Posts Tagged ‘Everybody From Memphis Got Gold Teeth’

Then I’m walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel

• “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohn

Well, it seems that Bruce Pearl will be staying in Knoxville for the foreseeable future, which is good.  The question, however, remains: What are we to make of this “Memphis Incident”?

For starters, I am greatly relieved that Bruce Almighty will still be wearing orange next season.  That is the good news, not that there is necessarily some “bad” news, but keeping Pearl on the sidelines in Knoxville is definitely very good.

That said, what exactly are we to take away from the brief and furious flirtation (so brief and furious that I never even got a chance to comment before it ended) with the notion that Coach Pearl might bolt to the Pyramid City to take the reins as head coach of the Memphis Tigers?  The real answer is probably “nothing.”  Still there are a few thoughts that jump out to me—random observations, I suppose—which seem relevant, if less than timely.

Bruce Pearl is Happy at Tennessee…

It seems to me that Bruce Pearl sent two messages yesterday.  The first is a very positive one, namely that he is happy as coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and has no desire to leave behind what he has begun.  Bruce Pearl likes it here.

Why do I say that?  Well first of all is the obvious: he is staying here.  More importantly, however, is the what he said in his public statement last night.  To me, it makes it clear that Pearl is truly happy to be at Tennessee.

I truly love my job, and I want it to be clear that I’m not interested in any other job.  There’s no place in the country I’d rather be than the University of Tennessee.  My children are happy here in the Knoxville community—one is in high school, one is in middle school and two are currently attending the university.

My staff and I are building a consistent top-25 program and I’m honored and privileged to serve the greatest fans in the country. Tennessee has all the resources necessary to win championships, from our recently upgraded facilities to our ability to schedule.

It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!

• Bruce Pearl commenting on rumors of him leaving Tennessee | UT Sports.com

Now in the era of sports double-talk and lip service (See Bobby Petrino at any point in his career), it is rarely advisable to take public professions of loyalty at face value.  I understand that.  Still, there are different degrees of lip service and there are different types of coaches.  Pearl’s statement was anything but tepid—it was largely unequivocal and pointed.  In other words, he could have simply said “I’m staying,” and left the other assurances out of the discussion; he didn’t.

Second of all, for reasons unknown to me (considering I have never met Pearl), I trust the man.  Maybe that owes to the side of him that exudes infectious enthusiasm about everything to which he is tied; maybe it is because of his well documented history of loyalty at Iowa and Wisconsin-Green Bay; maybe it is because he is a con man and I’m snowed.  Regardless of the reasons, Pearl is unique in my mind because I do believe that he is both loyal and trustworthy as a coach.  My gut tells me that if he was not happy and was considering a move, while he might not come out and say it, he would similarly not effervesce about how much he loves it at Tennessee.

Furthermore, if he had wanted to leave, it would have been hard to argue with his decision given the suggestion that Memphis was prepared to offer up to $ 3.25 million a year (approximately $ 1.25 million more per year than his new contract is reported to provide).

Thus, I believe him when he says that he never intended to leave, and that he truly loves coaching the BasketVols.  If he truly wanted to leave, he would have.

Yeah, yeah, I know—I’ve obviously been drinking the Kool Aid…

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Well, I’m not going to re-hash what everyone else has already said, but this weekend it’s on! The No 2 Tennessee Volunteers take on the No 1 Memphis Tigers at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. It’s guaranteed to be a fabulous game, and hopefully Bruce and the Barbarians will get the train going and show the Tigers who is boss.

For a little breakdown, info, and fun, check out these posts:

• Bruce Pearl’s Letter to John Calipari and a Stat Breakdown for Memphis and Tennessee — Rocky Top Talk
• The Break Down, Part I, Part II, and Part III — The Bruce Ball Blog

It’s going to be huge, and everyone in the nation is watching! Let’s get the Train Going!

Go Vols, Beat the Mem-puss-es!!!

– Go Figure …

Not a lot of interest going on at present, other than the BasketVols beating the Georgia Bulldogs on the road at Athens 74-71. Despite allowing the Dawgs to stay in the game until the very end, Tennessee had four players in double figures, led by Chris Lofton who had 6 3-pointers and 22 points — 19 of which he scored in the second half. The Vols now sit with a record of 23-2, as they get ready for the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday at 7:30 at the Tommy Bowl, followed by Memphis at 9:00 on Saturday 23 February in Memphis.

With only 5 SEC games remaining, the Vols have a real chance to dominate the Conference if they can just take care of business. While the game against Memphis has the potential to be the game of the year considering that both teams will be ranked in the top four (and possibly the top 2) in the country, the Vols real focus needs to be winning a regular-season championship before the tournament begins. I’m sure Bruce and the Barbarians will do nothing less.

Ignoring what I just wrote, I sincerely hope the Vols go and beat the absolute hell out of Memphis. Back when I was in school at Tennessee, I remember having a sociology class with former BasketVol CJ Black. Once during the class the professor asked everyone in the room to identify some stereotypes that society often makes, and people who defy those stereotypes. CJ Black responded by yelling at the top of his lungs: “Everybody from Memphis got gold teeth! And it’s the truth!!!” Thus, in honor of CJ Black, Gate 21 reminds everyone to be on the lookout for gold teeth this week, if you see anyone with gold teeth, you should contact the authorities, or CJ Black.

This public service message is brought to you by the Elvis Presley House of Sideburns, just 3 blocks from Graceland…

In case you have nothing to do on Wednesday night, the University has announced there are still a few tickets available for the Auburn game. You can find more information on these over at UT Sports.com.

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: View Images

Well, after the little slip versus the Kentucky Wildcats, Bruce and the Barbarians are back at No 4 in the land in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.

More importantly, at present ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects the BasketVols to be a No 1 seed in the West Region — which means that they would open the NCAA tournament in Birmingham versus Lamar before progressing toward Phoenix. I’m going to show my ignorance — where exactly is Lamar, or is Lunardi predicting that the Vols will play former Tennessee blowhard Lamar Alexander (Although I guess he is still a blowhard … I hope he wears his plaid shirt!!!)?

Thus one game looming in the not-so-distant future becomes all the more important: the contest against the Memphis Tigers on 23 February in Memphis. If the Vols can beat the (currently) No 1 Tigers, then it seems difficult to imagine a poll where the BasketVols are not the No 1 team in the country. That is especially true considering that Tarhead U and Dook both have to play one another a second time, and one of them has to lose.

Of course, for that to even matter, the Vols must remain focused and tend to the task of continuing to win against the rest of their SEC opponents — next target the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday, 13 February at 8:00 at the Tommy Bowl. The Vols still have a lot of basketball to play before the get to Memphis, but if they take care of business, they could be sitting in an awfully good position come tournament time.

In the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy the No 4 ranking, thus, I thought this little flashback to my childhood was appropriate. Hope you approve…

Go Vols, Beat the Piggies!!!

– Go Figure …