worth my while.

John Ward & Bill Anderson host the "Kickoff Call-in Show" in 1997

To this day, I am still a dedicated Vol Network listener and always have my earphones with me when sitting in Neyland Stadium.

From 1986 to 1998, I listened to as many broadcasts as possible.  I learned a lot about the game of football, about Tennessee, and about communicating an image.  I learned that often I could see the game better with my eyes closed and my ears open.  John Ward’s words became my eyes, and they never saw things as clearly as they did when he was painting the picture word by word.  I learned that Tennessee football was as much John Ward as John Ward was Tennessee football.  I learned that a true professional needs no introduction, no pomp, and no showy entrance.  I learned that class is a commodity not often found among broadcasters.  I learned that mistakes in public are not a bad thing if you can have a good laugh about it.

Cartoon of Ward from 1998

Both prior to his retirement at the end of the 1998-99 basketball season and since that time, I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with John Ward on several occasions, and found him to be every bit as genuine and every bit the gentleman he was on the radio.  For me he truly was—and remains—the voice of Tennessee.  He told us the story and let it unfold across the airwaves.  He not only told us what was happening, but he managed to make it real, to make the excitement palpable.

Now, it has been ten years since he last sat behind the microphone in the communications center which bears his name inside the pressbox of Neyland Stadium.  Though this is difficult for me to imagine, I am sure there are many Tennessee fans today who have never heard Ward’s broadcasts and some who may not even know who he is.  On some level, that is very sad for me.  Yet, traditions are made over time, and each generation has a hand in forming and re-forming those traditions.  They are not static.  For me as a child and a young man, John Ward was a tradition.  Over the past ten years, however, Bob Kesling, Tim Priest, Bert Bertelkamp, and  Mike Stowell have started a new tradition for the Vol Network, one which I am sure in years to come will be remembered just as fondly as I remember Ward’s.

Still, as we prepare for the 2009 football season, on the cusp of a great undiscovered country, the hopes of the future, it seems only appropriate that we look back ten years and remember the man who came into our ears, into our homes, into our lives to bring us the story of Tennessee.  That past is prologue for the future to which we all look.

In recognition of this little reminiscent look back, I have put together a little soundboard of a few of John Ward’s memorable calls and catchphrases.  I plan on finding a permanent home for this soundboard here at the Gate, but for now, here are “21 Things” from the John Ward Era that still make me smile.

Rest assured, I’ll be listening this fall from my perch in the North Endzone, from my home in North Carolina, or wherever else I might find myself on a gameday.  That is the primary reason why I own an XM Satellite Radio.  Yes, I still listen to the Vol Network every chance I get.

So here’s to all the folks at the Vol Network for giving me and countless other Vol fans across the globe a reason to tune in.  Thank you for giving that experience to all of us who wear the orange.  Thank you for building and maintaining that wonderful tradition…

…and a special thanks to the man who started that tradition for me: John Ward.

– So it goes …

**Disclaimer and Notice: All Audio Clips remain the property of the licensing authority and their respective universities and/or institutions. Gate 21 makes no claim of ownership to these clips, and they are displayed on this website for the sole purpose of public commentary, discussion, and discourse, and are, in good faith, believed to be a Fair Use. Any questions or concerns regarding the display of such audio should be directed to the publisher of this site.

Image(s) Courtesy of:    UT Sports.com / the Vol Network •  Unofficial John Ward Page •  Knoxville News Sentinel ||  Statement on Fair Use

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Last year, during the off-season, I began a series on the Great Games played by the Tennessee Volunteers football team over the many years as seen through my eyes.  As I am wont to do, I seem to have lost my focus and have not exactly done a capital job of keep that series going.  Imagine that.

Since the off-season is once again upon us—paired with the fact that I have been coming up pretty spare in terms of ideas lately—I’ve decided it is time to once again take a walk down memory lane and re-live some of the greatest games in Tennessee history.  For those of you who missed the 2008 installments of this series, here are the ones I’ve covered thus far:

The “Great Games” Series:

• Ole Miss 1991
• Florida 1992
• Alabama 1995
• 1996 Citrus Bowl
• Florida 1998
• Lawvol’s All-time Top-10 Games

In addition to my list, Will, one of the sages over at RTT has been counting down the top-50 games of the Phillip Fulmer era in grand style.  Predictably, some of his favorites are on my list as well.  Trust me, his list is worth a look (and is far better researched, far more thoughtful, far better written, and … well … just far better than my little foray into the ghosts of games past).  Since I don’t want to be accused of stealing his thunder, I will be citing to his accounts of his favorite games liberally.

In fairness, it might be best to just skip this article altogether and just go read his work.  Lord knows I would but for the fact that I have to write it…

22 November 1997

vs.

(5) Tennessee 59 •    Kentucky 31

Commonwealth Stadium  •  Lexington, Kentucky

Some folks might think I am crazy for including the 22 November 1997 contest between Tennessee and the Kentucky Wildcats on my list of great games.  I can understand why they might question my thoughts on this (or my sanity).  This game was anything but a flawless game for the Vols and was hardly the Tennessee defense’s finest hour.  In fact, the game as a whole was pretty darn sloppy, as was the weather.  Still, for reasons which I will attempt to explain (a feat I will likely fail utterly to accomplish), this game still ranks as one of the great games in Tennessee football history.  The short answer as to why can be summed up in two words:

Peyton Manning

I make no bones about it.  I am a huge fan of the guy  who wore No. 16 for the Vols from 1994 to 1998.  As many have pointed out, both Andy Kelly (1989-91) and Heath Shuler (1991-93) could—in their own right—claim to be the greatest Vol quarterback in the history of the program during the time they wore an orange shirt.  Then, starting only a few snaps into the 1994 game against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl, everyone in Orange Nation began the process of forgetting everything they ever knew about quarterbacks at Tennessee, as true freshman Peyton Manning took the reins from senior Jerry Colquitt, who quite tragically (and downright depressingly) suffered a career-ending injury in the first series of his first start at quarterback.

The rest, as they say, is history…

Part of the reason I am such a huge Manning fan, I suppose, owes to the fact that his first game was my first game as a student at UT.  That sort of direct connection makes it easy for me to identify with his career in a way which surpasses most—if not all—other Vol footballers.  I guess those were my four years too.  Of course there is no mention in the official record of the games those four seasons mentioning this fact.  I suppose that was just an oversight by Tennessee’s capable staff of statisticians.  Go figure…

At any rate, by 1997, Manning was a senior and had already achieved legendary status in the minds of many of the Big Orange faithful through his exploits both on and off the field, which included breaking almost every single record worth keeping track of and turning down a big paycheck from the NFL in the interest of returning to Neyland Stadium for his senior year.

Video: Vol Network Tribute to Peyton Manning (1997)

By the time time that the Kentucky game rolled around, the No. 5-ranked Vols were 8–1 and—despite having suffered an abysmal 33-20 loss to the Florida Gators—still had a chance to finish the year with an SEC-Eastern Division title (thanks in no small part to the Georgia Bulldogs’ and LSU Tigers’ victories over the Gators).  In other words, the Vols were in control of their own destiny.

With only Kentucky and the Vanderbilt Commodores remaining on the regular season schedule, most Vol fans—myself included—naively assumed that the deal was already done.  The Vols would collect their final two victories and advance to the SEC Championship game without much difficulty.  Well, friends and neighbors, we were wrong.

Each of the last two games that season were down-to-the-wire events which left many a well-wrung hand in Big Orange Country and no doubt took years off of the lives of many.

Hal Mumme's hair taunts you...

In 1997, the Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Hal Mumme.  For those of you who don’t remember Mumme (or were not around, paying attention, or sober enough to be able to remember him) Mumme was a bit of a sensation in this era.  His new-look “Air Raid”  offense (which is now the trademark of coaches like Mike Leach) had turned the SEC on its head with its seemingly ridiculous effectiveness.  Furthermore, Mumme’s trademark was his willingness to take huge gambles which flew in the face of conventional football wisdom.  Of course, you kind of have to give Mumme a pass on that one.  I mean, it was Kentucky…

Early in his time at Kentucky, some felt that Mumme’s style of play was little more than smoke and mirrors which, when tested, would lead to complete collapse.  As Mike DuBose and the Alabama Crimson Tide, among others, learned that was not always the case.  Sometimes it worked … sometimes.  Kentucky under Mumme was a no-holds-barred offensive machine with a remarkably simple philosophy: outscore your opponent.  To Hal Mumme, defense was a neat idea, but scoring was the key to winning.  And score they did.

Led by gun slinging phenom Tim Couch, the Wildcats put up gaudy offensive numbers against their opponents.  On the other hand—while the record book leaves this somewhat open to debate—they apparently fielded no defense of any kind whatsoever.  Still, they won more games than most probably expected them to, and obviously believed that they had a chance to beat the Vols in the “Border Battle” for the first time in 13 years and re-claim the, now sadly bygone, Beer Barrel Trophy.  At 5-5, this game was going to be Kentucky’s bowl game.

The Beer Barrel Trophy, now sadly a thing of the past

Still, most of the Vol fans that rolled into Commonwealth Stadium on that November Saturday in 1997 had no idea what they were in for…

By that point in time, I had come to expect three absolute certainties from Tennessee / Kentucky match-ups:

• It is always freezing cold;

• Some form of precipitation always falls at some point during the game; and

• Tennessee always beats Kentucky handily in a semi-lackluster display which really leaves you wishing you had watched the game on television rather than freezing yourself to death for four hours.

As it turns out, I got the first two right.  I was pretty far off though when it came to the last one.

It was—predictably—cold, rainy, and windy that afternoon in Lexington.  Hence, after consuming my semi-edible “box ‘o lunch” I was not all that excited about getting off the bus and trudging into the stadium with the rest of the Pride of the Southland.  Part of this was due to my belief that the game would be the typical Tennessee / Kentucky snooze-fest after the first quarter.  The rest was due to the fact that I was sick as a dog.  I had caught a cold as a result of the frigid temperatures at the contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks the previous week in Little Rock (that one was played at War Memorial Stadium).  Over the week, I had done what any normal college student does—I completely ignored the fact that I was sick.  I would repeat this same routine during the week after the Kentucky game.  As a result, immediately after marching my final home game as a member of the Pride of the Southland the following week versus the Vanderbilt Commodores, I got to make a lovely visit to the emergency room where I was diagnosed with pneumonia.  I guess that is why I had such a hard time hitting the high notes in “March on Mighty Vols,” or maybe I was just a really crappy trombone player.

I digress…

After kickoff, Kentucky scored on their opening possession on a 37-yard pass from Tim Couch to Derek Homer, but the Vols responded with 17 unanswered points in the form of a field goal by Jeff Hall, and two passing touchdowns from Peyton Manning—the first to Marcus Nash and the second Andy McCullough.  Advantage to the Big Orange.

Then, in the second quarter, the Wildcats came battling back scoring two more touchdowns.  The first came in the form of a short pass from Tim Couch to Kio Sanford who proceeded to trot 87-yards to paydirt—then the second-longest play in Kentucky history.  The second was a rushing touchdown—that’s right, I said rushing touchdown—by Anthony White (of course it was only a 3-yard run, but hey, that was a lot for them back then).  Meanwhile, Tennessee only managed one, this time in the form of a 66-yard pass from Manning to Nash.  At halftime, the score was annoyingly close from my perspective with Tennessee leading 24-21.

Still, in my oxygen deprived mind (See discussion of pneumonia above) I imagined that the Vols would come out and score quickly in the third quarter.  At that point I presumed things would follow their normal course: 35,000 Kentucky fans would unceremoniously leave the stadium about four minutes into the second half, and the Wildcats would start putting more serious effort into losing.  Mainly, I was beginning to question whether the Great Punkin had been drinking some of Mumme’s Kool Aid, opting not to field a defense.  While the offensive fireworks for the Vols had been impressive, the defense had been less than outstanding.  More than anything, I just wanted the Vols to put the game away.

The Vols, in fact were apparently tired of all of this mucking about in the cold and finally decided to take charge.  Led by Peyton Manning (as if it would have been anyone else at that point in Tennessee history), the Vols started running on all cylinders.  First, Jamal Lewis snagged a short pass out of the backfield and went chooglin’ down a wide-open sideline 50 yards for a touchdown.  Hal Mumme, however was undeterred—that defense stuff was little more than a trifling thing.

After all, the score was only 31-21…for the moment.

Less than eight minutes later, Lewis again scampered into the endzone on a one-yard run.  Tennessee 38, Kentucky 21.  Still, Mumme, his pretty hair, and his trademark towel around the neck laughed at the Vols and their silly win by having more points when time expired theory.  Thus, with just under 2:30 minutes to go in the quarter Manning fired a 31-yard pass to Marcus Nash who made a beautiful over the shoulder grab to give the Vols yet another score.  Tennessee’s 21 point onslaught in the third quarter was met with Kentucky’s lone field goal.

End of the third: Tennessee 45, Kentucky 24.

At that point, I figured the show was over and everyone would start settling back to ride out the clock.  Once again, I was wrong.

Tennessee would add two more touchdowns—both credited to Jamal Lewis—in the final period of the game, mainly—I believe—to give Kentucky the back of the hand after the Wildcats managed another trip into the endzone late in the game.  When the proverbial fat lady sang, the scoreboard spoke loudly:

Final score: Tennessee 59, Kentucky 31.

What the scoreboard could not convey, however, was the sense that at all times during the game, it seemed that Kentucky might just steal the game away—yes, including when Tennessee stretched the lead to 28 points.  There are “wide-open” games and then there are “free-for-alls.”  This game falls under the latter category.  For folks who like watching high-powered offenses do their thing, there could hardly have been a better game to watch.  For fans of the defensive game … well … I think there may have been a special on humpback whales on PBS that afternoon.

You don’t have to take my word for it, though, the stats speak volumes.

Peyton Manning threw for five touchdowns and 545 yards—an all-time record at Tennessee—while Tim Couch threw for 476 yards.  That is a total of 1,021 yards passing—which is simply unbelievable.  The most telling statistic, however, lies in the interceptions column: Manning 0, Couch 3.  Without those takeaways, Tennessee likely ends up in a much closer contest fighting down to the wire.  Especially considering that the Vols fumbled the ball twice.

Of course, Manning was not the only person with a banner day.  In fact, he was but one of many.  Marcus Nash had seven receptions for 195 yards (which still ranks in the top-10 single game performances) and three touchdowns, while Jamal Lewis had 21 carries for 128 yards (avg. of 6 yards per carry),  three receptions for 96 yards (avg. of 32 yards per reception) and scored four touchdowns.  Hell, even Jermaine Copeland had seven receptions for 72 yards.

In the end, about every offensive record possible was tested that day by the Vols.  The defensive side of the game—with the exception of the three interceptions and four sacks—however, was far less memorable.

Still, in the end, this game was an offensive clinic by both Tennessee and Kentucky.  The final score really does not do the game justice.  It was anything but the “typical” Kentucky game and—all things considered—made sitting through a detestably cold rain with a burgeoning case of the plague worth it, at least for me.

Exciting, it was, thus it’s one of my great games…

– So it goes…

Hal Mumme Image Courtesy of:  Smart Football

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Yep, I’m still here. Lawvol hasn’t kicked me out of the site yet, despite my laziness and lack of posting this spring. I literally haven’t posted anything in a month and two days. My last post focused on Tyler Smith declaring for the NBA Draft and his prospects for that draft. Since then, I’ve had to finish up the spring semester, haul through a three week min-term class, and, probably most importantly, looked for and found a place to intern for the fall in efforts to further my career. After all, I am now a senior and hopefully I’ll have graduated this time next year (yes, it’s kind of scary).

I sure haven’t missed too much the past month…

If you’re like me, you’ve long been counting down to August and football season already, and only the NBA and NHL playoffs have been offering a real distraction from that. It’s been a rather action-packed month for the Tennessee program, as there seems to be something come up just about every single day, especially this past week.

J.C. Copeland

• Recruiting: This new staff obviously spends an incredible amount of time evaluating and going through the process, and that has reaped some results the past two weeks. After this season, the offensive and defensive lines are going to be particularly thin, so those two positions without a doubt are the biggest needs in the 2010 class.

So Tennessee goes out and gets some big people. Yes way yes way Jose Jose started it off, followed by JUCO defenders Pat Harris and Bruce Irvin, Georgia J.C. Copeland, and Miami linebacker/d-end Ralph Williams. Now I must admit I hadn’t heard of any of these guys. Additionally, Jose needs to drop some weight and Harris didn’t even play football in high school. Obviously we fans have to simply take our coaches’ words for it when it comes to recruiting because it’s so hit-or-miss, but I think we need to understand that this is likely going to be a big class numbers-wise and size-wise, as in there’s going to be some beef in these commitments. I also don’t find much surprise in taking some junior college players who have the potential ability to come in and contribute right away. Then again, those guys are even more hit (Gibril Wilson) or miss (Kenny O’Neal).

Jake Heaps...

• The QB situation: In addition to the needs along the lines, the other big recruiting story line is of course the QB position, where the Vols expect to sign at least two in the 2010 class. Jake Heaps and Jesse Scroggins (their Rivals profiles are linked at the end) are the two big names, and Andrew Hendrix has been another guy whose name I’ve heard alot. I’ll keep my opinion on this simple: if Tennessee were to get Heaps or Scroggins and Hendrix or another guy, then I think you can be happy with that.

or Jesse Scroggins?

Now that is where having the situation with Robert Marve not work out hurts a little, because now after this season you’re down to Nick Stephens and Mike Rozier, the former baseball player. That’s also where B.J. Coleman bailing doesn’t help either, but the way he handled that situation of going to the Chattanooga Times-Free Press first and throwing the coaches under the bus makes me not miss him. Good riddance and enjoy playing for a really bad UT-Chattanooga program. Nevertheless, we should know something on Heaps and Scroggins soon, because Heaps has said he wants to make his decision in June and Scroggins may very well be waiting to see what Heaps does.

• The exodus: OK, players leaving is a part of any program where there’s a turnover of coaching staffs, so this was sort of expected. It happened at Alabama when Nick Saban was hired and it’s happened now with the Kiffin regime. What does it mean, exactly? Well, really outside of the Coleman departure’s effect on the QB depth, the collective contributions of the 11 leaving players isn’t much, outside of Lennon Creer and Dee Morley. Creer saw the writing on the wall with Toney Williams, Bryce Brown and David Oku joining the stable, and Morley had been walking a tight line for awhile. Losing some lineman hurts depth, but overall, how bad have the 11 departures really been? Hey, if a player isn’t going to cut it or doesn’t want to do the work that will cut it, then see ya later.

Even the new coaching staff has had a member leave this week in strength and conditioning coach Mark Smith. Obviously the AD and Kiffin had mutual disagreements of some kind with Smith and it’s unfortunate and probably a negative event, but I think Tennessee will be OK in the end. Aaron Ausmus seems like the likely replacement, but Lane needs to find one soon, since summer workouts start next week.

• Hokey Pahokee: Much. Ado. About. Nothing. No, Lane shouldn’t have said what he said and he apologized well before this got brought up again. The principal of the school and whoever else had a hand in drawing this out to the point it got to came across as desperate for some attention. The problem I had was the administration of a school denying access of specific schools to their students. In other words, if I’m a stud recruit at that Pahokee and there’s mutual interest between me and Tennessee, should the school have the right to deny UT access to me? Fortunately it’s apparently all good down there now, so hopefully UT can get another player from that talent-rich area.

Yes or no?

• Twitter-gate: Who cares? Secondary violations don’t mean a thing…unless Tennessee does it. Lane didn’t even “tweet” it, so I don’t even blink an eye to this nonsense.

On another note, what’s the deal with Twitter? I’ve been back-and-forth on whether or not I want to give in and join the craze and following some of the various athletes’ accounts would be cool, but what’s the big deal? If you’re on there, please tell me…

• Daniel Hood: This got a great deal of attention as well as it should have, so I won’t spend too much time on it. It’s a touchy subject as well, and I was skeptical at first about it. However, I feel much better about it now than I did when I first got the news the Hood was getting a scholarship. Tennessee still will have a convicted rapist on the team and opposing fans will use this against the Vols from now until the end of time, but that’s part of the consequences. The bottom line for me is that everyone who commented in stories I read who are and were much, much closer to Hood and the situation than any of us said nothing but positive things about Hood. I mean, the victim of the whole ordeal vouched for Hood. What more does it take? I think Lane and the staff and Mike Hamilton did their work on this one, so I can handle their decision.

That’s it for now. I’ll probably post something about the awesomely exciting (or “amazing,” if you agree with the slogan) NBA Playoffs. Also, this is probably old news, but if you haven’t already checked it out, Will over at Rocky Top Talk is getting into the nitty-gritty (ie, top 15) of his countdown of the 50 best games from the Philip Fulmer era. This is probably old because they started way back in January, but it’s really good stuff – the writing and story-telling is so good it might even be better than the nostalgic feelings of the good ‘ol days.

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: VolQuest • Rivals – Jake Heaps • Rivals – Jesse Scroggins

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The Story of the Season…In a Week

Now that it’s over and done with, I think it’s time to take a look back at this past basketball season. As is with seasons in most sports, this year’s Vols had quite a number of ups and downs and everything in between over the course of a long season stretching from November to mid-March.

But this year’s ups and downs (more downs than ups really) seemed to be more prevalent this season, since this team showed a numerous occasions it’s ability to be terribly inconsistent. At times you thought that this team might still be playing at this point of the season. Other times you wondered what the hell the Bruce and the players were thinking and why they looked like they didn’t care and if they would even make it into the Tournament.

The last week of the season was the story of the season in a complete and total nutshell. A nutshell that interestingly enough was paired up with Tennessee’s spring break and my trip to New York.

From promising thumpings of Alabama and Auburn...

Two Fridays ago: I’m sitting in the Detroit airport Friday evening on my three-hour layover between flights from Knoxville en route to Ithaca, NY, where my roommate’s house is located (roommate’s dad = Cornell alum). Reduced to “watching” the game on my phone’s “internet” with a constantly refreshing updating play-by-play, the Vols roll Alabama 86-62, thanks to a 17-0 run to start the second half. I noticed a high rate of “(Insert Vol player) makes two-point jumper/dunk shot/lay-up,” so I assumed it went well.

Last Saturday: Fortunately the semifinal game with Auburn ended up being on ESPN2 instead of solely on RayCom, so I wasn’t forced to listen to it online. Wayne Chism dominated inside-and-out and the Vols rolled Auburn to avenge the earlier last-second loss to the Tigers and punch their NIT tickets. Holy crap, Tennessee in the SEC Tournament final?

Last Sunday: So here’s Tennessee, off two really well-played games, with a chance to win the SEC Tournament for the first time in 30 years. All the Vols have to do is beat a team that (a) they already beat, (b) is playing its fourth game in four days, (c) has one inside presence who’s any good (and he’s very good, granted). Simple enough, right?

And of course, the bad Tennessee rears its head. The Vols come out a little flatter, blow a bunch of lay-ups, fail to put Mississippi State away early when Jarvis Varnado gets two fouls. The Bulldogs hang around and win it late thanks to Tennessee’s late turnovers and Barry Stewart’s three. I will also simply point out the odd stats from this game: State took 19 two-point shots, yet shot 32 free throws. Tennessee shot over 40 two-pointers, but under 20 free throws. Huh?

...to choking away an SEC Tournament title...

That was not the only Huh? moment of that day. No, the other was during the Selection Show, when Tennessee’s name pops up in the bracket – with a freakin’ 9 next to it. I still say last year’s denial of a one-seed was a bigger screw-job, but how Tennessee got a 9 I’m not sure. I’m also not sure Oklahoma State or LSU deserved eight-seeds either, to be honest. For Tennessee to have its RPI and SOS numbers and get a 9 confounds me. What does the committee want?

At the same time, I understood that 8-9 games – death warrants in terms of Sweet 16/second weekend hopes – are the home of inconsistent teams with good computer numbers…

...yet a stop away from an NCAA Tournament win...

Fast-forward to Friday: After spending the early part of the week in New York City, the return to Ithaca meant a couple more days of relaxing – and the NCAA Tournament. Since Ithaca is about an hour from Syracuse and the Orange played Stephen F. Austin at the same time slot at UT-OSU, I knew I would have to resort to watching the game via March Madness On Demand, which I’ve done for the past two tournaments (for other games).

In their promotions for MMOD, they say it’s live; that is a lie. It’s actually like a possession behind. So say I look at the TV of the other game and catch the score of the game I’m watching online, I’ll see it before it happens. Fortunately, the SU-SFA game looked about as exciting as paint drying, so not looking up was rather easy.

I don’t remember too many specific details about Friday’s game. I haven’t watched any highlights of it and honestly I don’t want to. The main ideas: Tennessee took lots of three, and hit alot of them too. Oklahoma State made a number of mid-range jump shots and played a really good (they gave Pitt a great game as well – point is, OSU surprised me by how good they were). The game was back-and-forth and each team answered mini-runs made by the other – it might have been the best game of the tournament (until Friday night).

But as had happened countless times this year, the good Tennessee – a team playing together, hitting shots, playing smart – and bad Tennessee – poor team defense, shooting too many three against a guard-oriented foe, turnovers – clashed. And like so many times this year when Tennessee had chances to put teams away or win games, they simply couldn’t get it done.

...to your season being toast - all in one week.

Gonzaga. Memphis. LSU. Auburn. Alabama. Mississippi State. Oklahoma State. Call it a lack of toughness, poor coaching, lack of players’ effort (I’d argue that), unlucky – whatever. It was the story of Tennessee’s year. Tennessee played well enough to win the games I mentioned above and Friday, but couldn’t do it.

The last two defensive possessions of Tennessee’s season just put the whole thing simply. Tied at 72, OSU ran your basic pick-and-roll play at the top of the key. Byron Eaton went to his right, his defender went under the screen, and Eaton took two dribbles inside the arc and drilled the jumper – the same jumper OSU had been draining all game long.

After a incredible play by Tyler Smith, Tennessee needed just one stop and my satisfaction level of the second round was there. I don’t know if it was a miscommunication or what, but the two defenders left Eaton a wide-open lane and a great player made a tough play. Boom, season over.

Now many of you were probably pissed, disappointed, indifferent. But I was more just bummed out. Losing obviously sucks, and losing when you have opportunities to win doesn’t make it any better. Now it’s what could be an unbearably long wait until the next meaningful Tennessee event.

There’s also quite a feeling of dissatisfaction for the season on the whole. I had said that winning a game in the tournament would be fine, and even winning the SEC Tournament would have taken care of it. But now, it’s somewhat of an empty feeling of underachievement, really. This team was better than a first round loss. I know it was supposed to be a rebuilding year considering the new pieces, but the team teased us all with some flashes of great basketball, then shattered hopes with no-shows and hard-to-watch basketball. What we’ve been wondering all year is why. We’re still wondering…

And so, the focus for this program now focuses on Smith and Chism’s NBA draft statuses and the potential loss of an assistant or two (Tony Jones). Daniel West and Kenny Hall come in next year and assuming both Smith and Chism stay and Cameron Tatum and Scotty Hopson continue to improve (they did at the end of the season), things are going to be just fine.

Welcome to football season, folks.

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: Associated Press • Amy-Smotherman Burgess / GVX

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Yes, friends and neighbors the NCAA Tournament is upon us.  Thus, we all get ready for the mayhem that accompanies that grand old tradition.  For what seems like forever, that has included watching endless hours of basketball courtesy of CBS Sports.  Now, generally, I am a huge fan of CBS Sports, and I favor their web presence when it comes to sports content on the internet. **

All that said, last year’s NCAA tournament almost drove me mad.  Actually it wasn’t the tournament, but the way that CBS covered the tournament on television.  That led me to fire off at the mouth a bit.  Since it is that time again, I figured it would only be appropriate to take a stroll down memory lane and look back on what I had to say about CBS’s coverage.  I do this for two reasons.

First, this seems relevant as we all get ready to become couch potatoes for a month.  This may be minimized a little bit due to the fact that CBS will be broadcasting all games online free of charge once again, but the fact remains a big flat screen is infinitely better than even the best computer monitor.

Second, I have been so busy that I haven’t yet gotten a chance to finish up my thoughts on the Oklahoma State Cowboys…

Thus, without further adieu, we go back in time to my post entitled simply:

CBS = Complete Bull Sh*t

The following is an excerpt from an archived post on Gate 21 which originally appeared on 31 March 2008.  To continue reading the original post in its entirety, simply click the title above, or the “Continue Reading” link at the foot of this post

I intentionally waited a few days before airing this complaint, mainly because I didn’t want my vitriol to be mistaken as nothing more than “sour grapes” over the BasketVols loss to the Louisville Cardinals.

Trust me, this has nothing to do with Tennessee, Louisville, or any other specific team…

For the past … well, it seems like quite a long time, now … CBS has been the exclusive home of the NCAA Tournament. I vaguely remember ESPN covering first and second-round games during the 1990s, but CBS is all we have had for a while. Either way, CBS has held a stranglehold on the Final Four since Billy Packer conned James Naismith himself into signing over the rights some time during the 1920s — back when Billy Packer was in his 50s.

First of all, I do want to applaud CBS Sportsline — CBS Sports’ internet division — for their ambitious decision to broadcast every tournament game for free on the web. Similarly, the CBS “Game Center” on the internet for each game — displaying myriad stats and information in real time — is amazing. It is as artful as it is impressive. Any fan can get up-to-the-second information on every facet of the game — including points, fouls, assists, shooting trends, whether a player is taking bribes to throw the game, which boosters the cute little cheerleader next to the basket is sleeping with, and so much more — via one of the best interfaces I’ve ever seen for statistical information of that kind.

Despite the minor fact that the bandwidth draw for the “March Madness on Demand” service has been so obscenely high that it has — at times — nearly crashed massive trunk lines on the web, I salute these efforts of CBS’s internet division. For reasons which will become clear in a second, in the future I may choose this as the only way I’ll watch the tournament — even if it is in a 5″ x 5″ low resolution streaming window.

Continue Reading >>

**Disclosure: While lawvol is a voting member of the CBS Sports Football Blog Poll and the CBS Sports BasketBlog Poll, neither this site, its editor, nor publisher receives any payment or other compensation of any type or kind in return for participation. Furthermore, neither Gate 21 nor lawvol received any benefit of any kind for this article, which was neither requested nor solicited by CBS Sports. This article represents the actual opinion of the author (for what that is worth) and was in no way influenced by any other person(s).

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To many of you and to many Vols fans, Saturday afternoon is just another basketball game. Sure it’s a big one: national TV, against a cross-state rival who’s reloading after nearly winning a national title last season with a coach who’s easy to dislike. But for me, it’s different. It’s the Memphis game. Probably the single game I want to win this season.

So why is Saturday afternoon not just another Tennessee basketball game, you ask? What is the big deal with Memphis? Well for one, as you may know I’m from the great city of Memphis. I grew up in the Memphis/Shelby County area and have been around that university and athletic program and their fans my entire life. That’s the easy answer.

But it’s more than that. Sure, I could now go into my reasons for really really not liking the Tigers (and almost did), but they don’t get a post like Alabama did. You see, Memphis (the university) and I have a history. We go way back. To 1996…

The first time I saw Tennessee lose a game in person...

…on a cold gray day, my family and I sat in Liberty Bowl Stadium, me watching halfway in horror and halfway not really sure what was going on as it happened. Memphis scored a late TD to go up on Tennessee and Peyton Manning. Peyton tried to mount a saving drive, but ran out of time, and I stood there, watching throngs of blue pour onto the Liberty Bowl Stadium turf and swallowing up both goalposts.

I don’t vividly remember crying, but I might have been, as I asked whoever would listen, “Can they do that?” I was a mere eight years old, and it was the first time I had seen Tennessee lose a game in person. That loss in no way scars me like some losses – LSU ‘01, Auburn ‘04, Vandy ‘05, Florida/Bama ‘07 – but it was simply the beginning.

While Memphis has only beaten Tennessee that one time (they have come close), the basketball rivalry is much diffrent. Honestly, I barely remember much of the games from the late 90s and early 2000s. I know there was minor scuffle in a game Tennessee won in Knoxville, and I remember Ron Slay nearly winning a game at the Pyramid himself. And to be honest, I’m not sure how much of a rivalry it really even was.

Until John Calipari and Bruce Pearl became coaches at each school and Tennessee threatened to stop playing the Tigers in football. However, these two are primarily responsible for knocking the Memphis-Tennessee feelings of dislike up a notch or two. The constant verbal sparring in the media – over if to play it, where to play, and the games themselves – has been a huge part of it, and there’s no way the two like each other. I’m sure there’s different arenas of thought as to why, but that’s not for here.

I did go to the first game in the series between these two back in January 2006, when I was a senior in high school. In a week similar to this one Tennessee was about to embark on, the Vols were coming off a loss at LSU and hosting Florida – sandwiching a trip to Memphis.

Enter Dane Bradshaw. A Memphis native, he might have hiked up the anger of the Memphis faithful himself. In the Memphis paper, he was quoted as saying that he was more afraid of “a Memphis gangbanger in the stands than an LSU frat boy” or something to that effect. The game before, Dane had been the target of the LSU students’ ridicule (when Bruce checked him late in the game, he walked the scorers’ table and raised his arm like he won a boxing match), as he was everywhere – remember Florida’s students and their pictures of Dane’s sister?

Well most of the Memphis fans and students took it as a shot to them, and that he was calling them gang bangers. Boy, did those students have it out for Dane. The hate was pretty strong, most of the signs were directed at Dane, the “Memphis reject” chants loud and proud, and he was booed every time he touched the ball.

Truth is, Dane played at White Station High School in Memphis. His quote was seriously misinterpreted, as he played at a number of high schools in Memphis that were pretty rough – especially for a white boy. I know I’d probably have been scared playing there too, not gonna lie.

Making him angry is so much fun!

That was just the beginning of the Tennessee hate, and my first real experience with the growing Tennessee hatred. I had one guy turn around and stare me down after each time I cheered for my Vols. There was a verbal spar near the end of the game.. Seriously, the non-Memphis Tennessee fans might be the only ones who know how much Memphis fans on the whole (not everyone obviously) hate UT, the orange, Bruce Pearl, Memphians playing for the Vols (J.P.), Knoxville, and so on.

Maybe I was too young or naive, but I can’t remember it being this way prior to that game or prior to Bruce Pearl’s arrival. But it’s a part of it now. I don’t know if it stems from Calipari’s public and obvious disdain and disliking of Tennessee, or what. But the animosity in the matchup is much more severe from the side in blue. Tennessee fans? On the whole don’t care for or about Memphis. It’s just the “little brother” school on down I-40 a ways.

Not for the Memphis fans. Not for me. You see, basketball is their sport. Their support and fervor for the team is incredible – boy, do they love their Tigers. And there might be the answer to the reason for the hate question: Tennessee, the football school, has beaten the Tigers at their sport two straight years. And they weren’t your typical wins.

The game in Knoxville two years ago was Chris Lofton’s coming-out party. He absolutely schooled Memphis that night, and I’m near convinced it’s because the team came down my aisle that December night. I touched Chris’ hand, and he scored 34. None of the Tigers could guard him. You’re welcome.

As fun as that was, it couldn’t touch last season. I had the privilege of going to the game to cover it for the UT student radio station (WUTK), as I was on the staff for the sports show that was on every weeknight. I got to sit on press row, go to the media room, free food, drinks – all in a fresh-looking suit. There was just one problem: as a member of the media, I had to be professional. I had to be an objective observer.

Honestly, I did better than I thought I would. But damn, was it hard. That game was, without an inkling of doubt, was the best, most electric, most heaated atmosphere for a basketball game that I’ve ever been to – by far. Yes, better than the big homes game in Knoxville. Keeping contained during the fast first 10 minutes was impossible.

The phone picture from my press row seat last February

Was it the beautiful FedEx Forum? Was it the #2 vs. #1 matchup? ESPN GameDay in the house? Peyton and Priscilla there too? Yes, all of that. But the kicker to me was the angst and absolute desire from the Memphis fans for their guys to beat the ever-living crap out of the visitors in orange. The Vols? Bruce and the team had said it all week leading up to the game, and I know they meant it: winning the SEC was the main and primary goal.

After Chris Douglas-Roberts scored on a transition lay-up with a couple minutes left, the Tiger fans could feel it. It hadn’t been pretty, but they had sent their hated visitors back home. Or so they had thought. But then Tyler Smith scored. And Memphis couldn’t capitalize on three offensive rebounds. Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey fought themselves to the ground over a rebound – that’s a travel. Tyler scored again over Dozier for the lead. Antonio Anderson was off on a driving shot in the lane.

And then the kicker: J.P. Prince, one of their own, a Memphian, from the same high school as Dane, the guy who had single-handedly led a spurt that put the Vols on top midway through the second half, amidst trash talk from Dorsey, hit two free throws. A 40% shooter with a bum shoulder. I was sitting with a couple Tennessee-affiliated guys on press row. None of thought he’d even make one.

J.P. punked his hometown team last year

You know the rest. That place got real real quiet. From so much excitement to sheer silence. Me, trying to contain myself, found one of my roommates in the stands below me and smiled at him as he was leaving in the sea of blue. As the team ran to and through the tunnel to the locker room below me, I could only raise a fist in the air with a huge grin on my face.

The hate’s probably at a whole other level now.

I know they went on and had even more heartbreak with the title game with the free throw fails, not fouling when up three and Mario Chalmers (thank you Mario, by the way), but what was their only other loss? Tennessee. Don’t think for a second the Memphis fans, players and coach don’t remember that February night.

So why do I want to win so much more Saturday afternoon? Why is beating Memphis at their game so much sweeter for me than the majority of Vols fans?

Simple. I know how much it kills them to lose to Tennessee. I know how much they’ll hate it when I fly my orange T flags when I go home. Don’t lie – it’s fun being hated. Besides, if you’re hated, you must be doing something right…

And all of that, my friends, is why the sweetness of a win Saturday will be much more for me.

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: Univ. of Memphis Magazine • Wade Payne / AP (Daylife) • Bleacher Report

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Thanks Kentucky?

After the utter embarrassment of watching one guy score 54 points on you in your own arena – something that won’t stop being talked about this year, so get used to it – Tennessee has made a bit of a bounce-back. Now beating South Carolina was pretty much expected. Last night though? Keep in mind last year’s team – the best in school history – lost in Memorial Gym.

I know Vandy lost Shan Foster and they are lacking in athletes, but I never got the feeling watching the DVRed game (intramural hoops game at 10 pm…) late Tuesday night that the Vols were going to lose. Perhaps the Kentucky loss truly was the wake-up call that can get this team playing to its potential…

No doubt Wayne loves playing Vandy

From the hot start courtesy of Wayne Chism to the constant answers to any signs of a run that Vandy made, that was a very solid win for Tennessee last night. Much was made of the players’ only meeting following last week’s loss to Kentucky during the ESPN telecast, and I think it’s safe to say it’s had some sort of effect on this team.

Now there have been moments of poor play. Many will point out nearly blowing a 15-point lead to South Carolina late. I don’t get too caught up in games like that where one team dominates and the team trailing makes a late run to make it really close. If not for Teddy Valentine and Co., the Chickens probably aren’t within 20 at half anyways. Wayne has as many points as I did, and I was in the student section.

Speaking of Wayne, Vanderbilt and softy A.J. Ogilvy are his biotches. 20 points, 7 boards, and a sweet T last night, and he was really the spark plug, even though he didn’t start. Kudos to Bruce (yes, he can actually coach people) for realizing Wayne’s recent history of early foul trouble in Nashville and not starting him. Brian Williams filled in nicely in both games, as Carolina had nobody big enough to keep him off the glass and Ogilvy might be softer than the softest of the softy big-men, Pau Gasol. Going back to Chism’s technical, if Vandy was normal and put their benches on the sidelines like everyone else, I really highly doubt he gets T’ed up. Plus, he was just yelling in Kevin Stallings’ face…Stallings deserves it…

Tyler Smith has had slow starts in each of his last two games, but has been dominant in the second half of the past two games. That’s good to see from the team’s leader – it was mentioned during the ESPN telecast that Tyler had made a point that he needed to watch his facial expressions/body language, aware of its effects on his teammates. I thought that was interesting and it’s good to see.

More of this please, Mr. Hopson

The two biggest stories from these past two outings have undoubtedly been the improved defense and Scotty Hopson gaining some confidence. I believe Devan Downey had four points at half in that game, and most of Carolina’s points came from the foul line (as I mentioned before, that was a poorly officiated game). Vandy couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the beach last night, but Tennessee’s defense had something to do with that.

You may have also noticed that Tennessee hardly pressed either Carolina or Vandy. I know it’s a Bruce Pearl staple and all that, but given this group’s past defensive issues, if not pressing continues to help improve the halfcourt defense, I’m not sure we’ll see the press this year – at all.

I had said on numerous occasions that Hopson had been settling too many times for an outside shot and needed to attack and do what he’s clearly the best at doing – getting to the rim. He has done that these past two games, and you can see him gaining some confidence offensively. His development is crucial in the ceiling of this team, so hopefully he can build on these past two performances going forward.

The Vols now get set for a big week – Memphis, LSU and Florida, all home games (which of course I love). The Memphis game is always one I personally circle every year – for reasons I’ll explain tomorrow – and LSU is rolling, having won three SEC games in a row in routs, and Florida is Florida. Obviously these three games are all crucial, and they won’t be easy. Hopefully, however, the glimpses of improvement the guys have shown the past two games will continue.

There’s More!

Shame on me for neglecting the exciting things that have been going on with Tennessee football the past however long it’s been since I posted about them last. Obviously the staff has now been completed, as you are very well aware of by now. I won’t go too in-depth on each of the new coaches, but what can you say? Lane Kiffin told us to be patient – and he delivered.

Stealing Lance Thompson from Nick Saban and Alabama was quite the joy, because (a) he can recruit and (b) we stole him from Alabama. The recruiting ability of this staff is without a doubt just ridiculous. Whether or not these guys – outside of Monte – can actually coach is still to be seen, but I see absolutely no reason for any Tennessee to not be absolutely excited about the future of Tennessee football with this staff.

I saw him! I finally saw him!

The recruiting work these guys have put in in just a couple of weeks is something I have never seen before. And the scary and exciting thing is that they have been making waves as well – getting visits from committed prospects and getting in on players who had been unknowns under the previous staff. Give these guys a full year to do this? How can you not be pumped out of your mind about the future of Tennessee football?

On a bit of a side note, I did actually see Lane Kiffin at the South Carolina game – with the rest of the staff and the recruits as they paraded in during first half media timeout – and can confirm his existence. Prior to that I honestly wasn’t even sure if the man existed, seeing as I had never seen the guy around campus or introduced at basketball game I attended – at all. Seriously, he could have been an imaginary puppet figure for all I knew. But hey, when he’s busy traveling all over the country recruiting, I can take never seeing the guy.

These next two weekends of official visits will be just amazing. Quite possibly the two biggest weekends that I’ve remembered since I began following recruiting a few years ago. Hopefully the hoops guys can win and make the atmosphere leave an impression on these guys. They think the crowd is passionate about their basketball team? This is a football school after all…

All of that said, amidst the excitement, let’s temper things a bit. I’m expecting at least a consensus top 15 class this year, and anything would be gravy, given the coaching change and getting in late with most/all of these prospects. As for next season, yes, I know the schedule’s manageable: the four non-conference games should be gimmes, add in the annual November punching bags (Dores and Cats) and winnable home games against Auburn and South Carolina and you have 8 wins right there. Yes, I’m getting WAY ahead of myself…

Eight wins seem pretty doable, but we know we have a ways to go and that it’s going to take time. Lane asked us to be patient in the hiring of his staff and he delivered. I suggest we be patient in letting Lane and Co. build this thing back to a championship level. Can they do it? I think they can and I certainly don’t think I’m in the minority – but it’s going to take time.

Let’s just let them do their work, heaven knows they’ve been doing it tirelessly the past few weeks…

GO VOLS!

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: Mark Humphrey / (AP) Daylife • Amy Smotherman Burgess / KNS

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…About the BasketVols‘ Struggles

First off, this is my first post of 2009, so I would like to wish everyone a very late Happy New Year. Secondly, I will take just a little time to explain the three reasons for my slacking in terms of posting…

Reason #1: School began Wednesday. That is pretty self-explanatory. I’ll just leave stop now because none of you actually care, and if you do, click my fresh, new logo on the right of your screen and shoot me some mail (thanks to lawvol for making that happen).

Reason #2: I have been mentally and psychologically recovering from witnessing Tennessee lose a home basketball game for the first time ever. Never before have I had to walk through the parking lot wondering what went/is going wrong with the team. So if Tennessee builds up another long home streak – say, never losing again til I graduate – I will forever hate Gonzaga. And I mean hate as in the same breath as C****** W******, Jabar Gaffney/that ref, Matt Mauck, and Steven Hill.

Not that I didn’t already hate the Bulldogs anyways. After the first meeting between them and the Vols, I dubbed them the “gayest team in America” label that Butler so gracefully championed since the Preseason NIT win they had over Tennessee two years ago, ending when the Vols avenged that in the Tournament last year. You may be asking why this is…

No way he is good at basketball...

You look at Gonzaga’s team, and you think there is absolutely no way in hell they are any good. Josh Heytvelt is a ’shroom-smoking, low-class punk (those of you in attendance know why) who has no business making anything from the outside. Austin Daye is skinnier than the biggest pansie in the sports world (that’s Pau Gasol of the Lakers/Grizzlies) and looks goofy in his oversized t-shirt. Matt Bouldin’s pretty boy hair annoys me, and he will NEVER score 26 points against a good team again this year (for the record, 26 is his career high, which he’s done a grand total of once). Micah Downs, a former McDonald’s All-American, does get a pass for transferring from Kansas after just a semester to be closer to home. Jeremy Pargo is the only legit player on that team and will make it in the NBA.

So while their band of goofballs (sans Pargo) are a solid team, their streakiness is the kicker. For example, they start off shooting poorly in the first half. At 45-33, I thought Tennessee would run away with it. That is, until Gonzaga’s garbage kicked into high gear and they couldn’t miss. Yes, Tennessee’s defense was awful (more on that later). But they hadn’t shot that well earlier in the game. There was also a short stretch late in the second half where they couldn’t hit anything. And of course, they made every shot in the OT. And I’m not even going to start on the incompetency of their conference’s officials…

Reason #3: I was physically sick yesterday from vomiting all Thursday night/Friday morning from Florida’s winning another national title. Which brings me to another mini-rant (please bear with me)…

How any true Vol fan could have wanted Florida to win a national championship is beyond me. They are Tennessee’s biggest divisional rival. How does their winning a second title in three years benefit Tennessee in any way at all? Please explain this to me, I’m willing to listen.

The SEC power argument doesn’t make a difference. In today’s football world a one-loss SEC champion will get a shot to play for a national title. Florida’s two titles and LSU’s last year will have no bearing on whether or not Tennessee gets left out of a potential title game in the (hopefully very near) future. Let me say it this way: if Tennessee takes care of their business of winning the SEC – which is the #1 primary above-all goal EVERY YEAR – the rest will resolve itself. And if it doesn’t and we were to hypothetically get “Auburned,” Florida winning national titles wouldn’t make a lick of difference.

We all enjoyed watching Utah smack Bammer around didn’t we? Why would watching OU do that to Florida be any less enjoyable? Hence why I wanted Utah to win and OU to win Thursday night by 1,000. I thought both Alabama and Florida would win, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

Bruce is more frustrated than any of us

OK, now to the main topic of this post, today’s little trip to Athens to open up the defense of last year’s SEC hoops title. I’m still not in full panic mode yet, because I had justified losing at Temple and Kansas as the whole young team/hostile environment deal and the first Gonzaga loss as to them being hot. That said, I expected Tennessee to win Wednesday night.

The biggest reason to worry right now is Tyler Smith’s health. Smith is doubtful to play today due to the knee injury he suffered in the OT Wednesday night. The hush that fell on TBA during those moments was similar to the one that fell when Chris Lofton sprained his ankle his junior season. The general thought of course was “Oh no, there goes the season.” However, when Tyler popped up and walked off, and eventually reentered the game, relief ran rampant (there’s some alliteration for ya!).

The second biggest issue is team defense. The lack of defensive communication on ball screens is absolutely some of the worst I have ever seen from a college team. I see better team communication in intramural games and pickup games in TRECS, and I’m not even kidding. I really don’t even know if it’s individual players struggling, but the team as a whole has been horrific and frustrating. You obviously can’t win if you let the other team score every trip down the floor.

Now I’m not as worried as most about Tennessee offensively. Yes, the shot selection is bad, but hasn’t it always under Bruce? That said, Tennessee missed so many makable shots in the lane Wednesday night I lost count. Admittedly the Vols struggle with hitting a big shot in a crucial time (other than Tyler of course) and consistently making an open three-pointer.

Fortunately, the SEC just isn’t very good. Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas and LSU are all teams that can make the Tournament, but I still think Tennessee’s the team to beat, at least from a talent standpoint. Only Arkansas has near the quality wins (Oklahoma and Texas) as does Tennessee (Georgetown, Marquette). The rest of the league hasn’t played – and more importantly beaten – anybody.

Georgia hoops in a nutshell...

That said, a loss today to the worst team in the league would really start the meltdown/frantic/panicking/worrying. Georgia’s losses this year: Loyola of Chicago, Western Kentucky, Illinois (by 34 points), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Missouri, and Georgia Tech. Throw in an OT win over Wofford on a prayer three-pointer at the buzzer and you come to realize: this is a bad team we’re playing today. Georgia hasn’t beaten Tennessee in four years, so even Buzz beat Georgia.

Hopefully the Vols can get this win to start the SEC season off on the right foot before the evil blue team from up north comes visiting Tuesday night…GO VOLS!

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: Gonzaga Official Site • Amy Smotherman-Burgess / Knoxville News-Sentinel • John Curry / AP (Daylife)

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