New year, new random thoughts. And plenty of them.

"Tell me how come something I really want is so bad for me." - Ciara

The News Sentinel reported this week that the idea of a Tennessee-Virginia Tech football game at Bristol Motor Speedway has apparently fallen by the wayside. Good. Maybe I'm the only one around here who feels this way, but what's the big deal about matching UT with Virginia Tech?

Sure "the biggest crowd ever" thing would have been a neat gimmick, but the Hokies just aren't a smart match-up for the Vols. For one, their history as a football power is only about a decade long. ESPN would play up the game as tradition-rich Tennessee trying to defend their home turf against the upstart Gobblers. What would Tennessee have to gain in that?

Virginia Tech, on the other hand, could point to a win over the Vols as further proof that they've become one of the nation's premier teams. They would call it a "changing of the guard."

That's why Tech fans want the game so badly. Which is the other reason that UT should avoid Tech ... they want the game so badly. Everyone who has ever worn the maroon and orange knows that a victory over Tennessee would gain Tech a world of credit in the media, which -- more importantly -- could be used in head-to-head recruiting battles against the Vols in Virginia, North Carolina and East Tennessee.

It's a no-win scenario for the Vols.

Look to other big-time foes, Mike Hamilton. Oregon, Oklahoma, California, and UCLA are all winners (and you've already locked them up). Throw in a home-and-home series with Ohio State (an easy six hour drive between the schools) and you'll give TV networks the type of match-up they're looking for. And you'll be giving Tennessee a big game that features something to be gained.

"Shine on you crazy diamond." - Pink Floyd

There once was a young man named Kobe.

He wished to be the Lakers' one and only.

So L.A. traded Shaq

And Kobe's average went whack

But his championship rings now grow lonely.

OK, that was weak, but it seems to be a story that the family of Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood might have missed.

Kobe Bryant had never won an NBA title without Shaquille O'Neal. Still, he liked the idea of being THE star on the Los Angeles Lakers.

So O'Neal was shipped off and Bryant has become a one-man gang in the Staples Center. But the Lakers aren't half the team they were when O'Neal and Bryant had to share the ball, share the scoring duties, and share the fame.

Those three titles they won as a "team" are ancient history and it doesn't look like Bryant will be fitting any new rings in the foreseeable future.

When players talk about needing "to shine," I always wonder if they realize what they're giving up to become a star. Will all the potential accolades top the potential championships?

Perhaps folks should ask former New England Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy. Milloy wanted more money from the Pats, threatened a holdout, and then the Pats cut him. Milloy then signed with Buffalo for bigger dollars. He went on to watch his old team lock up two more Super Bowl trophies while his Bills lost more games than they won.

So which is better? The stardom? The dollars? Or the championships? I guess we know Wiley-Gatewood's answer.

"We gotta take one step forward. Put one foot in front of the other, my brother." -- Killah Priest

For those of you who decided to raise your expectations for the UT basketball team following their fantastic win at Texas, welcome back to Earth. This season will be a struggle to finish above .500. There are just too many limitations that first-year coach Bruce Pearl and his staff need to mask.

That said, Pearl has done a phenomenal job of masking most of those weaknesses during the Vols' non-conference play and the team has responded with much-welcomed heart and effort.

Jan. 1 Prediction: Vols finish 15-12, go 1-1 in the SEC Tournament and make the NIT field ... which should be celebrated in Pearl's first year.

"Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. Don't stop, it'll soon be here. It'll be here, better than before. Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone." -- Fleetwood Mac

Just eight times in the past 70 years has Tennessee had a losing record in football.

In five of the eight seasons that followed those losing campaigns, UT improved its win total by two games or more. In fact, only twice has Tennessee not bounced back with a winning season (5-5 in 1963 and 5-5-1 in 1978).

That history, the track record of UT coach Phillip Fulmer, and the parity among the SEC's upper echelon should give Vol fans cause for optimism in 2006. Just not the SEC championship optimism that seems to be bubbling up on talk radio and the Internet.

Jan. 1 Prediction: Vols finish 9-3 in the regular season, 6-2 in the SEC, become the first team in recent history to beat out Florida for an Outback Bowl bid, and set the table for 2007.