govolsxtra.com Stories: Tom Mattingly

Mattingly: Catching up with record-breaker Mills

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:57:00 -0000

Johnny Mills set the single-game receiving record with 225 yards against Kentucky in 1967 .

Mattingly: Vols learned to live on the edge in 1987

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:42:00 -0000

Tennessee quarterback Jeff Francis tosses a pass to fullback William Howard against Mississippi State in 1987, a 38-10 Vols' win in Starkville.

Mattingly: Turnaround of 1967 a cause to celebrate

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000

When Tennessee defeated Florida 34-32 on Dec. 1, 2001, in Gainesville, there was a tumultuous celebration, albeit hastily arranged, at Tom Black Track just after the team charter touched down at McGhee-Tyson Airport.

Mattingly: Majors proved November axiom true

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:41:00 -0000

With Nov. 1 showing up on the calendar today, let's think about one of the best-known famous phrases in all of college football, courtesy of John Majors.

Mattingly: Fans fear Alabama hangover

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:28:00 -0000

Over the years, the results of the Tennessee-Alabama game have not been in the rear view mirror very long until a new concern would crop up among skittish Vol fans.

Mattingly: Neyland Stadium grass a canvas for Bob Campbell

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:42:00 -0000

There is a cliche that talks about something being "as boring as watching grass grow." That old line is not necessarily true.

Mattingly: Third Saturday in October shouldn't be silent

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:31:00 -0000

Check the calendar. Pull out the game tickets and check them, too.

Mattingly: UT-Georgia rivalry is a late bloomer

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:29:00 -0000

It just took a proper introduction, maybe even a push from the SEC, to get Tennessee and Georgia back together on the football field.

Mattingly: In memoriam: Ray Nettles

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:18:00 -0000

As is usually the case, the statistics on Ray Nettles, the former Vol linebacker (1969-71) who died Sept. 29 in Jacksonville, Fla., don’t tell the whole story.

Mattingly: 1958 season saw extreme lows

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:18:00 -0000

No Vol fan woke up in a good humor 51 years ago today - Sept. 28, 1958. That day will long live in infamy in the history of Tennessee football. The Vols are likely to be in the record books forever on this one.

Mattingly: 1989 Vols were resourceful champions

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:46:00 -0000

The 1989 Tennessee football season, that ended up 11-1 and included a 31-27 win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, was quite a treat for Vol fans, given the Vols had compiled a 5-6 record a year before.

Mattingly: UT-Florida rivalry has plenty of history

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:34:00 -0000

The day was Oct. 22, 1977, in the year John Majors came marching home to Knoxville. "Follow me to Tennessee" was the byword of the program. Florida was the seventh game of the season in the days the Vols and Gators played sparingly, usually in two-game sets. It was the 17th game of a series that had begun to 1916.

Mattingly: Neyland, Knoxville silenced critic

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:55:00 -0000

Sometimes sportswriters, even in the 1920s, come up with an idea that hits home years later. The year was 1926. It was a Monday, Labor Day, Sept. 6. The baseball pennant races were in full swing.

Mattingly: Fans' memory banks always open

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:45:00 -0000

Football fans, particularly those in the South, seem to make critical, life-changing decisions about team allegiances in their most tender years and live with the impact of those decisions throughout the rest of their lives. Fans of college sports rarely change their allegiance except under the direst of circumstances.

Mattingly: Favorite football season about to begin

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:56:00 -0000

It's been a long time since spring practice, an even longer time since the Kentucky game. For University of Tennessee football fans, the wait is almost over. Find the binoculars, make sure you know where the tickets are, and get the tailgate ready.

Mattingly: When 'Voice' called, Mooney answered

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:37:00 -0000

Nearly 42 years after he called his last University of Tennessee football game - Tennessee 41, Vanderbilt 14, Dec. 2, 1967 - George Mooney still remembers the good times.

Mattingly: SEC stadiums as impressive as teams

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:09:00 -0000

Collegiate stadiums, especially in the south, are definitely something special. Vol fans will discover how special as they journey to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., and Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky., this year.

Mattingly: Dye, 80, had a real gift for photography

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:11:00 -0000

Bill Dye, the News Sentinel photographer who started as a copy boy and learned the rudiments of photography on the fly, died Saturday night at age 80 at UT Medical Center. His death came exactly a year after Carolyn, his wife of 57 years, had passed away.

Mattingly: SEC has had its share of lively debates for years

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:01:00 -0000

Thinking about what Tennessean columnist David Climer wrote recently, controversy amongst league members is nothing new. In fact, it has been a centerpiece of the vibrant history of SEC football since its austere beginnings in 1933.

Mattingly: Hall tribute was vintage Nelson

tjmshm@comcast.net (Tom Mattingly) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:26:00 -0000

Time waits on no man. It was 21 years ago this coming week, July 31, 1988, at Cooperstown, N.Y., the world of professional baseball paid tribute to Lindsey Nelson's more than 35-year career in sports journalism. That day, Lindsey received the Ford Frick Award, given since 1967 for "major contributions to the game of baseball."