Posts Tagged ‘John Adams’

Over the years, I have often criticized Knoxville News Sentinel Sports Editor John Adams for his excessive fault-finding with the various athletic programs at Tennessee.  Since the ascendancy of Lane Kiffin as the new head football coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, however, it has seemed to me that suddenly Adams had gone soft.

Well, Adams’ recent column on Daniel Hood proves that I am wrong…

In his article, Adams concludes that Hood’s past (at age 13, he was convicted of assisting a 17-year-old in the rape of a 14-year-old) means that the Knoxville native should not be given a chance to play for the Big Orange.  This is classic Adams, complete with his longstanding habit of attacking the Great Punkin for no readily apparent reason.

As for the substance of the article, I cannot say that I entirely agree or disagree with Adams, but I do take issue with his willingness to publicly attack Hood.  I’m not making any excuses for Hood or his past actions (and apparently neither is Hood), but it seems to me to be a bit heavy-handed to walk in as a moral inquisitor standing in judgment over the kid in the way that Adams does.

Furthermore, while Adams appears to clothe the article under the guise of pointing out that Hood’s troubled past does not help with Coach Kiffin’s efforts to instill a new sense of discipline at Tennessee, what the article is really about is taking one more shot at Phillip Fulmer.  Adams writes:

The main problem I had with former coach Phillip Fulmer’s program wasn’t the won-lost record.  It was the arrest record.  There were too many off-the-field incidents and too little discipline in return.

New UT coach Lane Kiffin has been all about discipline.  He has the attrition to show for it.  Four players have been kicked off the team, and another was disciplined before he left of his own volition.

You can’t say, “There’s a new sheriff in town,” because that implies the existence of a previous sheriff.  But by the end of spring practice, you could conclude this wasn’t business as usual.

So much has changed about UT football in the last few months, and virtually all of it for the better. A stagnant program is suddenly pulsating with energy.  Fans are excited and optimistic.

There’s a new offense, a new defense and a new outlook.

Amidst all the newness, this is no time to revert.

• Adams: Daniel Hood not good for UT’s new image | GoVolsXtra.com

I suppose my biggest complaint is that Adams felt the need to so directly attack a high school-aged player in order to justify the swing at Fulmer.  It just does not seem necessary to me since, as just about every article ever written by Adams other than the one he wrote the morning after Tennessee won the 1998 National Championship shows, he has hardly ever held back in going after Tennessee’s former coach.

I guess that would have just been too boring (I know I have been tired of it for years)…

Still, the article is thought provoking.  Furthermore, I suppose that with newspapers folding-up or thinning-down all across the country writers have to do whatever they can to sell papers.

Still, more than anything this one looks like a guy trying to find a story, and when one fails to appear simply reverting to his well-honed tactics of going after an easy target.  I guess even Adams is still afraid to unabashedly go after Kiffin.

Given the support that Kiffin has been receiving, that was probably a smart decision on Adams’ part…

– So it goes

Well, I do believe that the whole “Kiffin-Gate” thing is getting a little out of hand now, not that I am really all that surprised.  I still stand by my comments of the other day, that while the Blackjack General may have been wrong about the rule, his comments have had the desired effect.

Take for instance the fact that Gregg Doyel (who attended Florida, is known for loving to tick people off, looks remarkably like Anthony Edwards from ER, and apparently cannot spell either of his names correctly) who probably could have given damn about the Tennessee Volunteers at this point in time, is ventilating at full tilt.  This has led Doyel to conclude, among other things, that:   1) Kiffin should be fired immediately; 2)  Tennessee fans are “stupid people” (especially VASF donors); and 3) Kiffin is an “idiot,” “bufoon,” and “dumb.”  Doyel also concludes that, as the opposite of “Urban” Meyer everyone should refer to Tennessee’s head coach as “Rural” Kiffin.  That has to be one of the dumbest plays on words I’ve heard in a while.  Others, have been more complimentary, including  Bruce Feldman and the guys at PTI.

What, John Adams supporting the Vols?

At any rate, it seems that this thing refuses to die.  Which, considering it is keeping Tennessee in the public eye and on the lips of every sports commentator across the country, is probably a good thing.  Oh, and for the record, it hasn’t seemed to hurt prospects with recruits out there, such as Joe Montana’s son, Nick.  As an aside, I found the thoughts of some of the “common fans” of Southern Cal’s take on all of this enlightening — they think it is great and have, almost uniformly, nice things to say about Kiffin.  I am also beginning to make me wonder if hell has frozen over considering that the KNS’ John Adams has actually been saying nice things about the Tennessee Football Program lately.

Not to be outdone, and in the hopes of spreading the venom even farther — sticking with my “This is Sparta” theme — here’s my little addition to the whole thing:

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater! (click to enlarge)

Oh, and feel free to copy this and spread it to the four-winds (although I would appreciate a link back if you don’t mind).

At any rate, the current course of the football program at Tennessee is easy to assess:  1) after the pain of the Season of Constant Sorrow (2008) things are finally moving forward;  2) people are talking; and 3) at present the 2009 season comes down to two games:  Western Kentucky (first home game) and the 19 September meeting with the Florida Gators.

And you thought the offseason was supposed to be boring…

– So it goes …

HT to: 3SIB • Vol Junkies (for the idea) • VolNation

Yeah, I admit it, I’m having a hard time getting inspired to write lately …

I have never looked forward to the off-season following the end of football and basketball season (especially when it’s “Spring” but still cold as whizz in the mornings) but now it has taken on a whole new dimension. This is my first off-season as a blogger, and it pretty much stinks. I have always tried to offer up posts with at least a little bit of substance, or — at a minimum — some poorly done graphics. Now, I find myself struggling to come up with articles worth writing. Part of this, I suppose stems from my general lack of interest in the fortunes of Major League Baseball. It’s not as if I dislike the sport — after all, I do coach Little League — it’s just not the sort of thing I have ever been very interested in writing about.

Furthermore, I can write all I want to about spring football practice, but considering I live over 6 1/2 hours from Knoxville, anything I could possibly say has already been said since my thoughts would be based upon what I read on other blogs.

I suppose I could write about politics, but that would require me to take a position on issues which are likely to alienate at least half of the 4 people who regularly read my blog — in short, I ain’t going there (at least not while my little creation is so very new…).

Thus, while I am working on a few new ideas, and creating graphics for a few other sites (my most recent being Uncoached), I am not doing a very good job of delivering much in the way of real content.

I was actually getting a bit discouraged until today when the Knoxville Snooze Slantinel made me feel a lot better by running a story on a lawsuit between the owners of a company trying to sell orange blazers like those worn by Bruce Pearl. The KNS felt this was important sports news.

You know that was awfully nice of John Adams — after all the ugly things I’ve said about him — to try and make me feel better about my ineptitude, by showing that the KNS is as clueless as I am.

Thus, I want to openly decry the ugliness of the off-season. It is a hideous thing which should be abolished.

Oh yeah, I also want to thank the Snooze Slantinel for making me feel better about my inability to say anything meaningful as of late.

So, I guess, now that I have complained about not having anything to complain about and I still can’t think of any “real” stories to write I’ll just have to return to fabricating stories out of the thinnest and most unreliable rumors (many of which are only rumors among the community of voices living in my head).

In the meantime, if you liked my article on the Voice of College Sports back in February (which is unlikely) then you are likely to enjoy Spencer Hall’s article on Larry Munson over at the Sporting News (HT to Joel at RTT for the find). Otherwise, I guess you’ll just have to wait for my 8-part investigative piece on how Tennessee is facing allegations of misconduct over the use of doughnuts as a human growth hormone.

Ugh…

– Go Figure …

UPDATE:

• See, I’m not the only one – Fulmer’s Belly and Pigskin Pathos hate the offesason too.

A Little Good News from ESPN 1050 in New York …

The reign of terror is over on sports-talk radio — the powers that be have seen fit to cancel the Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio.

I suppose that this decision is due — largely — to the fact that, after the first three days that “Screamin’ A.” Smith was on the radio, the average listenership for the show was 9 listeners which included:

• “Screamin’ A’s” Mother (Yell-onda A. Smith) who just had to listen to her baby boy;
• Stephen A. himself, while he was broadcasting the show and eating Cheese Doodles because: “Quite Frankly, that guy just sounds soooooo GOOD!“;
• John Adams of the Knoxville Snooze Slantinel who really loved the in-depth analysis and thoughtful observations on the show;
• A Jihadist Army Leader in Afghanistan, who actually believed that “Screamin’ A.” was the voice of his commander sending orders to him in the field;
• Michael Vick, because he could only get one radio channel inside da’ Big House;
• A malfunctioning satellite launched by NASA in the mid-1980’s, which mistook the broadcast for the radioactive waves which follow the birth of a new star; and
• 3 random people across the country who had wandered off from their radio before the show came on, and forgot to turn the thing off.

Good call by ESPN and ESPN Radio — “Screamin’ A.” while not dislikable, remains one of the most annoying figures in sports broadcasting.

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: ESPN Radio.com

I have been a little slow to follow-up on a story I devoted most of last week to: the Britton Colquitt issue. The Great Punkin himself has spoken out, via a guest column in the Knoxville Snooze-Slantinel, and responded to to John Adams’ article calling for his head.

To Fulmer’s credit, John Adams has made a career out of attacking the UT football program, and may have gone a bit far in so pointedly calling for Fulmer’s head in his article. Adams, an LSU graduate, has long used jabs a Phil Fulmer to sell papers, and keep people reading. I will also say that the timing of Adams’ article was not spectacular. I do find it ironic that, after years of attacking Fulmer, Adams calls for Fulmer’s ouster the very same week that Bruce Pearl and the BasketVols achieved the all-time high-water mark for the mens basketball program.

Although I know there are those who disagree with me (Gee, imagine that…), I acknowledged and continue to feel that Adams did make some good points in his article, and I agree with his underlying premise, if not his conclusion. A lot of what Adams said was worth saying — and even if it wasn’t, it’s Adams right to say it nonetheless. Be that as it may, I think Fulmer’s response was a cogent and timely as it was warranted. Obviously, Fulmer feels confident enough as a coach to publicly respond to Adams’ remarks, and join the conversation. For my part, I’m glad he did.

I for one continue to support Fulmer, because I think he has been a good coach for the Volunteers since 1993. I do not question his integrity or his character — if it appeared that I intended to do so in my articles, then I failed to properly convey my message. (For what it is worth, I do agree with Fulmer’s column that John Adams, however, was questioning these things…) My problem is not with Coach Fulmer, but with the complete lack of discipline shown by players since the first of the year. I know Fulmer wants what is best for both Tennessee and each and every player — I’m just not sure that has been coming to fruition lately.

As I have previously written, I think Fulmer has been too dedicated and steadfast a leader for the football program to be asked to leave over — essentially — one bad month in a nearly fifteen year career at the helm. I believe that he should be given a chance to right the ship. More importantly, however, regardless of whether Fulmer is obligated to bear the consequences of the bad decisions of the Tennessee players, I do not believe that all of the recent problems are his fault. As has been pointed out by Moon Dog, among others, the root cause of these problems arises from a lack of responsibility on the part of players — and society in general. Unfortunately, with the headset comes a bevy of responsibilities that a coach — unlike his players — simply cannot ignore.As a longtime Fulmer supporter, I am glad that he has — at a minimum — acknowledged the situation and publicly. It takes a certain degree of courage to openly respond to such direct media attacks — especially when the writer is as entrenched in the local media as Adams. I think Fulmer’s article does go a certain distance to quell the furor surrounding Britton Colquitt. Still, the ultimate litmus test will come in the form of the results down the road.

While I continue to believe that Fulmer must take decisive actions when it comes to player discipline in the near term, I am content — for the time-being — with Fulmer’s public assurances and answers to some of the questions which have been flying.

He has my full support … until he proves to me that he does not deserve it.

Ultimately, keeping the Tennessee football players in line is somewhat akin to the actions of the Department of Homeland Security — failures are what gets noticed, not successes. Thus, a period of quiet for the Vols, without continual police blotter notices, is really all that it will take for these events to pass into memory. I would still give a note of caution to both Coach Fulmer and the members of the Tennessee football team, however:

Out of sight, does not always mean out of mind…

Hopefully, this is the final installment I will post regarding these trials and tribulations for the football Vols. If not, then the problems persist, and things will only continue to get worse.

For the sake of Coach Fulmer and the University, I hope that is not the case…

– Go Figure …

I’m sure that Phillip Fulmer knew that things were not going to be easy when he found out that rising-Senior Britton Colquitt was arrested for DUI and fleeing the scene of an accident on Sunday. I doubt even Fulmer thought they would be this difficult.

I, along with many others, have come out publicly to decry the fact that Colquitt was not dismissed from the team. I stopped just short of saying that Fulmer should resign or be fired as a result of the off-field incidents which have plagued the Tennessee Volunteers football program over the last five weeks.

The Knoxville News Sentinel’s John Adams did not stop short.

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