Posts Tagged ‘Florida Gators’

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.

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Alright everyone, let’s have a little flashback now, shall we? Rewind to the day after National Signing Day, when Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin called Urban Meyer a cheater with the whole Nu’keese Richardson thievery. Remember all the hoopla and relative crap that went down after that? Well, we might be going through more of it…

You see, Kiffin spoke today at a kickoff event for a United Way campaign at Oak Ridge National Lab. As Lane is prone to do, the crowd there was pretty large and seemingly excited. And while he was speaking to said crowd, he may or may not have taken a little jab at Florida’s off-the-field criminal issues again (at 1:40). SEE HERE FOR YOURSELF.

It was an indirect jab at the Gators, and though he’s clearly talking about the accomplishments of his own team and players, there’s no doubt he’s aware of Florida’s issues and pointing those out. I just found this, and I don’t know how long it’s been up, but my guess is it won’t be long at all before this is everywhere. So call this a warning. I’m sure some people are gonna be upset that Lane’s being free with his words again. What do I think? Screw Florida.

I think Lane feels that exact same way.

– … to me.

Updated: 23 June 2009 – 10:17pm | by: Lawvol

Video: Lane Kiffin at ORNL

Nice find.  Didn’t figure you’d mind me posting the video to go along with the story…

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…

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I normally don’t post about individual commitments or recruiting updates in general, but I think this is fairly important. Tennessee got another defensive lineman – tackle, specifically – to join the group for 2010 in the form of John Brown.

This is important for two reasons. First, Brown is transferring from the University of Florida to Northeast Mississippi Junior College in the fall to likely an early enrollee at Tennessee in December or January (he says he will sign with the Vols as soon as he can).

Secondly, Brown was a pretty highly-touted recruit coming of Lakeland High School in Florida in 2007. Yet, for lack of a better term, was a bust in Gainesville, barely seeing the field in two seasons due to injury, academic and motivation issues (or so I’ve read).

So are Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin taking a slight risk with this offer and pickup? To an extent, yes. But you have to think Brown has some level of potential left after being a 4-star (5-star on Scout) guy out of high school. Obviously his time at Florida was unremarkable, but hopefully a change in scenery may give him the kick in the pants he might need to put it all together on the field.

And hey, considering the well-documented issues Tennessee will have along the offensive and defensive lines following this season, you probably should just take what you can get and be happy.

On another quick note, as most of you know Tennessee is conducting football and basketball camps this week here in Knoxville. I have yet to see any of it except for the local news coverage on TV and the internet, but by all accounts it seems to have gone very well on the football front. As for basketball, I think it’s pretty cool Chris Lofton is back in town. I have an incredible amount of respect for #5 (that jersey is on the wall of my room) and he’s going to be an all-time favorite. He also has a tryout with the Memphis Grizzlies later next week, so hopefully he makes the most of that opportunity, because he deserves a shot to make the NBA. And of course what better team than my hometown Grizz? I have no idea what his chances are of sticking around with the team for the summer, but I wish him luck.

In other basketball Tyler Smith news, despite Tyler’s discussion of playing in Europe, I don’t see that happening given him having his son Amare. And Losers With Socks says he’s coming back, and they have been correctly ahead of everybody else on a couple of these type things, so take that for what it’s worth.

That’s it for now, hopefully some concrete QB recruiting news will come out soon – we’re all waiting for it.

– … to me.

The boys over at 3SIB have posted an absolutely priceless (a/k/a hilarious) look at some of the improvements made in EA Sports NCAA Football 2010.  A few of the best include:

• In addition to Dynasty, there is now an “Alternate Reality” mode where the season ends in a playoff that still doesn’t include Utah or Boise State.
• If you don’t edit Auburn’s schedule at the start of the season, the only team on the schedule will be Alabama.
• If you play as the Volunteers in Dynasty mode, during the recruiting phase of the game the volume on the TV goes way up to the point that your neighbors complain.

• via: New features in EA Sports’ NCAA 2010 | 3rd Saturday in Blogtober

Considering that I am all about riding the coattails of others, I added a few of my own suggestions in the comments, which include:

• New Gameplay Settings:

  • When playing as Tennessee, there is a special post-play celebration code (Easter Egg Code “CRUNK”) which leads to the entire coaching staff ripping off their shirts.
  • When playing as Florida, there is a special code which can pump-up the team, when entered, the head coach transforms into a giant monster and eats three of the Florida players.  This results in an increase in speed and accuracy of 10% for the next 8 plays for the Gators, but if overused can result in a forfeit due to having fewer than 11 players.
  • When playing as LSU, with each touchdown the coach’s hat grows by 1 foot.  If you score enough for his hat to reach the moon, then the team automatically advances to the National Championship.
  • When playing as Tennessee and the player is controlling No. 14 on defense, there are special “fatality” codes (a’la Mortal Kombat) which result in massive bloodletting and mayhem after open field tackles.

• New Crowd / Stadium AI Settings:

  • When playing as Florida, in the stadium settings you can select “Jorts-out.”
  • When playing as South Carolina, you can control the volume of the “ThunderChicken” (rooster-crowing / being slaughtered / getting run over by a truck) noise played over the PA, allowing you to turn it up to the point that it actually blows the other team out of the stadium (and into the nearby Cow Palace) for one quarter.  This, however, results in a 10% loss in effectiveness for the Gamecocks as a team due to the fact the entire team is deafened for one quarter and unable to hear the signals from the sidelines.
  • When playing as Kentucky if, after leading by 3 at the half, the opposing team scores a touchdown in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd Quarter, 3/4 of the fans in the stadium leave immediately.
    • When playing as Vanderbilt if the same situation occurs as above, then the Vanderbilt fans begin pulling for the visiting team, giving the opponent a home field advantage.
  • When Playing as Florida, there is a special code which allows the quarterback to levitate above the line, walk on water, cure the blind, and results in Florida automatically being awarded 8 touchdowns.
    • For all other teams a slightly different code can be entered enabling “Tebow Mode” which results in the same result as above.

Go check it out, it’s some great stuff…

– So it goes

Nice find by my friend, the Ghost of Neyland:

• HT to / via: You Simply Can’t Buy Advertising Like This | 3rd Saturday in Blogtober

Sweetness!  Gotta get me one of those shirts...

No, I didn’t quit writing, join the circus, get attacked by Somali Pirates, or decide to take up ad hoc piloting of random airplanes falling pilotless from the sky.  I just decided that it was time for a few days off.  This was due to a number of things.  First there was the fact that—after the conclusion of the Final Four—there wasn’t much to talk about last week.  Secondly, I have been working on trying to get a few things done which, hopefully, will improve a few things here at the Gate in anticipation of football season (and I do really hope that this is the case).  Furthermore, my non-blogging life has required that I do things other than fixate upon football season which, according to the tell-tale little widget over on the right sidebar (that’s this way for those of you who are directionally challenged), is still more than 140 days off.  Finally, there were three big points which put me in bit of a funk, one which I decided to wallow in for a day or so, those points are as follows:

Pretty much sums up my luck...

1. Florida Gators, National Champions;
2. North Carolina Tarheels, National Champions; and
3. Connecticut Huskies, National Champions.

I guess 2008-09 just wasn’t meant to be my year.  So it goes…

Anyway, all of that said, here I am back again with a number of stream of consciousness observations that I wanted to chase down, and now seems as good a time as any…

Who knew that Home Depot was a hotbed of College Football Conflict…

I live in Eastern North Carolina, I am within 20 miles of the University of North Carolina (a/k/a “Tarhead U”), Duke University, and NC State University.  I am anywhere but in the heart of SEC country and quite a distance from anything resembling real football.  The closest team of consequence would probably be the Carolina Panthers, which is not exactly the same thing.  For this reason, I was a bit surprised this weekend at a brief exchange I had in the parking lot of my local purveyor of all things home improvement related:  Home Depot.

My goal was simple: collect 18 bags of mulch for the yard.  My mind was focused on trying to figure out if there was a way to get out of spending the rest of the weekend playing with wood chips and was less than attuned to matters related to football.  I had already dumped 12 bags of the stuff, and thus was less than cognizant of my “yard hat” which has “Tennessee” emblazoned upon it in letters which could be read from across the room … a large room.

Thus, I was a bit taken aback when I stepped out of my truck to a firm and slightly louder than it should have been greeting from a man in a jeep with a huge-ish Gator head on the spare tire cover:

“BOOOOOOO!!  Kiffin!”

Again, not fully in command of my football fightin’ instincts at the moment, the best response I could muster was a thumbs up in my heckler’s direction, paired with a wink, and a half-perplexed “How ‘bout ‘cha?!”

The point of this seemingly inane tale of my trip to the hardware store (ahem, “Home Improvement Warehouse”) is not meant to warn of the pitfalls attending minor maintenance tasks, to assail Home Depot’s loyalties (I know they are based out of Atlanta, but their colors are orange and white, after all), or to provide a convenient excuse for getting out of those “Honey-Do” lists.  It’s far more subtle than that…

Lane Kiffin is in the Gators’ heads.

At least in my semi-unbalanced mind, my harmless little weekend run-in—paired with the profusion of “Tennessee” signs seen in the video posted by HSH—it seems that Kiffin’s little barbs have hit their mark far beyond the confines East Tennessee.  Some of the Gator faithful agree.  Of course, as the Hoopmaster General discovered, the sparring does come at a bit of price in the form of craziness from the less than sane and those with an axe to grind (or a deadline to meet). Still, as John Pennington pointed out the Blackjack General’s messages are not simply confined to sound bites and quips, but are rapidly approaching the point of real tangible substance.

With no disrespect to Coach Fulmer, I’m betting that in April 2008 my assailant says nothing at all.

I like it!

Moving Right Along … to the Orange & White Game

It’s Spring Football Time in Tennessee!

Yes, you can get a small football fix this weekend by attending the Orange & White Game, scheduled to start at 3:00 at Neyland Stadium.  All sorts of information on the game is available over at UT Sports.com.  Tickets are $5.00 and all proceeds will go to benefit UT’s Hodges Library.  Besides, when else can you get to see the Vols play for $5.00?

For those of you planning on attending the game, I would encourage you to consider meeting up with the guys from Rocky Top Talk who will be meeting in front of the hallowed ground of the Real Gate 21 on Saturday, for more information check out the faux-schedule for the meet-up.  Sorry to disappoint everyone, but Joel, Hooper, and Will will not be signing autographs, but many of the 2009 Vols will be, so don’t get too upset.

On a more substantive note, the Spring Outlook / Team Breakdown is now available for download as well .  It is full of stats and perspectives on the squad coming into the Orange & White game.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend, but hope to find somewhere to catch the game on the web.  The Orange & White Game is sponsored by Dish Network, however, apparently it will not be televised anywhere, including Dish Network.

Either way, this is the best chance for Orange Nation to get a glimpse of the new look Vols…

Finally, an amazing story from the non-sports world worth giving a look…

“Are you using the autopilot, or are you flying the airplane?”

• Southwest Florida Int’l Air Traffic Control

“Me and the Good Lord’s Hands are flying this one…”

• Airplane Passenger, Doug White

Those are not words you like to hear from a pilot trying to guide a plane in for landing, but that is what airplane passenger Doug White had to say during his brush with fate earlier this week.  If you haven’t heard about this story, you really should check out the article posted at CNN.com.  White, along with his family were flying home to Louisiana on a twin engine plane when the pilot unexpectedly died shortly after taking off from Fort Meyers, Florida.  There was no co-pilot on board.  As a result, White—who had flying experience, but only in single engine planes—was forced to land the plane on his own.

Fortunately, with the assistance of Air Traffic controllers, White managed to land the plane safely.

For me, the audio recording of White’s conversation with the tower are particularly compelling.  The FAA released the audio recording earlier today.  It is a little on the long side and has several periods of extended silence (5-10 seconds), but giving it a listen will remind you just how great it is to be alive.  From the tension and relief in White’s voice near the end of the recording, I am pretty sure that he is glad.  Seriously, if you have a few minutes give the full recording a listen.

AUDIO:  N559DW — Emergency Landing at Southwest Florida Int’l Airport (Ft. Myers, FL)  |  FAA.gov

That one makes my birthday seem like a blessing…

– So it goes…

Image(s) Courtesy of:  UTAD / UT Sports.com •  Home Depot / The Auto Blog ||  Audio Courtesy of:  Federal Aviation Administration ||   Statement on Fair Use

I came across this odd YouTube video last night at work – yes it was a terribly slow sports night. Apparently it’s a video of the inside of Florida’s football facilities, but the odd thing is that the user who put it up says it was a UT student who broke into the building. Even in the video’s description, it says Lane Kiffen is behind the whole operation – which I think is hilarious.

It’s obviously not real, and you may or may not have already seen it. Anyways, here it is…

And as you can to the right side of your screen, we’re already counting down to the kickoff of the ‘09 season against Western Kentucky. I’m excited about the spring game this upcoming Saturday, even if I can only go for like an hour due to work obligations. It will finally be great to see some football before we enter into the slowest and longest part of the sports year (my baseball interest level has been on the decline the past couple of years), and it’s going to be nice to have a football break right in the middle of two of the busiest school weeks of the spring…

To be honest, the one thing I’m most interested in seeing is the turnout for the game, to see if the presumed change from the incredibly sad apathy level of the past season to an excited fanbase fully supporting their new guy’s building process (yes, it’s a process) is really true. Hopefully it’s going to be a beautiful spring afternoon and a good time to come and watch the “new beginning” of sorts for Tennessee football.

– … to me.

Keeping in the swing of things earlier this week — and offering up a little more voice-over action — here is another edition of the Blazer Chronicles, this time presenting the battle of Eric Berry vs. Tim Tebow.  As always, this comes courtesy of VolzRChamps and BlazerChronicles.com.

Video: The Blazer Chronicles: Eric Berry vs. Tim Tebow

Eric Berry is one scary, scary, man…

– So it goes …

Video Courtesy of: VolzRChamps / You Tube Blazer Chronicles

Well, after failing to get my Oklahoma State preview up in time for the game, and given the quick end to the BasketVols‘ run in the NCAA Tournament, I really haven’t had a lot to offer these past few days.  Of course, when you set the bar very low—which has always been the policy of Gate 21—it takes extra effort to fail in grand style.  I guess I am running behind in my running behind…

In the meantime, here’s a little something that is worth giving a look.  I’m a bit behind in getting this up, but this is pretty funny if you ask me (which I realize you didn’t).

Here is a pretty hilarious look at the various coaches of the SEC in a way that I don’t think I have ever seen before.  As always, this comes courtesy of VolzRChamps and BlazerChronicles.com, with a Tennessee All-Sports Update.

The Blazer Chronicles: A “Quotetastic” Look at the SEC

That Bobby Johnson quote is simply priceless…

– So it goes …

Video Courtesy of: VolzRChamps / You Tube • Blazer Chronicles