Here are a few more running links that I will try and update as the day goes on.

• 

  From USCSports.com

  And a little comic relief from both LSUFreek and Orson over at EDSBS with coverage of the USC press conference introducing Kiffin as the new head coach.

• Meanwhile, USCSports.com welcomes the new head coach of the Trojans (See Image)

• USC Blog HeismanPundit doesn’t care much for the Kiffin hire either.
• And from Fox Sports:

After he fired Kiffin in ’07, [Al] Davis famously noted, “It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy.”
The University of Tennessee now knows just how Davis felt.

And if history tells us anything, so — eventually — will USC.

• Brutally well written look at the Kiffin Debacle courtesy of Ed Berliner and the Examiner, who blames the UTAD for making the worst hire since Charlie Weis and noting that Tennessee fans “deserve someone who comes to work without a clown nose in his briefcase.“
• While Lane Kiffin was all fired-up about heading to USC, apparently some in Los Angeles aren’t nearly as excited about the hire.  L.A. Times Columnist Bill Plaschke calls Kiffin “a lightweight” and clearly thinks that the USC Athletic Director is deranged.
• First, you can check out Monte Kiffin on the Sports Animal and listen to the interview this morning regarding Lane’s decision to cut and leave town.  I’ve got to give Monte some credit for at least being willing to face the media. The reality is, however, that he is simply trying to clean-up the mess left by his son.
• Meanwhile, apparently the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees have already reached out to Phillip Fulmer about the possibility of returning as coach or as athletic director.  Not sure what to think about that either way, but I know that Coach Fulmer is dedicated — even now — first and foremost to Tennessee.
• Shotgun over at Blue Workhorse has put together a nice collection of  thoughts from various Tennessee students and fans via Facebook.  As you might expect, some of the comments are … colorful. (*NSFW: Language)

On another note, sorry to anyone reading for being so disjointed in my posts today, but I’m trying to simply post things as they come to the fore.  I hope to try and post a few thoughts of a substantive nature later today.

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• UTAD Announces Naming Rights Sold, Neyland Stadium to be Renamed (13)
• HLL: BREAKING NEWS: Calhoun to Stay at Air Force Academy (6)
• Whatever it is, It’s Spreading… (0)

Some of Slive's Henchmen at Work

Well, it looks like there are a few teeth to Mike Slive’s new edict that coaches refrain from criticizing the SEC’s finest.  What’s more, and somewhat to my surprise, it appears that the new policy even applies to Urban Meyer.  The basis for these conclusions?  Mike Slive’s decision to fine Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer $30,000 for criticizing the officiating during the Gators’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs, which was announced via an official release earlier today.

I am sure that Jeremy Foley will be lodging a strongly worded protest shortly, demanding that Lane Kiffin apologize for not being fined before Meyer…

So this raises a question: can you get fined for criticizing the fine you got tacked with for criticizing the officials?  I wonder if we will find out?  That could be highly entertaining.

At any rate, I guess we now know that Mike Slive actually meant what he said when he declared himself the High Inquisitor of the SEC.  Of course, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition…

Video: The Spanish Inquisition

Although I am glad to see that Slive brought Meyer to task, I still find it a bit troublesome that Slive would rather focus on penalizing coaches for criticizing bad officiating rather than spending his time finding and/or training better officials.  I find it odd that Slive and, presumably SEC head of football officiating Rogers Redding, feel a few off-handed comments from a coach about how the officiating in a given game was lousy—especially when the media and commentators absolutely love any opportunity they have to make such criticisms—are a threat to the sanctity of the SEC.

Me thinks he doth protest too much…

It seems to me by making an issue of the whole thing it just makes it that much more visible and gives the media and bloggers like yours truly one more thing to talk about.  Likely as not, no one would be even thinking about Meyer’s comments any longer were it not for Slive’s new policy of coaching Newspeak.  But then again, no ever accused Slive of being all that thoughtful…

…except when it comes to revenue.

– So it goes …

Image(s) Courtesy of:     Family Travel Files ||  Statement on Fair Use

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• The Blazer Chronicles: A “Quotetastic” Look at the SEC (0)
• Headlines, Links, & Lies: Post-BCS Hangover Vitriol Edition (3)
• Back from wherever it is that I have been, including Home Depot (2)

Unlike Stewart Mandel at SI.com, apparently some of the national media agrees with Tennessee fans (and Lil’ Wayne) that Lane Kiffin is doing a pretty good job of righting the ship.

Ten deserving candidates for coach of the year

Every conference needs an Eddie Haskell, right?

HT / via: Fox Sports

Nice to see a little cred for the Blackjack General…

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• Clay Travis’ “On Rocky Top”: Beautiful Agony (2)
• Alabama gets caught cheating, Kiffin plays with chalk (2)
• 2009 Big Orange Roundtable: Week 4 (0)

After living through the unmitigated disaster that was the 2008 football season for the Tennessee Volunteers, I was not so sure I was prepared to take a stroll with Clay Travis down memory lane via his new book “On Rocky Top.”  The 2008 season was the most gut-wrenching experience of my sports-watching life, one which Travis himself likened to having your arm amputated without laudanum.  It was truly painful and not merely because the Vols lost seven games.  Losing comes with competition, I can handle losing.  Watching an entire program, an entire fanbase, an entire state devolve into a constant state of turmoil, however, was the part that made it an experience that I was more than ready to forget.  Even  after nine months of good vibrations—buoyed up by the hopes and energy of new Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin and his band of invincibles—assuming that I was prepared to join Travis’ on his retrospective journey through the 2008 season, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to make that trip into the past.

I suppose, I was just ready to move on.

When first I saw that Clay Travis had written a book on the Vols 2008 football campaign, my reaction was that he picked one hell of a bad year to write about Tennessee.  I knew Clay was a fine writer, having read his work for CBS Sports.com, Fanhouse, and his book Dixieland Delight.  Still, I remember thinking to myself “Man, that really stinks for Clay—all that work to write a book about a 5-7 season.” After all, who wants to read about a team that loses, and loses a lot?

You do.

Clay Travis’ new book “On Rocky Top” is one of the best sports books I have read in a long time.

Obviously, “On Rocky Top” focuses on my beloved Vols, which makes me naturally predisposed to read it, I suppose.  It does not, however, make me predisposed to actually like the book.  In fact, to date, I do not believe I have ever managed to finish a book written exclusively about the Vols—which is a bit ironic coming from a person who publishes a sports blog dedicated to the team—yet, it is the truth.  In my experience most single team memoirs are either so objective that they read more like a surgical note from a neurologist, are so “rah-rah” as a result of the writer being blinded by his or her passion for their team to the point that they refuse to acknowledge reality, lack any semblance of an understanding of the English language, or are so mind-numbingly focused on minutiae that reading them is like eating sawdust without butter.  Sometimes they are all of the above.

Then there is “On Rocky Top”…

Clay Travis does not try to draft the authoritative history of one of the worst football seasons ever for my alma mater, he does not attempt to give the clichéd insider’s look at what goes on behind closed doors at Tennessee, he does not simply re-visit and re-hash the events of the 2008 football season for Tennessee.  No, in “On Rocky Top” Clay Travis describes every season for every fan of every college football program, and he does it beautifully.

Tennessee is but the lens through which Travis explores not only the comings and goings of life in a big-time college football program, but more importantly takes an honest look at sports and fandom from a perspective that is, at times, as poignant as it is personal.  He explores a side of the world of sports so often relegated to the back of our minds and that small voice of reason drowned by the noise of a screaming crowd in a raucous stadium.

Travis writes:

I want my team to win more than I want anything on earth right now—even though I know how irrational my desire is, how insignificant this game is in the grand scheme of life.  All of us, we fans, always say that we realize there are things more important than sports.  Yet, even still, why do we feel the need to make this claim if we don’t, at some times, doubt whether this is actually true?

Deep down in all of our hearts, we’re all a bit ashamed, frightened even, by how much we care.

Most examinations of fandom tend to focus on the outward evidence of the passion that fills the heart of the fan.  There are a bevy of books that show the all encompassing mania that some fans exhibit: children named after players their parents never met, cars and houses bedecked in gaudy school colors, logos shaved onto heads and mascots tattooed on bodies, and so forth.  Travis avoids these trite expressions of what it means to be a fan—short for “fanatic”—and looks more at the bonds that hold disparate and far-flung groups of individuals with little or nothing in common together as a “family” of fans.  He takes a journey into his own experiences as a fan and as a writer granted access to the inner sanctum of college football.

In the process, Travis does, in fact, chronicle the exploits of the 2008 Vols, and chronicle them well.  Yet he does so through the eyes of a fan, rather than from the dispassionate roost of the pressbox.  In so doing, he explores the reality that fans judge players and coaches—people they’ve never met—by a set of rules that is irrational, erratic, and wholly unfair.  Travis takes you inside not only the Vols locker room but inside the lives of the players and coaches—humanizing them is ways that are uncommon in the world of “superstar” athletics and modern sports media.

In particular, he looks at the effects of fan anger and outrage on Tennessee center Josh McNeil, former Vol running back Arian Foster, quarterback Jonathan Crompton, and former coach Phillip Fulmer, among others.  Travis shows how morally unfair the actions of anonymous fans can be when launching faceless attacks.  Talking with Josh McNeil, Travis writes:

In the wake of games, fan anger now mixes with player frustration.  Junior center Josh McNeil confesses, “I listen to the radio shows on my way home too.  I listen to the fans.  Sometimes I want to call in and talk with them. I want to say, ‘Oh, yeah, well, you think I suck? Well, why don’t you come tell me that to my face?  Here’s my address, come meet me here and we’ll talk about it.  Just you and me.’  I wouldn’t ever do it, but I want to.  Sometimes I want to real bad.”

Travis’ concludes that oftentimes fans bask in the comfortable anonymity of the stands—noting that no one ever says anything negative to the team on the Vol Walk when they are face-to-face, saving those barbs for the internet and call-in shows.

Finally, Travis takes a long look at the end of the Phillip Fulmer era in a way that, again, lifts the objective veil and shows that the players and coaches involved are real people—human beings—and not merely pawns on a chessboard.  He chronicles the measured implosion of Fulmer’s final season, the back-room conversations leading to his ouster, and Fulmer’s own post-hoc perspectives on his firing.  Travis’ also details Mike Hamilton’s James Bond-esque “operation” to find the Vols new Head Coach Lane Kiffin.  An excerpt of this is available on FanHouse.

Travis book is a joy to read and beautifully covers the gamut of the sports-fan emotional spectrum.  His insights into college football and fans are sometimes laughably hilarious:

I don’t care how Tennessee wins. … If Jonathan Crompton gets under center, steps back from the line of scrimmage, removes his mouthpiece, and subsequently shoots Auburn defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks with a poison blow dart, I’m all for it.  Anything to win.

sometimes disturbing:

Arian Foster, seated on the bench, is approached by a UT fan. … The fan, who is wearing orange from head to foot and appears to be in his thirties, dog-cusses Foster to his back. … Foster does not bat an eyelash, pretending not to notice the fan, and eventually a member of the Georgia security staff leads him away from the fence behind the bench.  It’s come to this—Georgia security guards protecting Tennessee players from their own fans.

and sometimes moving:

My dad came to my house and sat next to me on the couch where I was feeding my 5-month-old son a bottle. … Finally, he turned to me and said, “You know, I read an article in the newspaper the other day about a dad’s funeral.  The son said, ‘We never really talked unless it was about sports.’  That’s really sad, isn’t it?”

My dad put his hand on my shoulder.  I continued to feed Fox.  “Yes,” I said, “that really is.”

We were both silent for a long time.  While Fox drank his bottle my dad smiled at him and occasionally made faces.  Finally my dad spoke again.

“I’m not as optimistic about this year’s team as you are,” he said.

He reached out and grabbed Fox’s bare foot.  “One day we’re going to get this little guy to a game too,” he said.

It occurred to me then that fathers and sons talk about a lot more than sports when we’re talking about sports.  And maybe in the end that’s why most of us are sports fans.

Clay Travis paints a vivid picture of the game and team that I love and follow as a fan.  In a broader sense—without pretension—he provides a wonderful image of what I like to describe as the “beautiful agony” that is college football.

In the end, Clay Travis’ “On Rocky Top” is a truly enjoyable book, one which fans of SEC and college football—and definitely all Tennessee fans—should read.

Trust me, you will enjoy the ride.

– So it goes…

Image(s) Courtesy of:    Clay Nation

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• The Great Punkin Returneth… (1)
• Alabama gets caught cheating, Kiffin plays with chalk (2)
• Big Orange Roundtable: Week 2 (9)

Lovin’ ‘da Law

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a bit scarce lately.  Such is the nature of a lucrative, overly time consuming, and somewhat sketchy litigation practice.  For the record, if taking 14 depositions in 16 days is on your list of things to do, take it from me: skip it.

There have been a lot of things going on lately, but, in light of my near-perpetual absence over the last fortnight, I’ve had little to no opportunity to say one thing about any of them.  Thus, here are a few items of interest I felt like passing along:

Clay Travis’ “On Rocky Top” is Released:

You’re going to be hearing a lot about this book, including my own review which I hope to post later this week.  In short, Travis’ new offering is outstanding.  I have read a lot of sports books over the years, and this one is one of the best.  What’s more, you do not have to be a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers to enjoy this wonderful look at SEC football and—more importantly—SEC fandom.

You may remember Clay Travis from his days at DeadSpin and as a contributor on CBS Sports.com.  He is also the author of “Dixeland Delight” and “Man! The Book” as well as a contributor to the “Rocky Top 2009” annual published by Maple Street Press (to which I also contributed).

Seriously, if you are a fan of SEC football, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Travis’ new book.  Trust me, you will be glad you did.  “On Rocky Top” is now available at bookstores or through web retailers such as Amazon.com.

I’ll be offering up a little more on this one in the near future…

The 2009 CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll

Yes, yes, friends and neighbors, once again the powers that be have elected to allow yours truly to participate in the CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll.  All I can say is that I am truly honored to get the chance to cast my weekly vote for the Top 25 college football programs and to be counted among some of the best of the best in the blogosphere, and, yes, there are a bunch of great blogs involved, including my brethren at Rocky Top Talk and 3SIB.

The format for the 2009 BlogPoll will be the same as in the past.  Each week, I will post a Draft or Preliminary Ballot after the conclusion of the week’s football frivolity (usually on Sunday night or Monday morning) for those of you out there to attack and destroy with all your gusto and might via your comments.  Please, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong or flame me for being an idiot.  Interaction with the fan community is a core component of the BlogPoll philosophy.  I promise that I will consider all comments.  Thereafter (around Wednesday-ish) I will—at least in theory—post a revised ballot noting any changes made as a result of your insults input and epithets suggestions or based upon other developments around the world of college football.  From there, the collective will of blogosphere will be posted for all to see at CBS Sports.com, along with an analysis of the week’s balloting by the BlogPoll Illustrious Potentate, Brian Cook of the venerable MGOBlog.

In any event, the BlogPoll is a really wonderful partnership between the traditional media and the world of sports-bloggers (dare I say, “the Fifth Estate”?) and is a lot of fun for voters and readers alike.  Look for the first ballot next week.

SEC Power Poll

In much the same vein, as above, Gate 21 will be kicking off it’s participation in the 2009 SEC Power Poll, which brings SEC sports-bloggers together to rank each of the SEC schools on a weekly basis.  Last year this was a ton of fun.  Just like with the BlogPoll, I promise to consider any and all comments from the peanut gallery regarding my weekly ballots.

Once submitted, each week Power Poll is analyzed and sensationalized by the CockNFire of Garnet and Black Attack and Team Speed Kills.  For me, this is one of the best opportunities in blogging.  As a dyed-in-the-wool SEC fan, there is nothing closer to my heart than all things “ESS-EEE-SEE!”  I have also been known to … err … take a bit of creative license with my analyses of the various team, but I figure, what the hell?

RTT College Football Pick ‘em Pool

Though I had given some thought to creating my own weekly college football pick’em contest, I decided that the best option was simply to ride the coattails of the competent collaborate with others.  Furthermore, I just enjoy it more when there are more folks involved, thus, I will be participating in Rocky Top Talk’s College Pick’em Pool which is hosted at Fun Office Pools.com.  The interface and function is easy to use, and it is just a lot of fun to show the entire world just how brilliant or how stupid you are.  Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?  All you have to do is sign up and you’re good to go.  Be sure to jump in before the season starts.

Oh, and I assure you that the College Pick’em Pool does not violate the SEC’s new Media Policy (which is as laughable as it is draconian).

Yeah, I know, not much in the way of substance, but this lawyerin’ is getting to be like having a job…

– So it goes …

Image(s) Courtesy of:     TresSugar •   Clay Travis.net ||  Statement on Fair Use

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• Headlines, Links, & Lies: “I haven’t crashed into anything yet!” Edition (0)
• 2009 Big Orange Roundtable: Week 6 (0)
• SEC Power Poll: All-SEC Safeties (1)

This week marks the second edition of the 2009 version of the Big Orange Roundtable and is hosted by the guys over at 3SIB..

Week 2

1)  We will start with an easy one.  Last week, our beloved Rock was relocated across the street to make room for a new building on campus.  What are your thoughts on the Rock’s relocation?

HSH: Being a student, I actually have the slight advantage of seeing the change.  I drove by as the crane was lifting the behemoth out of the ground, and I’ve only seen it once since it’s been moved.  I have to say it’s going be to a little odd driving through the stoplight next to Stokely Athletic Center and the Thornton Athletic Student Center (where all the UT athletes get their school on), looking to my left and not seeing the Rock.  It might take a little bit of time to get used the change come the fall.

For me, it’s just another aspect of a common theme of my years here as a student.  Here’s what’s changed or been built since I came to Knoxville in the fall of 2006: all the recent renovations to Neyland Stadium, the makeover of Thompson-Boling Arena, Pratt Pavilion, a new soccer stadium, a new softball stadium, the brand new aquatic center.

And that’s just the changes on the athletics side of campus.  There’s also been the total change in the old Glocker Building, which has now become Haslam Business Building where all the business majors do their thing.  The Baker Policy Center was risen up on the corner of Cumberland Avenue and 17th Street, replacing the parking lot where my family parked for every game I came to up until I graduated from high school.  Those are two major projects, that I’ve seen started and completed in my days as a student.

Back to the Rock, my only contact with actually came before I was officially enrolled.  I had two of the more enthusiastic Orientation leaders, and late one night during the two-day event we got together and painted the thing.  I would have visual evidence to prove it, but my computer erased my hard drive awhile, thus I have nothing…

The Rock in its new Home

Lawvol: First of all, I am glad that the Rock did not unceremoniously disappear from campus as a result of the new Student Health Center that is being constructed.  The worst thing imaginable would have been for the university to simply blow the thing up or what have you and cart it off.  I realize the process of relocating the Rock was both onerous and expensive, but I have to give a little credit to university administration (a/k/a “The Big Orange Screw”) for making the right call and preserving this tradition for future generations.

All that said, the last time I painted the Rock was 1997.  I say “painted”—my involvement actually centered more on leaning up against the Rock in a near catatonic state as drool fell from my gaping mouth and I uttered various slurred obscenities at my cohorts.  You see, I was completely pissed drunk overcome by a multitude of circumstances at the time and my recollection of that particular evening of frivolity is fuzzy to say the least.  Still, the Rock does have a special place in my mind due to its tradition of announcing great events, lurid innuendo, and Gameday proclamations.  Considering it is directly across the street from where it used to be located, I doubt there will really be all that much difference.

Of course, I do wonder whether some students may be confused by the relocation—in particular, those suffering from the same … mental confusion … that afflicted me the last time I painted the Rock.  If so, the university may be faced with a long road of maintenance as the drunken masses repeatedly paint the front of the new Student Health Center.

2a)  Wednesday is the beginning of SEC Media Days in Birmingham, which usually signifies that the season is just around the corner.  What would you prefer that Coach Lane Kiffin do this week: Speak up or shut up?

HSH: I think Lane will be on his guard this week, as I’m sure he—and everyone else—expects some media members to try and force him into conflict or a mistake.  I want to hear him talk about his football team more than anything, as it’s getting awfully close to nut-cutting time.

But if he does indeed have a verbal jab in him, I hope he goes after Nick Saban at Alabama.  For two reasons: first, I just don’t like Alabama.  Second, someone needs to bring up the whole issue with Bammer telling some upperclassmen who “don’t fit the system” to hit the road to make room for the incoming freshman class and make it under the 85 scholarship limit.

Okay, I might be overstating that just a bit.

Either way, I am sure that the Blackjack General will be on his best behavior and on top of his game.  Kiffin seems to have a real knack for working the media.  The only down side is that they sometimes seem to have a knack for working him.  I am sure he will get a few pointed and loaded questions which will lead to some interesting sound bites after the fact.  Still, I have full confidence in the man in charge of the Tennessee Football program and am sure that he will represent us all well.

Speaking of SEC Media Days, I want to personally give a shout out to Joel from RTT for managing to score press credentials for the SEC’s annual Love-in.  Nice to finally begin seeing bloggers represented at these sorts of events.  Now, I just have to figure out what I need to do to score some of those for myself…

2b)  If you could take back one thing that Coach Kiffin has done or said to this point, what would it be?

HSH: Nothing.  Was falsely calling Urban Meyer a cheater smart?  Probably not, but most of that was drug out and blown out of proportion.  The secondary violations?  Harmless.  Who cares about getting those?  I think most of us would agree that Tennessee’s football program had gotten stale, and Lane and Co. brought some flair, by hiring Monte Kiffin and Coach O, stealing some players on and after Signing Day, and ruffling feathers.  I think he’s definitely got the fanbase excited about this season at least.

However, I do just wish he would have recruited a quarterback by now…

Thus, I am pretty much okay with Kiffin’s statements so far.  In hindsight, would I add a small clarification here or there; would I re-phrase a few things; would I make sure that I knew whose cameras were running before speaking?  Sure, I’d do all those things.  This, however, is football not a trial by jury.  Thus, I say let it fly.

3)  The biggest news of last week on the football front was that seemingly our entire receiving corps is in the infirmary.  Austin Rogers is lost for the year, Denarius Moore is going to miss several games at a minimum, and Gerald Jones has an injured wing that may cause him to miss some games.  Although it seems like it is time to hit the panic button, is there a way out of this for the Vols?

HSH: I asked my closest inside source about the injuries and he said both Moore and Jones were still at workouts and didn’t seem too bad.  I think Gerald Jones will at least be ready for Western Kentucky, although I’m not sure that if he’s not 100% that you don’t keep him out of that game.  Losing Moore hurts because he was the deep threat and Rogers is the type willing to take a shot over the middle on third down.  However, I don’t think we should start panicking yet.  Why?

Because I expect Tennessee to run the ball early, often, well, and consistently.  Seriously, what’s the one position everyone isn’t concerned about in terms of talent or depth?  Running back.  Granted, the departure of Lennon Creer and injury to Toney Williams limited those expectations, but Tennessee should be OK with a healthy Montario Hardesty, Bryce Brown and Tauren Poole.  Sure, those last two guys don’t have that many carries between them, but count me in the group that feels confident they can get it done.

Given the fact that we look to be a run-oriented offense, I am not exactly ready to run screaming from the room in uncontrolled fits of hysteria, but I am sincerely hoping that we hear a little good news on this front in the near future.  On the whole, though I am less concerned about the receivers than I am about the quarterback throwing to them.

4)  Basketball recruit Josh Selby decommitted from the Vols over the weekend, and many suspect it is because he wants to play for a Nike school. Tennessee is an Adidas school, and there is speculation that future sponsorship money with Nike may be at stake if Selby doesn’t go to a Nike school like Kentucky. This obviously has ramifications in all sports, so what do you make of all this? (NOTE: The NFL is a Reebok league, which is owned by Adidas.)

HSH: I have friends of mine that insist Tennessee would become the next USC in every sport if they just switched to Nike or Under Armour.  I always say that I don’t want players who are caught up in the gear they’ll get (they’ll be getting so much free gear anyways, so it shouldn’t matter).  And I always use the argument that it has no impact what brand name apparel you wear.  It has no effect on your performance.

As Lane Kiffin said in Tuesday’s press conference when asked about the hotly-debated black jersey issue, your jersey or the brand logo on it has no effect.  If Tennessee’s winning SEC and national titles, we could wear pink and be sponsored by Hanes for all I care.  When I go play pick-up basketball games at T-RECS, whether or not I wear my dry-fit Nike shirts as opposed to Under Armour gear or a plain t-shirt has no effect on how well I shoot the 3 or whether I can dunk on anybody.

OK, end of rant.  But I will say this: if Tennessee does indeed switch apparel sponsors, I want Under Armour, for two reasons: first, to screw Nike, and two, because I just plain like it more.  You might say they would mess with the classic Tennessee look too much (like they did with South Carolina), but Auburn switched from Russell Athletic to UA and their unis didn’t change at all, and still look classic and look sleek.

I hate Nike…

I absolutely abhor what Nike and its founder, Phil Knight, have done to sports over the last quarter century.  Though my hubris toward Nike first formed in the mid-1980s, I became an unwavering anti-Nike critic after reading Sports Illustrated’s 1993 article on Knight entitled “Triumph of the Swoosh” (this is a really good article by Donald Katz, and I highly recommend it despite its length).

In this article, Katz recounts, among other things, the sordid tale of the medal uniforms controversy which arose with the dream team at the 1992 Olympics and the near-stranglehold that Nike possessed in the early 1990s.  While I respect Knight’s dedication to the ideal of creating a sports apparel and marketing powerhouse out of nothing, I blame Nike and Knight for so much of what is wrong with sports today.  I am proud to say that, I own not a single item of Nike manufactured apparel and have not knowingly purchased anything produced by Nike since 1994.

It was Nike who forever changed the face of sports by transforming athletics into a media circus—converting sports into little more than another form of Hollywood-style entertainment.  In fact Nike’s own goal was to become an experience and entertainment corporation, that just happened to be grounded in the worldwide fascination with sports.  It was Nike who—via its marketing machine—transformed the landscape of professional sports by making sports heroes into demigod-like icons who were as untouchable as they were unreal.  Nike is all about image…

…that and big piles of money.

The problem is that Nike singlehandedly transformed the sports endorsement world by changing athletes from being spokespersons into carefully crafted and manicured corporate assets.  Nike was the first to “buy” athletes.  After that came teams.  Since the mid-1990s, it has been schools.

When I arrived at Tennessee as a student, the football program was sponsored by Nike.  Fortunately, in 1998 the entire athletic department entered into a global equipment and apparel contract with Adidas.  Since that time, Tennessee has stood apart from the machine that is the Nike image.

From an aesthetic perspective, I personally think that the Adidas-branded apparel that has graced the backs of both the Vols and Lady Vols for the past decade has been great.  I like the “Adidas look,” but I will be the first to admit that such assessments are a matter of personal opinion and that I have no monopoly on determining “what looks cool.”  That said, I am proud of Tennessee for not being another sheep in Nike’s fold, one which is forever beholden to the Nike power structure and its power to make or break an athlete, a team, or a school.

In 1986 Knight publicly declared that his goal was to become “the IBM of the sports-apparel industry” by 1991.  There really is no point in arguing with whether he achieved his goal.  In 2008 alone, Nike converted $ 18.6 billion in revenue into almost $ 8.4 billion in profits.  It is hard to fight such a behemoth.  Most fall in line with Nike’s aggressive school of thought that the world can be conquered.

I admire Nike’s drive, but in the process of becoming the dominant sports apparel company that it is, it has completely—and I would contend irreparably—damaged sports by converting it into little more than a commercial engine.  That engine is driven by the athletes, teams, and institutions in the Nike stable and is fueled by the hopes and dreams of everyday sports fans to get just a bit closer to the their heroes or their favorite team.  Where this gets troubling is when the image becomes more important than the sport, when the money to be made controls the game.

I am but one small voice of dissent in a Nike-inspired, Nike-controlled, and Nike-orchestrated world, but my conscience will not permit me to be otherwise.

Fortunately, Nike is not the only face in the world of sports now.  Though there have always been competitors seeking to erode Nike’s dominance, the reality is that until the last decade there were no legitimate contenders.  Now, at least there are faces like upstart Under Armor, and the reinvigorated Adidas / Reebok.  Still, Nike’s dominance is secure for now.  I, however, am hopeful that, Phil Knight’s megalomaniacal goal of being the IBM of sports is an instructive omen.  If Big Blue can fall from its pedestal of preeminence—rejoining the world of mere mortals—so too can the swoosh come crashing back down to earth.

For now, however, we all must accept the reality that as long as the Nike juggernaut is in control, we will continue to see athletes make decisions based solely on the whims of sports-apparel executives in Beaverton, Oregon.  It is sad and, in my opinion, it is deplorable.  It is deplorable not because a player, such as Josh Selby, wants to do what is best for his playing career, but because Nike is all too willing to flex its muscle to control the decisions made by athletes, fans, and the general public.  Some would say that is simply smart marketing.  In my opinion, however, there is a line—one which Nike crossed long ago.

“Michael Jordan without Nike [wouldn’t] mean anything.”
-Phil Knight

Thus, I am disheartened to hear that Selby has decided to de-commit from the BasketVols.  I hope he made that decision based upon concerns tied to him being in the best environment, being comfortable, and being successful.  I hope it was not a decision based solely upon what sports-apparel logo appears on his uniform, as many have suggested.  Such a decision would not, however surprise me.  Either way, I do wish him all the best.

Nonetheless, I want to encourage the University of Tennessee, the UT Athletic Department, and Mike Hamilton to stay on the outside of the Nike machine.  Regardless of who provides the Vols with their orange, from my perspective, any company is preferable to Nike.  Were Tennessee to affiliate with Nike, I would not buy “official” apparel any longer.

More important than a single fan resisting the urge to spend money on clothing, however, is the “soul” of the program.  Once you are with Nike, you are bought and paid for.  Once that occurs, you might as well become “Nike State University at Knoxville.”  All assets that can be purchased can be expended and thrown away.  Phil Knight was once quoted as saying that “Michael Jordan without Nike [wouldn’t] mean anything”

I doubt he would have a different opinion about the Tennessee Volunteers…

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):

• Rocky Top Talk
• YMSWWC
• MoonDog Sports
• Vol Junkies
• Pigskin Pathos
• Bleeding Orange
• Loser With Socks

Also be sure to check out the round-up over at 3SIB later this week…

– So it goes … and – … to me.

Image(s) Courtesy of: What’s On the Rock / TwitPic • SI.com ||  Statement on Fair Use

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• Giving Your All, the Rough and Tumble Way (0)
• Alabama gets caught cheating, Kiffin plays with chalk (2)
• 2009 Big Orange Roundtable: Week 4 (0)

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

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• Flashback: The Great Games — The All-Time Top 10 (5)
• Flashback: The Great Games — Florida 1998 (8)
• What the Puck?! Carolina beats the Bruins! (4)

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a pretty great new Tennessee Football preview annual coming out in only a few short days.  It’s from Maple Street Press and is entitled: “Rocky Top Tennessee 2009.”

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking to yourself “those previews are all the same, a bunch of the same basic statistics and information re-styled to make them appear shiny and new.”  In most circumstances you would be correct, but this preview is a little different than most.  You see, Maple Street Press does not approach these sorts of publications the way that some of the other publishers do.  They turn independent writers and bloggers who are passionate about their team and ask them to write on subjects that are near and dear to their hearts.

The result is a 128 pages of thoughtful insight, analysis, and perspective that the mainstream press simply does not offer.  Furthermore, if your a regular reader here at Gate 21 and other sites across the web, you’ll recognize some of the writers and be pleasantly surprised at the ways Rocky Top Tennessee 2009 differs from the run-of-the-mill preview magazine.

Why do I know this?  Well, I am pleased to say that I am one of the writers featured in annual, along with many others you will recognize.  The annual was edited by Joel from Rocky Top Talk and, as one of the many contributors, I have to say that I honestly believe that you will be impressed with it.  Here are a few of the articles included:

Eric Crunch Berry
by David Hooper (of Rocky Top Talk)

Five Impact Freshmen And The Class Of 2009
by Josh Ward (a contributor at Go Vols Xtra)

The Agony & The Agony
by Holly Anderson (of Everyday Should Be Saturday and Snarkastic)

Self-Inflicted Wounds
by Joel Hollingsworth (of Rocky Top Talk)

And Now A Word From Your Enemy: The Florida Gators
by Spencer Hall (of Everyday Should Be Saturday and the Sporting Blog)

And Now A Word From Your Enemy: Georgia Bulldogs
by Doug Gillett (of Hey Jenny Slater)

Assembling a Coaching Staff
by Drew Edwards (of the Knoxville News Sentinel)

Introducing The New Coaches
by Brad Shepard (of 3rd Saturday in Blogtober)

Southern Cal Comes To Knoxville
by Bruce Feldmen (of ESPN the Magazine and author of “Meat Market”)

Reversing Apathy
by Will Shelton (of Rocky Top Talk)

Relative Pain
by Brian Cook (of MGO Blog)

“Football Is Not Fun If You Lose. Period.”
by Clay Travis (former writer for CBS Sports.com and Deadspin and publisher of Clay Nation)

Still Sparkling At 90
by Matt Fisher (degenerate shyster who has also been known to operate under the name “lawvol”)

At any rate, I hope you’ll give it look.  The annual will ship directly from Maple Street Press starting July 6, and will appear on newsstands in Big Orange Country on July 21.

– So it goes…

**Disclosure: “Lawvol” is a writer and contributor for Rocky Top Tennessee 2009, however, neither Gate 21 nor lawvol received any compensation for this review, which was neither requested nor solicited by Maple Street Press. This “Shout Out” represents the actual opinion of the author (for what that is worth) and was in no way influenced by any other person.

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• The Tennesseeum (0)
• Our Ushers (Writers) (1)
• 2009 Big Orange Roundtable: Week 6 (0)