Posts Tagged ‘Georgia Dome’

The Tennessee Volunteers confirmed this evening that they will represent the SEC in the 2009-10 Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year’s Eve at the Georgia Dome.   Tennessee will face the Virginia Tech Hokies, who will represent the ACC.

The game will begin at 7:30 0n New Year’s Eve in Atlanta.  Tickets for the game go on sale tonight at UTTix.com.

The Vols most recent trips to the Chick-fil-A Bowl resulted in two disappointing losses to both the Maryland Terrapins and the Clemson Tigers.

Given that the Vols were sitting at home during bowl season last year, I have a feeling that they will be more than ready to face the Hokies, who they last played in the 1994 Gator Bowl, where the Vols upset the Hokies 45-23.

Looks like the Vols will be eating their Christmas “Turkey” on New Years…

– So it goes …

Image(s) Courtesy of:   the Chick-fil-A Bowl •   UT Sports.com ||  Statement on Fair Use

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

Final 2008 Season Poll

Well, as we try to dig out of the snow that has covered everything in my neck of the woods, I am trying to get caught back up.  Yes, I admit it I’ve been lazy these past few days and haven’t posted a darn thing.

Back in the saddle, here we go…

Yes sports fans, the 2008 college football season is in the books.  We here at Gate 21, along with fellow fans of the other SEC teams hated to see it go so much that we drug out our final voting for as long as we could.  Try as we might, however, football season is over.  Thus, here is my last ballot in the SEC Power Poll for the 2008 season, along with an feeble attempt at explaining why I’m such a moron.

In all its radiant glory:

Well, there you have it.  My final ballot for 2008.  Hopefully, the powers that be will ask me back for another round in the fall.  Either way, it has been fun indeed.  Do not, however, be dismayed—I’ll be posting my SEC Basketball Power Poll ballot in the next day or so.

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted Wednesday-ish.

– Go Figure …

A List of Reminiscing…

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of 2008. Yes, I know, I’m asking “Already?!?” just you like may be doing. It seems like last month I was standing in Times Square in NYC for nine hours (without any food, drinks, or bathroom breaks) with five of my friends ringing in 2008. But here it is, the start of another year is less than 24 hours away.

My new logo

Now hopefully you have yet to bail on me because of that terribly mushy opening, and if you have I thank you. I’ll get to my little list of what I’ll most remember from the past year in sports in a minute, but first I need to say that I began this whole blogging thing back in June, when the looming monster of summer school was at my doorstep. When I started, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I wasn’t sure how long I’d be blogging or any of that. I really enjoyed it at first, mostly the posts following the NBA Finals games and my amateur, yet rather extensive, coverage of the Rocky Top Summer League (yes, I skipped studying for tests and doing schoolwork to do those). However, at first I underestimated how much work blogging actually can be.

So when lawvol approached me (figuratively) about joining forces with him, it was a no-brainer. I have enjoyed writing here at the Gate and I just want to give some props to lawvol for having me on here and for helping me when I bug him about the simplest of issues. And of course thank you to yourselves, the readers (if you’re still actually reading this). Who knows if my blogging will actually help the journalism career I’m hoping for/working towards/trying to gain experience for, but I’ve certainly enjoyed it and I’m glad I decided to begin with it.

OK, enough of those little bits of business, now onto this little list. This will be a little different than the other two I’ve done, as in I’m writing this, I’m not limiting myself to what pops into my mind when I think back of the past year in sports. I was able to narrow my hatred for Alabama down to five and the hope of the Vols’ hoops season to 10, but this is a whole year we’re talking here. I’ll try to keep it as short as I can. Anyways, here goes…

Thanks Coach

1) Good-bye and thank you Coach Fulmer: Well duh. The only Tennessee football coach I’ve pretty much ever known fell victim to a failed replacement of David Cutcliffe and the second losing season in the last four years. It’s been the toughest year as a Tennessee fan I have been a part of by far, but it ended very sweet with the home win over Kentucky.

CLK

2) Hello, Lane Kiffin: Fulmer’s replacement has me excited, and I know I ain’t the only one. Some are skeptical, but the Blackjack General (kudos, lawvol) has the fire that I think this program needs. He and his staff have plenty of work to do to return to the level of competing with Florida and the growing empire in Tuscaloosa, but so far, so good…

Champs

3) Being #1 for less than two days is still better than never being #1…: This goes way back to February, and the 66-62 #2-over-#1 win by Tennessee at Memphis. I had to cover/get audio for this game for the radio station sports show I was involved in last spring, and it was just fun to watch and see in person. That, and being in the middle of the aftermath right outside the locker room and on the FedEx Forum floor trying to be “professional” is undoubtedly a highlight of this past year.

4) 2008 SEC basketball champs: Need anything else be said? And to do it in Gainesville after getting blitzed in the first half was icing. I also covered that last home game against Carolina, so watching the whole net-cutting and t-shirt deal was a highlight.

5) Fan apathy: Honestly, this was probably the biggest factor to Fulmer’s firing. I have made my thoughts on the student attendance and the whole paying for tickets well known through this site (try this). This video (I wouldn’t dare actually post it) was the lowest point for me as a Tennessee fan in my life. I must admit, I left well before it, but I didn’t want to be a apart of that. I commend you if you did…

Thanks Chris and JaJuan

6) Chris Lofton: Seeing this guy get to play in person for two years was a treat. Talk about a role model, he had cancer, didn’t tell anyone for completely unselfish purposes, and still had a pretty good season and was an integral part of the SEC Title run for the Vols. I have his #5 jersey on my wall of my room in my apartment, and it will be hanging in TBA’s rafters soon enough.

7) JaJuan Smith, too: Walk-on to nearly making the Mavericks. The best part of watching Juanny the past two years of college was that he made it look so fun. From his rainbow threes to pestering defense and occasionaly bonehead turnover, I’ll never forget this guy and what he was to the Tennessee program.

Championship #8: I have to give Pat Summit and the Lady Vols some love. I never go to any of their games, but I do know they exist. That senior class dominated and Candace Parker, well, she’s just awesome.

9) Eric Berry: The dude is just a BAMF. My four years of college may be four of the worst in Tennessee history, but at least I got to see this guy play. Seriously, he was reason enough to watch as the awful 2008 season went down the toilet. His pick-six against Mississippi State might have been the craziest moment of the student section this past year (yeah, indicating how bad the season truly was…). List of guys he almost killed in 2008: Tyler Donovan, Taylor Embree, Knowshon Moreno, Marquis Maze, and that’s off the top of my head. If a team had 22 Eric Berrys, they would never lose. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll like playing in Monte Kiffin’s defense enough to stay for his senior year…

Monte!

10) Monte Kiffin: Sweet! Most respected defensive coordinator in the NFL? Yes please.

11) The Streak: Tennessee has now won 37 straight home games in Thompson-Boling Arena. A couple of teams nearly broke it (Ole Miss, Kentucky, Belmont), but it’s still going strong. I still have never left that arena having seen Tennessee lose. It was empty four years ago, now this streak. Could Gonzaga end it a week from tonight?

12) Construction: If you visited Knoxville this past year, you know what I mean. The stadium. Glocker. The Baker Center. Neyland. The TBA facelift. Lindsay Nelson. Heck, even I-40 has been closed since May…

13) Losses I witnessed in person: Louisville (Sweet 16 game in Charlotte), Florida, Auburn (nearly fell asleep in the third quarter), Alabama, Wyoming…

14) My love for the NBA: It gets a bad rap for the most part, but you can’t tell me you’re a true fan of the game of basketball and not like the NBA. Before this past season, I never really followed it other than the playoffs and the handful of Grizzlies games I saw in my high school days. Now, I just plain love it. These guys are ridiculous. I could watch LeBron James play every night. The Lakers-Celtics finals capped off an amazing playoffs and it’s shaking up to be a great season this year too.

15) Wyoming: I saw them beat Tennessee 13-7 in Knoxville. They were 1-7 in the Mountain West and fired their coach. Ouch…

16) UCLA: Kevin Craft is worse than me for Heisman! really wasn’t as good as we made him look. The beginning of the end…

17) This play:

18) These dunks:

19) Redeem Team Wins Gold: The highlight of the Beijing Olympics for me. Yes, I watched every minute of every one of their games. They were not going to be denied and watching these guys play together and with a serious sense of urgency was well worth it. Thank you, LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe, CP3, Bosh, Howard, Boozer, D-Will, Melo, Redd, Tayshaun, Coach K and staff.

Monte!

20) The tornado that almost killed me: I’m getting lazy, so just click here. If you’re too lazy to do that, you’re worse than me I was in the Georgia Dome for the SEC Tournament when that tornado owned downtown Atlanta.

21) Michael Phelps: Second best part of the Olympics. The relay the U.S. stole from the trash-talking French and the race he won from nowhere had me up and yelling at the TV.

22) Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Emmanuel Negedu, Renaldo Woolridge: They’re only going to get better…

23) This NFL season: I don’t get too pumped about pro football other than for fantasy purposes, but this was a fun season to watch. It came down to the end and I can honestly justify about six teams going all the way. Miami went from 1-15 to the playoffs and nobody’s laughing at the Falcons now. And those drama queens in Dallas are watching it all…

24) Jerod Mayo: Any time a Vol gets drafted in the Top 10…and then dominates as a rookie, I’m pumped…

25) Shaun Ellis: This was just plain funny…

26) Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince: Two transfers are huge parts of Tennessee hoops in 2008 and going forward. Thanks to Tyler for his clutch makes against Ole Miss and Memphis State. This year’s team is his team, and it took Prince hurting himself to make us see how important he is to this team.

27) The Olympics: Yeah, they were about all I watched for that two week stretch this summer.

28) VolQuest/Rivals: I can’t lie, I have spent countless hours procrastinating and wasting time on the message boards. If you have done it too, you know their addictive powers…

29) Jonathan Crompton: Well, there’s not much to say, but most of the Tennessee fanbase thinks he’s the worst QB to ever wear orange. Hell, he couldn’t even hand the ball off against Florida and Auburn. The Auburn game might have been the worst game ever played by a QB – my goodness was it ugly. When he entered the South Carolina after Nick Stephens threw an awful pick-six, ESPN showed his stats for the year – he had thrown for 666 yards. Yikes. Yet, that pass to Denarius Moore against Kentucky…reason for hope? I mean, he’s got an equal chance of starting next year as the other QBs Tennessee has. I’m just saying…

30) And finally, Mario Chalmers: Tiger High/John Calipari = EPIC FAIL…

HAPPY 2009 TO YOU FROM US HERE AT GATE 21!!!

Images Courtesy of: Michael Patrick / KNS • Michael Patrick / KNS • volnation.com • coachsoffice.com • interbasket.net

Well, this is the first time I’ve ever tried posting from my Motorola Handheld (a/k/a my phone), so we’ll see how this goes.

Needless to say there was some excitement at the SEC Tournament yesterday as a tornado hit the Georgia Dome in the middle of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State Bulldogs — leading to an hour and five minute delay and the postponement of the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Kentucky Wildcats . Ultimately Mississippi State held on to beat the Tide in overtime, but in the aftermath of the storm that hit Atlanta, the streets and the area around the Dome were wrecked.

Thus, today’s games will be held at Georgia Tech’s Alexander Coliseum — with limited attendance. Only player families, media, bands, and cheerleaders will be admitted. All ticketholders for the remaining games will be given refunds.

This is shaping up to be a truly bizarre SEC Tournament — one which will be remembered for years to come. Since the Kentucky / Georgia game will be held today at 12:00 noon today, the BasketVols game against Arkansas will be delayed until 6:00 pm. Then, the Kentucky / Georgia winner will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks who upset the Vanderbilt Commodores in Friday’s second game.

More on this later…

Update:

Here’s a little video of the Georgia Dome a’rockin in not so good a way, courtesy of Loser With Socks, who says this is clearly just a sign that God hates the Bammers:

For the first time in years, I’m actually glad I’m not at the Tournament…

– Go Figure …

Well, it was anything but boring…

Chris Lofton hit a 3-point basket with 12 seconds remaining in the game to barely defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks 87-89 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament this afternoon at the Georgia Dome. The Vols were sluggish throughout the game, despite the fact that four Vols scored in double figures. Wayne Chism led the Vols with 23 points, followed by JaJuan Smith with 19, Tyler Smith with 13, and Chris Lofton with 10.  After shooting only 44% from the field in the first-half, the Vols led by a point at the break.  During the second-half, the Vols managed to pour on some steam, shooting 73%, en route to the victory.

To their credit, the Gamecocks fought hard down to the wire, and if they had been able to hit free throws consistently, probably would have defeated the Vols. Thus, Tennessee advances to the semifinals to face the winner of the Arkansas / Vanderbilt game.

Though it was ultimately Chris Lofton who hit the clutch shot to win the game, it was Wanye Chism who had the greatest impact on turning the tide to help the Vols notch their 29th win of the season. Hopefully, Tennessee will manage to calm themselves and re-focus before their game tomorrow, and the possibility of earning their 30th win.

– Go Figure …

Somewhat to my surprise, the South Carolina Gamecocks managed to Defeat the LSU Tigers 77 – 73 in the opening round of the SEC Tournament in Atlanta today. Despite getting absolutely hammered by the BasketVols just days ago, the Thunder Chickens managed to get it turned around and (at least by my estimation) upset the Tigers, and thus set the stage for a re-match with Tennessee.

South Carolina (13-17, 5-11 SEC) is, no doubt, just itching to get a little revenge against the Vols for the 89 – 56 pounding they took at the Tommy Bowl this past Sunday. There is no question that the men in Garnet will bring their game full-force to try and de-throne the SEC Champion Vols, and give South Carolina coach Dave Odom at least one more game as their skipper.

Be that as it may, I predict the Vols still win by double-figures. After a brutal home-stretch to end the regular season, the BasketVols have had several days to rest and have plenty of reasons to give it their all — namely the chance at an SEC Tournament Championship, and the possibility of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I am quite sure that Bruce and the Barbarians will be raring to go, looking for their 29th win on the season.

The game is set to tipoff tomorrow (14 March 2008) at 1:00 pm on Raycom Sports. For those of you who — like me — live in ACC Country, or elsewhere, the Vol Network Broadcast will be available through UTSports.com and on XM Channel 199.

Until the game gets going, you can enjoy this video of Jenn Sterger, on the phenomenon that is the 2008 Tennessee BasketVols.

– Go Figure …

The BasketVols capped off a truly amazing regular season with a resounding 89 – 56 victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Chris Lofton led Tennessee with 28 points as he and fellow seniors JaJuan Smith and Jordan Howell said farewell to Thompson-Boling Arena. After the game, the team cut down the nets used for the entirety of the 2007 – 08 season, and raised the 2008 SEC Champions Banner.

With this win, the Vols win a school record 28th game to finish the season 28 – 3 (14 – 2 SEC). More impressively, however, Tennessee wins its 16th consecutive game at the Tommy Bowl, and their 32nd consecutive win at home since 2006.

GoVolsXtra” target=”_blank”>After 18 years of obscurity, since 2006 the Tommy Bowl has become one of the most daunting home courts in the country — and one of the most formidable environments for visiting teams. This is but one indication of the metamorphosis the BasketVols have undergone under Bruce Pearl.

The SEC Tournament starts on Friday as Bruce and the Barbarians take on the winner of the first round game between South Carolina and the LSU Tigers, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament at 1:00 at the Georgia Dome, in Atlanta.

All of Orange Nation will be behind the BasketVols as they roll into March Madness. Who knows how far they will go, but as Coach Pearl has taught us …

… nothing is ever impossible!

– Go Figure …